_ Devil in Her Bed

Rhett wasn't ready for that yet.

Hell, he could barely hold back from going through the door, knocking, and asking her to let him in her heart.

Now, she stood in front of a bedside lamp, strawberry blonde hair damp and let down so long that it was grazing her butt cheeks. The way it cascaded down her body under the dimly lit room made her look like a goddess.

Rhett bit his lip, trying so hard to hold himself back. He wasn't supposed to stare at her nakedness. It was wrong. It wasn't ethical. No, he came to watch her sleep or fully clothed or something – not naked.

He took to gazing at her bed until she was dressed up and he could watch her again. However, what he found made a line appear between his brows.

There was a little boy dressed in an oversized t-shirt sleeping on her bed. As much as Rhett was not so cool with having a male in bed with her – old or young, what unsettled him the most was that the boy had his eyes opened, watching her blandly as she dressed up.

He, who was an adult and even her mate couldn't bring himself to watch her nakedness because it wasn't moral to do so. It was a violation of her privacy. He was already doing a lot of violating being here and he couldn't commit more offenses.

But there was that little devil who rested his head on his hands, pretending to be asleep but effortlessly watching Isleen.

Who was this boy and why was he in her bed? Why did she allow him to watch her dress up?

No. He didn't think she knew. Judging from how her back was turned to him, she wasn't aware of his lawlessness. It took Rhett all the control in him to not break the window and burst into that room to apprehend the little devil.

Rhett watched him until Isleen was done. The boy knew what he was doing. Just as Isleen had got in her pajamas and was about to go on the bed, the little devil shut his eyes as though he had been sleeping all along.

Rhett clenched his fists, his mind racing with questions and frustration. As Isleen settled into bed, Rhett continued observing, his eyes narrowing as he tried to discern any interaction between her and the boy.

He saw that she cluelessly went to sleep, unaware of how dangerous that polluted little boy was.

"This is what the world has turned to." He muttered to himself.

He, however, soon came to regret that as turned, suddenly at alert. Isleen sat up and glanced around the room until her eyes trailed to the window and that was when Rhett hid.

Had she sensed him?

The mate bond was more potent than said. Even as the proximity lay between them, their hearts still found a way to crawl to each other.

He heard the sound of her window creaking open and then, the sound of her heart. It was beating so fast as though she was scared. Was she scared that it might be him she sensed?

Was she that scared of him?

After a few minutes of hesitation, she finally closed the window and Rhett could breathe freely.

She didn't go to bed abruptly. She seemed to be making a call. He could hear some fragments of the discussion thanks to his heightened wolf hearing but he couldn't hear all.

However, the few indistinct ones he'd heard were enough to inform him that she was on the phone with Kylo. Why was she calling Kylo at this hour?

Did they really have a bond? Could wolves really share a bond with someone who wasn't their mate?

He felt like a bad father, getting riled up that Isleen was calling Kylo. He did not want her in any relationship with boys. He wanted her to himself. The Moon Goddess had already written them for themselves.

He waited for a few minutes, ears strained out for any sign of movement in her room after she dropped the call. The call lasted for about six minutes – Rhett groaned. When he was sure that she had gone to bed, he crawled down the wall and left.

.

As he pulled his car into gear and drove home, questions and thoughts ran to him in quick succession. Firstly, he knew he had to do something about that boy.

"I wish I could unsee what I have seen. Now that I know, I can't let Isleen alone sleeping with that little devil in her room. He could be a psychopath. That is how psychos grow from young and blossom into fully-fledged criminals. But how do I do it?" He groaned, hitting his hand on the honk even as there was no car blocking him.

He could hint at Kylo but there was no way of bringing it up without birthing questions. "No, that would only mean tossing Kylo closer to her. I need them apart and not together." He sighed to himself.

"Now, what do I do?"

He needed to protect Kylo and Isleen from one another. He didn't want his son cursed and he also didn't want his son around his mate. Was that too much to ask?

All it needed was for Kylo to be away. How does a father who loved his son get him out of the picture?

The one in his dreams had warned him to bridge Kylo and Isleen's relationship even way before he discovered she was his mate. There was no escaping the curse should Kylo and Isleen remain together.

He needed to claim Isleen as fast as he could. He wanted to. It was a mixture of selfishness, dedication, and love.

He felt all of that. His son was the one he loved the most in the world. Being with Isleen would hurt him. Being with Kylo would hurt Isleen too. Lastly, both kids being together was hurting him. He wanted his mate.