61

ALEXANDER

The solid clang of the metal door closing echoed through the room, making me lift my head.

Cassandra lay beneath me, her body tense, breath shallow, and eyes spitting fire. Her lip curled like she was seconds from lunging at me but I knew better. That fury? It wasn’t real. Not fully. It was just a wall she threw up when she felt cornered. She looked like a pissed off kitten pretending to be a lion.

To make it worse for her, I leaned in, fingers brushing the faint cut I’d left on her cheek earlier. It had mostly healed, but the skin was still tender. She hissed and turned her face slightly, and I smiled at her reaction before glancing up. Claude was standing there, arms folded, his expression steeped in judgment.

He always did walk around like the moral compass of the family.

“What do you want, brother?” I didn’t bother moving from Cassandra, still pinning her with one hand at her throat. Not enough to cut off her air but enough to remind her she’d lost this round.

I could feel the tick in her jaw, the tension that said her pride was still trying to claw its way out. She wasn’t used to losing. Not even in play.

“We have a crisis.”

His tone made me want to roll my eyes, but I kept still. Dealing with his dramatics wasn’t part of the plan today.

“I have it under control.” My grip on her throat tightened slightly, and she let out a muffled groan. It was supposed to be a protest, but her hips had arched subtly so she wasn’t exactly unhappy.

She had tried to use Claude’s interruption as a distraction. Rookie move. My weight held her steady, and her efforts to wriggle free only made things more fun. I wasn’t done playing. And she wasn’t done proving herself.

“If there was something that needed my attention, I wouldn’t be down here.”

Claude shot me that look again. The one that said he was five seconds away from being a pain in my ass.

I sighed. Loudly.

Then I pushed up from the mat, letting Geneva up too. She didn’t waste a second. Scrambled to her feet, jaw tight, chest heaving.

I picked up a towel and lazily wiped my face. Barely a sheen of sweat on my skin. I could do this all day.

“How long have you been down here?” Claude’s voice held suspicion.

I checked the clock and shrugged. “Two hours, give or take.”

He looked past me at Cassandra. She was gathering her gear, moving with that same irritated grace she always had when she didn’t get her way.

“And you’re still alive?” He sounded genuinely surprised. Maybe even a little impressed.

Geneva’s thick accent curled around her response as she tossed her braid over her shoulder. “He’s been… distracted.”

The sarcasm in her voice was almost sharp enough to cut through the tension.

“Honeymoon phase,” she muttered as she brushed past us and exited the gym.

I let out a low chuckle and smacked the back of Claude’s head. He grumbled but didn’t retaliate.

I followed her with my eyes, resisting the urge to go after her and finish what we started. That damn interruption. I had her right where I wanted her.

Yes, I liked toying with the cold hearted princess. Losing every round would have made her snap. And I needed someone to be as annoyed as I was. Misery loves company and all that.

“What, you came down here just to confirm if I was screwing your little crush?” I shot at Claude, amused.

He opened his mouth, probably to argue, but seemed to think better of it. Just sighed and stalked ahead. Kept a short distance between us like it would make some kind of point.

“I’m not five. I don’t have crushes and if I liked a woman, it wouldn’t be her.” He finally muttered as we neared my office.

He opened the door and stepped aside, waiting for me to enter first like the good little soldier he pretends not to be.

“You’re just seriously infatuated then?” I teased as I walked in.

“She’s smart. And she lasted two hours with you and still walked out. That earns some admiration.”

I smirked. Stubborn, arrogant little prick. Always had something to prove.

I sat down, suddenly hit by this strange, heavy heat that settled on my skin like smoke. I didn’t like it. It came out of nowhere and made my insides stir. Something ancient and animal. I cleared my throat, pushing it away. Entertaining that feeling would only end one way and not a good one.

“So? What’s the real reason you came looking for me?” I asked, adjusting in my chair. “Are they done dealing with my dearest uncle’s pets?”

“That’s why I came,” he said, dragging a hand through his hair.

I narrowed my gaze. “What happened?”

“We tried to negotiate. Turns out they’ve lost contact with him. They were trying to confirm orders. Expected a war. Since we didn’t bite, they’re hesitating.”

“They have brains after all,” I muttered.

Claude didn’t comment, but the shift in his stance said he was thinking the same thing. If my uncle had any common sense, he’d know war with me only had one outcome. His head on a pike and his followers on their knees.

Everyone liked to whisper that I was power hungry, that I was building an empire. They didn’t understand the burden that came with it. More land meant more packs. More packs meant more chaos to manage. More Lycans to train in our way of doing things.

People thought it was glory.

It was just a lot of headaches.

I stood, already done with the conversation. “If they want war, we give them a deadline. I’m not wasting time.”

Before he could respond, footsteps slapped hard against the floor.

A girl rounded the corner, gasping. She skidded to a stop, bracing herself against the wall, hand trembling as she tried to catch her breath.

I tensed, straightening immediately. Something was wrong. She didn’t look like someone trying to cause trouble but she did look like someone who had bad news.

He grumbled beside me. “Now what?”

I ignored him.

Her face was vaguely familiar, but it was the hair that gave it away. Long, dark, and always pulled into a thick twist. The maid. The one always shadowing Alina.

I crossed the distance in three quick steps and grabbed her arm. She winced but didn’t try to pull away. Didn’t even flinch.

“What happened to her?” My voice didn’t sound like my own.

“She… she passed out,” the maid stammered, blinking fast, panic rising. “She isn’t waking up. We’ve tried everything.”

Everything inside me snapped still.

And then turned to fire.