Not a Broken Alpha. He's a Beast Chapter 2

My hand was on the doorknob, but I pulled it back like I’d been shocked.

How would I even explain it if I just ran out there?

“Mark me, or I’ll be rogue-food in three months?”

I’d sound like a pathetic, desperate lunatic.

I tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.

If the words were true, I had to get Ryker firmly on my side before that woman, Lorelei, came back.

One step at a time. It was my only play.

“You turned over nineteen times last night.”

I had just pulled out a chair in the first-floor dining room when Ryker’s voice cut through the silence.

He was wearing a perfectly tailored black shirt, sleeves rolled to his forearms, slowly sipping his coffee.

His powerful Alpha scent filled the entire room.

Cold. Restrained. Untouchable.

“Having trouble with the beds here at Crimson Peak?” He lifted his storm-gray eyes, his gaze calm.

Before I could answer, the blue text appeared again.

[The man who stood outside your door counting you tossing and turning all night is now asking if you're comfortable. With a straight face.]

[He was worried you wouldn't sleep well. He had them change your sheets to the finest Egyptian cotton just to soothe your wolf!]

Reading that, my heart stuttered. Something soft hit me right in the chest.

I’d missed my chance last night. Now I had to test his limits.

I had to see if he was really waiting for me to make the first move.

“I think I’ll get some juice.”

I stood and walked around the long table toward the bar.

As I passed him, I deliberately stumbled, falling right toward him.

The pain I expected never came.

Ryker’s reflexes were insane.

A rough, burning hot hand clamped around my waist while his other hand braced hard against the table.

I fell perfectly into his arms.

Hard. Hot.

Through his thin shirt, I could feel his tense muscles, his heartbeat hammering like a drum.

Even worse, my inner thigh was pressed right against something very hard. Something very awake.

He was burning up.

The pure, raw desire rolling off him was almost enough to set me on fire.

“Thanks,” I whispered, my voice soft. I looked up, letting my warm breath ghost over his Adam's apple.

And I wasn't done.

My hand, supposedly there to steady myself, slid over his firm stomach. My fingers traced his V-line through the fabric, a deliberate tease.

Every muscle in Ryker’s body went rigid.

A dark flush crept up his neck, all the way to the tips of his ears.

“Cora.”

His voice was a raw rasp, like he was fighting back a primal urge.

My face was on fire and my knees felt weak, but a thrill of victory shot through me.

The words weren't lying.

Just as the air between us was about to catch fire…

“Alpha, Miss Lorelei has returned,” the butler announced respectfully.

The room temperature dropped to freezing.

The fire in Ryker’s eyes died. The cold mask was back in place.

He helped me up, polite and distant, putting space between us.

“I’m finished. Tell the butler whatever you’d like to eat.”

With that, he turned and strode out of the dining room. He practically fled.

I watched him go, my breathing still ragged.

The butler approached, placing a glass of fresh juice in front of me.

He lowered his voice so only I could hear. “Luna, there is something you should know.”

“The Alpha has no fated mate. He has never been betrothed to anyone. You are his only wife.”

“Miss Lorelei is merely an elder's daughter. They grew up together. Nothing more.”

My wolf stirred restlessly.

My heart skipped a beat.

Even though the butler had tried to reassure me, I knew the truth.

The woman about to walk through that door… she was the one the words warned me about. The one who would steal my mate and get me killed.

The sharp click-clack of high heels echoed in the hall.

I turned my head.

A woman in a white suit walked in.

She was beautiful, carrying herself with the proud, arrogant air of a high-ranking she-wolf.

She didn’t even glance at me. She went straight for Ryker, who had just reached the doorway, her arms open for a hug.

“Ryker, I’m back.”

But Ryker turned, coldly avoiding her embrace.

Lorelei’s hands froze in mid-air. A flash of humiliation crossed her perfect face.

But she recovered quickly, turning to study me at the dining table.

Her eyes were filled with open hostility and contempt.

“So, you must be Cora, from the Silver Creek pack.”

She let out a small, dismissive laugh, not even bothering to use my title, ‘Luna.’

“You were quite ‘famous’ at the academy, weren't you?”

The tension in the air crackled.

I picked up my juice and took a slow, deliberate sip.

Before last night, I might have endured it for my pack’s sake. I might have tucked my tail between my legs like a pathetic stray.

But now?

I set the glass down. I met her gaze, pasting on a fake smile, matching her bitchy energy.

“Really? I’ve never heard of you, Lorelei.”