Chapter 5: ​A Sinful Offer

⋅ ⋅ ❦ Blaire Rose ❦ ⋅ ⋅

The maid escorted me to a guest room to change out of my soaked clothes. They provided a red silk dress with thin spaghetti straps; it was short, ending only an inch past my knees. I was grateful for the jacket and boots I’d worn earlier. I pulled the jacket tight, making sure the collar covered the faint, darkening love bites that still marked my neck, and body—brands left by the man who was currently sitting in the living room.

I stared at myself in the mirror, my heart racing out of control. I had spent every second since that night trying to forget his touch, only to find out he was the Alpha King—my fiancé’s father.

As I finished dressing, I walked through the long, cold hallways of the pack house. My breath hitched as I entered the living room. Alpha Zayn and Nolan were sitting across from each other. Seeing them together was jarring—Nolan was a boy playing at power, while Zayn embodied it.

Nolan looked at Zayn, whose face remained hard and impassive, before standing and walking toward me. He took my hand, his touch feeling wrong—nothing like his father’s grip.

“I am sorry, Blair. Can you forgive me?” he asked, stroking my hair. It was still damp, clinging to my cheeks. “I didn’t mean for things to go that far. Forgive me, honey?”

I didn't look at Nolan. My eyes were locked on Alpha Zayn. He was staring at me with an intensity that made my skin prickle. It was as if he were undressing me with his eyes, peeling back the red silk and the jacket until he could see the marks he’d left behind. Images of our passionate night flashed in my mind—his hands, his lips, the way he had claimed every inch of me.

‘Stay the fuck out of your head, Blair,’ I screamed at myself.

“Forgiven,” I said breathlessly, finally turning my gaze to Nolan.

Nolan led me to the sofa, sitting me down directly facing the Alpha King. The air in the room was thick with something explosive, like one wrong word could split everything wide open

“Father, this is Blair Rose. My fiancée,” Nolan announced, pride swelling in his chest.

“It is good to meet you finally, Blair Rose,” Zayn said. His voice was a deep, smooth rumble that sent a shiver down my spine. “I have heard a lot about you from my son. I can see why he’s so determined to marry you. I’m sure you will make a... perfect Luna.”

I looked into his eyes and saw a flash of something dark—a possessive hunger that told me he knew exactly how perfect I could be. My lips trembled into a small, nervous smile.

“Thank you. But I think I should go home now,” I said, standing up. As I moved, my jacket slipped from my shoulder, revealing a hint of the red strap beneath.

“I thought you were staying for dinner?” Nolan said, snapping his hand out to grab my wrist as I sat back down. He squeezed firmly, his fingers digging into my skin. It hurt, and I winced. “Right, my love? You're staying.”

I glanced at Alpha Zayn. His eyes dropped to where Nolan’s hand was crushing my wrist, and a look of pure fury crossed his face. His jaw tightened so hard I thought it might shatter, and his own fingers curled into tight fists in his lap.

“Enough,” Zayn commanded.

He didn’t raise his voice, didn’t need to—the room bent around the word anyway.

Nolan let go of me instantly, looking startled.

“Blair wants to go home. You will respect her wishes,” Zayn continued. “And besides, don’t you have unfinished work in the training wing?”

“Yes, Dad,” Nolan muttered, his bravado vanishing.

“Go ahead and finish it. I will take Blair home myself.”

Nolan hesitated for half a second, his gaze flicking between me and his father, something uneasy flashing in his eyes before he masked it.

“Yes, Dad,” he muttered.

He stood up, gave me a quick, distracted nod, and hurried out of the room. The silence that followed was deafening. I could hear the ticking of the clock and the heavy thud of my own heart.

Alpha Zayn stood up, his towering frame casting a long shadow over me. “Let’s get you home, Blair.”

I wanted to say no. I wanted to run as far away from this man as possible. But he wasn't just a stranger anymore—he was the strongest Alpha in the city, the head of the Trifang Pack, and the man who held my secret in his teeth.

━━━ ❦ ━━━

When we pulled up to our apartment, the silence in the car was heavy enough to suffocate me. I reached for the door handle, desperate to escape, but his hand shot out, wrapping around my wrist in a firm, heat-filled grip.

“Stay,” Zayn commanded, his voice vibrating through the leather seats. “You and I need to talk.”

He glanced at the rearview mirror.

“Leave us,” he told his driver. Without a word, the driver stepped out and stood a respectful distance away, leaving us in the dim, intimate shadows of the backseat.

He didn’t rush to speak. He let the silence stretch until it wrapped around my throat, forcing me to endure every second of it.

“Look, I need you to know... I didn’t know you were Nolan’s father,” I started, my breath catching unevenly as his eyes burned into mine. It was so hard to think, let alone speak, with his presence overwhelming me. “Whatever happened between us... It was a reckless mistake. Blame it on the tequila, blame it on my anger... blame it on anything. But please, can we just pretend it never happened?”

“Are you done?” he asked, his expression coolly unreadable, almost detached.

“I... I think so,” I whispered. There was so much more I wanted to say—that I hadn't stopped thinking about him, that my body was still branded by his touch—but the words died in my throat.

“I know my son,” Zayn said, shifting closer until I could feel the heat radiating from him. “I know his flaws better than anyone. He isn't the man for you, Blair. You deserve an Alpha who will prize you, who will protect you with his life, and who will satisfy every dark corner of your soul.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, my pulse thundering in my ears.

Instead of answering, his hand moved. His fingers caught the hem of my red dress, slowly sliding it up until it was well above my knees. He began to caress my inner thigh, his thumb grazing the very spot where his marks still lingered on my skin. He was claiming his territory, reminding me that even if Nolan had my hand, he had my body.

​I’d be a liar if I said I didn't want more. My body was betraying me, begging him to reach higher—to touch the place only he had ever been. I wanted him to claim me again right there in the car, to erase every trace of Nolan with his fire.

“I want you to break the engagement with my son,” he whispered, his voice a dark caress. “Be with me instead. I will be everything you’ve ever wanted, Blair. I will give you the world, and I will give you myself.”

​I couldn't believe it. My fiancé’s father, the Alpha King, was asking me to be his. “How do you even know what I want?” I challenged, though my voice was weak.

In response, his hand delved deeper beneath the silk of my dress. His fingertips traced the delicate lace of my panties, hovering just over the aching heat of my centre, and a soft, broken moan escaped me. I was already wet for him—my body recognised its master.

“I can read you like a book, my little Rose,” he murmured. He leaned in, his lips hovering a hair’s breadth from mine. We weren't kissing, but we were sharing the same air, our breaths mingling in a hot, intoxicating dance. The tension was a physical cord stretched between our mouths.

I wanted him so badly I could scream, but my reality crashed back down. I pushed against his chest with all my strength, though it did nothing to him. To his credit, he didn't fight me; he pulled his hand away and moved back, giving me the space I had silently asked for.

“I... we can’t do this,” I panted, trying to fix my dress. “This is a sin. You are Nolan’s father. I’m supposed to love him. We are getting married next month, and I need you to respect that, Alpha. I need you to pretend that night never happened.”

Zayn watched me, his eyes dark and calculating. “And tell me, Blair... can you ever truly forget that I am the man who took your innocence? Can you forget the way you scream for me?”

The question haunted me. How could I ever forget? It would be the biggest, most dangerous secret of my life, a silent ghost that would haunt my marriage until it ate me alive. My soul was begging me to say yes, to throw away the life I knew for the fire he offered, but my mind was terrified of the scandal.

I stared at him, torn between the good girl I was raised to be and the woman he had awakened that night.