All Chapters of The Alpha’s Power Play: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

"You are twisting the narrative, Ms. Ashcroft. Aren’t network anchors trained to avoid leading the witness?"I knew it was reckless to push back against Kael, but the implication that I lacked professional integrity made my hackles rise instantly. "Forgive me. I wasn't aware this casual trail ride had shifted into an official audition for the Moonfang Network.""Every single breath you take around me is an audition, Rowan. Every single one."A cold splash of reality hit me because deep down, my instincts had already whispered that exact truth.With that brutal confirmation hanging in the air, a surge of adrenaline gave me permission to drop the submissive act. I didn't hesitate with my retort. "In that case, I reclaim my apology. I’m a commentator with an investigative edge. I will push a boundary whenever I believe it will expose the raw truth of a situation."I could literally feel the heat of his dark smirk pressing against the back of my neck. "And what truth are you hunting for s

"Did you tell him I absolutely would not do it?"Declan looked completely taken aback, his jaw dropping slightly as his scent spiked with a sudden wave of defensive static. "I told him I would bring the proposition to you.""You didn't tell him, 'fucking no, that's my bonded mate, and no network slot is worth selling her out'?" My voice cracked right down the middle, the vibration of my vocal cords jagged and raw. Maybe the feral fury was finally giving way to humiliating tears."Rowan, come on." He took a sharp step toward my position, but I thrust a flat palm into the air, freezing him in his tracks. "Goddess damn it, that isn't our dynamic. That has never been our arrangement.""Right. Not our arrangement." A single, betraying teardrop leaked past my eyelashes, tracking a hot line down my cheek.He whipped his torso away from me in sheer frustration, his fists clenching, before spinning back around to lock eyes. "We said, 'Anything it takes.' Those were the exact words we used. We

"It is a transactional reality," he murmured. He leaned his massive upper body forward, sliding his crystal glass directly adjacent to mine on the stone surface, and when his spine straightened again, his heavy knee brushed flush against mine.Instead of instantly jerking my leg away from the contact, my eyes dropped to the point of friction. His body heat was intense, radiating a fierce, golden warmth right through the heavy linen of his trousers, and a sudden, systemic heat flooded my veins. Especially in the dark core between my thighs. Was this arrangement truly so toxic? Would a physical surrender to an alpha of this magnitude truly be a sickening experience?"Transactional," he repeated, and because my hesitation had already exceeded the professional protocol, I was forced to leave my knee locked against his, feeling the steady throb of his pulse. "I command an asset your ambition requires. You possess an asset my nature desires. And I would venture to report that my administrat

"I was just preparing to clear the room. My systems require an immediate infusion of caffeine.""Grant me five minutes to cycle through the washroom and shift my layers, and my unit will flank you."I gave a stiff nod of agreement, and he stripped out of his training gear, abandoning the damp layers in a pile on the floor before vanishing behind the washroom door. Under normal circumstances, my eyes would have naturally tracked the lean, athletic definition of his runner's torso. Even at fifty-three winters, his wolf carried zero excess mass.But less than eight hours had elapsed since my radar had mapped Kael’s impossible abdominal wall, and I recognized with a grim certainty that my visual standards were permanently ruined for the rest of my life cycle.Allowing my memory to trace the heavy definition of the Alpha's chest immediately reawakened the thermal reaction from last night, and I was immensely grateful Declan was locked behind the glass so his senses couldn't track the sudde

“Did your dominance truly execute a public shouting match with Virelle Knox in the center of the primary driveway before breakfast?”I lifted my chin to find my sister anchoring the edge of the terrace, her scent projecting an immediate wave of familial accusation.I shoved the device back into my pocket, casting a cold glance over my shoulder toward the heavy timber threshold of my sleeping quarters. My private terrace featured an external access path through the lower gardens, assuming an entity possessed the tracking coordinates—which Seraphine did—meaning there was zero logical justification for her unit to be advancing through my private suite to reach my position. “State the variable that allowed your boots to cross my bedroom floor.”She contorted her features as though my defensive protocol was completely absurd. “Callum Drake is familiar with my clearance level, you absolute moron.”“That data point fails to explain why an enforcer would compromise the security of my wing.” C