60

ALEXANDER

I never thought writing could be erotic. But then again, I’ve never tried it with Alina perched on my thighs.

I wouldn’t be caught dead reading smut even if the world was ending and all the women were gone. Not that I even get time to read. But this? This was something else.

When she started reading, I genuinely thought she was making it up. But the way her voice trembled, how her breathing changed, it was clear she wasn’t.

Maybe that explained why she couldn’t keep going. I didn’t even know what came over me when I told her to bring the book forward. But now? Now I’m hooked. Tortured by every word.

Each page fed the storm of filthy thoughts already brewing in my head. Things I wanted to do to her. Things I shouldn’t.

She swallowed hard, her throat shifting against the palm of my hand where it now rested. When had it gotten there? I didn’t remember doing it. My body moves on instinct when it comes to her.

“Brooklyn cried out in ecstasy, her walls clasping around his throbbing hard—okay, that’s it.” I snapped the book shut and flung it aside.

I’m not about to sit here listening to people getting off when I’m on the verge of combusting.

“Fuck.” I groaned, dragging my hand down my face.

Alina sat frozen between my legs, too still, too quiet, while my body screamed at me to lose control. My wolf was pacing beneath the surface, snarling to sink his teeth into her, to taste, to claim.

I had shit to do and fucking her wasn’t one of them. It not why I came here.

But she smelled like desire and sweetness and surrender. And I was driving myself insane trying to pretend I didn’t want her.

I was fully ready to just say fuck it and throw her done on the bed when a loud as fuck knock came on the door.

“Who the fuck is it?” I snapped, not bothering to soften my voice or the irritation borne from being wound up too tight.

Silence answered.

I exhaled roughly, forcing myself to move her off my lap. I adjusted her gently onto the bench, careful not to let my frustration show in how tightly I clenched my fists.

I headed for the door, yanking it open with every nerve in my body fraying. And when I saw who it was, I didn’t even need a report to know something was wrong.

“Who?” I asked, already sure of the answer.

The man at my door was one of mine, a scout.

“Your uncle, Alpha.”

I swore under my breath and stepped into the hallway, shutting the door behind me as we started toward the stairs.

“He’s here?”

The scout shook his head. “I don’t think so, but there’s no sign of him. Just his troops.”

Of course.

I could already picture Claude’s smug face telling me he told me so. And he’d be right. He did warn me. I’d just been arrogant enough to brush it off.

“Stop them,” I said simply. Then reconsidered. “Try not to kill anyone. This is a stupid misunderstanding. He’ll call them off.”

We stopped outside my office. I walked in while he moved off, and I closed the door behind me with a sigh, heading straight for my desk and grabbing the phone.

I dialed my uncle’s number. It rang once before his voice cut through the line, bored and gravelly.

“Now you remember how to pick up a phone.”

“Hello, Uncle.” I hated admitting it, but I was in the wrong. “I should have called sooner.”

“Yes, you should have. But you didn’t.”

“I’m sure we can talk about it—”

“It’s too late for that,” he interrupted. “They’re not there to cause problems. They’re getting my son, and he’s leaving with them. That’s it.”

“You know I can’t let that happen.” My voice stayed leveled and calm. Hoping he would see reason. I didn’t want a fight.

He growled softly on the other end. “I’m not done questioning him. And if Isiah’s innocent, then you have nothing to worry about. You know I would never harm family.”

“Yes, of course.” I let out a quiet breath. This wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. Maybe we’d find middle ground after all.

“You just locked them up like the mutts you think so little of.”

Spoke too soon.

“Release him, Damien. Or you’ll see the ugly side of me.”

I gritted my teeth at the name. Damien. Only my father used it. He hated the name my mother chose for me, so they compromised. That middle name was his win, and he never let me forget it.

Hearing it now felt like a slap, like being dragged back into the shadow of the man who contributed nothing to my life but a name and blood I never asked for.

So I snapped.

“Then I guess I’ll see it.”

I ended the call before he could respond and immediately contacted the leader of the guard.

“Get every last one of them off my land.”

Pacing was the only thing that kept me from punching through something. If I went back downstairs, I’d snap and kill Isiah, just to make a point. To let his father know he’d crossed a line by threatening me.

I still had enough control to stay put. Barely.

What pissed me off more than anything was the fact that I couldn’t go back to Alina. Not like this. I didn’t want her seeing me like this, furious, reckless, burning from the inside out.

I needed to let it out somewhere else.

So I headed for the gym.

But the second I walked in, I regretted it. Cassandra was already there, hammering the punching dummy like it owed her something.

“Hello to you too,” she said, not bothering to turn.

“I didn’t know you were back.”

“Hmmm,” she said, breathless. “Guess you were too busy with your shiny new toy.”

She paused, resting her hands on her hips, sweat glistening on her skin. “Wonder what you’ll do when you get bored of her.”

I stared at her, unimpressed.

“That’s not going to happen. Just because I tossed you aside doesn’t mean I’ll do the same to her.”

The words hit like a slap. She reeled, eyes narrowing. Her fist shot up, but I stepped aside easily, avoiding her attack.

“If you want to spar,” I said, voice low, “then get in the ring. I’ve got plenty of energy to burn.”

I peeled off my shirt and tossed it aside.

Cassandra studied me, hesitation flickering across her features for half a second. Then she climbed into the ring, all anger and arrogance, looking like a furious little bird.

I almost laughed.

I admired her confidence. I really did. She would’ve been perfect on paper. Smart, capable. I could’ve made her Luna. Pretended it meant something. Pretended she was enough.

Pretended I didn’t have to think about someone else just to get off.

“Still daydreaming about your new pussy,” she taunted, “or are you getting in the ring?”