Chapter 23: The Alpha's Undoing

Fenrir's POV

The door slammed behind her, and I stood there like a fucking statue, towel wrapped around my waist, cock hard enough to cut glass, and my wolf howling in my skull like a lovesick pup.

“You let her go” my wolf purred.

Shut up.

“She was right there. Her scent……goddess, her scent like rain on wildflowers…”

I said shut up.

I dragged a hand down my face, trying to will my body back under control but It didn't work. Nothing worked not when it came to her.

Winora, Her name alone was a splinter under my skin. She'd barged into my chambers like she belonged there like I belonged to her and I'd nearly ruined everything. Nearly pinned her against the wall, dragged those sheets from her trembling hands and buried myself inside her until neither of us could remember our own names.

“You were going to kiss her.” My wolf continued as my thoughts went spiral.

I know.

My wolf prowled beneath my skin, smug and insufferable. “Looks like someone's in love.”

I snorted, grabbing the shirt from the chair and yanking it over my head. "Love," I muttered. "Don't be ridiculous."

“Deny it all you want but I felt what you felt. The way your heart stopped when she looked up at you. The way your hands shook when you touched her chin. You my've never..”

She's a surrogate. She's carrying my child. That's all.

“Liar.” I didn't dignify that with a response.

The truth was messier. The truth was that I'd spent weeks trying to convince myself that Winora was nothing more than a vessel, a means to an end, a contract to be fulfilled but every time I saw her that lie crumbled a little more.

She clutched those sheets like a shield and all I wanted to do was tear them away and show her she didn't need to hide from me because I was the Alpha. I'd chosen her for a purpose not for pleasure. if I let myself feel what I was feeling I'd lose control and I never lost control except with her.

A sharp knock at the door pulled me from my spiraling thoughts. I didn't bother to answer before it swung open.

Xena.

She sauntered in like she owned the place, a silk robe clinging to curves she'd spent years perfecting. An ice bag was pressed to her cheek, and her eyes usually sharp and calculating were filled with a fury I hadn't seen since... well, since the last time someone crossed her.

"Your surrogate," she hissed, "slapped me." I blinked as a grin spread across my face.

"She slapped you?"

Xena's nostrils flared. "Don't look so pleased, Fenrir. She's a liability. A weak, emotional little…"

"What did you do?" She paused, the ice bag hovering mid-air. "What makes you think I did anything?"

"Because Winora doesn't strike me as the type to slap someone unprovoked." I crossed my arms, leaning against the bedpost. "So what did you say to her?"

Xena's jaw tightened. "I merely reminded her of her place."

"Which is?" The amusement drained from my face. "Careful, Xena."

She rolled her eyes, tossing the ice bag onto the nearest chair. "Oh, please. Don't tell me you've actually grown fond of the girl. She's a surrogate, Fenrir.."

The words hit harder than they should have.

“She's lying, “ my wolf growled. “Winora is more than…”

I know.

Xena stepped closer, her scent jasmine and something cloying invading my space. "I wonder sometimes," she murmured, "why you chose her when you have me." I stiffened.

"I mean, really. What can she give you that I can't?" She reached up, fingers trailing down my chest. "I know what you need. I know what you like. She's barely a woman. She couldn't satisfy a lycan like you." Her hands moved to the tie of her robe.

"Xena—" But she was already pulling it loose, silk sliding from her shoulders to pool at her feet.

Lingerie, Black lace. Designed to tempt, to tease, to remind me of every night we'd spent tangled together before I'd ended things.

“Winora would look better in that.” My wolf reminded me as The thought came unbidden, sharp and possessive and wrong.

Actually, my wolf mused, Winora would look better in nothing at all.

SHUT. UP.

But the damage was done. My mind conjured the image of Winora in that lingerie. Winora's soft curves, her wide eyes, her skin flushed with that delicious shade of pink she turned whenever I got too close. She'd be nervous. She'd fidget. She'd look at me like she wanted to run and stay all at once and I'd worship every inch of her.

"Fenrir." Xena's voice cut through the fantasy like a blade. I blinked. She was closer now, pressing herself against me, her hands sliding up my arms. "I know you want me," she whispered. "I can feel it."

I looked down at her at the desperation in her eyes. The calculation. The way she thought she could win me back with lace and lies and I felt... nothing but disgust.

Nothing but the overwhelming urge to shove her away and go find the woman who'd fled my chambers with my heart in her hands.

“You're in love with her.”

I'm not.

“ You ARE.”

"Get out."

Xena froze. "What?"

I grabbed her wrists, yanking her hands off me. My grip was too tight, my voice too cold, but I didn't care. I was done playing games.

"I said. Get. Out." Her eyes widened with shock, then hurt, then fury. "You can't be serious. Fenrir, I…"

"NOW." The word came out as a roar, Alpha command laced through every syllable. Xena flinched back, snatching her robe from the floor and clutching it to her chest.

"You'll regret this," she spat. "You and that pathetic little cow.."

“Did she just referred winora as a cow!” My wolf surged on as it got angry.

"Finish that sentence," I said quietly, "and I'll make sure you never speak again." She stared at me for a long moment. Then with a sound of pure disgust, she turned and stormed out slamming the door hard enough to rattle the walls.

I stood there, chest heaving, fists clenched, every muscle in my body coiled tight with a rage I couldn't name.

I sank onto the edge of the bed, head in my hands, the scent of Winora still lingering in the air like a ghost.

She'd looked at me with those eyes with those impossible, infuriating, beautiful eyes and I'd let her walk away.

All I had was the memory of her trembling lips. The heat of her skin beneath my fingers. The sound she'd made that soft, desperate little sound when I'd touched her mouth.

And the knowledge that, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about her.

“Couldn't stop wanting her.” My wolf teased.

A knock at the door. I was on my feet before I could think, heart slamming against my ribs, hope flaring in my chest like a goddamn fool.

I yanked the door open and found myself staring at my beta, Erik, who took one look at my face and immediately stepped back.

"...Bad time?" I exhaled slowly, the hope draining out of me like water through a sieve.

"What do you want?" Erik hesitated, glancing behind me at the empty room, the rumpled bed, the faint scent of Xena's perfume still clinging to the air.

"Uh. The council's requesting an update about the surrogate." The word hit like a slap.

“She's not a surrogate.” My voice filled with anger. I was the only one permitted to call her that.

"Tell them," I said, voice flat, "that everything is proceeding as planned."

Erik nodded slowly. "And... Winora? Should I check on her? She seemed... upset earlier."

My jaw tightened. "No."

"But "

"I said no." I stepped back, hand on the door. "Now leave. I have things to... handle."

Erik's eyes flickered with something curiosity, concern, maybe pity before he nodded and turned away. I closed the door as I Leaned my forehead against the wood.

I tried desperately to convince myself that I wasn't already in too deep.