Interstellar
9

Nova felt like a scolded child, and embarrassment brought a flush to her face. She did was she was bid to and quickly walked to the guest suite, turning back to face Leon as she stood just inside the room. He watched her, eyes narrowed, as he would watch his prey. Nova felt no fear toward him this time. She was immeasurably curious as to what was going on inside his head, though. Was he angry at her for wanting to leave? Was he jealous of her earlier dalliance with his mate? Nova thoguht back to what he said after sneaking into her bed the night before. I need you. He had screamed at her for trying to leave, lavishing her in apologetic kisses that she had not wanted, touching her so intimately despite her body’s denial of him. He had decreed his need for her, and marked her as his own. She was still in disbelief that the past few days had unraveled as they had, that she had found herself literally pinned between the Alphas of an unfamiliar pack, and then to consider that Leon’s admission may have been truthful instead of pillow talk to get another go round? It was too surreal, and Nova could not get a logical grip on what was happening. She had been so lead my emotions, from feral desire to fear, and now the consequences glared at her from fifteen feet away.

Leon stared at Nova for what felt like hours. He watched her expression fluctuate between an array of emotions, but never once did he see a smile. He saw her embarrassment, her shame, her confusion. Despite a seemingly happy day with the rest of his pack, she had no happiness left for him. This gutted him in a way he was not expecting, his pain multiplying until his vision blurred. He moved toward her, not noticing when she backed away from her door, or when she recoiled from his outreaching hands.

“What has gotten into you?” Nova grabbed his wrists before he could touch her. She did not trust the distance behind his eyes. The Leon she had spent last night with, or even the one who came crawling back hours later, was not the same man before her.

“You got into me. You’ve driven me mad. You have made me feel things I haven’t felt in 20 years, haven’t felt for anyone ever but my mate.” Leon broke free from her grasp and brought his hands to his head in frustration. “You make me feel these things and then you try and run away int he night like a damn coward. How dare you? How fucking dare you!” He screamed inches from her face, projecting all of his anger and anxiety onto her. Nova withstood the treatment, recognizing it was not really for her when he sank his head as if defeated. He was projecting his guilt and insecurity and the rage within his wolf onto her, like she had asked for any of this to happen. She would not carry the weight of his emotions, especially not now.

Nova palmed his cheeks, raising his face to meet hers. She inspected the man before her. His lips were rough and chapped from a long day outside. His cheeks reddened from his outburst, the heat slowly fading from his face as he sought her gaze and calmed his breathing. “Leon.” He did not acknowledge her at first. “Leon, I understand that I hurt you. But you need to understand that I have never met anyone like you in my entire life. My people don’t love like this, not usually. When they do, it’s done to cause pain. I thought you would want nothing more than a fuck or two to get me out of your system.”

“You’re more than a fuck or two-” his voice dropped off, as if unsure of what to say next. His anger had faded, quickly being replaced by a sadness that even penetrated Nova.

“When I spoke to Stella this morning, she told me that you fall in love like the seasons change. Leon, I don’t think I’ve never felt true love for another person, let alone a love that would allow me to feel what you’re feeling right now. What isn’t fair-”

“Do you think I give a fuck about fair?” He raised his voice, cutting Nova’s sentence in half. “I am enraptured with you, and that will not change regardless of what you feel for us, or what you feel we deserve. I have done for my mate things she will never do for me, but she provides in other ways. I do not expect you to feel the same, but I hoped against hope you would at least feel something.”

Nova backed up and slipped away from his attempts to reach her. “I do feel something, but...” her voice cracked as she noticed his eyes glistening, fighting to hold back tears. How does an Alpha, powerful enough to bring down prey three times his size, strong enough to have lead his pack unopposed for more than two decades, allow so much vulnerability in front of a near stranger? How can he throw himself to blindly into emotional turmoil over a woman he knows nothing about? “I mostly feel guilt. I never would have accepted your advances if I thought you had real feelings for me, especially feelings I can’t return. You don’t even know why I’m here or what I’m running from. You have all been too kind and too trusting. Look what I’ve done to you because of that.” Nova’s eyes glistened and soon tears fell down her cheeks. She had not lied to Leon, but she still had yet to fully speak her truth.