IN BED WITH THE WRONG ALPHA

17

ROBYN

For hours I remained in my dress, pacing around the room with my pulse drumming loudly.

My hands wouldn't stop shaking, no matter how tightly I pressed them together in my lap. I kept seeing Leon's face as Kane devoured him. The way every single person in that hallway had looked at me like I was the reason the whole night had fallen apart.

Maybe I was.

Footsteps thundered up the stairs, and then my door swung open so hard it cracked against the wall. My heart jumped as I saw Kane in my room, still in the robe he had been draped in. His knuckles still had dry blood on them.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He growled, marching towards me.

My hands twisted as I fiddled with my dress.

"Let me explain, I—"

"No." He shook his head, and closed the distance between us. "I don't need any silly explanation, Robyn." He scoffed.

"You could have told me." He gritted his teeth so tight I thought it might crack. "I just needed you to say a word, and I would have sent my guards, I would have handled it quietly, and none of this would have happened. Instead you walked off alone, into a room with a drunk man, on the single most important night of my life, and you told no one."

"I didn't want to be a problem to you." My voice cracked halfway through the sentence, my eyes watering. "You had the coronation, the elders, everyone watching you. I thought I could fix it before it became your problem too."

"You cost me more!" His voice rose, startling me. "Made me look like a f*****g fool. One who couldn't protect his woman! His family! Goddess, Robyn, I am the Alpha Supreme for a f*****g reason. This is more than an insult!"

The veins on his neck were visible as he kept shouting and my entire being shrank before him.

"I'm sorry." I muttered, my heart caving in.

"Sorry doesn't fix everything!" That was the last thing he said before he turned away, and slammed the door so hard.

I stood there in the silence for a long time before my knees finally gave out.

I sank onto the edge of the bed, the gown pooling around me, and pressed both hands over my mouth to keep the sound in. It didn't work. The tears came anyway, ugly and endless, until my chest ached from holding my own breath between sobs. I thought about Leon's hands on my thighs. I thought about the flash drive still sitting in my bag. I thought about the ring on my finger, and how none of it — not one second of tonight — had gone the way I wanted it to.

I cried until I didn't know if I was crying anymore, or just breathing wrong.

**

I woke the next morning with no memory of falling asleep, only the dull, swollen ache behind both eyes that told me I'd cried straight through the night.

I dragged myself into the bathroom and nearly flinched at my own reflection. My eyes were puffy and pink-rimmed, my face blotchy in a way no amount of cold water was going to fix quickly. I considered staying in the room. Hiding until the swelling went down and I could pretend last night hadn't happened.

But my stomach rumbled, so I had to make my way to the dining hall. I kept my head up, ready for whatever Kane had to throw at me, but when I opened the door, I found it empty.

Relief washed over my chest as I sat down. Then, I dished out my food, a plate of toast, bacon, eggs, and warm milk. I ate my food, deciding to leave before he came in, but two bites in the door swung open.

"—tell the guards I want some of them in the west wing before noon, and someone needs to deal with the press outside the gates, I don't care how—"

Kane's voice cut through the hall before he walked in, already mid-instruction to someone trailing behind him. He didn't even look at me as he walked toward the table.

"Good morning," he greeted as he drew out his seat.

I pushed mine back with a scrape, and his eyes landed on me.

"What happened to your eye?"

"Nothing." I stood, gathering my bread in one fist, already turning for the door. "I need to go."

His hand closed around my wrist before I got two steps.

"Don't make me ask again."

I snapped without a second thought.

"I cried all night, Kane, okay?" My voice came out high-pitched, almost a scream. "Your eyes swell if you cry. But you wouldn't know that, would you? You feel nothing — pain, hurt, none of it touches you."

His jaw ticked. For a second his expression didn't change at all, and that almost hurt worse than if he'd yelled.

"I'm sorry for—"

"I don't want your pity, Kane." I turned my face away before he could finish.

His hand left my wrist and found my jaw instead, tilting my face back toward his, forcing me to look at him.

"I'm trying to protect you." His baritone went low. "We are to be married. I have to know everything about my wife to keep her safe. It might not be a love match, but you are my duty first. Before anyone."

My heart stopped pounding as his green eyes pierced into mine.

"I do not take it lightly when someone touches anything or anyone under my protection." He leaned in closer. "I would have killed him if I had to, and you know how that would taint my reputation. So, please." Our faces were inches apart.

His eyes found my mouth and for a second, I thought our lips would meet. But then, he pulled back.

"No more secrets."

I looked at him, wondering whether to tell him about the biggest secret. The fact that I might not even be part of the prophecy...