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หน้าหลัก / Werewolf / Alpha Maddox's Mortal Temptation / บทที่ 91 - บทที่ 100

บททั้งหมดของ Alpha Maddox's Mortal Temptation : บทที่ 91 - บทที่ 100

272

Chapter 91

The remaining 99 percent of my brain, sadly, is focused on Daisy.God. I hate, hate, hate that I care.I dash down the stairs, then outside via the kitchen. The heat crashes into me like a wave, slowing me downA couple of Weres see me, but no one notices me. Little jagged stones dig painfully into the soles of my feet, but I power through, heading for the forest. By the time I’ve reached the woods, my flesh is burning, I’m limping, and I’ve almost lost my balance twice, courtesy of a pile of sand buckets and an arm floatie.But I see Daisy’s bright blue swimsuit amid the green, the dark gray of Max’s shirt, and yell “Hey!” I wade through the thick of the trees. “Hey, stop!”Max keeps on walking, but Daisy turns, sees me, and grins, gap-toothed and delighted. Her heartbeat is sweet and happy. “Serapine!”“Not my name, we’ve been over this. Yo, Max? Where are you taking her?”He must recognize my voice, because he halts. And when he looks at me, his face is pure hatred. “What are you
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Chapter 92

Ken Doll snorts. “Were you watching us from the window?”“I mean . . . yeah?”“Creepy. You need a hobby.”“You’re right. I’ve heard amazing things about paragliding, or competitive duck herding. Maybe I could—oh, wait. I forgot that I’m literally stuck in a one-hundred-and-thirty-square-foot bedroom twenty-four seven.”“Read a book, pointy.”“Enough.” Lucien stalks across the room to crouch in front of Max, who instantly tries to scramble away. His tone is firm but surprisingly gentle when he asks, “Where were you going to take Daisy?”Max doesn’t reply, so he continues, “You are fifteen, and I’m not going to punish you like an adult. I don’t know who you got mixed up with, or how, but I can help you. I will protect you.”Sweat trickles down Max’s temples. He’s much younger than I thought. “You’re just going to get rid of me. If I tell you, you—”“I do not hurt my own, especially not children,” Lucien growls. “I am not Roscoe.”“No.” Max’s eyes flick to me. “He’d never have made allia
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Chapter 93

I kneel in front of Max, ignoring his nauseating, fear-drenched heartbeat, the way he hisses at me to get away. “Dude, I’m trying to help you avoid an iron chair, or however it is that your people extract information, so—”Something wet lands on the front of my tank top.Because Max spit on me.“Ew.” I gasp, disgusted, but before I can—I don’t know, spit back?—Lucien’s hand presses against Max’s chest and pins him to the couch.“What the fuck did you just do?” he grunts.“She’s a Vampyre!”“She’s my—” Lucien’s hand jerks up to clutch Max’s jaw. “Apologize to my wife.”“Sorry. Sorry. Please don’t— I’m sorry.” Max starts sobbing.Lucien turns to me. “Do you accept?”“Accept . . . the spit?”“His apology.”“Oh.” Oh my God. What is happening? “Sure, why not? It was so . . . sincere and spontaneous. Just, hold his head still, and don’t let him move—yes, hands on the chin. Okay, this will take a second, don’t let him wiggle away.”I start with my thumb at the base of Max’s nose, and my inde
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Chapter 94

I’m escorted out. I must really be at my most busybody, because I’m tempted to ask if I can stay. Figure out what this strange war within the Weres could be about. Instead I meekly follow Mick up the stairs.“I hope I didn’t get you in trouble,” I tell him, “but I saw Max take Daisy, and I know you guys don’t believe me, but he’d attacked me, so—”“No one doubted you,” he says kindly.I look at him. “Lucien sure did.”“Lucien knew Max had attacked you first. He is very good at smelling lies.”“Oh. As in . . . literally smelling?"Mick nods but doesn’t elaborate. “He knew Max was up to something, knew it had to do with Ana, and wanted to get as much information as he could out of him. It’s a tightrope to walk, for Lucien. He won’t go about interrogating every person he doesn’t like, or he’ll be the same as Roscoe was toward the end. But the Loyals have been hurting their own, and they must be stopped.”“He sure seemed ready to let the others torture Max.”“That was a show, meant to sca
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Chapter 95

Daisy interrupts her bedtime story to communicate to him important, time-sensitive information: “Serapine is so so soooo pretty. I loooove her ears.”He presses his lips together before resuming his reading.Among the Vampyres, fangs are not just teeth—they are status.Take muscles in Humans: Was there a time, a bunch of millennia ago, in which having a mate with inflated, bouncy biceps meant more protection from . . . the dinosaurs? I’m no history buff; I thrived in math and zero other subjects. The point is, athletic prowess provided an evolutionary advantage that’s now, in an era in which atomic bombs exist, fairly obsolete. And yet, Humans still find it attractive.Canines are much the same for Vampyres: they’re considered a symbol of strength and power, because in the olden days we’d hunt our prey and sink our teeth into their flesh to feast on their blood. The longer, the sharper, the bigger—the better.And this wolf’s . . . This wolf’s fangs could win contests. Rule civilizatio
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Chapter 96

A wave of dread sweeps over me. There is no air in the world left for my lungs.“And who would that be?” Lucien murmurs, licking his lips. He inhales me deeply, purposefully. “How interesting. In the past week I’ve witnessed two attempts on your life, and you’ve never smelled as scared as you do just now. Why, Vampyre?” His stark face is all sharp lines, sculpted by the glowing lights of the monitor. His lips move, full and ruthless. I cannot look away. “Who is Anna Holt, Seraphine?”He sounds sincerely curious, and I wonder if maybe he has nothing to do with her disappearance. But maybe he does. Maybe he’s pretending. Maybe he didn’t know her name but hurt her anyway.I push against his chest. It’s like trying to move an army of mountains. “Let me go.”“Seraphine.” His eyes bore into mine. “You know I’m not going to do that. Alex,” he says, louder this time, still looking only at me. “Bring back Cal. It looks like we’re going to have to extract Gabi and break the armistice with the V
อ่านเพิ่มเติม

Chapter 97

He is not reckless, or negligent, or quick to trust. But he recognizes a formidable ally when he sees one.Many rooms in the house would be perfectly adequate for a discreet conversation, but we find ourselves sitting at the kitchen table, a mug of black coffee in front of Lucien, steadily steaming as the sun outside struggles to rise.My night was sleepless, like most. His, too, going by the dark shadows under his eyes. His face is etched, as carvingly beautiful as usual. He hasn’t shaved in a while, and it’s clear that he could use some rest and a two-week stretch without a coup.I have the sneaking suspicion he’s not going to get either.“I couldn’t figure out why you’d accepted,” he tells me between sips, almost conversationally.Every other interaction we’ve had has been fraught with tension, on the heels of him catching me in compromising situations. Now . . . We’re not fast friends, but I wonder if this is Lucien when his energies are not fully focused on trying to protect his
อ่านเพิ่มเติม

Chapter 98

“There were eight Weres monitoring the situation,” he says, unoffended. “And a tracker in her suit. Max had no vehicle at his disposal, so we knew he was going to attempt to hand off Daisy to someone else. She was never in any real danger.”“Sure.” I shrug, pretending I don’t care. “And children are soft and adaptable and make for perfect pawns in the power plays of great leaders, right?”“I can only protect Daisy if I know where the threats against her are coming from.” He leans forward across the table. The scent of his blood is like a wave lapping at my skin. “I’m not like your father, Seraphine.”My throat is suddenly dry. “Well, you’re wrong. I would throw Daisy under the bus, if I had to choose between her and Anna.” I have priorities, very little heart, and find no pleasure in being deceitful when others are being honest with me. Daisy might be growing on me, but she wasn’t the one who slept next to me for a whole week when I was fourteen and gave myself seizures by trying to f
อ่านเพิ่มเติม

Chapter 99

“I was living in Europe when my mother was injured, but immediately flew back. When it became obvious that she might not make a recovery, she told me about Daisy's biological father.”“Her Human biological father.” Inconceivable.“I thought she was delirious because of the drugs. Or just mistaken.”I tilt my head. “What changed?”“There are things about Daisy. Things that had me taking what my mother said as more than some morphine-induced delusion.”“Like what?”“For one, Daisy doesn’t shift.”“Oh. Should she, already?”“A Were child would. In fact, during the full moon, they’d have trouble not shifting. Her blood is a deep red instead of green. At the same time, she has Were traits. She’s more agile, stronger than a Human. Her vitals are all over the place. After my mother passed, and very discreetly, I had her DNA tested. Juno is a geneticist, and she was able to help.” He picks up the knife again, slathers more jelly. The peanut butter jar is still there. Open. “At the time, Rosco
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Chapter 109

He shakes his head and starts cutting the sandwich out of its crusts. I follow the rhythm, mesmerized by his graceful hands, and recall that this is something Anna used to prefer for her food when we were . . . younger than Lucien, for sure. I would not have thought a big bad wolf would be this picky.“Not to be a discord sower, and I promise this is only marginally related to Juno’s hankering for carving my organs out, but maybe you should investigate the possibility that one of them tattled you out.”“I did. Despite them having risked their lives for me a dozen times over.” He says it angrily, like it was sour and painful, something he’s ashamed of, and the thought hits me: that maybe Lucien is the kind of leader who measures his strength not by the battles he wins, but by the trust he is able to accord to others.There is something about him, about the way he commands, that manages to be at once pragmatic and idealistic.He sets the crusts aside and leans his palms on the table onc
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