IN BED WITH THE WRONG ALPHA

2

ROBYN

A towel was wrapped tightly around his waist while another rested in his hand as he dried his dark hair. He reached over and flicked on the light switch.

I squinted against the sudden brightness before my eyes settled on him.

Water glistened over his bare, tanned chest, trailing down a torso that looked carved by a sculptor. He was beautiful—frighteningly so—even with the scars etched across his skin.

“What the f**k?” His deep, gravelly voice snapped me back to reality. “Why are you in my room?”

“Your room?” I frowned, quickly wiping my wet cheeks. “This is my friend’s room. 204.”

“Look around and tell me if this looks like a girl’s room.”

I did as he asked, and all I could see were college-boy posters.

Goddess, my brain must have been so fried that I heard wrong.

“I... I’m so sorry. I thought it was—”

Horrified, I scrambled to my feet, desperate to escape, but my legs completely failed me. They buckled beneath me, and I stumbled forward.

Before I could hit the floor, he caught me.

His large hands gripped my upper arms firmly, steadying me.

The second his skin touched mine, a violent shock shot straight down my spine.

The contact felt like lightning ripping through my body—a wave of pure electricity that made my wolf instantly go still. He froze too, his grip tightening slightly as his piercing green eyes widened.

A loaded silence filled the room.

“Why are you crying?” he asked.

I looked up, trapped by those rare, haunting eyes. I recognized them from somewhere—television, maybe, or one of the pack broadcasts—but my brain was too scrambled to place him.

“I was just leaving,” I stammered, trying to pull away from his warmth.

His grip didn’t loosen.

“That wasn’t a question,” he said calmly. “Why are you crying?”

The frustration, heartbreak, and humiliation of the last hour suddenly boiled over.

I hated how my senses reacted to him. I hated how my wolf stirred with dangerous interest instead of mourning Leon. Leon was my mate, and it should have hurt more, but she seemed more interested in this stranger.

Angrily, I yanked my arm away.

“You want to know why?” I asked, my voice cracking with bitter resentment. “Because I am unfuckable! My mate hasn’t touched me once, and we’ve been together for a whole year. He told me he was leaving to attend the Alpha Supreme’s funeral, but it turns out he just wanted to be with his boys one last time before he had to claim me.”

The anger suddenly dissolved, leaving behind a pathetic, broken whimper.

“I changed everything for him. My clothes, my personality... and I still wasn’t enough.”

His dark brows furrowed.

“Your mate is an i***t,” he said in a low tone.

I scoffed.

“You are bluffing. You are just saying that because you probably want to add me to your conquest list. I know what guys like you are capable of.”

“You are wrong.”

He took one slow step toward me.

Then another.

Until the backs of my knees hit the edge of his mattress.

Looking at him standing there—so massive and perfectly crafted—something inside me shook. A volatile burst of pure adrenaline and spite flooded my veins.

Why was I protecting a virtue my own mate treated like a burden?

Why was I still trying to be the perfect rejected girl?

I forced my chin up, looking him dead in those haunting green eyes.

“You know what? Fine. You can have it. I was a fool for saving it for him anyway. If you want to make me feel better, then do it right now. I’m not asking for forever. I’m asking you to do what guys like you do best.”

His eyes slowly tracked the pulse beating in my throat.

He didn’t look at me with cheap hunger.

He looked at me like a predator staring at something he fully intended to keep.

“You’re angry right now,” he said evenly. “And once I touch you, things change. I don’t do casual. And I don’t share what belongs to me.”

I laughed in disbelief.

He didn’t even know my name, and for a guy around my age, his confidence was borderline insane. He spoke with an authority that didn’t match a regular college student.

But as the silence stretched between us, the reality of my reckless words finally crashed into me.

What was I doing?

I was about to throw my first time away to a complete stranger just because my mate broke my heart.

“Forget it,” I whispered, suddenly panicked. “This was stupid. I’m sorry. I should go.”

I turned toward the door, desperate to escape before I completely lost my mind.

But before I could take a single step, his hand wrapped firmly around my wrist.

He pulled me back effortlessly, spinning me around until my back pressed softly against the door.

“You asked me for something,” he murmured. “And I’m going to give it to you.”

**

I snuck out before he woke up because there was no way I was doing a walk of shame across campus on the first day of the school year.

As I hurried down the hallway, the memories tried to creep in anyway. I shoved the thoughts away instantly. It was a mistake born out of spite. The sooner I erased it from my life, the better.

I rounded the corner near the stairs, trying to stay invisible, but then I slammed straight into June.

“Robyn!”

I flinched as her voice echoed through the hallway.

“Keep your voice down,” I hissed immediately, glancing nervously at the dorm room doors.

Her eyes widened.

“Keep my voice down? I called you all night! I was literally about to report Leon to my father because I thought he forcefully took you after what happened at his house!”

“I made a mistake with the room numbers. I went to 204. I must have heard wrong,” I whispered. “And I didn’t see your calls.”

I reached into my pockets, but they were completely empty.

“My phone. I left it in the car last night.”

Panic flared in my chest. Then I remembered I had gotten out of the car without it.

I had been crying so hard when I arrived that I had just grabbed my keys and bolted inside.

“Apology not accepted, but come on,” June muttered, pulling me toward the exit. “Let’s go grab it before someone breaks into your car. I still want to know how you heard 204 instead of 304.”

We hurried down the quiet stairwell and exited the building. The campus was dead silent as the morning sun took its time making an appearance.

I breathed a small sigh of relief.

The parking lot was empty. No one was around to see my wrinkled clothes or messy hair.

We reached my car, and I grabbed the phone from the front seat, slipping it into my pocket.

But before we could turn back, a violent screech cut through the silence.

Three black SUVs sped into the lot, driving aggressively before coming to a halt, blocking my car.

My blood ran cold the second I saw the Blue Thorne logo across the doors.

Armed guards stepped out, instantly surrounding us.

“Robyn Ford, you are under arrest for treason.”