Nathan’s POV
I couldn’t explain the anger boiling inside me as I banged on Callum’s apartment door.
When Hailee said she was with him—just casually, like it was nothing—something snapped in me. A possessive feeling surged through my chest, wild and out of control.
I tried to be rational. I really did. But different, slippery scenarios buzzed through my head, each one more maddening than the last.
I imagined her in his arms.
I imagined him kissing her—tasting those lips I just had not long ago.
I imagined him pulling her onto his bed, her fiery hair splayed across his pillow, while he touched her like she was his.
My fists curled tight at my sides.
No. She wasn’t his. She couldn’t be.
She was mine—even if I never said it, even if I kept pretending otherwise. No one else could touch her. Especially not him.
I banged on the door again, louder. "Hailee! Open the fucking door!"
No response.
My jaw tightened as I growled low in my throat. If Callum laid even a finger on her—if he dared to—
The door handle rattled.
Finally, it cracked open, and there she was.
Hailee.
Hair a little messy. Cheeks flushed. Lip caught between her teeth like she’d been biting it nervously.
And behind her...
Callum stood.
Looking way too calm.
Too smug.
I took one step forward, my eyes burning straight into hers. "What the hell are you doing here?"
She opened her mouth, but I cut her off, my voice harsh. "You’re a library keeper, not his housemaid."
"I’m his guide, Nathan," she snapped, arms folding across her chest. "He asked for help and I—"
"You’re his guide in school," I spat. "Not in his bed."
Her brows shot up. "Excuse me?"
I glanced past her at Callum again, then back at her. "Just one day, Hailee. One fucking day, and you’re already in his apartment. Cooking for him. Playing house. What’s next—sharing a bed?"
Callum stepped closer, jaw clenched. "Back off, man."
I ignored him. My attention was on her, and only her.
"Are you that desperate for a man?" I hissed, my words sharp and cruel before I could stop them. "You should’ve fucking told me. As your Alpha, I would’ve pinned you to the wall and fucked you myself."
The second the words left my mouth, I regretted them. But it was too late.
Her hand cracked across my face before I even saw it coming.
Slap.
The sting burned instantly. My head snapped slightly to the side, my jaw tightening with the impact. Not from pain—no, from the shock.
I’d just been slapped.
By a woman.
By an Omega.
I growled low, the sound rumbling deep from my chest as I slowly turned my face back to her. Rage twisted in my gut—but not at her. At myself. At how much she mattered to me. At how much it hurt seeing her in someone else’s space.
But I didn’t lash out. I didn’t yell.
Instead, I met her eyes and said, calm and deadly, "You’re coming with me."
"Like hell she is," Callum snapped, stepping forward.
I shifted my gaze to him, my eyes narrowing. "You seem to forget something, Callum," I said coldly. "This is my pack. My land. I’m the future Alpha. You? You’re just a guest. Don’t test my patience... unless you want me to break your bones and send you crawling back to wherever you came from."
Callum’s wolf rose behind his eyes. He growled, low and threatening, like he was seconds from launching at me.
But Hailee stepped between us before anything exploded.
"I’m going with him," she said, sounding like she was forced.
I looked down at her, surprised. Callum looked stunned too.
She didn’t wait for either of us to speak. She turned on her heel and walked back inside, grabbing her bag from the kitchen.
I stood there, jaw clenched, heart pounding.
Callum’s eyes met mine. "What? You like her now?"
I growled. "Stay away from her," I said darkly.
He stared me down. "You have no right to tell me that... she is nothing to you."
She came back out, not looking at either of us.
Without waiting for a reply, I turned and walked off. I didn’t check if she followed—I knew she would.
We got into my car, and I started the engine without saying a word. The silence was heavy—so heavy I could barely breathe.
She didn’t speak either.
Hailee just sat there, staring out the window, her fingers curled tightly in her lap. She didn’t look at me once.
And somehow... that hurt more than her slap.
My jaw clenched around the guilt that crawled through me. My words must’ve hurt her. I knew they did.
But I hadn’t meant them—not like that.
I wasn’t angry because I thought she was loose. She wasn’t. She had never been. Any other girl could’ve done what I accused her of. But not Hailee.
Not my Hailee.
She wasn’t like the others.
That was what made it worse. That was what made it so difficult to control myself when it came to her. Every time she looked at someone else—talked to someone else—I felt this irrational, consuming rage. Like she was already slipping out of my hands.
I opened my mouth a few times, trying to speak... trying to apologize.
But nothing came out.
What the hell could I even say?
Sorry for treating you like something I owned? For sounding like I hated you when the truth is... I always wanted you?
I gripped the steering wheel tighter and kept driving.
We reached the pack house and I stopped the car.
Without a word, she unbuckled her seatbelt, got out, and shut the door behind her.
She didn’t even look back.
I watched her walk away, her shoulders stiff, her hair catching the wind like a flame. She vanished inside the building, and I sat there for another minute, my heart pounding against my ribs.
Eventually, I forced myself out of the car and followed.
The inside of the library was quiet, like nothing had happened.
And there she was.
Seated at her desk.
Calm. Composed. Like our fight hadn’t even happened.
Like she hadn’t just slapped the future Alpha across the face.
Her eyes didn’t rise when I entered. She flipped open a large, dusty book, pretending to read it, though I knew damn well she hadn’t turned the page in two minutes.
I stood in the doorway for a long second, unsure what to do. Unsure what to say.
Then I slowly stepped in.