Page 36 of Rejected By My Shifter Billionaire
Fuck,he thought for the third time.
Since Domenico’s public fall from grace, Alessandro hadn’t been able to look at his older brother in the eye. He had been afraid that if he did, he would lose all respect for him.
But now, with Domenico towering over him——
How in hell had he gotten everything wrong?
All this time, Alessandro had thought the loss of his wife had turned Domenico into a shell of a man. But the warrior looking down at him was anything but. For one thing, Domenico seemed to have stuffed himself with Lyccan-friendly steroids since Misty had disappeared to Faerie-la-la-land. Even so, the impressive show of testosterone was just the tip of the iceberg. No, what made Alessandro realize how blind he had been all these months was in his brother’s eyes. There was a hint of sadness to it, but there was power in his gaze, too, like nothing Alessandro had ever seen before. If something had changed, then it was that his older brother appeared stronger now. He looked wiser, morehumble– but somehow, all those simply lent Domenico an aura of almost-tangible strength.
Suddenly, a sense of urgency gripped him.
Kassia.
He had to leave right now.
Kassia. Kassia. Kassia.
Desperation turned her name into an addiction, and Alessandro knew he would not rest until he saw her again. He had to talk to her and make Kassia see that his decision to cut her out of his life was a mistake.
Kassia.
He saw her in his mind, her eyes once filled with so much love and trust, blurring with unshed tears of betrayal.
Kassia.
He had cut her out of his life because he had thought Kassia would make him weak the way Misty had made his older brother weak. But he had seen the truth now. Domenico was at his strongest. He didn’t understand how that happened, and right now it didn’t matter. All Alessandro knew was he had made the biggest mistake of his life, and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to fix it.
Domenico caught him just as he was about to get inside his car. “Alessandro.” An indirect command to stop, and Alessandro had no choice but to heed it.
“You have not been yourself the entire week.”
Alessandro only looked at his older brother stoically. Domenico might not be the weakling he had feared him to be, but it didn’t mean everything was all right between them. Domenico had stillchosen to allow other Lyccans to treat him like shit, and in so doing allowed their entire pack to fall into disgrace. That was something he still couldn’t make himself forget or forgive.
When Alessandro didn’t say anything, Domenico pressed, “Perhaps it has to do with a certain redhead?”
Alessandro stiffened.
“It’s clear that she already wields influence over you.”
Was that Domenico’s way of saying Alessandro was no better than he? That he was falling fast and hard for a woman like Domenico had?
“You have nothing to worry about,” Alessandro said coldly.
Domenico stilled. “You misunderstand—-”
Alessandro cut him off. “You were right when you said I haven’t been myself the entire week. I haven’t been able to make a decision, but now what I must do is clear. Through her, I will keep to my end of the bargain.” Even as he spoke, he knew it was a lie. He was not going to Kassia because of any damn bargain. He was going to her because he needed to.
“I’ll fuck her for thirty days, as promised, and when it is over, I expect you to honor your word.”
Domenico’s face had become unreadable. “That is truly how you see her? A mere pawn for you to use and dispense?”
“Yes.” It was the opposite of the truth, but he didn’t take it back. The word felt like his only defense against the unknown, his only way of protecting himself from the unfamiliar feelings that Kassia evoked in him.
Misty might not have taken away Domenico’s strength, but she had destroyed her husband’s pride. Alessandro was determined not to let the same thing happen to him.
He would keep Kassia, his strength, and his pride, and if he had to lie for this to happen – then so be it.
Chapter Three
