Page 28 of The Alpha's Temptation

If she had just gone to the fucking wedding with me, none of this would’ve happened. Why did she have to consistentlytry to get herself into trouble? Put herself into fucking danger? Everything I did, I did to protect her.

I didn’t want her to get hurt. I wanted to protect her.

If anyone knew that she was my mate—and that she couldn’t shift, that she couldn’t protect herself—they’d hurt her. They’d hunt her down to hurt me, and in turn, obliterate this entire pack.

And somehow, she had gotten herself into even deeper shit than that.

She finally broke my gaze and looked at Chase, one of my warriors. The night before we left for the wedding, I had heard whispers that he and she had gotten together, and I hadn’t been able to stop myself from calling her into my office toclear the air.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to look away. Had something been going on between them? We had barely been home for an hour, and he was already looking her way too. Why was it that everywhere we went, somebody was obsessed with her?

First Chase, then that fucker Elijah.

“We must find a solution,” Marcus said beside me. “Alpha, what do you think?”

“The solution is to punish Livia for this,” an elder said.

My gaze drifted from Livia to him, the back of my throat burning.

I had to do something. If I let Livia get away with this… something was going to happen. I didn’t know what… but I couldn’t deal with it right now. We had enemies attacking our borders, an entire pack after us now.

A war had fucking started because of her.

Livia stood up and crossed her arms. “I didn’t do anything wrong! All I did was enroll in the games. He wouldn’t surrenderto me, so I killed him. I don’t know why everyone has made such a big deal out of this!”

“You shouldn’t have been in the games,” Chase said.

I growled to silence him. He wasn’t going to speak to her like that; only I could.

“Why not?” she exclaimed. “Anyone could join them.”

“As soon as you saw that it was him, you should’ve left,” another elder chimed in, shaking his head in disappointment. “There’s no reason for you, someone who can’t even shift, to fight against Elijah, theonlysuccessorfor the Whispering Pines Pack.”

Livia growled and stepped forward, meeting him eye to eye. “Well, I did. And I killed him. So what do you have to say about that? I’m sick and tired of everyone here thinking that I’m weak because I can’t shift.” She looked at me and flared her nostrils, her eyes glossy, and I knew she was trying to keep it all in. “Why do you all constantly think that I’m weak? Even after I’ve proved myself, it’s not enough. It’s never fucking enough.”

“Livia,” I growled because I didn’t want her breaking down here in front of everyone.

If she cried, they’d think their point had been proven.

She bared her teeth at me, then stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. I listened to her stomping all the way down the hallway until her footsteps disappeared somewhere in the packhouse.

“I will handle her,” I said to the wolves, heading to the door to lead the charge. “But we must first deal with the enemy at our borders.”

CHAPTER 20

LIVIA

My eyes fluttered open,adjusting to the dusk light. The war cries and howls from the battle with the Whispering Pines Pack had stopped a half hour ago, and I had been going in and out of a nap for the past three.

A breeze blew through my window, and I pulled the blankets over my almost bare body to stop the goosebumps. I whimpered softly, hoping the wind would stop, but it only seemed to get stronger. So I pushed myself up in the bed and leaned against the headboard.

Caelan and Dad had forbidden me from helping them, so I had to lie here and feel nothing but guilt for causing all this pain, all this death. It wasn’t my fault that Elijah hadn’t surrendered, but… I could do nothing about it now.

The room was quiet, and I couldn’t hear much except some murmuring from outside.

After blowing out a low breath, I let my gaze drift around the room. The heat last night had nearly killed me, and all I wanted to do was sleep forever. I didn’t want to go into it again, especially not here.

Especially not around that asshole I had to callAlpha.

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