Page 10 of Betrayed By the Alpha

"Just call me Zach," he said, walking back as Hayley stopped him. She only stopped when his back hit the wall and continued like she didn’t hear anything he said.

"The nerve to break into my house with no ounce of shame and boldly tell me you entered my room through the window!"

"I knew if I walked up the front door and asked to see you, I would never be given a chance."

She threw her hands in the air with an incredulous look. "Of course you wouldn’t be let in. You know why? No one in this house likes you."

"Fair."

She stepped back and gave him a once-over glance. She hated that he still looked so good. By the looks of it, his life wasn’t as miserable as she had hoped. She had imagined him dressed in rags for the last two years, looking thin and malnourished. She imagined him walking up to her front door to beg for her. She imagined herself kicking him with her red stilettos. He looked good, even better than he did back then. She hated that. She hated him even more. He had gotten rid of the beard. She never liked beards. She felt they made him look homeless. His hair had gotten longer, that she liked, and his eyes... She took a step back. She couldn’t stare at them for too long. The one thing that didn’t change was his tanned skin. He still seemed to glow even now when the sun wasn’t out.

"You still haven’t told me why you are here, Zach," she reminded him.

"I’ll tell you," he said boldly. She crossed her arms before her and waited. "You returned to claim your inheritance, right?"

Hayley’s mouth parted slightly in shock. "H—how do you even know that?"

He shrugged. "I’m the alpha. And people talk."

Hayley bit her lower lip hard to stop herself from lashing out. He hadn’t changed one bit, not in the way he looked, spoke, or acted. He still carried the same arrogance. The same attitude she was ashamed to admit she was once attracted to.

Who wouldn’t be?

Zach was the dark knight. The type of man that could destroy a woman, and in her next life, she would still crawl back to him, begging that he take her back. He had always projected a mysterious vibe that was scary and yet intriguing.

Zach had her attention right from the moment she laid eyes on him at an event she attended with her father. He had been standing beside his father, who was talking to another guest. The attraction kept multiplying after that until she was sure she became obsessed with him. Hayley would tell her father everything about Zach, although she knew nothing of him since she hadn’t even had enough courage to approach him. He was the type of man that drew you in with his charms, yet still drew a line that you wouldn’t dare cross.

She was elated when she found out he was her fated mate. If she remembered correctly, she’d fainted from joy, or lost consciousness when she slipped and hit her head jumping from joy on her father’s desk. She had taken the news as an indication that she should approach him. She’d crossed the line with her face held high...Oh, if only she had known.

"I’ll be your mate," Zach said, drawing her back to the present.

Hayley was sure she couldn’t have heard him right. The words that reached her ears couldn't possibly be what he said. "What?"

"I said, I’ll be your mate," he repeated.

She was beginning to suspect that Zach was some kind of robot. The things he said, the way he acted, she had never met any man like him. She didn’t know how he could utter the most incredulous statement and keep a calm face. Like just now, when he said the impossible.

"I heard you the first time, Zach, but I don’t think you heard yourself. If you did, then you will realize you are speaking madness," she said.

Zach sighed. She didn’t care if she was giving him trouble. She hadn’t even done or said a fraction of what she really had in mind. He was the one who broke into her room, after all. Hayley was prepared to give him all the trouble he deserved. "Listen, you want to claim your inheritance, right? From what I’ve heard you can’t do that till you are back with your mate. And that’s me."

Hayley knew then that Zach wasn’t only arrogant, but mad as well. She laughed. "Ha."

"Hayley, I’m trying to—"

"I know what you are trying to do. You are obviously trying to provoke me. Who sent you? Was it Monroe?" Hayley wouldn’t be surprised if the man had gone to find Zach and paid him to stop by her house and drive her crazy.

"Mon—who?"

"My father’s lawyer, Mr. Monroe. He had you follow me to spill this crap?"

He shook his head. "No. I came by myself."

"It seems you have forgotten too quickly, Zach. Do I need to take you back to two years ago? I heard werewolves have perfect memories, so I would expect you to remembereverything that happened. How dare you come over here and say this to my face?"

"Hayley, I—"

"Leave. Please, I want you to leave." She turned to walk to her door, but his next words had her stop in her steps and face him.

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