Alpha Adrian II

Tori's POV

I could almost feel his eyes burrowing holes into the back of my head as he stared at me for what felt like hours, but in reality was just a few seconds.

“So, what do you say? Is the big Alpha about to reject me?” I asked him, my voice purring and my speech slurred.

He pulled closer to me, his breath fanning my lips as he sniffed me, moving closer to my ear, filling me with an indescribable need to have his lips between my teeth.

Then he slowly whispered into my ear,

“You are so drunk. If you have another drink, you might end up throwing up all over me. Get up while I’m still being civil.”

I scowled at him, my cheeks heating up as I got up. Who did he think he was anyway?

I huffed, walking back to my seat and ordering more drinks, downing them in single gulps, very much aware that his eyes were still trained on me.

He had no right to control me, and I did not care about what he might think.

My head grew foggy the more I drank, and I forgot about everything—about my cheating husband, about my now-pregnant belly, about the hot stranger that still sat beside me.

And all I wanted to do at that moment was sleep.

So I laid down on the ice-cold bar table, resting my head in between my hands and closing my eyes.

I had felt my body being lifted up, but I chalked it off to my drunken state, not bothering to get up.

The first thing I felt the next morning was the banging headache—

and then the soft, plush bed in which I now lay. I opened my eyes, looking around cautiously. This was nothing like my hotel room.

How had I gotten here? The more I tried to remember the happenings of the previous night, the more my head groaned, making me halt my thoughts.

Just when I was certain I could not deal with the suspense and headache any longer, the door opened, and a tall figure walked in, a tray containing some medicine and a cup of water in his hands.

Now that the drink had worn off, I finally stared at him in horror. He was the most feared Alpha in all of America. My husband had revered him, and when he attended parties, he somehow managed to command the attention of every living being in the room.

Alpha Adrian.

As if by divine intervention, the happenings of the previous day washed over me quickly, making my cheeks instantly heat up as I remembered it. I am never going near a bar ever again.

“Here are some pils. It will help with the headache I know you have now,” he said, voice cold and soothing, washing over me like spring water.

I swallowed, trying to hide the embarrassed smile I had on my face, gratefully taking the pill and popping it into my mouth.

He stared at me with an unreadable expression, making me falter under his gaze.

“Alpha Adrian, I’m so sorry about… about yesterday night. I swear I had no idea who you were, and I—” I was beginning to say, but he interrupted me.

“It’s fine. I could tell at one glance that you were drunk,” he said curtly.

I cleared my throat awkwardly, wondering why he was still standing there.

Then he suddenly spoke.

“Get dressed and leave when you are done,” he said, turning on his heels to leave.

I sighed, even though I did not mean for it to be audible, and he turned back to look at me.

“Is that going to be a problem?” he asked.

I wanted to blurt out about my stupid husband and how going back to the hotel would only make me feel the increasing loneliness, but I stopped myself, shaking my head instead.

He eyed me for a minute, as though he was contemplating his next decision.

“Do you have a good standing with kids?” he asked.

I was taken aback for a while.

Had he somehow noticed that I was pregnant?

“Well, yes… I used to help the kids back at my pack make cookies,” I said, unsure of the question.

He nodded his head as though the answer had satisfied him.

“I need a nanny—a babysitter,” he said.

When I did not say anything, he continued,

“My wife—she is out of town, and I have no idea where she is or when she would be back. And my son is just four. I can’t take care of him myself because I have to work. I take it that you don’t have anywhere else to go, so can you work for me as his babysitter? I would pay you handsomely for it.”

I thought for a while, still processing the information.

What did I have to lose if I worked for the most powerful Alpha on the continent? I had nowhere to go and no source of living as it was. I was sure I had spent all the money I had with me at the bar. There was no way I could survive outside now.

“Okay, I would take up the job offer,” I said, my voice small.

He nodded his head, as though that was the most reassuring news he had heard in a while.

“Do you have to go pick up your bags somewhere, or are you good like this?” he asked me.

“I have a few personal belongings in the hotel where I stay. I would love to pick them up,” I said.

I had left a good number of my possessions in Alex’s house when I left. Most of the jewelry and the clothes he had gotten for me when we were still in love—I had left them, as I could not bear the memories that each item held.

“That is fine. We will leave soon then. But first, I want you to meet my son,” he said.