Alpha Mendoza

Alessia: “You are drunk.” He said, looking me in the eye as I took another sip of my wine. “And so are you.” I said, nodding at the glass in his hand. “I wonder, what is the great Alpha Alexander Mendoza doing at a Christmas gathering like this one? And needless to say, he seems to be running away from the crowd.” “Mind you, you are not any better, little beta. Does your father know that you are drinking? Even worse, does your Alpha know that you’re talking to me?” He asked, giving me a cold smile. “What they don’t know won’t hurt them, now would it?” I asked, growing a little more tipsy as he took a step toward me. He leaned in, his breath hitting my face. “Then how about we make the best of this night and get the hell out of here?” He whispered… The first thing I felt was the pounding in my skull as I forced myself awake from the dream that I was having. The second was the warmth beside me. I cracked one eye open, and instantly wished I hadn’t. A man. A very naked man. And not just any man. Oh, Goddess, no. Ah, yes, I forgot to mention that it was not a dream… it was the very reality that I had lived through last night. “You’re so f*****g beautiful…” He had whispered as he connected his lips with mine. And now, as I watched him, half-asleep, processing the moment… his face was unfairly perfect, sharp jawline, dark lashes, a faint scar slicing dangerously near his temple like the mark of sin itself. His scent clung to the sheets, intoxicatingly masculine, cedar, scotch, and trouble. Alpha Alexander Mendoza. The infamous Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack. The enemy. “Oh, Goddess,” I whispered, my heart stuttering. “Tell me that’s not him… tell me that it was just a dream and that I didn’t live through it…” It was. Alexander Mendoza. Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack. The enemy. And last night, I had escaped the party to be with him… I froze, clutching the blanket to my chest like it could ward off humiliation. Memories of last night crashed into me in messy fragments: the Christmas Summit, the champagne, his smirk, my pride, and, Moon help me, the way we ended up tangled in these very sheets. We did it, my wolf, Sage, sang in my head, practically wagging her tail. And he’s even hotter unconscious. Look at those arms. You can’t not admire him. “I’m not looking,” I hissed under my breath, fumbling for my dress. “We need to get out of here.” You’re absolutely looking. And you, just like me, are admiring our piece of art. Come on, you enjoyed him yesterday, needless to say, you were begging for more. Why not a little glimpse? “That’s because I’m horrified!” I said, snapping at her. “Have you lost your mind? We should be getting out of here, and it has to be done NOW!” Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that. We can stay for another round or two. You know, I am sure that he, just like us, would enjoy it. I mean, look at us, we are practically… “We are not going to do anything.” I said, stopping her. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to breathe. “I just committed treason… with abs. And those abs could be the last thing we see if we don’t get out of here.” Sage snorted. The best kind of treason, if you ask me. He was good too. And look at that mark on his neck… You really gave him one, and it seems your body might be covered in a few. You know, he wasn’t very subtle about how he was touching you. “I didn’t ask. And you don’t need to be deliberate, Sage.” I reached for my clothes, my hands trembling as I pulled the dress over my head. Each heartbeat reminded me exactly who I’d betrayed… Lucien Vale. The man who trusted me. The one I was supposed to marry. My betrothed… A wave of nausea rolled through me. Not fear. Guilt. I wasn’t afraid of punishment. I was terrified of what I’d become, of what it said about me that one smirk from my sworn enemy could unravel everything I was raised to be. I glanced back once. Alexander lay sprawled in the tangle of sheets, unfairly perfect, the faint scar near his temple catching the morning light. Even asleep, he looked like trouble carved into flesh. Sage sighed dreamily. We could stay. Just for one more minute. Maybe cuddle. Or two. We are already here, there is no reason for us to rush with leaving. You know you want to. It is not like we haven’t been sleeping in his arms throughout the whole night… just a little while longer. “I am not cuddling the enemy, Sage.” I snapped. “The faster we get out of here, the better.” He’s half-naked, Alessia. This is a humanitarian crisis. Come on, don’t tell me that you’re not thinking the same thing that I am. I bit my lip to stop the laugh that tried to escape. “You are going to shut it, Sage. We are going to need to leave before anyone finds out, and one more minute here is going to be another one closer to our death wish.” It is going to be worth it. You never know, you might even end up with a smile on your face instead of the grim mood that you’re always in. “Sage…” You love me. And you agree with me. You want him, and all it would take is for you to get in bed beside him. “I used to.” I muttered as I searched for my heels and tried to at least make myself look a little less of a mess. “Now, I am not sure,” When I reached for my shoes, his phone lit up on the nightstand. I shouldn’t have looked. I knew that. But my eyes caught the name anyway. Seraphina: Still waiting for you, Alex. You promised last night. Did something come up? Why didn’t you come? Something inside me twisted painfully. Oh. So that’s all this was. A distraction. A mistake. A drunken footnote in his long list of women. A game for his pleasure for the night. The humiliation burned. I snatched a pen from the hotel pad and scribbled two words on a piece of paper. I’m sorry. Sorry for betraying my pack. Sorry for betraying Lucien. Sorry for ever thinking the enemy could mean anything more than regret. I left the note on the pillow, took one last look at the man who’d ruin my life if anyone found out, and slipped out of the room. The hallway felt colder than the December wind outside. My heels clicked too loudly on the marble floor, every sound a reminder of what I’d just done. Sage’s voice softened. He’s still your mate, you know. Deep down, you felt it too. And you might want to run away from it, but you also know that you won’t be able to. It is only a matter of time before things catch up, and you know more than anyone that you can’t escape what is fated. “No,” I whispered. “He’s the enemy. We can’t keep false hopes like these. It was a mistake and now it is done. What we should be thinking of is how we are going to reject him.” Then why does your heart hurt like this? If rejection is what you want? I didn’t answer. Because I didn’t know. “It doesn’t matter. Lucien would be worried about us by now…”