Page 7 of Brutal Alpha

“If something happens to you on my watch—”

“God forbid I have a good time.”

“If something happens to you—”

“Like what, Ethan?” she snapped. Her voice was full of venom, and her blue eye flashed with loathing. “Like I have fun? Like I get fucked?”

The word hung in the air between us, and it was all I could do not to picture his hands on her naked flesh, his lips on her bare skin.

“Don’t be crude,” I bit back, unable to summon anything else.

We were both saved from whatever her response was going to be by the arrival of Leo. His usual smile was absent, replaced by a concerned frown.

“Cody said you nearly bit his head off,” he said to me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” said Julia, at the same time as I growled,

“He had his hands all over Julia.”

Leo’s face fell, his eyes scanning Julia for any sign of injury.

“What? You okay? That’s not like him at all, I’ll—”

“I am fine,” Julia insisted, putting a gentle hand on his arm. “Or I was until this psycho showed up and spoiled my perfectly nice conversation.”

“He was looking at you like—”

“Like I’m an attractive woman who can choose who she wants to spend her time with?” Julia interrupted. That wasn’t the point, though. The point was—the point was that she shouldn’t be doing it here.

“You can spend time with as many men as you want once you’re no longer my responsibility,” I told her. We were going in circles, and I didn’t know how to end it or make her see. Clearly, she refused to understand because her face was flushed with anger, her eyes red with frustrated, unspilled tears.

“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not your responsibility!” Julia replied, her voice finally cracking into a shout. It was only the music, the laughter, and the noise of the party that prevented anyone else from hearing. “You’re not my Alpha, you’re not my brother, and you’re not my fucking father! You’re just some asshole who doesn’t know how to mind his own business.”

She had stormed away before I could retort, and Leo caught me by the arm as I made to follow her. My wolf growled at the imposition, but he graciously ignored it.

“Let her go,” he said quietly. “We don’t need a scene.”

That brought me up short. In the car, I’d warned Julia about making a scene, but here I was about to cause one. I took a deep breath, reining in my furious wolf.

“Cody’s a good guy,” Leo tried to reassure me. “He wouldn’t hurt her.”

I couldn’t find the words to articulate why that didn’t matter, why the thought of his hands on her body made me want to rip his arms off.

“She’s Cal’s sister,” I managed. “It’s not—he shouldn’t be—she shouldn’t—you saw—”

To my surprise, the clouds drew back from Leo’s expression, and his sunny smile reappeared.

“Got it,” he said. “Look, give her a minute—maybe a few minutes—and then go apologize.”

“But—”

“Just do it, idiot.”

Then he left me. I should have followed him, should have returned to networking with the other Alphas and keepingan eye on the festivities, but I couldn’t bring myself to move. Standing in the shadows, I could scarcely believe what I’d just done; the others might consider me “old-fashioned,” but I wasn’t a dinosaur. I’d never gotten between a male and a female who was clearly interested. I’d been out of line, but my wolf was still growling and slavering in my chest; I didn’t know what it was, but something about that woman made me feral.

Chapter 3 - Julia

I’d been so determined to have a good time, and I had almost accomplished it. I laughed, I drank, I danced, and I flirted with a cute guy. Maybe I would have let him kiss me, but Ethan fucking Cain had to shove his nose where it didn’t belong. If I were being charitable, I might have thought he was just being protective of his best friend’s little sister, but I wasn’t feeling charitable as I sat next to the dying bonfire, watching the celebration wind down.

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