Chapter 399
Four hundred and one
Alexander POV
I watched the rude bitch stomp down the hallway and slam the bedroom door shut.
My breath came out hard through my nose.
A lost little boy, still desperate to be chosen. The words kept echoing in my head like a rusted nail scraping against my skull. I had not felt that angry in years. Not when Lucas defied me, and not when the Alphas looked down on us like we were strays.
If I hadn’t sworn off hitting women, and if my mate hadn’t been standing there watching, I don’t know what I would have done to her.
That spoiled Alpha brat had never known real suffering. She had no right to see through me and expose me like that. Cherry said things just as cutting sometimes, but Cherry had bled beside me. She’d earned that right.
I stared at the closed door until the anger dropped a notch.
“Does your cousin always run her mouth like that p>
My mate’s green eyes were fixed on my face like she couldn’t look away, then her gaze hardened into a glare. “She has every right to speak her mind. Did you think she was raised to grovel or bite her tongue? You’re staring at that door like you want to kill her, which means she struck a nerve p>
Her words hung between us. The anger in my chest drained out, leaving me cold and tired.
I looked at Emma closely. She fought to hold herself together, but her bottom lip quivered. Her words told me to back off, but her face said otherwise.
We were both wound tight, the bond pulling at both of us. Every breath felt charged. The only thing keeping us from closing that gap, right there in the hallway, was whatever restraint we had left.
I wanted her shamelessly, desperately, with a hunger I couldn’t hide from myself. But even with every part of me aching to ask, I couldn’t say the words.
She crossed her arms.
“Why did you call me out here? I can’t stand looking at you, so just say what you have to say p>
I scoffed, forcing air into a room that felt too small for us both.
“Right. You can’t stand looking at me. I wonder what your proper little Alpha boyfriend back home would think if he saw the way you look at me now p>
Emma’s eyes flashed.
“And I wonder how many of your local whores you’re going to sleep with to prove how little this bond means to you p>
I flinched at that. Ever since Ruin Island, the thought of touching another woman turned my stomach. Back at camp, women tried to get close to me, but their scent made me sick. I couldn’t touch anyone else.
The thought scared me more than I wanted to admit. If she ever left, what would become of me?
out Tu
+15 Bonus
She was my mate, and the bond had already marked me in ways I couldn’t undo. I’d heard what happened after a bond was severed or rejected. Some wolves could never enjoy sex again unless they found a second-chance mate, and those were almost myth If she walked away, I might spend the rest of my life wanting someone I could never have.
Emma stepped toward me, chin raised. “Why did you drag me out here, Alexander p>
Hearing her say my name lit a desire under my skin, building until I had to clamp down and keep my wolf on a leash.
The honest answer was one I would never tell her. I had no real reason to call her into the hall. There was no plan or deal to discuss. I just needed to see her, to breathe the same air, even if it meant standing there while her
cousin tore into me.
But if I admitted that and let her see how deep the bond had its hooks inime, she’d use it against me.
I swallowed the urge to ask her impossible questions.
Could she ever look past the rogue label?
Could she stay?
Asking someone so sheltered to live in my world was insane.
“I was just wondering,” I said, leaning back against the wall, keeping my voice easy. “If your father pays the ransom by the end of the week and you leave here, when is the severance rite happening p>
Her forehead creased. “As soon as I’m out of here, I’m telling my parents everything p>
I scoffed, a dark edge creeping into my voice. “Since you’re so determined to break this bond and the rite is inevitable anyway, what’s stopping us from enjoying each other while you’re still here p>
She gasped. “You think this is funny p>
Tears gathered in her eyes, and it caught me off guard. Guilt twisted in my chest, a feeling I wasn’t used to, especially not over someone else.
“Keep mocking me,” she said, her voice shaking. “Just like my cousin said, you aren’t immune to this. Your wolf wants mine just as much as mine wants yours, yet you stand there acting like you’re above it p>
“I never said I was immune,” I said, the act dropping.
I pushed off the wall and closed the distance between us. She didn’t move. I could feel the heat of her body through our clothes. Her breath hitched, but she still didn’t back down.
I raised my scarred finger and brushed them under her chin, tilting her face until her eyes met mine. The bond flared, heat rolling through my veins. Every instinct told me to pull her against the wall, sink my teeth into her shoulder, and mark her before anyone could take her from me. I kept my hand still, holding her chin gently, using every ounce of control I had left so I wouldn’t scare her further.
She searched my eyes before whispering, “I’m not having sex with you p>
She stepped back, breaking our contact. The loss of her touch hit my chest like a weight.
“My body isn’t something you get to use while you wait for a rite to tear us apart,” she added, her voice steady again.
+15 Bonus
Bruised pride slammed back into place, armor over the ache underneath.
“I guess we’re done here tken p>
I turned and walked away down the corridor, fast, before her scent finished off what was left of my control.
Even outside, her scent lingered in my nose strong enough to make my wolf stir.
Cherry stepped out from the porch shadows. She didn’t say anything, didn’t look at me. She just walked beside me and took my hand.
We crossed the gravel driveway to a fallen oak near the fence and sat side by side on the log.
“I don’t need you lurking around every corner,” I mumbled, picking up a stone and throwing it. “I know you heard
her p>
Cherry smiled, her fingers quick as she signed: I heard most of it. Then things got embarrassing, so I came out here to wait for you.
She paused, eyes full of mischief, then signed again: So you were going to beg her for sex? And you backed out?
“Shut up,” I muttered, looking away.
Cherry tapped my knee until I looked at her: I’ve never seen you this shaken.
“I’m fine,” I lied. “My human side doesn’t care what she does. It’s just the wolf reacting to the bond p>
Cherry shook her head, her face going serious: You need to stop saying that. Words have power. You didn’t ask for the bond, but did she? It’s foolish to throw it away without trying.
“She hates me, Cherry. She can’t stand looking at me p>
Cherry signed: She doesn’t hate you. It’s not that simple. Anyone can see the tension between you two. You don’t have to act like the Rogue Lord around her, Alexander. Being a leader means staying in control, but finding your mate is different. It’s okay to show your feelings.
I shook my head. “I’m not going to act like a whiny kid. I’m not begging anyone for affection p>
Cherry gave me a look that said she didn’t believe a word of it: What are you going to do? Do you think she won’t see your restraint as proof you don’t care if she stays or leaves?
Her words landed because I knew she was right. But what choice did I have? I wasn’t going to trap a sheltered girl and force her to love me. If I let myself want her, losing her when she went home would break me.
“She has the freedom to leave,” I said, standing up. “A broken bond won’t kill me p>
Cherry shook her head like she already felt sorry for me.
We left the private house on my motorbike and rode to the main camp. Armed guards patrolled the dirt roads with crossbows loaded with silver-tipped bolts, and surveillance ringed the camp, built to keep out Alpha execution squads.
We stopped near the main holding building. I went inside to check on the other captives. Unlike Emma and her cousin, these prisoners were packed onto wooden benches, eyes wide with fear as I walked past. I didn’t feel sorry for them, but I wasn’t going to kill them either. They were bargaining chips, nothing more.
+16 Bonus
Outside, a group of older rogues sat near the fire. The men and women who could no longer hunt lowered their heads as I passed, thanking me for the weekly stipend and food that kept them alive.
Across the yard, some guards were sparring in a dirt ring. Cherry’s eyes lit up. She ran over, tapped one of the guards on the shoulder, and joined the fight without hesitation. A few female guards cheered and joined her.
I leaned against a post, watching her throw grown man onto his back.
My phone rang, breaking the moment. I pulled it out and saw Lucas’s name on the screen.
I answered. “What p>
“Alexander! I told you to let me handle this my way,” Lucas shouted. “I warned you, but you kept stalling p>
“Stop screaming like a bitch, or I’m hanging up,” I said coldly. “What happened p>
“Kamala is gone!” Lucas yelled.
My heart stopped. I’d left her at the hospital so sick she could barely walk. She was Lucas’s grandmother.
“How?” I demanded, gripping the phone tighter. “How did they get to her? How did they even know she was in that hospital p>
“The Alphas are working together,” Lucas said, breathing hard. “They attacked the hospital an hour ago and took her. They knew we wouldn’t negotiate, so they took someone vulnerable to break us p>
I could hear weapons clicking, men shouting, crates slamming shut in the background.
“If Kamala dies, I’m putting silver through every captive’s skull!” Lucas shouted. “They took one of ours, so we take one of theirs p>
“Lucas. Dead captives are useless to us. Keeping them alive is the only reason Kamala is still alive. Keep your weapons down p>
“I’m not negotiating shit!” Lucas shouted. “If I don’t find Kamala tonight, nobody is stopping me. Not even you p>
The line went dead,
P
Comments
Support
す
Share
Lucia Morh
Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.