His words elicited a full-body shiver at the thought of him taking her. But although his words whispered to a sensual spot needing for release, she kept herself composed. She would not be controlled by him or her sexual desire to have him; if she did not agree with something, then she was not going to sit by and be quiet. 

Aila turned and faced him, her body flat against the door from the small space he gave her. She met his eyes; her own reflected fiercely as she stared back, challengingly as she tilted her chin up, “If you think not giving me an orgasm will bend me to your will, then you have another thing coming, Alpha,” She mocked the word Alpha just so she could see his eyes glow and lure his wolf out. She pushed off the door, watching Damon’s form begin to bristle as he took a step away from her while he tried to keep Darius under control. 

Aila took another step closer, and he grabbed her waist roughly, pulling her into his hard chest with a snarl leaving his lips. The vibration of his voice and the feel of his hands on her waist made her secretly yearn for more, but she had a point to prove. Reaching out, she put her hand along his jaw, which quietened the beast within him as his chest vibrated in approval. 

With her hand still there, she spoke quietly and gazed into his molten silver orbs, “I have been kidnapped, tortured and put through two excruciating days of wolfsbane injections. You’ll have to work harder than that to get me to submit to you,” A growl erupted from his lips as he brought his head closer to hers, a menacing look behind his eyes as they darkened. 

Aila went on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “If you want me to submit, you have to earn my respect. So far..” She stepped back and slapped him lightly on the cheek, “You have not earned it.” She growled loudly, her eyes glowing. She turned abruptly on her heel, taking advantage of the shock on his face by hurrying towards the door again. 

As she opened the door, Aila heard a low growl vibrate through the walls and Damon replied, “You need to learn how to be a werewolf first before you talk to me about respect.” 

Aila looked back over her shoulder at him, a retort on her lips, but she bit her tongue after seeing the state she was leaving him in. His fists were balled by his sides, shaking, as his eyes glowed and became darker, but before she took another step out of the room, she also saw admiration on his face. Leaving the door wide open, Aila walked off at a leisurely pace, putting on a show that she was not fazed by his actions or his words. But as she continued down the hallway, she couldn’t help but sigh in relief after not hearing his footsteps following her.

Her heart had been pummelling against her chest the whole time as she faked her confidence and put strength behind her words. Slapping Damon was spontaneous, and she couldn’t believe she done it and got away with it. But Aila hoped her words didn’t go on deaf ears, and he considered what she said. 

Aila’s steps echoed while she descended the stairs; her intention was to go to the library like she wanted to that morning. 

“That was so risky. You are lucky he is our mate,” Malia sputtered, shocked herself at what Aila said. 

“At the moment, I am not sure if that makes a difference. He seems to want me to behave,” Aila replied to her wolf as self-doubt began to eat at her. 

Malia scoffed, “Yeah, the punishment was brutal!” 

Aila’s lips twitched at the thought of intentionally getting in trouble. But then she realised she would most likely do it without intention. It was, after all, in her blood not to follow orders. Her eyes lit up at the thought of what else he might do to her, although her body was still yearning for him to release the tension she felt in her core now. Maybe she could be good once and get a quick release- 

“Make up your mind! Either be a boss and set your own rules or be good and be rewarded for it,” Malia exclaimed, her patience thinning at Aila’s whirling thoughts.

She sighed as she turned the corner she stopped at earlier before panic hit her like a ton of bricks. Realisation dawned on her, she was now sharing a room with Damon, and she had slapped him.

“Twice now, actually,” Malia said joyfully. She had no problem with them going back to the room later; it meant they were back with their mate. Aila groaned in response to her stupidness, but she knew she could not hide from him. One, because it was a coward’s way out and two because she knew he would find her.

Shaking off her gloomy thoughts, she continued down the hallways towards the library, this time without any interruptions from a certain somebody. She wondered what happened to Lydia but quickly brushed the thought off as jealousy slapped her like a wicked whip. Aila really needed to get her priorities straight; her emotions were like a rollercoaster, and the cart just flew off it. She could not keep up with them.

Aila made it to the far end of the mansion and slowed her steps when she saw the double doors to the library. A feeling of nostalgia washed over her as she traced the delicate carving in the wooden doors with her finger. She was happy to see that they did not change this part of the house. Unlike the rest of the building that was modern, these doors were from the 17th century. Although they were old, they aged well and were looked after. 

Aila remembered asking her father how old it was while she sat on his shoulders as a young girl. She smiled gently at the memory and pushed the doors open, making them creak loudly in the enormous library. Aila inhaled deeply, relishing the old book smell mixed with incense that always seemed to emanate the air. She walked further into the serene room she held a lot of love for.

The high ceilings had a magnificent painting spread across the entirety of the room with a chandelier that hung in the middle that was also exquisite but did not steal the limelight from the ceiling. When Aila looked back down, she saw the large stone fireplace in front of two leather sofas and the infamous armchair from her memories. She was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling shelves of books, and to the far right was a spiral staircase that led to another floor with rows of books.

Aila’s shoulders relaxed as she felt her worries disintegrate as pure happiness filled her. After taking a moment to look at the library’s grandness and reminisce about a few memories that came to mind, she released a breath and walked to the nearest bookshelf. She was not sure where to begin, there were so many books, but she needed to know about the pack basics, rogues, the Moon Goddess and the mate bond. 

Aila rubbed her fingers against her temples by the thought of how much she needed to learn. She was still processing what her dad told her a few days back about the Cross family history and the werewolves. Let alone the little checklist she now needed to tick off. 

“Stop whining and get to work,” Malia commanded; her excitement spurred Aila on to find out more about themselves. 

Suddenly, the door flung open, and Darren waltzed inside, his arrogance filled the air and immediately made Aila frown, but she composed herself and smiled kindly at the man. In return, he scowled and stood off to the side, his arms folded. 

Okay, that’s odd.

She ignored him and continued searching each shelf on the first bookcase. When she couldn’t see anything specific on the above criteria, she moved onto the next bookcase. A loud crunching sound interrupted the peaceful quiet Aila had become accustomed to. She tensed at the sound and turned around, immediately clenching her teeth together when she saw Darren eating some crisps. Her eyes followed one that didn’t make it to his mouth and fell to the floor.

Her eyes hardened when she saw him do nothing and accidentally step his foot on it as he made his way to the bin on the side. Aila watched him return to his position, disregarding the crisp on the floor. Her eyes burned into his head, making him snap his head in her direction, “What?” His annoyed voice irked her.

“What are you doing here, Darren?” She asked him in a strained polite voice.

“Alpha Damon has asked me to guard you,” He spat, as though it was a waste of his time. His eyes travelled the length of her body before tutting and shaking his head. Aila blanked at how he openly disrespected her and her body, was the man that stupid to look down on her in her own home?

“Obviously is,” Malia growled, her immediate instinct was to attack him, but Aila intervened the violent ideas running through her wolf’s mind, “We need his help. You can attack him after.”

Malia unwillingly agreed but only because the books were more important than putting a mutt in his place. 

“Well, seeing as you aren’t doing anything important… Mind telling me where I can find all books to do with werewolves,” Aila’s voice was stern as she looked at him.

He snorted at her question and pointed to the second floor, “Up there. Can’t believe you have to research about your own kind. And you expect me to follow you and your orders?”

Aila turned her back on him, hiding how much her face heated up from both embarrassment and anger. 

“Who does this guy think he is?” Malia growled Aila’s thoughts.

“Well, unfortunately, I did not have the pleasure of growing up with the knowledge of my origin-“

“Boohoo! Who cares? I told you where it is, now let me stand here in peace,” Darren interrupted as he leaned up against the far wall closest to the doors. 

Aila refrained from throwing a book at him; she didn’t want the book to be damaged for his idiocy. Instead, she growled loudly at him as she made it to the top of the stairs, “Clean the floor up. This isn’t a cafeteria.”

“We have maids for that.”

“I’ve asked you. Now do it,” Aila’s voice boomed across the room as she looked down at him from the wooden balcony bars she stood behind.

He opened his mouth to argue, but her eyes glowed, causing his mouth to shut immediately, and without another word, he left the room. A smug smile replaced the hard look on her face from dealing with Darren. She did not know why he had such an issue with her, but she would learn the pack politics and figure out if there is a reason or if he was just a jerk. 

Shrugging, she went back to scanning the shelves, and immediately her face lit up when she saw a whole row on werewolf origins and basics. Who would have known that everything she needed to learn would be inside the leather-bound books left in the library?