47

ALEXANDER

The last thing I expected Alina to be doing when I walked in was fumbling with a handful of pills, clearly trying to toss them into the trash.

The fire that had been simmering in my chest since my conversation with Claude dimmed instantly. Just like that, her chaos wiped out mine.

Her hands were trembling when I reached her. She had three small, garishly colored pills balanced in her palm like they were explosives.

I took them from her gently and dropped one into the half-full glass on the table. The pill began to dissolve, fizzing violently like it was angry to be there. She watched it with suspicion, her brows drawing together like I’d just handed her poison.

“It’s okay,” I said, nudging the glass toward her. “Just pretend it’s plain water.”

Her lip jutted out in a slight pout. She looked like a petulant child, sweet, hesitant, and vulnerable in a way that twisted something deep in my gut.

I wanted to protect her. Not just from whatever illness had knocked her off her feet, but from the world. From people like me.

“There are other ways I could distract you, you know.” My voice dipped, threading amusement with something darker. I didn’t miss the way her gaze darted to mine, curious and a little startled. But she shook her head almost hesitantly.

“Then be a good girl and drink it,” I coaxed, voice gentle, tone firm. “The longer it sits, the worse it tastes.”

She groaned like I was torturing her, but she took the glass and swallowed it down in one go. The grimace that followed was priceless, her entire face contorting like she’d licked battery acid.

I grinned. “Two more to go, love.”

She made a sound that was half-whimper, half-protest. “Please, no.” Her voice cracked. Her shoulders trembled, eyes already glossy with tears she was trying to blink back.

I hated seeing her on the edge like this. But not more than I hated the thought of her getting sick again.

So I said nothing. Just handed her the second cup.

She took it with both hands. But as soon as she drank, her body jerked, like she might throw it back up. Her head dropped forward, breath catching in her throat.

“Hey,” I said, catching her wrist. “No.”

She didn’t look at me, so I tipped her chin up gently, guiding her gaze to mine. “If you throw that up, sweetheart, I’ll make you swallow it again. Understand?”

Her eyes widened, and I let my hand slowly skim her lower back. She shivered and breathed through her nose before nodding.

“Good. One more,” I said, handing her the last pill with a new glass. “Wash it all down.”

She obeyed, not saying a word this time. When she finished, I took the cup from her hand and leaned in, brushing a kiss against her forehead. Her skin was cooler than before, less clammy, more alive.

“How do you feel?” I asked.

She blinked slowly, then gave a small shrug. But I could already see it. The color was returning to her cheeks, her body less tense.

“Did you eat anything?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

She shook her head. “No. You told me to wait.”

I paused.

That shouldn’t have meant as much as it did. But it did.

She had waited for me.

And maybe it was selfish, but I liked that.

I glanced away from her face, trying to find something else to focus on than my thoughts. I caught a glimpse of her back in the mirror instead.

I hadn’t paid attention to what she was wearing at first but now i couldn’t look away.

The sight of her in my shirt was messing with my head. The hem stopped just below her thighs, and even that was generous. My sweats were cinched at her waist, folded over a few times so they wouldn’t slip down.

She looked ridiculous.

And painfully beautiful.

I groaned and slipped my hand to the curve of her backside, letting my lips brush against her ear.

“Go do what you need to do. Then we’ll eat.”

She nodded, already pink in the cheeks, and started to walk away.

“Where are you going?” I called after her.

“T-to change,” she mumbled without turning.

I laughed. “I like you in my clothes. If that’s all, let’s go.”

She hesitated, then turned. That’s when I noticed how her nipples pressing against the fabric, outlined perfectly.

I tensed.

No one else could see her like this.

“Put a bra on.” My voice came out sharper than I intended.

She stopped like I’d slapped her. Her eyes went round, then she scurried out of the room like a startled kitten.

A few moments later, she was back, looking sheepish.

“How do I get back?” she asked.

It took me a second to realize what she meant.

I smirked. “I’ll take you.”

Walking her to her floor shouldn’t have felt like a luxury, but it did. Her hips swayed with every step. My pants although big in her, still highlighted her soft curves. Each step felt like torture.

I tried to distract myself. Tried thinking of literally anything to bring myself back under control.

It didn’t work.

Then Claude’s voice echoed in my head. Her words.

The mood shattered instantly.

The heat in my blood cooled like someone had doused it in ice water. My mind sharpened, no longer on Alina, but on the snake I needed to gut before she slithered deeper into our lives.

Isiah was already rotting in the dungeon. If I saw his face again too soon, I might rip it off. Literally.

And now there was her.

The real threat.

That fucking bitch.

She was the poisoned limb, the infection that wouldn’t stop until it spread to the bone. I knew what needed to be done. The fastest solution was the cleanest: eliminate the source.

But that wasn’t an option. Not with Claude still in the picture. For all his coldness, I knew he’d draw blood if I laid a finger on his mother.

No, I’d have to play this smart.

Outmaneuver her.

Outthink her.

The problem was, she wasn’t stupid.

This wouldn’t be a battle. It would be war.

And I had no room for mistakes.