Page 41 of Cruel Alpha

Of course. Of course that was what she wanted—what sheneededfrom me. I’d been so stupid to think that anything less would suffice. I’d rejected her in front of the entire Pack; the only recourse was to claim her in front of them. Unfortunately, it was the one thing I couldn’t afford to do right now.

“She can’t ask that of him,” Ethan said, much to Julia’s displeasure.

“And she isn’t, asshole,” Julia replied. “I explained to her all the reasons why it might be dangerous, and she gets it, but… I gotta say I understand where she’s coming from.” Ethan huffed out a dismissive breath, but Julia only continued, louder, “She’s afraid that if she gives herself over to you, then you’ll reject her again eventually. If you’ve claimed her publicly, you can’t do that.”

“If he claims her publicly, he’s gonna be facing a coup as well as an inter-Pack incident,” Ethan said slowly, like he was explaining it to a child. Even lost as I was in the fog of my thoughts, I knew that wouldn’t go down well. Julia’s face split into a wide, insincere smile.

“Oh really?” she said, her voice pitched high and mocking. “I was, like, totally unaware of that!”

“Can it, both of you,” I snapped. “We all know what’s at stake here.”

“You can’t claim her before the Arbor attack,” Ethan insisted. “That’ll send your ranks into chaos.”

That was what I’d been trying to do: wait until the Arbor threat was dealt with and the Pack was feeling more stable, then re-introduce her as Alpha female and Jack as my heir. That would bring a whole host of new problems, but they were problems I could tackle when I wasn’t constantly worrying about hostilities from our neighbors.

“I can’t wait forever, though,” I pointed out. “Slade’s already held off the attack longer than I ever thought he would.”

“What if he really has just retreated to lick his wounds?” Julia suggested. I admired her optimism, but I didn’t share it. “He must know that he can’t win this fight if you’re forcing him over the bridge. Maybe he’s given up.”

“Or he’s waiting for you tothinkhe’s given up, then he’ll attack the second you stop patrolling the island perimeter regularly,” Ethan countered. This time, I was with him. I knew Connor Slade well enough to know that he wouldn’t back down on this. He’d rather fight and lose than be accused of cowardice.

“I’ll keep it up forever if I have to, if that’s what will keep her and the twins safe,” I said. I meant it, too, even if I didn’t think it would ever come to that. Eventually, Slade would cut his losses and attack over the bridge.

“But how much longer are the males going to put up with it?” Ethan asked, and Julia groaned.

“You’re a real downer, you know that, right?” she said.

“He’s right, though,” I told her. “My Betas are happy to do it; they’re loyal, and they’ll take any excuse for a run. The other males, though, they’re working their usual shifts at the quarry as well as patrol duties. They’re getting tired.”

“Has it occurred to you that maybe the females are just as capable?” Julia said, and I sighed. We’d had this argument more than once, and I wasn’t about to have it again. All of a sudden I was bone tired and sick of this whole conversation.

“Would you both just… just leave me to think?” I said. I needed to search myownthoughts about it, not listen to my sister and my best friend argue about what was best for me and my mate.

“Sure, man,” said Ethan, rising immediately from his seat. “Give me a call if you need anything.”

He slapped my shoulder as he passed, and I nodded my thanks. If Ethan could be counted on for anything, it was to understand my responsibilities as Alpha and not to meddle with my decisions. He was out of the door in a matter of seconds, not even bidding Julia goodbye. It was probably a wise choice.

My sister was another entity entirely. She rose slowly from the couch, glaring at me.

“Alright, but I’ll be back if I hear you’ve pulled any stupid shit,” she said. I didn’t doubt it, and I let her ruffle my hair on the way out just to indulge her. Julia liked to think that she was in charge of our sibling dynamic, and most of the time, I was happy to let her.

“Oh,” she said, spinning around on the threshold to point an accusatory finger at me, “and no more sex in my kitchen.”

I could only blink at her, mortified. She blew me a kiss and breezed out of the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Chapter 19 - Alyssa

This was fine. Everything was fine. I was thinking things over. I appreciated that Caleb was giving me time, just as I’d asked.

I was also going a little crazy. Our encounter in the kitchen had clearly kicked the bond into overdrive, because I craved his touch every second of every day. It was maddening, as if my own body didn’t respect my decisions. I wastryingto be sensible about this. I was trying to protect myself and my children, but all my body and my wolf wanted was his hands on my skin and his dick inside me.

On the morning of the sixth day, I’d had just about enough. I didn’t exactlywantto go on a tour of the town; the people of Lapine had only been growing more dissatisfied with my presence the longer they were forced to run patrols and forego tobacco and other goods from Arbor. I had washing to take over to the laundry, though, and I needed to get out of the house.

I would have liked to bring Julia with me. Lapine may view her as little better than me, seeing no use for a half-blind wolf, but she was the sister of the Alpha, and the Pack knew not to mess with her. Yet she was out on one of her visits to the Pack elders. She’d be home later with stories about all the funny or offensive things they’d said, smiling from ear to ear.

The twins were getting restless, too. While I knew that, theoretically, they were not much safer indoors than outdoors—if Arbor was going to come for us, they would hardly be deterred by Julia’s front door—I still hesitated to take them outside. I never wanted them to feel the way I had when I was growing up: like a walking freak show, something to be pointed at and shunned. I certainly didn’t want another incident like the one with Leonard, and I feared that if someone did try to lay hands on them, then Emmy’s wild magic might make another appearance, and that would only make things worse.

The problem was that the twins didn’t understand any of that. They only knew that having Mommy’s undivided attention had gotten old, and they were desperate to be outside, even if it was just to “help” carry the washing.

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