Divorcing My Alpha Husband For His Uncle

A Very Chaotic Morning

I woke up with a hiss this morning. And no, it wasn't because I was in pain or anything like that.

It was mainly because the first thing my brain decided to serve me this fine morning, before I'd even fully opened my eyes, was an image of Alaric.

Specifically, the image of his back, coupled with the erotic sounds he made that night, and the way he'd looked at me over his shoulder like I was the one doing something wrong by just standing there.

Well, I think I was, but… ugh!

I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking my head vigorously on my pillow before opening them again and looking down at my thighs like they'd personally offended me, because they had, because whatever was going on in my head right now was starting to make them clench tighter, and I needed it to stop immediately.

I shook my head at myself and threw the blanket off before my own thoughts could make the morning any worse.

The bathroom was my only salvation. I turned the shower on cold first, because I clearly needed it, then warm when my body started protesting, scrubbing my hair and my skin, trying very hard to scrub out the parts of my memory that had decided to take up permanent residence overnight.

It didn't fully work, but I felt more like a person by the time I turned the water off, so I counted it as a partial victory.

I towel-dried my hair quickly, sighing in content, then wrapped another towel around my chest and walked out of the bathroom, humming. Not until I stepped foot outside the bathroom and my spirit nearly left my body.

A startled scream tore out of my throat as I stumbled backward, my back hitting the bathroom door.

Why? Well, because what else do you do when a man just materializes in your bedroom without warning?

Alaric was standing in the middle of my room, fully dressed, hands in his pockets, and looking completely unbothered. He turned, his gaze landing on me.

Fuck, no!

Just as I was trying to steady my footing so I wouldn't land straight on my ass, the towel, because the universe has a terrible sense of humor, chose that exact moment to give up on me.

The knot at my chest loosened, and I felt it let go. I tried to grab onto it in a weak attempt and missed by half a second.

The towel dropped to the floor, pooling around my feet, and I was just standing there with my mouth and eyes wide open. Totally naked. And everything felt like it was in slow motion.

He froze, unable to move, his lips slightly parted.

Then a shrill, startling scream tore out of me, making him flinch back into reality, "Close your eyes!" I dove toward the floor, one arm trying to cover myself and the other reaching for the towel, which was a terrible system that covered absolutely nothing effectively.

"Oh my f*****g god, close your eyes, why aren't you closing them!"

Alaric whirled around so fast, turning to face the wall with his back to me. He cleared his throat, hands going in and out of his pockets like he was confused about where to place them.

I snatched the towel off the floor and wrapped it back around myself so tight it could have doubled as an armor, then stood up on legs that were shaking slightly from the shock and the embarrassment and the general catastrophe of the last thirty seconds.

Oh, my life. Althea!!!

I fixed the knot three times, then a fourth time just to be sure.

"Okay," I said, in a breathless voice that was meant to sound composed, then fixed the towel on my head, "You can turn around now."

And he did. His face was straight. Completely, aggressively straight, not a single trace of anything on it, with his jaw ticking, and I knew, I absolutely knew, that it was costing him something to keep it that way, which made it so much worse.

I pulled the blanket off the bed and threw it around myself on top of the towel because I was not taking any more chances this morning, and then I looked at him.

"Why are you in my room? Ever heard of knocking?" I hissed.

"I knocked, but you didn't answer, so—"

“I was in the shower, Alaric." I cut him off, glaring at him.

"Twice," he added, raising a brow, his gaze fixed solely on my face.

"With the water running." I pulled the blanket tighter around me. "You know, that thing that makes noise and drowns out other sounds? Like knocking?"

He looked at me before bringing his head down, "I'm sorry, the door was unlocked."

"That doesn't mean come in!" My voice pitched, but I reeled it back in. "An unlocked door means try again later or send someone, or literally anything that isn't walking into a woman's room while she's bathing."

The corner of his lips twitched, and I immediately pointed a finger at him. "Don't you dare."

And it disappeared almost immediately after it came. He cleared his throat very briefly, and then straightened up like we were two completely normal people having a completely normal conversation and not like he'd just seen me naked approximately three minutes ago and could possibly be scarred for life.

I was never thinking about that. Ever. Starting now.

"We've got a council meeting," he said, back to the normal Alaric I knew. "Be ready in an hour."

I blinked at him incredulously, scoffing. "You seriously came in here for a council meeting?"

"Yes." He replied, looking at me like I was the weird one.

"You walked into my room, while I was in the shower, for a council meeting when you could have just sent Sera?"

"We're not going back on that, Althea. I have already apologized, and I told you I knocked," he groaned.

Is he being serious right now?

"Alaric," I called his name in a warning tone. "If you say that ‘knocking’ one more time, I'm going to lose whatever is left of my mind this morning."

His lips twitched again, and I saw amusement twinkling in his eyes. I looked away from him deliberately, not trusting myself or my face right now.

"One hour," he repeated, and turned toward the door.

"I know, I heard you the first time," I muttered.

He paused at the door frame, his voice much softer now. "There's breakfast outside."

"I'm fine," I muttered. I truly wasn't hungry, given an eventful morning I just had.

I couldn't see his face, but the next words that came out of his mouth were an order.

"Eat something."

I opened my mouth to tell him I was perfectly capable of deciding when I was hungry, but he was already gone, the door clicking shut behind him, leaving me standing in my blanket and towel situation in the middle of the room.

I stared at the door, partially burning inside with frustration, annoyance, and embarrassment.

I pressed both palms on my face, groaning loudly. “This day is the worst. And it's just starting!”