19. Try Harder.

Adrian’s POV

The mansion was silent.

That kind of silence that felt almost royal ... the kind that wrapped around marble walls and whispered wealth in every corner.

I sat in my study, the low hum of the city below barely audible through the glass. The moonlight spilled across my desk, brushing over the silver frame in my hand.

Her picture.

Rose.

I shouldn’t have saved them ... the ones I’d found on the internet, from her company’s posts, from a random blog that once interviewed her about a design project.

But I did.

In the photo, she was laughing ...hair in waves, eyes lit with something pure. Human warmth.

Something I wasn’t built for.

I leaned back, letting the image burn into me.

How had she survived that night?

A werewolf could never mate with a human .... the energy, the life force, it would destroy them.

And yet Rose lived.

She breathed.

She still walked the earth after what happened between us.

Impossible.

I pressed my fingers to my temple, trying to bury the thought. The council would call it a curse. Others might call it fate.

I called it danger.

A knock broke through the stillness.

Before I could answer, the door opened.

Lucy.

She walked in slowly ... confident, deliberate ...dressed in a transparent sliver robe that shimmered faintly under the moonlight.

Her robe was light, sheer, a whisper of silk that didn’t hide anything. Her curves, her "general" muscles, her pointy juicy boobs flashing towards me.... Tempting.

Her eyes caught mine, unflinching.

“Alpha,” she said softly. “You’re awake.”

“I don’t sleep much,” I replied, setting the photo frame down. “Something you need?”

She moved closer, her voice low. “Maybe I just thought you shouldn’t be alone tonight.” She bounce her body towards me... So tempting.

A part of me almost smiled. The council must have sent her again. They were getting desperate.

“Is that so?” I asked. “And what exactly do you plan to do about it?”

She stopped beside my chair, close enough that I could catch the faint scent of her perfume ...sharp and floral, designed to intoxicate.

Her hand brushed the middle of my legs . “Whatever it takes to please my Alpha.”

Her tone was steady, but I could sense it ... the nerves beneath the surface, the rehearsed confidence of someone trying too hard.

I turned my chair slightly, letting my gaze trail over her. Her heartbeat stuttered.

Beautiful, yes. Powerful, yes. But not what my wolf craved.

“You’re bold,” I said finally.

She smiled faintly. “You like bold.”

“I like authentic,” I replied. “And you’re not being that right now.”

Her smile wavered, but she didn’t step back. “Maybe I’m just trying to be what you want.”

That almost made me laugh ... bitterly. “You have no idea what I want.”

She bent slightly, her breath brushing my ear. “Then show me.”

The wolf inside me stirred ... not from desire, but from instinct, from dominance.

I stood, slow and deliberate, my height casting a shadow over her. She looked up at me, eyes wide but defiant.

“You think walking in here like this earns my attention?” I asked quietly. “You think the Alpha can be tamed by silk and perfume?”

She didn’t answer.

For a moment, I reached out ...one hand at her waist grabbing her waist, the other brushing a strand of hair from her face. Her pulse jumped.

I leaned close, close enough for her to feel the warmth of my breath on her neck, then I bit her om neck softly.

She moans softly.

“Careful, Lucy,” I whispered. “You’re playing a dangerous game.”

Her chin lifted slightly. “Maybe I like danger.”

Her words hung there ...bold, trembling, desperate for control.

So I gave her what she wanted: the illusion of it.

I suddenly carried her, putting my hands on her bum.... Soft, pushing her back to the wall with me still holding her, then I bit her neck slowly, kissing her neck ... She kept moaning softly.

I drop her down, holding her waist ,with her hands on my neck , I strip her soft robe... leaving her naked.

She's sexy indeed.... I see why the council sent her, but they have to do better than that.

Then I looked straight into her eyes, eyes locking on hers. “You’re aren't bad,” I murmured.

Her breath caught. For one moment ...one heartbeat .. I let the closeness linger.

Her hand pressed weakly against my chest, and I could hear her heart racing.

Then I stepped closer, my hands on her chest, she thought I was about to kiss her .....

I whispered softly into her ears "You'll have to try harder than this to get me next time"

Then I stepped back.

Her confusion flickered like a wound. “Adrian...”

And then I turned, grabbed my coat from the chair, and walked out ... leaving her naked... standing there, surrounded by moonlight and silence.

---

Lucy’s POV

The door clicked shut.

For a few seconds, I didn’t move. Couldn’t.

I just stood there....naked, staring at the empty doorway, my breath uneven.

He hadn’t raised his voice. He hadn’t even touched me in anger.

But somehow, his rejection hit harder than any blow I’d taken in battle.

“Try harder.”

The words echoed through my head like venom.

I sank onto the edge of his bed ... the same bed that still held the faint scent of him, the cold perfection of a man untouched by warmth.

I’d gone to him because I was tired.

Tired of being dismissed. Tired of feeling invisible.

The council had made their demands clear ... make him yield, make him choose you.

I thought maybe, just maybe, I could make him see me as more than a pawn.

But he didn’t even see me as human.

Just another test. Another weak attempt at control.

I looked down at my hands, trembling slightly. Grabbing my robe from my floor, and I wore it and pulled it tighter, suddenly aware of how foolish I must have looked ... like a child playing seduction.

“Try harder,” I whispered under my breath, the words burning like fire.

No.

Not this time.

I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t going to let him break me.

If Adrian Wolfe thought I was a toy .... a puppet of the council ....he’d learn how wrong he was.

He’d learn what happens when someone like me gets pushed too far.

I stood, straightening my robe, and looked toward the mirror. My reflection stared back ...fierce eyes, flushed cheeks, a hint of something dark in the corners of my expression.

“You’ll regret that,” I whispered.

Because somewhere inside me, beneath the bruised ego and wounded pride, something dangerous had started to awaken.

And if I couldn’t win his affection…

I’d earn his attention another way.