Red-handed

A smile of satisfaction plastered Fang's face on my question. That is all he wanted, for me to fall into his trap but the fact was I had fallen into his trap the moment I decided to just hear out the condition. I had been cornered like this twice now and there was no way I would repeat the same mistake next time, but my heart knew that Fang would make that happen any way possible.

"What's the rush, little one? Have some rest, you had a bad fall a while back", Fang said, making himself comfortable on a branch with his hands behind his head. He spoke as if I was the one who had deliberately let myself fall and he had nothing to do with it.

"And whose fault was that?" I was annoyed by the way he had put my incident of tumbling down the tree like a sack of grains as my mistake and not his wrongdoing.

Fang raised his eyebrows, "weren't you the one who requested me to let go of you?"

"Ya, but you could have been kind enough to put me down on any adjacent branch of the tree!" My eyes narrowed at him. This man would have driven anyone to their wit's end, but I wasn't one of them. Breaking me was not that easy and still, he had stepped on every part of my nerves with his actions previously.

Fang chuckled at my words as if my lips had cracked a joke, "did you ask me to be kind, princess? Interesting choice of a word doesn't go with me though"

My jaw clenched at his reply, "I would be surprised if that were to happen." Fang was truly a sly man who took what he wanted and I had got that experience first hand once back at court and I had a feeling this is going to be the second time. How funny that he actually admitted he was not a 'kind' person.

I suddenly realised he was taking things in circles, so I was to forget that he had offered help at some price which I did not know yet. The time was running out and my eyes checked in the direction where Fang had thrown the half-eaten fruit. There was no one here yet but I could hear the dry leaves crunch, like footsteps heading towards us.

Fang hummed at my reply and closed his eyes as if ready to sleep comfortably while I was stressing about the fact that there might be someone coming this way.

The fruit was sure to catch any patrolling wolf's attention as it had a different scene compared to the tree's. The moment they come around this area, their sharp noses would give away my location. The scent of an unknown wolf in their territory was sure to alert them, did Fang planned on ruining my task this way?

"What do you want, Fang?" I asked desperately again except trying not to sound like it. But he would understand my impatience as he would read my mind like an annoying spy.

Fang was busy with his leisure nap and I couldn't help but scowl and break a twig to throw at him. The stupid twig floated with the wind away from him and my head fumed, "I am leaving, keep your little fruit with yourself"

I did not care about the task now, honestly, I was out of mind with only Fang and his irritating behaviour eating at my brain cells. My feet did their move as I descended a branch or two, but my body was pulled back inhumanly with Fang's hand holding my entire weight by the back of my shirt that crumbled in his fingers.

"Where do you think you are going?" His voice came out cold, contradicting the look on his face. In an instant, I was against the gigantic tree trunk balancing myself between his forearms that blocked both my sides, "In my land, I decide who goes where and who does what, you certainly don't have the permission to leave yet. And don't you want to finish the task? About a while ago you were desperate to become the Beta of Winterwells"

My breath was caught in my throat, there was enough closeness for one day with this man not to mention he had put it intimately last time. Fang was casual with his actions so much that looked like he was used to pinning girls or holding them closer intimately, but I was not at all comfortable in that setting.

"Move away from me Fang", my hand pressed against his broad, toned chest that was leaning closer and closer. It reminded me of how close his lips were to mine when this similar situation took place at the court, he wasn't as close but the possibility was higher.

Fang eyed my hand that resisted him and then raised his ink-black eyes to look into mine. "You forget little one," his frame pushed closer to me effortlessly despite my full strength resistance, "did I not tell you that I decide what happens here, you cannot tell me what to do princess"

The way he emphasised on Princess was telling me that he wasn't scared of the authorities. I gulped trying to push him away yet that only brought a wicked smile to his face, but he got away giving me enough space. Not too far though so he could catch me if I were to escape again.

My ears registered rustling noise below and I knew that someone was here, the tree's strong scent had made me not notice the presence.

"Fang, Are you planning to keep me here and not let me finish my task on time?" My voice came out in a little disbelieving whisper so the person from Waterwoods was not to notice me.

Fang had his eyes fixed below waiting for someone to come climbing the tree while replying, "No darling, I will support my partner in her every dream. No matter how useless it is"

Only he could call it useless as he was already an Alpha and his actions were totally opposite of what he just said, it looked like he was waiting for someone to climb the tree and catch me red-handed.