Chapter 6

“Chase?”

I stared in stupor at the Alpha who had kissed then refused me in one breath. No longer was he the put-together, stoic Lycan that emanated power, instead, he looked adorably rumbled and reeked strongly of alcohol.

The bottle of liquor in Chase’s hand fell to the ground and shattered as he looked up suddenly and saw me.

“What are you doing here?” He groaned miserably, his eyes darted from me to the shards of glass at his feet.

I was too stunned by the sight of him to reply or be offended by his question.

He slumped against the refrigerator and began the slide to the ground, that was when I snapped back and rushed to his side to stop him from sitting on the broken glass.

“How much did you drink to end up in such a pitiful state?” I grunted, no longer intimated by the staggering Alpha as I hefted him up and away from the mess he had made.

“You shouldn’t be here.” Chase slurred. “Why are you still here?”

“Alpha Chase, are you whining right now?” Amused, I manoeuvred us up the stairs, panting under his weight.

In that moment with his arm around my shoulder and his weight pressed against me, I could forget his hurtful words. I could forget he was my mate who wanted nothing to do with him.

As though sensing my train of thoughts, he turned to me and buried his head in the crook of my neck. I stilled at the sudden contact while my heart thundered.

Delicious tingles ran down my spine as Chase buried his nose into my hair and brought his arms fully around to enclose me in a hug.

“You smell so good.” He whispered. They were almost the same words Kylan had used yet Chase’s words sounded more distant and sad than flirtatious. There was no way I could compare the two Alphas, Kylan did not stand a chance against the mysterious shifter in my arms.

I started to move but he shook his head against my neck and laughed humourlessly.

He continued almost like he was thinking out loud. “You’re beautiful, absolutely breathtaking.” My breath caught. “And I can’t have you. You’re everything I dreamed you would be but I just can’t fucking have you. Isn’t life such a bitch, Maya?

His question trailed off into silence and we stood there, wrapped in an embrace in the quiet darkness of the pack house.

It broke my heart that I was seeing a different part of Chase but instead of bringing me clarity, his words raised more questions.

“Why can’t you have me though?” I asked, I wanted answers.

No, I needed them.

“Why Chase?” I repeated louder.

The only thing I got in response was a snore. My complicated mate had fallen asleep on my shoulder once again leaving me without explanations.

With a deep sigh, I adjusted my grip on him and moved us out of the hallway and into my room.

“What does he even freaking eat?!” I gritted out and dumped him on my bed. His massive frame made my queen-sized bed look like a child’s bed.

I took off his shoes and drew the covers over him. Bent over, I gave into the temptation and brushed his hair away from his face.

Chase’s face was sculpted to perfection and there was no denying it. Everything from his dark brows to his strong cheekbones had me mesmerised. Unable to stop myself, I reached out to trace his plump lips but quickly snatched my hand back when he stirred.

Fanning my flaming cheeks, I went back to the kitchen and chugged down water in hopes that it would calm my racing heart. It didn’t.

There was no way I could ignore my attraction to him and I didn’t even want to. I decided then that first thing in the morning, I would ask him why he was so bent on pushing me away.

Exhaustion was an understatement for how I felt as I tiredly swept up the glass shards and tossed them before returning upstairs.

I considered sleeping on the couch downstairs but the thought of waking up to random strangers around me gave me chills. The only other options that remained were the bed, the floor and the armchair, and the latter two were too uncomfortable, to say the least. I chose the bed and lay as far away from Chase as I could get without falling off.

Enveloped in his scent, I dozed off not realising that during the night, I had rolled into the arms of the very he-wolf who had demanded that I never touch him again.