At any other time, I am confident that I could have come up with a million and one ways to ask someone if they were or had been sleeping around with someone. However, in this specific instance, because it was Matteo, I couldn't think of a single way that I wanted to ask the dreaded question. Why? I couldn't think of a way to phrase the question so that I was absolutely positive that Matteo would say no.

When he returned home at the end of the day, he was quiet. It wasn't until about eight in the evening that I realized Matteo didn't plan on coming to say hello. With a chip on my shoulder, I stormed his office. He was on the phone. Looking back on it now, I feel a bit bad that I interrupted it. I merely caught a sampling of the conversation. Matteo sounded bitter as he snapped, "They understand their orders and the repercussions that may come with them," into the phone. I threw the door open, seeing Matteo leaning forward, his elbows planted on the desk and the phone against his ear. Our eyes connected. Drawing in a quick breath, he ended the call as the person on the other line was mid-sentence. If I had been concentrating, I could have heard what the unknown caller was saying, but I wasn't. Instead, it was all just a big mumble.

"Kai?" Matteo asked, clearly confused by my aggressive break-in. In his eyes, he had no idea that I witnessed his and Taylor's little interaction. We left off on good terms this morning, and that's all he knew. Stupid idiot.

"Hi." I snapped, clearly annoyed. Again, he looked at me with that annoying look of confusion.

"Hello?" I could have strangled him. "Are you okay?" My fingers twitched.

Was I okay? Yes, but you might not be in about ten seconds.

"Why are you hiding in here?" He paused for a moment as my arms came up to cross my chest.

"I'm working."

"You haven't eaten dinner, yet," I argued. He straightened a bit in his chair, his dark eyes searching mine for some sort of answer that I wasn't giving him.

"You're mad because I haven't eaten, yet?" The tone of his voice showed clear disbelief. He shook his head. "Kai, I skip dinner all the time. What's your problem?"

Ignoring his own question, I asked mine again. "Why are you hiding in here?" Tilting his head back to look up at the ceiling, he ran a hand through his already tousled hair, sighing. I remained silent, waiting for some sort of answer. I was becoming so impatient after only seconds of his silence that I almost started tapping my foot like some pissed off mother.

"I have to send another group over to Vindicta tomorrow," he began. He lowered his gaze back down to mine, "and I don't want any other accidents like last time. It's a lot of planning, so if you're going to get pissed at me for trying to do my job then I suggest you get out."

I thought that was just the beginning of a bigger argument. I waited anxiously in our room for him to finally come in. I tried to go to bed but that turned into a staring contest with the ceiling and that turned to pacing in darkness. It was nearly midnight when Matteo returned. He opened the door quietly, assuming that I was asleep but gasped when he realized I wasn't. I suppose it was a bit creepy that I was doing laps around our room without a single light on.

"F--k, Kaia," he cursed, his hand coming up to his chest. I remained silent. I anticipated a shouting match to start, and I was waiting for him to open his dumb mouth first. "Go to bed. I'll be right back." My brows furrowed together as Matteo moved away into the bathroom. Flicking on the light, he shut the door behind him and left me standing alone.

"Hey," I called out, following him. I'll admit it. I was a little offended. I threw open the door. He had just taken off his shirt and thrown it to the floor. His body spun around to face me.

"What are you doing--" he started, but my attention was quickly drawn away from his words. Instead, I was focused on his glassy, red eyes. I quickly grabbed hold of his chin, pulling his face down to mine.

"Are you drunk?" Continuing to scrutinize his features, his cheeks were flushed. The untouched, olive skin under his eyes now seemed irritated and red.

"No," Matteo argued. He tried to pull away from my grasp on his face, but I refused to let that happen. Taking in a deep breath, the scent of alcohol was absent.

"Well, your eyes--they--" Realization hit me like a ton of bricks, and I shut my mouth faster than an activated mouse trap. The weight of guilt plopped itself onto my chest making me shrink away. I couldn't imagine what my mate looked like with a tear-stained face, but this was close enough. I didn't like it on him.

For the first time in a while, I wasn't the only one who had a difficult time sleeping. Matteo kept mumbling to himself and twitching. Thank god, he didn't toss and turn. His arms were wrapped around me like a rollercoaster seatbelt. If he rolled in any way, I would have gone with him. Never in all of our time together had Matteo ever held me that tightly. At one point, I tried to pull away for the smallest breath of fresh air and almost lost an arm in the process.

It was around four in the morning when Matteo woke up. I had just started to fall asleep, so to say that I was annoyed when he pulled away from me was a bit of an understatement. I cursed his bladder as he moped into our bathroom. However, I should have been thankful. As soon as I was able to reposition myself in the bed to where I was actually comfortable, I totally passed out. About three hours later, I woke up, still alone. Either Matteo was having some urinary troubles, or he jumped ship.

"Te?" I grunted tiredly. After about three minutes of silence and shouting Matteo's name in seven different ways, I came to the conclusion that Matteo was no longer in our room. With one final groan, I rolled out of bed, got ready for what I assumed was going to be was another stupid day, and moped downstairs.

The packhouse at seven a.m. is a very different vibe from the packhouse at eleven. At eleven, everyone is pretty much out and about or wrapped up in their own lives. However, at the asscrack-of-dawn o'clock, the halls were buzzing with people, and the kitchen had way more mouths to feed.

"Morning," I grumbled to the twenty-seven awkward 'Luna' nods that are supposed to count as a 'good morning' and a 'hello' and a 'please don't have the Alpha lynch us'. Taking a seat at the table, I snatched an apple from the fruit bowl in the center. I was still half-asleep, so the nervous glances from the pack members around me were easy to ignore. Another side effect from running on three hours of sleep was that it took me an hour and a half to eat my apple. By the time I hit core, I was slumped over the table, the left side of my face squished to its surface.

"I need him in this house. If he's not here, standing in front of me in the next ten minutes, I'll drag him in here with the claw marks in his neck to prove it." I should have grimaced at the idea of anyone having to endure the excruciating pain of claws digging into the flesh of their neck. However, I found myself more excited from the sound of the voice, leaving the meaning behind it with little importance to me.

Pushing myself up from the table, the chair screeched under the weight of my body. At some point, he must have come back into the packhouse through a side entrance or possibly even the back. I was tired, but there was no way I would have missed his massive form entering through the front door. I wasn't nearly that dumb.

As I made my way into the hallway, I could see the retreating form of my mate. I could have swooned and potentially started drooling at the way the muscles in his back flexed effortlessly through the black material of his t-shirt. It was definitely not the time for that, though. Forcing my mouth to make a move before my eyes did down to his ass, I shouted down the hall, bringing him to a dead stop.

"Excuse me, Alpha!" As his figure halted, the muscles in his back went rigid. I couldn't quite figure out if it was from surprise or irritation, but I settled on a little bit of both. He turned, staring me down from the other end of the hall. I was so consumed by staring at him that I hardly noticed the man standing next to him. "A word?"

He sighed. Rolling his head up and staring at the ceiling above us for a moment. I drew my eyebrows together wondering what about my question was confusing enough that he needed to think about it. "I'll meet you in my office," Matteo said to the man beside him. His voice was soft, but I could practically feel the vibrations of his vocal cords in my blood as he spoke. "If he's not there in ten minutes, I'll remove him from his position. Make sure he's aware."

"Yes, Alpha." Without another word on the subject, Matteo's little minion scurried off to his office. Walking in the opposite direction, Matteo took long strides toward me. It should have intimidated me. He was looking at me like a pissed off parent.

"What, Kai?" His arms crossed over his chest making him look especially bulky. If I had a little less composure, I might have done something a little hot and spontaneous. "I really don't have time to argue with you today." Sometimes it was a little turn on when Matteo stood over me and talked down to me. This, however, made me want to send my foot flying into his shin.

"Why do you assume I want to argue with you? I can't just be worried about you?" I argued. Matteo's face contorted in confusion.

"There's nothing to be worried about," he retorted. Feeling a little bit of my composure crumble, I couldn't stop myself from scoffing.

"You were crying last night." I could have sworn I saw every ounce of life drain from Matteo's face. He made quick work of scouting the area for anyone who could have possibly heard my life-changing declaration before snatching my hand with a bit too much force and pulling me out of the house. It was enough to be considered a shove, but he definitely used a bit of pent up irritation when he released me. I stumbled back a bit, bumping into the side of the house. "Uncalled for," I grunted as I rubbed the shoulder that hit the house.

"Do you really have to bring that up?" The color returned to his face, but he still continued monitoring the area around us for any eavesdroppers.

"Well, it's something to be worried about," I bit back. My hand was still planted on my shoulder. Realization must have hit him because his eyes softened. Sighing, he stepped forward, taking my face into his big, stupid hand. I tried squirming my way out, but it was no use. I didn't really want it to be.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you," he apologized, his tone soft but still laced with the slightest bit of irritation and impatience.

"Why were you crying?" The question was blunt as I completely ignored his apology. He sighed, defeated.

"I was drunk."

"No, you weren't. I know you when you're drunk."

"Kaia, please." He sounded tired like he'd been arguing with me for half of his life. Releasing my face from his grasp, he ran his hand through his hair. " I really don't have time for whatever little game you're playing--"

"Do you like having sex with me?" I don't know who was more confused. Myself for thinking that was a good time or way to ask if Matteo was sleeping with his little prison wife or Matteo who looked like I just told him he wasn't an actual human being. I did my best to not appear as confused as he did.

"Do I like having sex with you?" He repeated, making me feel just a little more stupid. I had thought of thousands of viable ways to ask Matteo if he was a little cheating whore. Why this one was the one to be asked was beyond me.

"Why do you have to think about it? It should be an easy question." His dark eyes watched me closely. I think he was waiting for me to start laughing or shout 'gotcha', but I already started digging this grave, so now I was committing to it.

"Yes?"

"More than anyone?"

"Kaia, what?" I could physically feel his impatience at that point. I wouldn't have been surprised if he literally threw me through the side of the house.

"Do you like having sex with me more than anyone else?" I repeated. The question must have taken a few seconds to register because he just stood there gaping at me like a dying fish.

"What does that even mean? You are the only person I have sex with!" He was clearly not finding anything about this conversation light-hearted and humorous. Which, I suppose, I should have liked, but he didn't need to get so aggressive.

"Are you sure?" Again, he stared at me like I was accusing him of something so absolutely unbelievable.

"Am I sure that I've never f--ked another woman?"

"Yes."

"Yes!" He shouted. The anger in his eyes coming to light as the blue became overwhelmed by darkness. Maybe I pushed the topic a bit too much.

Before I had the time to argue, his hand wrapped itself around the back of my neck. I didn't even have a moment to react before his lips were smothering my own. I was thankful that I didn't try opening my big mouth because I might have broken a tooth with the amount of force he used pulling me to him. Nevertheless, I melted into him for the few seconds that our lips met. Ending the euphoric moment before it really even began, he pulled away. His eyes were no longer absorbed by the darkness. Instead, a pair of beautiful blue orbs stared into my own.

"Kaia, listen to me when I say this. There is not a single soul that I put above your's, not even my own."

"I just--"

"No," he said, stopping me before I could ruin the almost nice moment. "I don't know what f--ked up thing you've imagined that I've done, but if it in any way involves you hurt or unhappy, get it out of your f--king head. Is that understood?" A cold feeling flooded the warmth in my veins. I wanted to believe what he was saying. I wanted to so badly that I just shut my mouth and nodded. "Good." He kissed my lips once more and walked into the house, leaving me standing alone.

I don't know what f--ked up thing you've imagined that I've done, but if it in any way involves you hurt or unhappy, get it out of your f--king head. Anyone could say that. It wasn't difficult for people to say things they didn't mean. Matteo wasn't a liar, though, and I had a difficult time believing that he would lie to me about my own safety and happiness. In my heart, I could imagine every person lying to me, but I could never see Matteo doing it with so little difficulty. This was a man that I questioned whether or not he even had his first kiss before me. Regardless, I was still unaware of the context behind his and Taylor's conversation, and it settled in my stomach like battery acid.

"Matteo!" I shouted, running back into the house. I shouted his name again as I rounded the corner and pushed open the door to his office, but was met by a dark room. Not a soul was inside, and the curtains were drawn making it seem much creepier than it needed to be. "God, he was just in here," I snarled to myself as I sunk into his office chair. "I don't even know where he would have gone." Dropping my head into my hands, my elbows propped themselves up on the desk. I was consumed in my own thoughts of where the oaf could have slipped away to in such a short amount of time when my eyes found themselves focusing on the words printed on the top page of a thick packet. LAND AGREEMENT. I couldn't help but laugh. Even when we were seconds away from dying at all times, Matteo was still trying to grow his territory, typical Alpha.

I pushed the packet to the side and found a handwritten note below it. I assumed it was a contract of some sort, but upon further investigation, I came to realize it was a letter. I could not, however, make out much of anything that it said. Cursive writing was beyond difficult for me to read, and Matteo's was no exception, especially when he wasn't writing it purposely neat for me.

Returning my attention back to the land agreement, I skimmed through the pages of boring words until I wandered across a makeshift map. At first, I thought I was just looking at our territory and whatever new additions were going to be made, but I found myself growing confused. I'd seen several maps of Caedes territory, and this one was no different from the rest. Flipping the page to the back, I was met with more words that I had no desire to read. With a sigh of irritation, I turned back to the map.

"Yep. That's it," I solidified to myself. "There's the west border, and the south, and the east, and the north." My finger traced around the states that Caedes occupied. It was a massive chunk of land, for sure. Drumming my fingers against the paper, I shook my head. In my head, land agreements were much more interesting than this. "Weird." I began turning the packet back to the front, but a set of words caught my eye on the second page.

'...the transfer of Caedes Territory...'

Not believing what I was reading, I brought the paper closer to my face. It was so close that if I started talking to myself with a little too much energy I might have accidentally licked the paper. I am aware that I wasn't exactly a walking dictionary, but I did know that a territory transfer was in no way a gain.

"This bitch," I thought out loud, not entirely believing what I was about to say. I looked up at the far wall ahead of me trying to think of any other reason this agreement could exist, "is preparing to sell his own land."

Maybe Matteo was a little more hopeless than I thought.

__________________

heavily unedited lmao hahahh oopsie

7/16/2020