Chapter 4

Leah's POV

"Save it. You're a golem. Quit playing pathetic." I turn my face away, refusing to look at that deceptive face of his.

That afternoon, the repair crew from the workshop shows up looking nervous as hell and carries Fluffy out in a crate.

I rub my aching lower back and let out a long breath, looking around the empty house.

Finally, I get to sleep in peace.

The first night without Fluffy around, I sleep like the dead.

The next day around noon, I'm sprawled on the couch in my loungewear, gnawing on an apple with zero regard for my dignity, when the front door bursts open.

"Leah!"

A tall figure storms in, radiating cold fury.

I nearly choke on my apple. I look up and there he is, decked out in a sharp dark red coat, silver hair styled to perfection, that little mole under his left eye somehow making him look even more full of himself.

Ryan. In the flesh.

My stomach drops. Does he know I ordered a golem of him? Is he here to make me pay for it?

"What's wrong with you? Ever heard of knocking?" I force myself to sound calm as I sit up and toss the apple core in the trash.

Ryan struts over and looks down at me, a mocking smile tugging at his mouth. "I heard you dropped a fortune at our workshop for a custom golem that looks exactly like me. What, did you have a hopeless crush on me your whole life and this is how you're getting your fix?"

My stomach sinks. He actually knows.

"I bought that golem to humiliate you. You have no idea how good it felt watching something with your face kneel on the floor and shine my shoes every single day."

Something flickers across Ryan's face. His hands clench into fists at his sides, knuckles cracking.

Then he asks, out of nowhere, "You sent him back to the workshop yesterday. For repairs."

"What's it to you?" I roll my eyes, refusing to back down. "It's my golem, I paid for it, I'll do whatever I want with it. Since when does a Delta from the Crescent Moon Pack care about something this pointless?"

Ryan's chest heaves. He jabs a finger at me, his voice shaking. "You're actually complaining about him? Do you have any idea how hard he's been trying to make you happy?"

Me: ???

Has this guy lost his mind? Why is he defending a golem that just happens to share his face?

I roll my eyes again, not bothering to dignify that with a response, lean back against the couch, and give his shin a lazy kick.

"You're blocking the TV. Go get me a glass of water. Room temperature."

That's the line I always used on Fluffy.

Looking at the guy standing right in front of me, identical down to the last detail, it just slips out on autopilot. The second it's out of my mouth, I regret it.

I'm still scrambling for a way to smooth things over before he loses it on me when his whole body goes rigid.

Before I even register what's happening, this proud, arrogant wolf who's never bowed to anyone in his life drops to one knee in front of me, smooth as anything.

He even checks the temperature of the teapot on the table with the back of his hand, out of pure habit, then pours a glass and holds it out to me with both hands.

The room goes dead silent.

I stare at him, my jaw somewhere on the floor.

Ryan freezes too.

He stays frozen in that position, kneeling with the glass held out, his amber eyes wide and shaking. His expression cycles through blank shock, disbelief, and then a kind of humiliation so total it looks like his whole world just caved in.

His ears go bright red, and the color creeps down his neck.

"You... I..." Ryan slams the glass down on the table and jerks upright like he's been electrocuted, stumbling back several steps.

"What kind of mind control did you just use on me?" he shouts, furious and rattled.

I'm fighting so hard not to laugh that my mouth won't stop twitching.

"I didn't use anything. You knelt down all on your own." I watch him, taking my time. "Didn't know you had a habit of serving people drinks at home."

"Shut up!" Ryan snaps, and right as he does, two fuzzy silver wolf ears pop up on top of his head from the sheer force of his emotions.

The ears flatten back against his skull, giving away exactly how flustered and humiliated he actually is.

"You're a heartless, vicious woman!" Ryan points at me, his eyes going red at the rims. "That golem was so good to you and you're just going to have it taken apart?"

I'm honestly in awe. Is he seriously jealous of a golem right now?

"Why do you care whether he's good or not?" I needle him on purpose. "He's an object. If I'm not happy with him, I can take him apart. Besides, he's got your face, and looking at it annoys me."

"Looking at me annoys you?" Ryan completely loses it. He closes the distance between us, plants both hands on the arms of the couch, boxing me in. "If I annoy you so much, then why do you sleep with him every night?"

Me: "..."

Wait. How does he know I've been sleeping with the golem every night?