Chapter 8

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• The Alpha King's Human Mate    Chapter 75

  JACQUELINEThe door was locked.I stood there for a long moment, hand hovering over the knob like it would magically turn if I waited long enough. But it didn’t. My stomach knotted.Me Philips wasn't truly here. Where else could I look?I stepped back, hugging my bag to my chest. I didn’t know where he lived. I didn’t even know if he had family here. I didn’t know anything about him, did I? Just a name. Ezra Philips. And that he taught poetry. That he smelled expensive...like cedar and mint and something darker. That his fingers were long and calloused. That he had tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and said nothing about it afterward.I swallowed hard.I moved to a bench in the hallway, cold plastic against my thighs as I sat. My phone felt heavy in my hand. I tapped on his name and pressed call, my breath catching as it rang once, turn, twice. A minute later, God voice came on. Low. Terse. Controlled.“You’ve reached Ezra Philips. Leave a message.”A beep followed.I froze.W

• The Alpha King's Human Mate    Chapter 74

  JACQUELINEI’d never taken so long to pick an outfit for school.Not even on presentation days.I stood in front of the mirror, twisting from side to side, watching the way my jeans curved over my hips and hugged my thighs. They were my favorite pair, slightly faded at the knees, tight in all the right places, and if I was being honest, they made my ass look about twenty percent bigger than it really was. Which, in this case, was the whole point.I tugged down the edge of the tiny crop top I’d bought online for something like two dollars and seventy-five cents. The fabric was soft, a little clingy, ribbed and snug across my chest. It was probably meant for girls with smaller boobs, but I liked the way it made me feel dangerous, kind of. Like a dare wrapped in cotton.I ran my fingers through my hair for the tenth time, combing through the soft waves that curled over my shoulders. I’d brushed and rebrushed it until it gleamed, tumbling down like a honeyed waterfall. Same shade as Mom’s

• The Alpha King's Human Mate    Chapter 73

  EZRAAs Tarius and I stepped back inside, he moved with the efficiency of someone born to war. His hand clamped around Beatrice’s neck in one swift motion, and without ceremony, he yanked her to her feet like she weighed nothing.Her lips curled into that same smug smile that always made me want to rip her throat out. But she didn’t fight him. No. She let herself be dragged up, that collar still glowing faintly around her neck.“Oh, look. The lapdog’s got hands.” Her lips twisted. “Did your master teach you that trick, or did you figure it out all by yourself?”Tarius didn’t flinch. But his grip tightened.“I should snap your spine,” he muttered.She snorted and then turned those eyes on me. “You think cages work on creatures like me? You’re getting slow, Ezra. You forget things. Like who your enemies are.”Tarius didn’t blink. He kept his grip tight, eyes forward. Beatrice, however, kept talking.“It’s always the ones you protect who drive the knife in deepest,” she murmured. “The on

• The Alpha King's Human Mate    Chapter 72

  EZRA“I didn’t think you’d actually open the door,” Tarius muttered.I didn’t answer. Instead, I strode across the lawn, fully aware that if Beatrice wanted to listen in on our conversation, she would. But I had needed to step away from her and that devious little tongue. She was trying to get a rise out of me, to provoke me to wrath. But my proof of self-control would be her undoing. The air smelled of pine and the fading light of dusk, and beneath that, something more bitter. Beatrice’s scent lingered in the wind like rot. I needed it gone.Tarius stood stiffly in the driveway, hands in his coat pockets. He eyed the windows like he could sense the wrongness inside.“Who is she?” he asked. “She smells like death.”“Demonic wolf,” I growled.His eyes widened. He understood the weight of that. Rare, vile, and impossible to reason with. She had no ties to the moon, no reverence for the ancient laws. Only hunger.“She stays collared,” I said flatly. “She’s not safe to be left alone.”H

• The Alpha King's Human Mate    Chapter 71

  JACQUELINEThe smell of pepperoni filled the living room, mixing with the faint scent of hand soap from the cardboard box I’d just opened. I sat cross-legged on the couch, biting into a steaming slice. The crust was thin, crunchy at the edges, and cheesy at the center.“This is so good,” I mumbled around a bite. “But nothing like the one I had at Blair’s.”Mom raised an eyebrow and sipped from her glass of Coke. “Better or worse?”“Different,” I said, licking grease from my fingers. “It was homemade. Kind of rustic, you know? Thick crust, a little uneven. They used whatever they had—onions, fresh tomatoes, canned mushrooms. Nothing fancy, but it was perfect. They don’t have much, but somehow, they make it work.”Mom chewed slowly, her eyes distant and thoughtful.“There’s something kind of special about that,” I added. “I don’t know. Being able to make something warm out of what little you have.”She gave a small nod. “Sometimes it’s not about how much you have, but what you do with i

• The Alpha King's Human Mate    Chapter 70

  EZRA I slammed the door shut behind me and locked it with the thick iron bolt. The chains on Beatrice clinked as she jerked her arms, testing for give. There was none. I’d used enough silver to suppress a full pack. She wasn’t going anywhere. She grinned anyway, baring those bloodstained teeth. Her lips were cracked, her voice smooth and venomous. "Didn’t think you still had it in you, old wolf. Or are you just protecting your little toy now?" I didn’t respond. I walked past her, set my coat on the hook by the door, and poured water into a chipped ceramic bowl on the table. The quiet clatter of the pitcher echoed in the silence that followed. Beatrice never did like silence. She filled it with poison. "What’s the plan, Philips?" she asked. “Keep me tied in your sad little house until I rot? The humans have rules now. Customs. Laws. You can't keep a chained woman in your basement, no matter how evil you think she is. Someone’s bound to hear me screaming. Want to test that the