ALPHA LEON; THE KANE BROTHERS TRILOGY

MAILA “Hand me my wallet, will you?” Kaden, my live-in boyfriend of two years, said, stretching out his hand as he ruffled his hair while staring intently at the mirror. “Do you think I should pack my hair back into a bun? It would give me that sort of edgy look that—Maila, I said get my wallet.” “We need to talk,” I said finally, daring to look him in the eye. “You’ve been putting it off for so long and—” He turned around. “Alright, talk.” “I’m breaking up with you,” I said quietly. Kaden laughed, his face contorting into something unpleasant. “This is something I hate about you. You never learn! No one breaks up with me, Maila, no one! Don’t let me remind you where I picked you from—” “You already have,” I bit out. He had found me in a run-down brothel. I wasn’t a s*x worker, but my mother had been, and I had just grown up there. I later learned Kaden bought the place from Alpha Leon. After he rescued me from a man who tried to r**e me, he suddenly believed he owned me, and in Creekwood Pack, his word was almost law—second only to Alpha Leon. Kaden shrugged, dismissing me, then turned again to face the mirror. “You’ll come to the casino with me—” “What? No! I said I’m breaking up.” “You’ll come to the casino with me, and you’ll make me look good in front of Alpha Leon. I’m looking for him to make me his Beta in charge of finances, and he’d consider me more stable if he thinks I’m about to settle down.” In the end, I went with him. I was going to bring up the breakup later. He insisted we wear matching outfits, like we were some sort of happy couple. Even the way he switched from cruel to loving was so disgusting, it made my skin crawl. The Whitmore Casino was a pretty intimidating place, and as if that was not enough, Alpha Leon was going to be there. I had never met him before, but I could tell Kaden respected him a whole lot, which simply meant that he was way more cruel than Kaden. I shrugged off my coat and was about to hand it to a server when Kaden handed me his. “Go with them. See that they don’t misplace the coats—they’re expensive,” he said without even bothering to look at me as he stepped into the table room. I rolled my eyes at him. He couldn’t even pretend long enough to be a gentleman. Suddenly feeling tired of my lot in life, I walked with the server to secure the coats. When I stepped into the table room, they were already playing a round of cards. I noticed there were only three men at the table—Kaden, another Beta I had seen once, and the other man had to be Alpha Leon. His head was bent over his cards, so I could not see his face, but his wavy blond hair tumbled all over his hands in a cascade of unruly strands. My eyes were drawn to the sheer masculinity of him—the broad shoulders, the way his hand spread over the cards. I suddenly understood why Kaden held him in such high regard. He lifted his head then, and our eyes met. His were such an unusual shade of blue, it was startling. The tumble of blond hair was a sharp contrast to the aristocratic features that marked him as one of the great Stone Alphas. One brow was raised, first in silent inquiry, then he spoke. “Should you be here? If you’ve been hired for private entertainment, wait behind in the hotel room.” My cheeks flamed red. He probably thought I was a hooker. Kaden always insisted I dressed in the most revealing clothes, as though he wanted to show off an object he had acquired. I swallowed, and my eyes found Kaden. His cool eyes assessed me, running over my body in a way that was oddly non-s****l, then he winked at me. Turning to Alpha Leon, he pasted a fake smile on his face. “I found Maila in the brothel I bought from you. She’s good. Would you like her for the night?” My jaw dropped as tears threatened to fill my eyes. I bit my lower lip, my eyes shooting daggers at my boyfriend. I knew he more than worshipped Alpha Leon, but offering me up for s*x so casually was a new low. Alpha Leon’s gaze heated as his eyes roamed over me, then they went expressionless. “I’ll pass.” “Ha!” I shook my head, turning around before anyone could see the tears that sprang to my eyes. “This is bullshit,” I muttered. “I’m out of here.” I didn’t make it far before the threat in Kaden’s voice halted me. “Maila, if you leave this building and make me lose my chance of getting a promotion with the Alpha, I’ll make you wish you were dead.” He’d said it in Cannonese, Creekwood Pack’s native language, a language we all knew the Alpha did not speak. I turned around then, not caring about the tears in my eyes. All I wanted was for Kaden to see the anger in them. “I already wish I were dead.” I stormed out, and no one stopped me. I had already taken my coat and headed outside when I halted. Where the heck was I going to go anyway? Back to the brothel? My mother was already so buried in drugs and alcohol, half the time, she could not recognize me. I did not have any friends, and unlike other packs, Creekwood had no sanctuary for the homeless. My shoulders slumped as I turned around. Worst case scenario, I get transferred from a cruel man to his even more cruel Alpha. Best case, Alpha Leon—if he was anything like Kaden—would be too drunk and wasted to do anything to me this night. He’d pass out beside me on the bed, and I’d go home with Kaden tomorrow. Maybe I’d strike some kind of deal to make him set me free. “I’d like to be shown to Alpha Leon’s room, please,” I said to the receptionist, who eyed me skeptically. “I—I am hired to be with him tonight,” I offered. A knowing look entered her eyes. “Oh!” she whispered, her eyes giving me a quick once-over before she handed a card to me. “The presidential suite. I’ll ring the concierge to take you.” I nodded wordlessly and waited to follow the elderly man who had been called up the long, winding stairs of the somewhat old-fashioned hotel until we got to the suite. He bowed swiftly in a grand gesture that belonged to another century and waved me on, shaking his head when I tried to offer a tip. I tried to still my rapid heartbeat as I swiped my card and stepped into the room, and then I let go of the tears that had been threatening to spill over for so long. Later that night, when Alpha Leon finally arrived, the first thing I noticed was that he was not drunk. His sharp blue eyes assessed me with an unreadable expression in them. “I told you I’d pass,” he said coldly. Why did his rejection hurt? I didn’t even want this. “My boyfriend insisted I entertain you tonight.” He nodded, stepping into the room and casually taking off his jacket. When his hands went for the top buttons of his shirt, I stiffened and forced myself not to flee. But he only unbuttoned a few buttons, then he went over to pour himself some wine. The curtains, I noticed, had been left open, lending a chill to the night. When I turned around, he was watching me intently. “I speak Cannonese, you know. You only have to assure me you’re in danger, and I’ll save you.”