All Chapters of Alpha Maddox's Mortal Temptation : Chapter 261 - Chapter 270

“Clearly, you don’t. This is the best way to keep the pack safe.”“I’m not letting you— ”“That’s the thing, Zane. You don’t have to let me. I can do whatever I want. I could walk across the Human border right now, and you couldn’t stop me.”His jaw tenses. “I am the Alpha of this pack.”“You are. And everyone else in this room is going to follow your orders. But I won’t.”Suddenly, he seems larger. Angrier. He towers over me in a new, unfamiliar way, and hisses through clenched teeth, “You are under my command. If I say that I want you here, you’ll fucking stay here. Your plan would put you in danger and out of my protection, and that’s unacceptable.”“Zane.” I smile.He leans forward. I should be scared. I’m just not.“I love you,” I say simply.His eyes close. “You are mine. My mate. My— ”“More importantly, you love me. And that’s why you have no authority over me.” I reach up to caress his face with the back of my hand. Let my arm fall limp at my side, suddenly cold.When I tur

THEY TOOK MY TRACKER AND LEFT ME BEHIND, WHICH IS NOT how I thought it would go. Irene must know that the Northwest is going to notice that it’s no longer attached to my body, which could mean a handful of things.At best, she’s aware that something might be off and decided to be cautious. At worst, she knows exactly what our plan is and opted for using a less valuable bait, outfit it with my tracker, and let it be a casualty of the fight that will break out.It, because I don’t want to believe that Irene would sacrifice one of the Favored.The moment I’m fully awake, I yell into my gag. Writhe. Make a scene. One guard, a man with gray hair and a long beard, watches me for a few minutes. Then he sighs, comes closer, and frees my mouth. “What is it?”Where the fuck did they go? would be my conversation starter of choice, but I settle for “I have to go to the bathroom.” It’s not even a lie.He and the younger guard share a look. “Just . . . go.”“Where?”They seem confused.“You want

“It turned out to be nothing. And the Heat, I would have told you the second I came back to live in the Southwest. And— ”“I don’t believe you.”“Well, you should, because— ”“No, Anna, I’m talking. Remember when you didn’t tell me you were a Were? And we agreed that you should have? Clearly you learned nothing. You acted selfishly again. And you know what? I’m sick of this. I’m sick of you shouldering everything like you’re the fucking guy with the stone.”“Sisyphus?”“No— the other guy.”“King Arthur?”“No, the asshole who carries the planet.”“Atlas!”“Yes!” Her victorious smile mirrors mine. Then she remembers herself, and her expression becomes disheartened. “Anna, I can’t keep wondering what you’re not telling me. I can’t keep finding out that you’re facing enormous problems alone.”“Seraphine, it’s not . . .” I have no right to cry. So I try very hard not to. “I just don’t want you to have to worry— ”“I worry anyway. I worry more, because I don’t know whether you’ll reach out

I swallow past the lump in my throat. It’s fine. Better than fine, it’s exactly what I wanted. Zane, staying with the Northwest. The right thing to do.“Good,” I echo. I need to change the topic, before I beg him to do something he shouldn’t. “Were the huddle leaders fuckwaffles about . . . stuff?”“No more than usual. They said that I’m emotionally compromised over you. Which is true.” His thumb traces my lower lip. “Has been true for a while, really.”“Maybe. So you have— so you have feelings. Big deal.” I might be indignant on his behalf, which is ridiculous. Zane doesn’t need me to protect him or advocate for him, and yet here I am. “It changes nothing. Every single decision you have ever made has taken into consideration the good of the pack.”“Yeah. They would agree with that.”“Good. Because it’s bullshit. You can— you can be in love with someone and still be a fantastic Alpha. The thing is, I love you, and mate or not, I wouldn’t love you half as much if you weren’t the kind o

As feats go, this one is so Herculean, so strenuous, so immensely exacting, Zane is certain that it’ll make up for every single shitty thing he’s done during his wretched, questionable life. He is able to control his instincts and deny himself the one thing he wants with an all-consuming, ferocious, overwhelming passion. That, if nothing else, will guarantee him a place in his particular brand of Were heaven.Which, he’s come to realize, requires only one single thing: Anna.“ARE YOU BORED YET?” SHE ASKS HIM A MONTH OR SO AFTER MOVING in for good.It’s an absurd question. And yet, in a rational, detached sort of way, Zane understands what she’s getting at.They had a rocky start. The near murders and the kidnappings and that other bullshit. The medical scares. The fact that he had to push her away over and over, even as keeping his distance tore him apart.Bottom line, their first few months were very eventful. Compared to all that, the last few weeks have been strikingly low stakes.