Lulu's brows came together in a frown as she looked at Keith who was avoiding to meet her eyes.
"Are you rejecting me?", Lulu asked.
"Do you need me to spell it out?"
Lulu clicked her tongue impatiently. "This is about Talia, isn't it?"
Keith frowned. "Not everything is about Talia, Lulu."
"You started avoiding me when she appeared."
Keith wished that they didn't have this conversation, but his silence would confirm her words. "That's not true. What we had ended a long time ago. I told you that I won't be involved with my subordinates."
Why did Lulu bring this up now? They had a few dates (and sex) about two years ago. He never promised her anything, they were not exclusive, and once he was promoted to a Lieutenant, Keith told Lulu (and other she-wolves that were involved with him) that he won't be getting romantically entangled with warriors.
In the end, they were all waiting for their fated mates, and if it was not with a mate, it was temporary fun, physical release, and almost anyone would do.
But more than the mate-business, as a Lieutenant, Keith was responsible for his squad and he made important decisions, and he didn't want his personal life to impact his judgment. Would he be able to send a woman he was sleeping with on a dangerous mission and stay cool about it? Probably not.
Keith knew that they didn't like it, who likes to be rejected? But it's been more than two years, and Lulu was quiet so far. He didn't see the reason why she brought it up now.
"I remember you saying that you won't mix business and pleasure.", Lulu said. "Yet here you are, the head guard to the woman you set your eyes on."
Keith couldn't believe this. Did Lulu think that because of his affection for Talia, Lulu had a chance with him? That was twisted.
"If your eyes are more on Talia and less on me, you will see that she is a wonderful person, worth protecting. Get your priorities straight, Lulu, or I will dismiss you as Talia's guard."
"Won't that be convenient for you to get chummy with Luna? Liam, Caleb, and Pierce are staring at her with stars in their eyes, and Sandy wouldn't know who is sleeping with the boss even if you draw it to her."
"Watch your mouth, Lulu.", Keith growled. It was one thing to say how he looks at Talia, but if Lulu starts spouting nonsense about sleeping around, both Talia and Keith might get a dose of Alpha Damon's anger. Rumors always spread faster than the truth. And how can he prove that he was NOT sleeping with someone?
"What will you do if I don't watch my mouth? Will dismiss me? How about you tell Talia that I said mean things?", Lulu challenged him. "Weren't you the one who said that we shouldn't let our personal feelings impact our duties? If you dismiss me for this, aren't you dismissing me because you don't like what I said?"
Keith looked at Lulu's pretty face which was scrunched into an ugly grimace.
"What are you trying to accomplish, Lulu? Do you want to have sex with me? Is that it? Do you think that insulting me will get me hard? Don't tell me that you want more than a hookup because even before all this, there was nothing more than sex between us. We both had our fun, and it was over. You know that. Why are you acting like a heartbroken ex-wife? Or do you have another agenda?"
Lulu glared at him for a few heartbeats, and then she snorted, walked to the sofa, grabbed her tank top, bra, and purse, and left the room.
Keith stared at the closed door. Now what?
Since waking up, James was hovering around Cornelia.
He helped her get ready for the day, and he obediently waited in front of the bathroom while she showered. Sure, Cornelia locked the door, but a lock so flimsy wouldn't hold James back if not for his desire to respect her wish for privacy.
When they entered the dining room for breakfast, everyone else was already there. Damon, Talia, Maya, Caden, Gideon, Mindy, Zina, Dawn, George, Petra, Erik, and Zack.
"Can you not feed me?", Cornelia asked James while looking at the piece of sausage that was hovering in front of her mouth. She took another fork and pushed his arm away. "I have hands." She allowed him to fill up her plate with food, but feeding was too much. After the previous day, she didn't feel like indulging in a lovey-dovey mood.
James' lips curved down to form a pout and he looked like a sad puppy.
He didn't mind groveling in front of an audience. He didn't care about anyone other than Cornelia.
"Cora, please, I know I messed up. Let me make it up to you today."
"That's what you said yesterday.", she responded in a hushed voice, hoping that others won't hear her. She didn't want to cause a scene in front of other people, but she didn't want to let him have his way either. Yesterday was not the first time that he left her on her own. She felt neglected.
"Today it will be different.", James said.
"I'm sure it will.", Cornelia responded. She decided to go out and see the world outside the packhouse, even if she will be on her own. On the previous day, they went to the human city, and they only started having fun when they were summoned to return.
Cornelia was determined to explore human realm or go home. OK. Maybe not go home because she was not sure what to do about James.
She had a lot of time to think about their relationship and future. No matter if she stays with James, or returns to her Coven, the fact was that James was too young to feel the bond completely which brought the question of his commitment to their relationship. What's to say that another woman won't seduce him easily when Cornelia was not looking?
Another point was that the Red Moon pack didn't sound like a good place to be. Why would Cornelia go there if she will need to hide somewhere while James does his young Alpha duties? And then she was back to questioning his fidelity.
Cornelia asked around and she knew that licentious nature didn't apply only to Alphas but to all werewolves. Was James expecting her to sit put and wait for him while wondering if he was training, studying, or indulging in some woman? That was unacceptable.
The truth was that if Cornelia didn't feel that pull toward James, she would leave after the pack run.
Was she looking for reasons to leave him? Not really, but she couldn't see many reasons to stay either.
James irritably threw the fork on the table. He woke up super early so that he can plan their day, and he wanted it to be a surprise, but seeing how stubborn Cornelia was, James realized that he will need to tell her about his intentions.
"Alpha Damon", James called in an official tone. "Today, after breakfast, I plan to take Cornelia out on a date. Please, prepare a car for us. We won't be back until evening, and don't contact us unless a war started."
