Chapter 9: Twenty Questions. Round 2, Part 2

VALEN’S POV

She didn’t appear to be perturbed by my answer—threat. Only curiously contemplative. And I wondered, not for the first time since she’d appeared, just what was going on inside her head.

I didn’t like puzzles, and even though I’d been dealing with the same one for over two years with no solution in sight, I was more frustrated at being unable to solve the puzzle that was sitting in front of me at that moment.

She didn’t react the way I expected of her to anything I said or didn't say. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for how swiftly her emotions changed. She became angry at the most insignificant things yet seemed completely unbothered by the things that would upset most people.

I didn’t understand half her ramblings sometimes. But couldn’t completely stem my fascination with wanting to. I didn’t yet sense any artifice from her, but I still wasn’t simply going to rule her out as an immediate suspect. She could be either a very good actress or…she was exactly who she claimed to be.

I rejected the idea immediately. Again.

My wolf had been suspiciously silent on the issue, which fueled my frustration. As far as I knew, most wolves recognized their mate very quickly, yet mine had neither accepted nor rejected Zira’s claim of being our mate. He had seemed agitated last night when I had seen the bloody scratches on her wrist.

If I were being honest with myself, I hadn’t liked the sight of her discomfort much either. And today...both man and beast had been equally displeased at seeing her standing that close to Ezra. I had been irritated at the very sight of her close to another man, then twice as irritated at myself that I had allowed it to bother me at all.

I didn’t like Zira.

Whatever she was, she was a distraction I didn’t need. I needed to solve her, so I could safely put her out of my life for good.

“Are you attracted to me?” her soft voice filtered through my thoughts.

My body stiffened.

I didn’t like her voice.

Her incessant curiosity annoyed me to no end.

Her predilection for asking random questions wasn’t the least bit endearing.

No. I didn’t like Zira one bit.

“No,” I responded to her question, ensuring my face retained its bored expression.

Zira didn’t seem offended by my answer. Instead, she smiled. In a knowing way that implied she didn’t believe me. I didn’t like her smile. It was much too confident and suggested she knew more than she let on.

“What about me do you like—I mean, ‘not like’— the most?” Zira asked.

My eyes narrowed. “You ask too many questions.”

She tossed me a glare of her own. And I didn't find it the least bit adorable.

“It’s a question game, Valen,” she reminded me.

I didn’t like the way she said my name. It was too intimate. No one had called me Valen since I’d become Alpha.

“I was answering your question. That’s what I find the least attractive about you,” I told her.

“Oh.”

No. Not adorable at all. I didn’t like how in one breath she sounded all-knowing, yet in the next, she seemed so innocently silly.

“I meant physically,” she clarified.

“You weren’t specific. Should I count that as another question?”

“Fine. Count it as another question. Which part of me do you find the most ‘unattractive’?” she pressed. Zira created air quotes for the word unattractive and I decided I didn’t like that either.

I looked at her carefully, not that I needed to. I’d memorized every physical detail about her. I didn’t like the indecisive color of her eyes. Last night, the brown hazel color had boasted flecks of gold, yet in the light of day, hints of green had appeared where they had been absent before. Her eyes mirrored her personality in a way. Ever changing.

There was a tiny black dot at the corner of her left eye that was apparent when she looked at me with that wide curious stare but vanished in the fine creases that appeared when she smiled. She smiled too often, and I disliked that as well. In different ways, I’d noticed.

Mockingly. Teasingly. Excitedly. Smugly.

The thought of her smiling brought my attention to her lips. I quickly forced my gaze away before his thoughts wandered. I disliked the fact that she was capable of causing my thoughts to wander.

My gaze drifted over the slender column of her neck to the gentle slope of her shoulders. My brows wrinkled.

She looked…delicate. Much too delicate to be an Alpha’s mate. I had felt her toned limbs under me last night, and the surprising strength when she’d landed her surprise kick, but there was only so much damage a person that small could do if she went up against a skilled opponent.

I shifted in my chair uncomfortably at the memory of the feel of her beneath me. I didn’t like the fact that despite my anger and her abuse of my balls, my body had reacted to her. A fact that she’d thankfully seemed unaware of.

“Why are you taking so long to answer? It wasn’t even that hard of a question.”

“I was thinking,” I told her honestly. “As for your other question, that’s none of your business.”

I saw she was going to respond but changed her mind. Probably remembering she’d allowed earlier that ‘none of your business’ was an acceptable response to any question she asked.

She was silent for a few seconds, appearing to think of another question. “What happened last night?” she asked.

I relaxed at her question. I had wondered how long she would take to return to that line of questioning. She’d held out much longer than I’d anticipated. And this was the whole reason I’d decided to play this silly game.

“One of my soldiers on patrol located another body on pack territory, close to the barrier.”

I watched her features closely as I relayed this information. Her expression was the perfect blend of surprise, confusion, and concern. With every second that ticked by, I became more and more convinced that she might not be a part of this conspiracy, at least not knowingly. And that meant there was a greater possibility that she was actually who she said.

And I wasn’t quite sure which was worse.

“A shifter died? Someone who wasn’t a pack member? You said another, meaning this wasn’t the first time. How many times has this happened? When did it start?” Zira quizzed, the words falling from her lips quickly. She was practically out of her seat by the time she’d asked her last question.

She had no self-control as far as I could tell. She was lacking in the qualities of a Luna all around. Not that I was concerned. Whether she possessed the qualities of a Luna or not was inconsequential since I had no intention of making her mine.

“I can only answer two more questions. Which will they be?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You get twenty questions. You asked four just now, bringing your total to twenty-two. I can only answer two.”

Her brows wrinkled. “No need to be so fanatic about the rules.”

“I thought you appreciated rules,” I countered resolutely.

“Fine. Can we play again after your turn is up?”

I thought about her suggestion. I intended to say no. I didn’t even require twenty questions to get the answers I needed from her either way, but when I imagined her being disappointed by my refusal, what came out of my mouth was, “Not today.”

I didn’t examine my need to prevent her disappointment too closely.

She nodded in acceptance of my answer, and said, “You can answer the last two.”

“This is the sixth time so far. It started two years ago.”

The concern returned to her features. “Two years ago…” she repeated in contemplation, mostly to herself. “That’s when the dreams stopped.”

I frowned. “What dreams?”

A smile stretched across her face. “My dreams about you.”