38 Conflic

"That's none of your concern..." Xander growls and takes a step closer causing Liam to tighten his hold. I go limp in Liam's arms and say "Liam, I'm going to give you to the count of three to release me before I light your ass up like a Christmas tree."

Liam tenses before slowly releasing me. No doubt remembering the last time I shocked him. I step away and straighten my shirt as I say "I have business with Xander. I would appreciate it if you'd give me some space. I've known you for a whopping twelve hours." I reach into my pocket and pull out my keys.

I toss the keys to him and say "I'll talk to you when I get home." He catches the keys with ease but continues to stand there, glaring at Xander. They were nearly the same height but Xander carries an air of danger. Everything about him is lethal and I know without a doubt who would win in a fight.

Liam would no doubt fight to the death but that's not what I want... Liam finally moves and walks away without another word and without looking back. Xander stands still, even after Liam leaves. The first raindrops begin to fall as I bring my umbrella back up but Xander still stands without moving.

As the rain comes down harder, I slowly walk towards Xander and lift my umbrella. I hold the umbrella over both of us as I look up into his intense amber eyes. He watches my every move like he always does and says "Brother, huh?"

I give him a small bitter smile as I say "Yeeeah. A brother and a father..." He finally smirks a little as he says "Sounds like you've had a busy night." I snort out a short laugh as the rain falls harder and when I look back up to his eyes, I see that he's watching me with a genuine smile.

"I really needed that laugh... I don't know why you're here but I'm happy you are." I say with a warm smile. He reaches up and lightly touches my cheek as he says "I saw your car heading this way and whenever you need me, call me and I'll come running. No matter how far.."

I sober up a little and ask "Has there been any shifter deaths?" I see something flicker in his eyes before he sighs and says "You're always about business... Yes, I've had five confirmed deaths and three missing. I've called a meeting with a few of the closer pack leaders so there will be a larger population of shifters for the time being."

My thoughts go back to my brother and father and I suddenly understand why they were here. I slowly nod my head as Xander leans forward and takes a deep breath of me. I lean back a little and frown at him as he says "My beast doesn't like the other Alpha's scent on you..."

My frown deepens as I say "He's my brother." Xander stands straight and says "Half brother. There are some similarities in your scents but because you don't share the same mother... it's not completely the same. I know he's your half brother and you'd never do anything with him but my beast doesn't like it. It makes him uneasy because you still..."

He stops mid-sentence, making me smirk as I finish for him "Because I still haven't taken your mark and allowed you to claim me as yours?" He keeps his mouth shut as he nods his head once and looks away. His control always amazes me...

"I'm sorry about your pack members..." I say thinking back to all the deaths and quickly realizing this is much bigger than I had originally thought. He sighs and says "That's nothing for you to apologize for. I have a meeting later today but would you like to go to dinner after?"

I smile and almost say yes until I suddenly remember my plans with Ambrose. My smile slightly falters when I suddenly hear "Eris?" I almost laugh when I turn to see Harris standing in the rain with a small grey umbrella.

I turn to look at him and ask "Harris? What's wrong?" He nervously looks over to Xander before saying "I was wanting to make sure you were okay and... I need to speak with you. In private." I try to keep the smile off my face as I say "I'm perfectly fine. Thanks for asking and... yeah. I'll head over to the police station in an hour. Is that okay?"

He nods his head and nods again to Xander before turning around and walking away. "Why is everyone finding me today? Maybe I should find another park to walk in..." I say as I watch him walk away. Xander sighs and says "I guess we'll have to put dinner off for tonight. How about tomorrow?"

I quickly nod my head and say "That's perfect." He smiles down at me and looks at his watch before saying "I have to go and get things in place before the meeting. Can I see your phone?" I quickly pull my phone out and hand it to him and watch as he puts his number in.

His phone starts to vibrate before he hangs it up and hands me my phone back with a small smile. I'll call you tomorrow..." He says slowly backing up into the rain. I nod my head and watch as the heavy rain quickly soaks his dark black hair and dark grey shirt.

I struggle to keep my eyes on his amber eyes and not his chest that was quickly becoming more and more visible in the heavy rain. He smirks at me and my knees nearly buckle! He turns around and quickly walks away, leaving me standing all alone in the rain under my black umbrella.

The rain around me starts to slow as I stand there with my heart racing. When I finally notice the rain, I snap out of it and watch as the rain returns to normal. That was new... but the things I was feeling were also new...