Chapter 7: Breaking The Ice

[Cole]
Cole jumped into the icy waters and emerged feeling even worse.

He couldn’t shake off the feel of her lips on his, her soft skin, the taste of her mouth and that damned alluring scent. She is quickly becoming his most formidable opponent, worse than Jude.

The sight of Jude laughing with Dove made his blood boil. That damn woman is an incorrigible flirt. First Owin, then Jude. Okay, Jude would have played a part too. Cole rubbed his wet face and groaned with exasperation as he thought about reassigning Jude back to his old post. The elders had reported that Owin was not doing well either, training the young cubs.

At the cue, Owin appeared at the riverbank, standing with both feet apart, wearing his usual youthful cheer.

Observing Owin, Cole wondered how a mere woman like Dove had the ability to turn this skilled fighter into a thoughtless and forgetful fool?

A week ago, Owin had let Dove out of the house without Cole’s permission and then brought her to the forbidden spot by accident. The young Gamma confessed immediately and Cole punished him accordingly. Rules are rules. But Cole still found it hard to believe.

“Hey Cole, Jude said you wanted to see me.” Owin beamed brightly.

Cole was dumbfounded. Then he frowned in realization. As usual, that manipulative son of a witch Jude was two steps ahead of him.

Cole knew something was amiss when Jude said nothing after being reassigned as Dove’s new escort. He knew then that Cole had meant to send Owin out of the village away from Dove and so he made his own plans.

With a swipe of his face and a rustle of his metallic blue-black hair, Cole stepped in front of the smiling Gamma and told him his new assignment - Owin would return to his diplomatic duties. Cole had been running it in place of Owin so he could be out of the village and out of sight from his new wife.

“Jude will be reassigned to train the cubs,” Cole muttered bitterly.

The young fighter dropped his shoulders in huge relief and thanked Cole. “I’ll run over and tell Jude the good news! His prediction really came true!”

Cole frowned at the Gamma speeding off into the woods.

He wouldn’t be surprised now if Dove were to suddenly appear in his quarters.


******

Cole groaned inwardly at the brazen werewoman standing in his room, smiling from cheek to cheek.

He would send his beloved Beta to the deepest trenches after this.

Cole had just returned to his quarters after a round of intense meeting with the elders when his door opened and Dove swiftly slipped in. She stood in front of the closed door, smiling from cheek to cheek. Lucky for him, he was behind his desk, a good distance away from her electrifying scent.

But her visuals were still clear. He stared at her rosy lips and visions of the passionate kiss from that night swarmed his mind. He swallowed hard and quickly looked away. His eyes then fell on the loose silver strands caressing her slightly pink cheeks and he wanted to push them behind her ear.

Tearing his eyes away from the sexy curve of her bare neck, Cole barked at her. “What the hell, Dove.”

Her dark eyes rounded, then her brows knitted in irritation as she scrunched her nose in a way that Cole found it cute. Appalled by his reaction, he shouted at her. “What the hell do you want now?”

“I just want to talk.” She was trying hard to keep the conversation cool.

But he wasn’t cooperating and growled his usual single command. “Leave.”

Exasperated, she cried with both open palms thrust out. “We are married but we’re not talking to each other, don’t you find it weird? You could have a normal conversation with anyone around here, even Claire, who doesn’t even talk! So why can’t you have one with me? Do you really hate me that much?”

Cole noted her eyes moistening and grew still. She was grabbing her fist and inhaling deeply as if to steady herself, so Cole remained silent.

When her breathing returned to normal, he spoke again. “Sit.”

She moved a step towards him and his hand shot up. “No!”

She frowned with great annoyance at the open palm in her face until he pointed to the couch near the door. “There. Just. Sit there.”

A roll of an eye and then she sat at the couch obediently. Cole remained standing in case he needed to get away.

“Talk.” He commanded.

She cast a glare in his direction, then inhaled sharply. “I think we should eat together. At least once a day.”

“Go on.”

“The pack is asking me questions about you and they find it strange that I know nothing about you.” She trod carefully as Jude taught her earlier.

He folded his thick arms and gave a nod. “Fair enough.”

“So tell me about yourself. And I’ll share mine.”

Cole scoffed at her suggestion and she took deep breaths to calm herself once more and waited. Clearing his throat, Cole motioned for her to proceed, “Ask then.”

Dove finally smiled and hastily asked her first question, “What is your favorite colour?”

“I have no favorite colour.”

“What is your favorite dish?”

“Steak in a puff pastry.”

She coughed out a laugh and Cole raised a brow so she hastily explained. “You mean Beef Wellington.”

“I don’t give a damn about the name, cub.” He was pleased with her frown and nudged her on. “Next.”

“What do you do around here? I mean, as leader of this pack.”

It was his turn to laugh. “What do you think an Alpha does?”

“I’m sure you are different from Abe.” She replied softly. His brows raised in surprise and she suddenly became interested in her jeans.

When she looked up again, their eyes met for a second and Cole swiftly blinked away. Clearing his throat once more, he described patiently, “I check the grounds, talk to the pack, find problems and solve them.”

She was looking at him with awe until she realized that she was and quickly composed herself. “Uh. So you would know everything that happened here, am I right?”

Cole slowly straightened. “Where is this going?”

Dove swallowed and paused for a moment to recall what she had practiced. “Don’t be mad. Hear me out first.” But the scowl was already back in his face. She inhaled quietly and exhaled. “I just want to ask about the Moon Goddess.”

“What about her?”

The curt return sounded like a warning to stop asking further but Dove pushed on forward. “Well, I wanted to ask, you know, if there was a house of--.”

“There’s no such thing here.”

Dove stood with determination. “You can’t turn your back on the Moon Goddess, Cole! You and the pack. You know you can’t!”

“What do you know!” His voice thundered across the room, shaking the ground beneath them.

“I know that she created us and we are devoted to her.” Ignoring his dry mocking laugh, she continued. “It’s a sin, Cole! Werewolves can’t ignore their deity!”

Cole slammed a palm on the table and it collapsed into a mess. “You are now a member of this pack and you will follow our rules. You will not pray to any Moon Goddess or mention her name!”

He saw her frightened expression at his unusual display of strength and was suddenly conscious of it. Stepping back, he drew in deep breaths to steady himself. “Leave. Now.”

But she wouldn’t budge and pressed on. “At least tell me what happened. Why are you doing this?”

He laughed again. “Me?”

A cold chuckle and then it was all out in the open.

“If it were me,” Cole grunted, his eyes glowing in blood red. “I wouldn’t do any of this. If I was the Moon Goddess, I wouldn’t abandon my creations and leave them to die. I wouldn’t kill off their loved ones and let the living ones suffer. I would admit to my mistakes and help them rebuild their lives.”