Konstantin: The Heartless Beta novel Chapter 7

Lily

Oh, God, I’m in trouble, especially with the way he sounded over the link. He’s pissed off with me for putting him on the spot in front of Zephyr; I know he is.

But why meet me in the woods behind the old mansion? Shaking my head, I train my ears and search for him by scent, leading me to a small clearing about a mile from the mansion. “Konstantin?” I call out, not seeing him at all, but then a pair of silver eyes meet my gaze, and Konstantin saunters out in his wolf form.

I’ve always admired the Volkov wolves with their large frames, obsidian fur and powerful forms. Where Kai was a hulking mass of power, Konstantin was more lithe, even if he was twice my wolf’s size.

“Why have you called for me?” I ask, still confused as to why I am here. Konstantin snarls, bearing his teeth, then shifts back into his human form - and I gasp.

I’ve seen him naked before, plenty of times after we’ve hunted together. It always gives me a thrill because Konstantin has a beautiful body. Athletic and lithe, with taut, rippling muscles. He wasn’t too brawny like Kai and not overly bulky - just utter perfection. The tattoos gave him that extra bit of sexiness and made him seem dangerous.

But there’s something different about him tonight, something primal as he stalks over to me with his silver eyes flashing. He’s angry, I can tell that, but he’s also… hurting?

“You… You wanted to see….” I stutter as he comes to a stop in front of me, his scent taking my breath away once again.

I meet his unrelenting stare, and I have to take a step back to put some distance between us. “Konsta-”

“You came knowing I am angry, but now you can’t handle it? I thought you were a warrior, Lilith,” he says, shooting me a venomous look. The only time he calls me by my first name is when he’s really pissed off with me, and he’s only done it twice before in over ten years with him.

“I am a warrior; you should know this better than anybody; I just didn’t expect to encounter you half-naked out here,” I say, struggling to string two coherent sentences together. His scent is overwhelming to the point of dizziness. But as I try to level out my breathing, something occurs to me…

“Are you doing that on purpose right now? Are you scenting me?!” I ask, horrified at my realisation and take another tentative step backwards. A grin spreads across his face, causing his silver eyes to glow even more, so I reach out to slap him.

Obviously, he stops me.

“What the fuck, Konstantin! Why would you do that when I told you that I have a mate? What the hell is wrong with you?!” I ask, trying to pull my wrist out of his grip but failing. “You’re acting like a child right now!”

He gives me a dark chuckle and shakes his head. “You’re the child here, not me,” he says in a low voice, letting go of my wrist.

Something in me gives, and before he can react, I slap him across his face and push him backwards. “I’m the child here?! Who is the one always stopping you from making stupid decisions? Who’s always stopping you from engaging in fights you know won’t have a good outcome?!” I ask, pushing him backwards and feeling the anger coiling in my stomach.

“And who is the one who left me alone all evening with an Alpha known to be cruel?”

He scoffs and rolls his eyes. “You’re my second in command. You would have been able to look after yourself if he had to try something. Not that it looked like you hated the attention, though.” He says, holding my gaze for a moment then walking away.