Rabid (Kingdom of Wolves #6) - Ivy Asher Page 0,87

I gripe, edging around so I can put the tree stump between us.

“That was my plan exactly,” he replies with a smirk.

I roll my eyes even as my toes curl. “I mean go dry yourself off on an actual plant. Poison ivy preferably.”

Another low laugh comes out of his chest, and I note with some trepidation that the entire pack is now looking at us.

“Umm… Just kidding,” I say more loudly, throwing in a friendly wave for good measure, just in case any of them think I’m going to come at their alpha with some rash-inducing plants.

Actually, I can’t rule out the possibility for the future.

“They’re not watching you because of your bad joke,” he tells me.

My eyes fly up to his. “It wasn’t a bad joke,” I defend, and then I stiffen when his words settle. “Wait, why are they watching me then?”

“Their alpha claimed a female. You’re not fully our luna until that claiming has gone both ways,” he says pointedly. “Until then, they’ll be watching.”

“Well, that’s not fucking ominous,” I hiss out between clenched teeth, trying to keep my voice down.

He shrugs. “You’re an untested, unfamiliar wolf that their alpha suddenly claimed. They’ll tolerate your presence out of respect for me and the fact that my wolf and I found you worthy, that I trust you’re the wolf for me. But you still have to prove yourself to the pack.”

“By biting you,” I reply.

“By biting me,” he repeats with a nod. “Once you do that, you’ll be able to assimilate yourself into the pack and prove that you can look out for them like I do.”

I open my mouth to tell him that I do want to be here, and that I want to find my footing with Ruin Falls. But when he says it like that, he reminds me that I wouldn’t just be accepting a claim. I’d also be accepting responsibility over an entire pack.

Geez, no pressure.

We stare at each other, his brown eyes expectant, ready and waiting for me to give in to what he’s saying, but something on the cusp of my own worries holds me back. His gaze shutters at the uncertainty that’s written all over my face, and anger flashes through his irises.

“I see.”

Guilt and frustration rush through me, crawling up my neck and pressing into my cheeks until it’s coloring my skin in a cruel mimicry of embarrassment. Many of the pack turn to leave, their offered backs making it clear what they think about my hesitation to claim their alpha. Tyran steps back from me, and I narrow my eyes at his retreat.

Why does it have to be all or nothing? Why do I have to choose so fast?

“Don’t do that,” I call to Tyran as he moves to leave. “My hesitation isn’t rejection. I’m just…” With an aggravated sigh, I run my hand through my long hair, fingers getting caught in the wind-blown tangles. “I just need more time. You’re asking for too much too soon.”

The muscle in his jaw jumps as he clenches his teeth, and all previous heat and playfulness is gone. In its place is the hardened alpha I’ve heard countless stories about. He looks away from me, his cold eyes watching the rapids of the river, and I suddenly wonder if it’s my face he wants to hold beneath that water.

Would I trust him enough not to fight?

The question sours everything, only made more bitter when Tyran turns and stalks away from me without another word. My stomach churns like the water behind me, the falls looking eerily similar to the white rabid froth that I’ve tasted in my own mouth. I try to swallow down the discomfiture and resentment on my tongue as Tyran and the pack abandon me to be alone with the moonlit river.

I know they’re loyal to him, but they take his side without even trying to understand mine. Alpha or not, Tyran is being unreasonable. I’ve only just met him. He can’t expect me to decide that fast, to just…

You’re a fucking wolf. Stop acting like a human.

His previous words ring in my mind, making it clear exactly what his frustration is with my hesitation. But the thing is, I’m not just a fucking wolf, none of us are, so why does that seem to be such a bad thing here?

I get that my wolf likes him, but what about me?

For the last three years, I’ve done everything possible to avoid being forced into a claim, and now here