Page 48 of Chased By My Grumpy Alpha
“Forget I said anything.” I try to step back, but his hand is still on my arm, keeping me close. “We should keep walking.”
“In a minute.” His grip tightens slightly in an unmistakably possessive way. “You think I’m ridiculously handsome?”
The way he says it—like he’s cataloguing information rather than flirting—makes heat pool low in my stomach. There’s something almost clinical about his question that is somehow more unsettling than if he were simply being charming.
“Lucian…” I try to warn him off, but my voice comes out breathier than I wanted it to.
“And I have good fighting skills.”
“Yes, fine, whatever. You’re attractive and deadly. Are you satisfied now?”
His eyes darken at my choice of words, and I realize too late how that might have sounded. The air between us crackles with something electric and volatile.
“Very,” he says, his voice rough in a way that sends shivers down my spine.
For a moment, we just stare at each other. His gaze is intense—predatory, like he’s deciding whether I’m prey or something else entirely. The silence stretches between us, charged with an awareness that makes my skin feel too tight.
Then, Luna drops from a tree branch onto his shoulder with a loud thud, her claws digging into his shirt for purchase. The spell breaks abruptly.
“Damn cat,” he mutters, but there’s no real annoyance in his voice.
I pull back quickly, my cheeks burning. “We really need to keep moving.”
He releases my arm without protest, but I can feel his gaze tracking my movements as I turn away. The awareness doesn’t fade; if anything, it intensifies as we resume walking. Every accidental brush of his fingers when he hands me something or steps close to point out a hazard on the path sends electricity racing through my system.
This is treacherous territory, and not only because of the wild animals in these woods.
“Your leg seems better,” he observes after we’ve walked in tense silence for several minutes.
I glance down at my stride and realize he’s right. I’m barely limping now, and the ache has faded to almost nothing. “It does. I guess the meat helped more than I thought it would.”
He nods, seemingly satisfied with my explanation, before moving ahead to scan the forest with that keen alertness that makes him look every inch the lethal mercenary he is.
I follow behind, trying to ignore the way my eyes keep drifting to the broad line of his shoulders, the fluid way he moves through the underbrush. This man saved my life, and now he’s protecting me for a handful of silver coins. I should be grateful, not...whatever this is.
But as we continue deeper into the forest, I can’t shake the strange flutter in my chest every time he looks at me or understand why my pulse quickens whenever he’s close. I’ve never felt anything like this before, and I don’t know what to make of it.
Chapter Nine
Lucian
The fire glows faintly in the darkness, softly illuminating Astra’s sleeping form. She is curled on her side with Luna pressed against her chest, her expression defenseless. She’s not at all worried about being around me, the most dangerous of predators. I don’t know whether to call that foolish or brave, but she has no sense of self-preservation whatsoever.
She moves in her sleep as if seeking heat, and when her head finds my thigh, she pulls herself up onto it, mumbling something incoherently. Watching her use my thigh as a pillow should enrage me, but instead, I adjust my position to accommodate her.
If anyone were to see me like this, I would have to rip their head off.
I can feel it once she’s back in a deep and restful sleep. My wolf rumbles in appreciation, but my eyes narrow into tiny slits. I allow my hand to wrap around her neck and linger there as I ponder my options.
One snap and she’ll be dead.
It won’t be hard, and I’ll have one less problem to deal with.
But as I stare at her relaxed features, my wolf growling and snarling at me inside my head, she shifts in her sleep, her hand coming to sprawl across her stomach. Abandoning her throat, I cover her hand with mine.
She’s so tiny.
She talks endlessly, fearlessly, and yet she is utterly defenseless. Maybe she would fare better in the human world.
