Page 25 of Knocked Up By My Fated Alpha
A mistake. Of course, it was a mistake for him. I nodded once.
“I share an equal blame in this situation.” My distant polite smile returned as I shrugged casually. “Like you said, it was an awful mistake. Let’s just pretend it never happened.”
Alpha Damien’s jaw clenched, and for a moment, he seemed almost…annoyed at my agreement. Then, in a flash, the moment was gone.
“Fine,” Alpha Damien said dismissively, and I was about to turn the doorknob and get the hell out of his office when he spoke once again.
“And Miss Caine? The next time you mouth off to me is the last time you will have a job.”
A chill swept through me as I realized he wasn’t just talking about Cityscape. Alpha Damien had enough of a pull that if he decided I wouldn’t be employed anywhere in this country, he’d make it so.
“Am I clear?”
Knowing Alpha Damien, he was vicious enough to go through with his threat. Keeping my child meant I’d need to quit at Cityscape eventually, but I still couldn’t afford to upset Alpha Damien and lose all my future employment prospects. I turned the doorknob.
“Crystal clear, Mr Blackwell.”
Andrew slidup to me just as the orchestra changed to a slower tune.
“Would you like to dance?”
Andrew was in Cityscape’s tech department. He was a rather cute wolf, but extremely private, and he rarely ever explored beyond the confines of his office, save for staff meetings. We’d exchanged maybe a grand total of ten words or so during my time in the company. I hesitated, unsure of what to make of the offer. So I settled for a polite dismissal.
“I’d love to, but I have a call to make.”
Andrew was nonplussed, offering me a friendly smile.
“Alright, some other time then.”
I returned his smile only to stiffen as I felt the heat of someone’s gaze lingering on me. I knew it was him even before I raised my gaze up towards the banister overlooking the down floor.
Alpha Damien stood among a mix of wolves and humans that spoke over each other, trying to get his attention, but his cool gaze lingered on me. He’d gone all out for the anniversary dinner, decked out in a perfectly tailored black double-breasted suit, black shirt, and red tie that made him look even more sinfully hot than usual.
It wasn’t until he had his phone pressed to his ear that he broke eye contact with me, excusing himself from his group and striding away. I looked away, suddenly feeling overheated as I took in an urgent breath. I calmed myself. I had nothing to be worried about. The anniversary celebration had kicked off without a hitch.
The Sapphire Hotel event hall was resplendent, the exquisite space artfully spruced up with sweeping floral arrangements of roses, orchids, and eucalyptus. The arrangements were exceptional. From the seating arrangements and placements for the guests complementing the overall space to the live orchestra playing in the background, everything was near perfect.
There was nothing Alpha Damien could fault me for with the arrangements, and even Wendy was mysteriously absent. The night was going to end on a good note. I could just feel it.
“Is that who I think it is?” A sharp voice, incredulous with disbelief came from right behind me, and I froze. It couldn’t be. But I didn’t stop to confirm. Rather, I lengthened my stride, but she easily caughtup to me, capturing my forearm in her steel grip and forcibly pulling me to a stop.
Ivy let out an amused laugh.
“It is you, cousin!”
I turned to face her. My cousin wore a green sequinned dress that showed off her modelesque figure and set off her red hair beautifully, and Elias, my treacherous ex-fiancé, stood a step behind her, in a plain t-shirt and slacks. Despite the difference in coloring, his shocked features suddenly held a startling resemblance to Alpha Damien’s now that I knew what to look for.
If I hadn’t been so distracted with avoiding Alpha Damien, missing my procedure, and ensuring all the arrangements for the event were perfect, I might have realized that Elias was very likely to attend his uncle’s party. Fuck.
I shook Ivy’s grip off with more strength than I knew I was capable of, and Ivy stared at me with slight surprise.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” I growled, and I could literally feel the gazes of the few guests around us taking note of this less-than-friendly interaction. Ivy didn’t reach for me again, her lips twitching into a feral grin.
“It was such poor taste of you to run away from your own mating ceremony, cousin. Alpha Winston was very displeased,” she mused. “To think I would find you here, of all places, after hunting you for so long.”
A chill went up my spine, but I pushed it down. Ivy couldn’t do anything to me here. We were in a very public location.
“What do you want?” I demanded.
