Все главы The Alpha General's Substitute Bride: Глава 21 - Глава 30

TEMPESTIt was like my blood gave him a jolt of energy and libido.Sometimes I wondered if it carried something that stirred up desire in males.Maybe that’s why that son of a bitch Knox wouldn’t accept anything but mating with me.I stayed put after getting dressed, listening to what was happening a few yards ahead.After a few minutes, I heard the rustle of clothes, panting that slowly evened out.I stayed alert, hoping I wouldn’t have to run from another male who couldn’t take no for an answer.“Tempest... you can come out now. Don’t be afraid.” I blinked at the sound of the General’s rough voice.I stepped around the tree and found him standing in the small clearing.I didn’t even know how to look at him now that the heat had drained away.The heavy scent of dark lust still floated on the night breeze.“Sir, I can explain...”“I’m sorry. Goddess, I don’t know what came over me, jumping you like an animal. My head was a mess, and suddenly all I could think about was fucking ... you

TEMPEST“This isn’t about my post. It’s about the fact you were going to murder me, you bitch!” I took several steps forward, rage flooding me.“I think you should calm down, Miss Vale. You’re very agitated...” The housekeeper’s calm, lofty tone only stoked my anger.“And I think you should stop lying. I can’t believe you’d go that far just to get rid of me.”“HOW DARE YOU SLANDER ME?!”“Shut up already, Mrs. Lydia!” The General’s roar froze the room.The air was one spark from exploding.“Sir, I know what I saw and heard. I have no reason to lie!” I said, pleading with him.But his eyes weren’t on me. They were on the housekeeper.“Mrs. Lydia, you’ve worked in my mansion for years. I remember the former housekeeper left you in charge when she suddenly returned to her home pack because of a sick relative... or that’s what I was told when I came back from the front.”He lifted a brow.“Yes, sir, that’s how it was, and I’ve served at your side with care and...”“Spare me the self-praise

TEMPEST“Sir, you can’t believe this lie! I’m not capable of something so vile!”The housekeeper screamed, hand to her chest, as if she felt the dagger of despicable betrayal.“Oh, really, Mrs. Lydia? We’ll see. Bring what you found in that well.” At the General’s order, they had to hold her up; she nearly collapsed.Mr. Whitlock ordered the maid taken to the prison and sat back in his chair.Only I could see his shirt plastered to his back with sweat.Standing that long had to hurt, but his face showed no sign of weakness.Soon Mr. Corvin came in carrying something in his hands, wrapped in a white sheet, and set it on the clean part of the rug.The reek of fear, blood, and desperation mixed with something even darker... death.When he pulled back the cloth, I slapped a hand over my mouth, and my eyes stung.I recognized that skull at once... it was the one I had found in that awful hole.“Sir, the rotted clothes and this bracelet match someone’s identity...” Mr. Corvin handed over a

TEMPESTThat damn doctor’s face was a mask of fury.She climbed into the carriage at once.I don’t know what Mr. Whitlock said to her, but it was obvious she’d gotten off fairly unscathed.Of course, she wasn’t a nobody who could just vanish.Even so, it didn’t rattle me; I was focused on someone else.My gaze locked on the woman walking behind her.She wore a beautiful pastel dress, as delicate as her flawless blond hair.Her head was bowed, her face hidden by a veil of tulle falling from an elegant hat.I couldn’t see her clearly, but it was obvious she was striking and hurting.The tremble in her shoulders and the handkerchief dabbing at her nose said she’d been crying.She climbed into the coach too, and it hurried off over the cobblestones, lifting a veil of dust.Katherine and I stepped off the drive, watching it pass.Dark curtains hid the carriage interior.Still, even out here, you could feel the heaviness rolling off the carriage.“Oh, Goddess, looks like they argued. The la

TEMPESTI heard his quick footsteps, calling my name, but I didn’t stop for a second.“Tempest, wait, don’t leave like that! Damn it! Listen to me for a moment!”He was cursing between words.As I rounded the corner, there was a sudden crash... and more roars, like a caged beast.Maybe he’d fallen in his rush, and part of me felt guilty, but the rest of me was done.It felt like nothing had changed.Like I was still the same idiot pushed around by circumstances.Like I didn’t have control over my own life.I don’t know how far I ran, but I burst out of the mansion and slipped among the trees and benches in the garden.I wandered without looking, tears blurring my vision. I hid from prying eyes.What started as sniffles turned into a full-on, ugly cry.I stopped beside a tree, alone, and slid down with my back to it until I was sitting.Curled behind my bent knees, I cried and cried.Why did I feel so low again?Why had he treated me like that? Because of her?Because he was furious at