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Todos os capítulos de Alpha Maddox's Mortal Temptation : Capítulo 211 - Capítulo 220

272 Capítulos

Chapter 212

DO YOU LIVE HERE?” I ASK. IN THE AFTERNOON SUN, I HAVE TO squint to properly make him out. I guess he could be Sem’s brother— several years younger, similar hair color. Slim build and soft, boyish jawline. He doesn’t seem hostile. But he also doesn’t feel like he belongs to this place that smells like moss and brine.I don’t lower my knife. “Who are you?”He slowly looks up at me, a smudge of soil on his forehead, another on his cheekbone. “Oh, your eyes. They are so familiar to me.”I take a step back. Quickly glance around, wondering if I should call for Zane. Except, would Zane kill this boy? Yes, probably. “I need you to tell me who you are,” I demand.“What a joy. To speak with you. To be with you.”What. The. Fuck. “I mean, sure. You should feel lucky, but . . . do I know you?”He straightens further, whispering something that ends up swallowed by the breeze and the waves. Slowly, he stands, holding out his hand. When I change my defensive grip to something that could do some re

Chapter 213

Zane freezes. His shoulders go rigid. “Boy, I’m faster than you, and a hell of a lot stronger. If you run, I will catch you within one hundred feet, and I’ll probably end up hurting you.”“You will pay for what you did. And Constantine will see you shortly.”To me, it all sounds like nonsense. But I can smell Zane’s rage. It runs so deep, I have to make the conscious choice not to step away from him. “Constantine is dead,” he spits out.“That he is,” the boy agrees with his widest smile yet, a grin of undiluted joy, and I realize that my initial assessment of his sanity may have been incorrect. Then it all happens so quickly, my glitchy, shocked brain can barely register the order of it.Zane was right: he is much faster, and he could catch the boy in one hundred feet. Except, he doesn’t have one hundred feet. Because the Were doesn’t run away toward the forest. Instead he chooses the opposite direction, and I don’t understand—Zane’s “Fuck” is muffled by the waves lapping onto shore

Chapter 214

“Could reports of his passing have been greatly exaggerated?”“I ripped his heart out of his chest, chewed it for half a minute, and then spit it into the ocean.”I nod slowly. “A simple ‘no’ would have sufficed.”Zane’s mouth twitches. “Constantine’s dead, no doubt about it. But he was the leader of a very destructive group.”“Another Alpha?”“Nothing like that. But some considered him a prophet.”I chew on my lower lip, mulling it over. “I didn’t know Weres have cults.”“Everybody has cults. They’re the weeds of sentient civilization. And Constantine’s was the worst of them, because . . .” He shakes his head and turns back to where his seconds are idling, waiting for him. He’s borrowing precious time, just to explain shit to me. “Constantine’s dead. But his right hands . . . Our understanding of their power structure may have been incomplete.”“The boy who killed himself . . . ?”“He was in his late teens. Too young to have been part of the original cult. I doubt he ever met Consta

Chapter 215

“I know. But this is difficult for you, too. And he dragged your parents into it, which I can’t even imagine . . .” I swallow. “I’m sorry that you have to deal with this.”His teeth clench. There’s a flicker of something unreadable in his face. “If I come back and something has happened to you, Anna, I’m going to be so fucking pissed.”I bite the inside of my lips. “That sounds like a you problem.”“Yeah. That it is.”I turn and walk inside the cabin. I do not watch Zane leave, nor do I listen to the engine softening in the distance. Instead I go to my room, dig into the mountain of blankets and pillows the bed has somehow accumulated, sit cross-legged with my phone in my hands, and do the only thing that makes sense.Anna: Would you love me less if my name was Eva?Seraphine: Yes.Seraphine: But not like, by a lot.I bury my face in the pillow to laugh and cry at the same time.I WAKE UP A FEW HOURS LATER, ON FIRE.Pouring sweat.Shivering.In pain so visceral, I am willing to do a

Chapter 216

No.I WAKE UP TO THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PIANO MUSIC I’VE EVER heard.Not that it means much, given my pathological inability to listen to anything without a techno beat, but this . . . it’s spectacular. Vaguely familiar. Probably classical. Elegant but intimate. Being awakened by any sort of loud noise is down there with eating paint chips in my list of favorite things, but this is so gentle and understated, I want to make it my forever alarm.My eyes flutter open of their own volition, and I realize that I’m in Zane’s bedroom, again. Stealing his bed, again. Unable to recall how I ended up here, again. My last memories are blurred. Working on a letter. Yawning till my eyes were a constant stream of tears. Sliding under the covers. I must have slept in, judging from the early afternoon light filtering inside.Which explains the wake- up call.Zane sits on the piano stool, his back a bare expanse interrupted only by the waistband of his jeans. He is, at once, relaxed and in movement, mus

Chapter 217

Guilt stuffs my throat full. This is the part I’m most embarrassed to speak out loud, but I force myself to do it anyway. “One night I woke up in Daisy’s room. With no idea how I’d gotten there.”Zane inhales sharply. Like he already knows where this is going. “You didn’t hurt her, Anna.”“No, but I could have. I was boiling hot and disoriented, and CSD patients can often experience aggressive episodes, and . . .” I shake my head. “It’s for the best. If I told Seraphine, she’d want to be with me. But Daisy needs her more than I do, so— ”Something lands on the comforter with a soft thud.I gasp. “These are my . . .”“Letters. To Daisy and the Vampyre.”“Where did you find them? You had no right to— ”“On your bed. Unfolded.”“That doesn’t excuse— ”“Anna.” It’s little more than a whisper, but everything about Zane, from his voice to the taut flex in his biceps, tells me how deeply unwilling he is to let me express righteous indignation over the violation of my privacy. He continues, c

Chapter 218

DR. SEM CAINE’S OFFICE IS AT THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE DEN. HE checks my vitals and listens to a detailed recap of last night’s episode, but what he spends most of his time on is the records Dr. Henshaw sent over.Zane waits by the door, cross-armed and dark-clouded. He dispassionately informs Sem of my prognosis, commands him to refute it, kill it with fire, salt it, and then simply gazes stoically into the distance as I put my clothes back on.It was a shared but unspoken decision, him staying for my exam.Maybe he’s afraid I’ll bolt, even though I’m here neither reluctantly nor under duress. Maybe he cannot physically stay away. All I know is that my heart is squeezed into the tightest of fists. It’s obvious what he wants to be told.Sem glances away from his tablet to give me a warm healthcare-professional smile. “Alpha, I think it would be best if you and I could talk privately.”“About me?” I sit back in the chair and cock my head. “That has to be a HIPAA violation.”Sem’s brow furr

Chapter 219

It likely speaks of how much my sanity has devolved that I exhale a laugh. “Got it.”He grunts, a fraction mellower. I wonder if he really thinks that he can will my illness into nonexistence.Maybe someone who’s been Alpha for two decades is too accustomed to power to entertain the idea of something not going his way? But slowly, eventually, he lets go of me, and I take a step back, nearly walking into the parked car. I let the sleeves of his hoodie swallow my hands, and God, that shopping trip was so unnecessary.“The thing is,” I try to explain, “it might be for the best.”The way he looks at me is so indignant, it makes me chuckle again. Which is not appropriate for the conversation.“I mean, it’s not like you and I could . . . You have the covenant. And I’m not exactly available for a long-term relationship.” My smile feels a little forced. I hope it’ll work on him anyway. “The reasons why it couldn’t work between us are not just yours, or just mine. None of that one-way unrequit

Chapter 220

THAT NIGHT ZANE HAS A PACK MEETING AT THE CABIN.I get out of the shower, quickly put on leggings and one of his shirts (which I sniff for over a minute, with inappropriate enthusiasm). I’m about to move to the living room and not mind my own business, when my phone lights up with a call.From someone who usually prefers a string of twelve multi-paragraph texts over a one-minute chat.“What’s up, Bleetch?” I ask, terrified that Zane might have gone behind my back and told Seraphine about my situation.I will stab him, I vow. I will chop him into pieces and sell him at a wet market. For pennies.“Not much.” A beat. “First question: Are you alone?”“You mean, existentially, or . . .”“Is there someone around you?”“No. Why?”“Second question: Are you in the right headspace to receive information that could possibly hurt you?”My heart drops. “Seraphine, if— ”“No, I’m serious. I talked to Lucien about the Northwest, and it’s bad.”“How bad?”“Bad bad. Like . . . Our lives, bad.”“Whoa.”

Chapter 221

“How the hell was he proposing to turn Humans into Weres?”“Apparently there were bites and mutual blood drinking and a not insignificant amount of sex rituals.”I groan. This is too stupid, even for me. “What about the fact that they are different species? What about science?”“You are so cynical. A little science could never stand between a frat boy and his desire for a monthly howl fest.”“It makes no sense. We both lived among Humans— have you ever met anyone who said wished they could be a Were?”“No. But I’ve also never met anyone with a belly-button fetish, and they exist.”“Do they?”“Alvinophilia. Look it up. Anyway, fast-forward ten years or so, and Constantine has hundreds of followers. Lots of them are Humans from the rural places neighboring the original settlement, but some are from The City, too. They basically act as servants and free labor, which in turns begets new Were followers. The leadership is fully Were. Constantine’s career as a charismatic leader is up and co

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