All Chapters of Taming the Alpha CEO: Mine to Ruin: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

53 Chapters

21: The Breech

We follow the crowd inside and I try not to gape at the interior because it’s massive. The ceiling has to be at least thirty feet high with exposed wooden beams and there’s a fireplace against one wall that’s big enough to walk into. Pack members file in and take seats on benches and chairs that line the walls and I’m left standing with everyone staring and I’ve never felt more exposed in my life. Elder Blackwood settles into a high-backed chair at the far end of the hall that looks less like furniture and more like a throne and he studies me with the kind of cold look that makes me want to shrink into myself. “Tell me, human.” The way he says human makes it sound like an insult. “What makes you believe you’re worthy of an Alpha?” “I don’t—” I start but he holds up one hand and I stop talking. “You don’t,” he agrees. “Yet here you stand, having triggered a war responsible for dead in my son’s home, do you even comprehend the magnitude of what you’ve done?” “Viktor wants

22: The Medical Wing

I’m pacing the length of the great hall for what has to be the hundredth time and my legs are starting to ache but I can’t make myself sit down because if I stop moving I’m going to lose my mind thinking about what’s happening out there in the dark. Kade’s been on his phone for the past ten minutes speaking rapid-fire what I came to know was Italian and I catch maybe one word in five but his tone tells me everything I need to know, things aren’t going well. He notices me staring and ends the call with a sharp “Capito” before shoving the phone in his pocket. “Italian?” “Yeah the pack has Italian blood in it.” He runs a hand through his hair. That explains Rhys’s facial features and olive complexion I thought to myself. “How many are there?” I ask because I don’t actually care about ancestral history right now. “Rogues I mean, how many?” “Too many.” His expression is grim. “Viktor brought his entire force, this isn’t a skirmish, this is a full assault.” I move back

23: When He Comes Anyway

Another wolf gets brought in and Judith curses under her breath. “I need you to hold him down, he’s going to try to shift and if he does it’ll rip the stitches.” I move to the new patient who’s thrashing on the bed and there’s a gash across his shoulder that’s so deep I can see the bone underneath and when I try to hold his arms down he nearly throws me off. Judith finishes the last stitch and steps back. “He’ll live, keep him still for another few minutes while the silver clears his system.” At some point I realize she’s letting me actually help instead of just keeping me busy. My hands won’t stop shaking and there’s blood dried under my fingernails and soaked into my clothes up to my elbows and my voice is hoarse from talking nonstop but I can’t stop because these people are hurt and I can actually help instead of being useless. Kade appears next to me at some point and he’s on his phone again speaking that other language and his face is grim and tight and I can’t hear w

24: Something I Shouldn’t

“You shouldn’t be here,” I say but I don’t move to close the door and we both know that’s the same as an invitation. “I know.” He stays in the doorway with one hand braced against the frame like he needs it to hold himself back. “I just needed to see you, make sure you were actually okay.” I sit down on the edge of the bed because sitting puts some distance between us even though the room isn’t that big. “So you’re engaged.” His whole body goes tense and I watch his jaw clench. “It’s an arrangement that my father made.” “To you maybe, Selene seemed pretty convinced about your bonding ceremony in six weeks.” I pull the robe tighter around myself even though the room isn’t cold. “When were you planning to mention that little detail?” “I was going to end it—” “Before or after you fucked me and sent me away like you offered in your office?” The words taste bitter. “Or were you just going to keep both of us on the hook until you decided which option was more convenient?” “T

25: Caught in the Open

“Not yet.” His hand slides up my thigh under the robe. “I need to make sure you’re ready first.” His hand keeps moving higher until his fingers brush against the edge of my underwear and I actually whimper because I need him to touch me properly more than I need oxygen for my next breath. “Please—” I don’t even know what I’m begging for but I need something. His fingers slip under the fabric and when he touches me I arch off the bed and he makes a satisfied sound against my neck. “You’re so wet already.” “Because you’ve been teasing me for weeks—” It comes out breathless. He lifts his head to look at me and his eyes are pure gold now. “I’m going to take my time with you, I’m going to touch every inch of you until you can’t remember your own name.” His hand slides up under the robe properly and his palm is hot against my stomach as he moves higher, and when his fingers brush the underside of my breast I make a sound I didn’t know I could make. He pushes the robe open and I

26:In Front of the World

The clothes from earlier are stiff with dried blood but they’re all I have so I pull them on and try not to think about how I look like an extra from a crime scene. When I come out Rhys is fully dressed now in dark jeans and a black t-shirt and he’s on his phone. He ends the call and looks at me. “Kade’s going to escort you down to meet with security, they’ll handle getting rid of the press.” “I want to talk to her.” “Absolutely not—” “She’s my family, I’m not letting security drag her off the property like some random stalker.” I’m already walking toward the door. “I’ll talk to her for two minutes and send her away, problem solved.” He catches my wrist and his grip is firm enough that I have to stop. “She brought cameras, this isn’t a family visit.” “Then I’ll give her thirty seconds and make sure every word I say is boring enough that it won’t make the news.” I pull my wrist free. “You can’t keep me locked up here forever.” “I’m not trying to lock you up—” “Reall

27: Viral

She positions herself directly in front of the cameras and every reporter immediately shifts their attention to her. “I can actually answer your question about Miss Voss’s relationship with Rhys.” Her voice carries this tone of sympathetic authority that makes me want to punch her. “Rhys Blackwood is engaged, to me, we’ve been together for two years and our wedding is next month.” The cameras explode with flashes and the reporters start shouting over each other so loudly I can barely hear myself think. “So whatever situation Miss Voss has found herself in—” Selene gestures at me like I’m a particularly unfortunate piece of furniture“—it’s temporary at best, Rhys has always been generous with his employees, perhaps too generous, and sometimes people mistake kindness for something more.” “Are you saying Miss Voss is lying about her relationship with Mr. Blackwood?” A reporter shoves a microphone at Selene. “I’m saying that Astrid is a very ambitious young woman” Selene’s smi

28: The Coward

RHYS The boardroom smelled like bullshit which was fitting because half these assholes were about to lose their jobs and they knew it. Dante stood at the projector like he was presenting evidence at a murder trial, which I guess in a way he was because he was trying to murder my career. “Four hundred million overnight,” Dante said, and he looked so fucking pleased with himself I could smell the satisfaction coming off him in waves because he’d been waiting for me to fuck up like this for years. “Your shareholders are asking questions, Rhys. Hard questions.” I leaned back in my chair and kept my face blank. “My personal life has nothing to do with company performance.” “It is when it tanks our stock price.” Dante leaned forward, hands flat on the table like he thought that made him intimidating. “Who is she?” Rodriguez jumped in before I could tell Dante to go fuck himself. “The leaked documents came from her credentials, Rhys. We have the server logs.” “She’s being fra

29: Mistakes

ASTRID I woke up to someone knocking, which was weird because nobody had bothered knocking before, they just left trays outside my door like I was a zoo animal they were trying not to startle. The tray from last night was still there when I checked. Someone had covered it with foil at some point, which meant they’d come back to check and I hadn’t even noticed. Kade was standing in the hallway holding another tray, looking at me like he was doing math in his head and didn’t like the answer he was getting. “You planning to starve yourself?” “I’m not hungry.” “That’s not what I asked.” He pushed past me without waiting for an invitation, set the new tray on the desk, then picked up the old one. “Is he back?” “He got in around ten last night.” So he was here, in this building, and he still hadn’t come to see me. “So he’s avoiding me.” Kade sighed and sat on the edge of the desk,“He’s not avoiding you. The board’s threatening him and the shareholders are losing th

30: Permission

Astrid The Uber dropped me at the service entrance and I barely had both feet on the ground before two guards materialized out of nowhere like they’d been waiting for me specifically. “Alpha wants to see you,” the taller one said. “Now.” I glanced down at myself. “I need to change first—” “Now, Miss Voss.” So that was how it was going to be. They flanked me on either side and I realized pretty quickly that this wasn’t an escort so much as it was a walk of shame because everyone we passed in the hallways stopped what they were doing to stare and I could feel their judgment. We got to Rhys’s office and one of them knocked once. “She’s here, Alpha.” There was a pause that lasted too long and then his voice came through the door. “Send her in. Alone.” The guard opened the door and gave me a look that might have been sympathy before he stepped aside and I walked in and heard the door click shut behind me. Rhys was standing at the window with his back to me and there

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