Chapter 5

5. A Hot Brew

YILEYNA

The rain continued to beat down upon us, washing away most of the mud that had splashed in my face.

He reached up, brushing my dirty hair back from my face, my eyes fluttered shut under his touch, a
touch that I welcomed…

A wave of relief washed over me. Theon was many things; mocking, aloof, cold and arrogant, but he
was not a monster.

“It seems you can’t stay out of trouble for even a moment.” He murmured quietly before his eyes
sharply snapped to the two men who stood a mere few feet away.

“You should leave, don’t interfere where it’s not your business.” Nikolai’s cocky voice came from
behind.

The gold flash in Theon’s eyes made my heart skip a beat, even if the rest of his face remained
emotionless, the anger I saw in those eyes… for me. My stomach fluttered, before Theon moved me
behind him.

“As warriors of the pack, it’s a nice example to set.”

“This has nothing to do with you. Leave. You saw nothing.” Kyson added coldly.

I stared at the back of Theon’s head as I crossed my arms over my breasts, hugging myself.

“I saw enough to take this back to the Alpha.” Theon stepped forward and both men tensed.



I frowned as realisation hit me. They weren’t scared of Theon, but the fact that he may be the future
Beta… How rank made you everything or nothing…

The two exchanged looks, mind linking before they glared at me coldly. The silent promise that this was
not over was clear in their eyes. Both men walked past us, only for Theon to grab Nikolai by the collar
and punch him across the jaw.

“What the actual fuck?!” Nikolai hissed, clutching his face as he stumbled back.

“Touch her again, and I will kill you.” Theon replied, his voice dangerous and cold.

Both men walked off but Theon turned towards me. I suddenly felt very bare, despite having paraded in
front of him only yesterday… Today was different, I suddenly felt dirty and used, the sheer weight of
what could have happened crashing down on me. I turned my back on him, not wanting him to see the
vulnerable state I was in.

The fear that rattled me, my entire body was beyond the point of exhaustion. I gasped when I felt his
fingers brush my upper back. I bit my lip when he tugs a lint of wool from me.

The silence between us was loud, but I had nothing to say today. My heart thudded when I felt the
warmth of his jacket being placed around my shoulders, his scent invading my senses, I closed my
eyes. Despite the intensity of the comfort it brought me, the sheer reality that I was now a no one…
pretty much alone in this world, hit me hard.

My parents were dead… I couldn’t uphold the De’Lacor name and I had no one…

You have Charlene and Theon… I tried to tell myself, but did I?

“Let’s get out of here.” His voice came and I nodded, clutching the jacket around me tightly as he
turned away.



To my surprise, he took hold of my wrist, glancing at my bruised hands, a frown creasing his brow as
he led me away. I looked at his large hand wrapped around the sleeve of his leather jacket, my heart
skipping a beat.

He had saved me…

‘Theon may become Beta…’

I glanced up at him sharply, wondering how true that was. Did he know?

I was so lost in thought that I didn’t even realise we had come to a stop. He pushed open the door to
the small cabin.

“Where are we?” I asked,

“My place.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“You live at the castle…”

“I have a room at the castle, but this is mine.” He corrected, looking over at me. I realised that I had
actually never been here… But how much did I really know about Theon? Not much, he didn’t really
share, nor did I bother to ask. “Are you planning on letting the rain continue to flood the place?”

I blinked and quickly stepped out of the doorway, about to shut it when he leaned over me, snapping it
shut.

My heart skipped a beat as he flipped the light on and I took a good look around me. It was simple and
clean, with a small kitchen area and a table with two chairs was standing to one side. On the other side



a two-seater sofa was opposite the fireplace, with a coffee table before it and two large bookshelves on
either side of the fireplace.

Two doors led off the room, most likely to the bedroom and bathroom.

Theon walked across the room and through one of the doors, I peered inside, seeing the edge of a bed
from where I stood. I turned away, glancing up at the ceiling with the wooden beams and the iron
filigree light shades, I had to admit the place looked very cosy.

His scent lingered in the air, I wonder how much time he spent here? I looked down at the mud we had
stained the ground with, and slowly stepped out of my boots, not wanting to spread the mud and water
everywhere. I clutched Theon’s jacket around me.

Must I give it back?

“Go shower.”

I looked up as Theon stepped out of his room, holding a shirt and some sweatpants. His clothes.

“Thanks,” I replied, walking over to him. I took the clothes gingerly, careful not to dirty them.

“Wear the shirt back to front, I’ll check your back over.” He said just when I turned away, making me
freeze.

Check my back? He was going to check it?

“I don’t need-”

“It’s that or we go to the royal healer, take your pick.” He cut in coldly.

I frowned. What happened wasn’t something I wanted others to know, it wasn’t going to help my case
in any way and the rumours would spread fast.



I entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind me and hung the clean clothes up on the peg behind
the door, before I took his jacket off, mud-covered the lining and I felt guilty.

I’ll rinse them off once I had rinsed the mud off myself I decided.

I turned the showerhead on and placed my hand under it, waiting for the water to warm and quickly
stripped out of my clothes, carefully placing my panties aside. They weren’t as wet as the rest of my
clothes and I needed to wear them. I stepped into the tub and under the water, welcoming the warmth
of the hot water, letting it soothe my aching bones.

Once I had soaped myself clean and realised that I smelt a little like Theon thanks to his body wash, I
stepped out of the shower and grabbed one of his towels. I dried myself quickly and then walked over
to my muddy clothes, dumping them into the tub I had just gotten out of and quickly felt inside of
Theon’s jacket pockets. Taking out a few explosive enchantments and two small daggers, I placed
them aside and dumped his jacket into the bath too. Scanning the bathroom, I looked in the drawer
under the washbasin but didn’t find any washing powder.

I guess he took his clothes to the castle to have washed, Omegas or the human staff would usually do
all the chores like this and someone of Theon’s status would have one or two Omegas attending to him
personally, that I was sure of.

Remembering what Nikolai said made a pang of jealousy flood inside of me. Theon was a young man,
one who would obviously have needs… did he have Omegas for his sexual desires? Or maybe he
visited The White Dove.

A deep frown settled on my face as my thoughts got darker and darker. After wringing out the clothes, I
draped them over the edge of the tub and towelled myself dry before slipping my panties on. My body
was screaming with exhaustion and the urge to just curl up into a ball and go to sleep threatened to
consume me.



I examined the pants before pulling them on, tying them tightly by the drawstring at my waist. Last of all
the shirt, I slip it on backwards, flinching slightly as I reached behind and closed one button.

I looked at my bruised hands and sighed, picking out a few splinters before I clutched the towel and
stepped out of the bathroom. I looked around, noticing the curtains were drawn, the lights were
switched on, the floor was clean from all the mud and water, and both our shoes stood by the front
door, clean. The hearth was lit with a blazing fire that warmed the entire room up.

I looked over at Theon who was pouring what smelt like coffee into two mugs. I couldn’t resist a small
smile from crossing my lips, I don’t think I had ever seen Theon do anything so… ordinary? I wasn’t
sure if it was the right word, but he still looked far too handsome whilst doing something like that.

He glanced at me, raising an eyebrow and I shook my head quickly, turning away, trying not to blush. I
went over to the sofa and took a seat staring at the shelves. Most looked like history books, although
there were some training ones and others on other subjects.

“Don’t be nosy.” He remarked, placing the two mugs on the table, and I took a moment to drink up his
muscular biceps.

Oh Goddess this man is made to sin… May I be the subject of that sin?

I frowned at the thought, remembering the incident with Nikolai.

“Drink it whilst it’s warm.” He said, taking a seat on the sofa, and I suddenly became very aware that
this was the first time we were in a private place, alone.

I reached for the mug, my arms screaming with agony, when he grabbed hold of my wrist, pulling me
back.



“Are you simply stupid, or incredibly reckless?” He raised an eyebrow, giving me a cold gaze. My heart
skipped a beat when he took my hand in his, using the other hand to feel my bones, cricking a few as
he went. I bit my lip at one point, trying not to pay attention to the tingles that danced up my hand and
arm at his touch. He dropped my hand, taking the other and picked out a few pieces of wood that my
body hadn’t automatically rejected.

“Ouch.” I winced when he pulled out a thin piece of splinter that was embedded in my finger.

He glanced up at me, before he let go of my hand.

“You didn’t answer that question.”

“I didn’t realise it was a question.” I replied. Reaching over I grabbed the mug, the shirt I was wearing
slid off my shoulder, and I placed my free hand on my chest, moving back slowly. I inhaled the milky
coffee, relishing the smell before I took a sip.

Theon had made coffee. For me…

Oh, I couldn’t wait to tell Charlene, wait can I tell her this? No, if she knew what happened she wouldn’t
be happy…

I sipped the coffee, enjoying the silence as Theon picked up his own mug and downed it in a few gulps
making my eyes widen.

“Wasn’t that hot?” I asked in surprise.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Not for me. I can handle the heat; we aren’t all babies.”

His mocking arrogant tone made me narrow my eyes.



“I am not a baby…”

“No… maybe not… Want to share exactly how stuff went down that path?” He asked, the mood
darkening instantly.

I shook my head. I didn’t know what to say. How do you tell someone you didn’t even do anything
wrong or anything to instigate that?

Nikolai’s words were spinning in my head, only adding to the exhaustion I was feeling.

‘…Aren’t even Beta Williams’s own blood… Theon might be taking the Beta title…’

“Turn around.”

His command pulled me from my thoughts, and I glanced down at the white shirt that was covering me,
before staring into his eyes. A glint of something I couldn’t make out flickered in them, but his gaze
didn’t falter, as if challenging me to refuse. I clutched the shirt tightly and slowly turned my back
towards him, holding my mug steadily with both hands now.

I bit my lip, trying to ignore my hammering heart that I knew he could hear too. I stared down at my
mug as I felt him tug on the shirt slightly as he undid the button. His eyes were burning into me and my
stomach fluttered as the shirt fell open, revealing my back to him.

His heart was steady, and I wondered why he had such an effect on me?

I hissed when he pulled the first of the splinters from my back.

“You have a few, and you’ve begun healing, embedding them into your skin.”

“Great.”

“Hold still.”



I rolled my eyes, I was still!

My eyes flew open when his hand went to my waist, gripping it tightly, sending a strong jolt of pleasure
through me.

Goddess, don’t let him hear my heartbeat.

He pulled out another splinter, making me flinch as a sharp stab of pain shot up my back.

“That one was deep.”

I nodded, unable to focus with his hand still gripping my waist.

Goddess…

His touch was like a drug, intoxicating and dangerous yet so so… tempting and made me feel all
lightheaded.

I felt a trickle of fresh blood drip down my back and Theon’s thumb brush it up, igniting a trail of sparks
in his wake.

“Perfect.”

I turned just in time to see him lick the blood off his thumb, making my stomach flip and my core throb
with a desire that he alone could ignite. His gaze flickered to mine and those intense amber eyes fell to
my lips and then I heard it, the slight change to the beat of his heart…


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