Balance of Light and Shadow

Conrad POV

I’m up on the balcony waiting for the car headlights to come down the estate's driveway telling me Connor has gotten home. I can feel my wolf Jace pacing inside me getting more frustrated at second ticks away on the clock.

Since I saw her last week, she has plagued my thoughts. Her flowing chestnut hair, sapphire blue eyes I got lost in, the pale silk-like skin I wanted to kiss all over, and curves that make me want to hold tight and never let go. Even the amount of disrespect in her attitude was amazing. The fire and passion in her words make me want to tame her more. Make her mine.

At 1 am I see the headlights so bolt down the stairs to meet him at the front door.

“How did it go”. I couldn’t contain myself and was talking as soon as Connor opened the door.

Connor can’t make eye contact with me as he talks and just stares at the ground. “Her friends seem nice, but she was furious. Sorry Alpha King but she won’t come”.

The noise woke my Beta Liam’s and his half asleep brain starts to slowly put things together. “What the hell did you do”.

“Nightstalker found her, so I sent Connor to make sure she is OK. She’s been living with humans since she was 13. Can you believe that”. I can’t help the pride in my voice that I found her after she escaped the hunters.

Liam’s face starts to go wide-eyed with frustration. “YOU SENT A HUNTER AFTER A ROGUE AND YOU'RE CONFUSED AT WHY SHE’S PISSED AT YOU”.

When he phrases it like that it does sound bad. It’s not how I intended it to come across. Surely, she can see that as she wasn’t attacked. Right.

I try to defend myself to Liam. “You know that’s not what I did. Connor was under strict orders not to harm her or her friends. Just ask for her to meet me. And that’s what you did right”.

I look over at Connor who is nodding but I can tell he is leaving something out. “What else did she say”.

He takes a deep sigh and avoids eye contact again. “She said she is fine on her own and if we ever go near her again, she will disappear again”.

My heart dropped. I start running my hands through my hair to calm myself down. Jace is howling inside me and I can feel my breathing increase and my heart beating in my throat. How did I screw up this badly? I just wanted to see her again.

Liam can sense my turmoil and starts planning to resolve the situation. “Alright. Everyone into the study so we can work out what to do next. And you”, pointing a finger straight into my face, “you are not to do anything regarding her before running it past me. This girl is under yours and Jace’s skin you’re not thinking rationally. You’re also clearly not going to move on without some sort of closure so for your own sanity you follow the plan we come up with. Understood”.

Liam my be my Beta and second in command but he's always been more of a brother and so I always value his advice and support. “Fine”, I growl back.

Liam looks at me, a mix of concern and confusion on his face. “What exactly is your end goal here”.

The words leave my mouth before I process their potential reactions. “Jace says she is my mate, so I want her as part of the pack and to be my Queen”.

The study door shuts behind us and Liam turns to me with a horrified look on his face. “Are you insane. You know the dangers that poses to every member of this pack. Rouges have a permanent ban from rejoining all packs for a reason”.

Connor instantly agrees. “I get that she’s powerful, but she kicked our asses in the raid, has avoided detection in the human world since she was a pup and tonight, managed to slice my arm with a concealed silver blade in a public setting without a single human noticing. You need to get over this obsession and leave her alone”.

I charge across the room and before I know it, I have my claws out and my hand around Connor’s throat pinning him against a wall. My eyes glow with Alpha energy and I stare at his fear in his.

In a low growl, I sneer at him. “NO. She belongs with me”.

I feel Liam come up to the side of me and gently place his hand on my arm as he tries to get me to loosen my grip on Connor. “It’s alright buddy. Connor didn’t mean any disrespect. Let him go and we can talk about what to do next”. He always calls me buddy when he doesn’t know if it’s me or Jace who has lost control.

I release Connor and he starts coughing as he moves away from me. I go and get a drink of whisky from my office stash to try and calm my nerves.

I hear Connor mutter under his breath to Liam, “Could she really be his mate”.

I skull back the whiskey and feel the burn go down to the emptiness since I lost her. “Jace is certain. She’s mine”.

I can hear the hesitation in Liam’s voice as he asks for clarification. “I get that you or Jace might like her, but I have never known anyone to have mate bond. The stories we were told as pups of the Moon Goddess curse to take them away was just a fairy tale. Right”.

Doesn’t matter if this bedtime story is true or not, I can’t leave her out there to fend for herself anymore. I want her to come home.