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918 Words
Her anger rose so quickly that the suppressant patch at the side of her neck began to heat against her skin. The scent of apple blossom and vanilla that usually clung softly to her skin suddenly became sharper, with a faint sourness beneath it. It spread through the hallway before the patch could fully suppress it.
Mark's expression shifted as her scent reached him. His eyes darkened for a moment, and his body instinctively reacted to the Omega pheromones before he quickly forced himself to regain control.
Melena barely noticed. She was too angry.
He reached toward her, then stopped himself. "Lena..."
She stepped back. "Don't."
Mark lowered his hand. He looked guilty, but not guilty enough to believe her.
That hurt more than she wanted to admit.
Mark reached for her hand again, but Melena immediately stepped back. His hand dropped, and he sighed.
"Come on, Lena. You're still angry with me. I understand why, but we can figure this out."
Melena stared at him in disbelief. After everything that had happened, this man still thought they could simply sit down and talk things out as if she hadn't spent the night tied to a pillar while his girlfriend tried to have her killed.
Her scent sharpened around her. This time she could feel Mark's Alpha instincts reacting to it as his expression tightened slightly, but Melena didn't care enough to control her pheromones.
"I just told you what happened," she said. "Delilah staged the kidnapping. She tried to have me killed, and you're standing here acting like I'm f*****g crazy?"
Mark rubbed the back of his neck.
"Okay, do you have any proof?"
Melena froze.
Her mind went blank for a moment. Of course he wanted proof. Why wouldn't he? She had no recording or written confession.
Then she remembered the sandy-haired Alpha. He had insisted on getting her number.
Please let this man have at least one decent quality.
Melena pulled out her phone and dialed him. He answered after a few rings.
"Yeah?"
"It's Melena."
There was a short silence.
"Really?"
Melena closed her eyes.
"Can you put him on speaker?" Mark asked.
Melena did so.
"I need your help," she said. "I need you to tell Mark the truth."
"The truth about what?"
"About Delilah. About what she asked you and your men to do."
The Alpha laughed. "Sorry, sweetheart. I have no idea what you're talking about."
Melena tightened her grip around the phone.
"Please. I'm begging you. Just tell him the truth and I won't bother you again."
"Listen, Omega, I don't know what you're talking about. But I do remember you promising to become my exclusive Omega."
"I never promised that!"
"Then I guess we have nothing to discuss."
"Wait…"
The call ended.
Melena stared at the phone before calling him again. The Alpha let it ring once before sending her to voicemail. She tried a third time, but the call disconnected.
Of course he wouldn't help her. He had gotten his money and his entertainment. As far as he was concerned, they were even.
Melena lowered the phone and looked up to find Mark watching her with an expression that was becoming increasingly irritating.
"See? You have no proof."
"Don't."
"Delilah would never do something like that, Lena. You were kidnapped, drugged, and under a lot of stress. Maybe you misunderstood what happened."
Melena stared at him. "Maybe I misunderstood the part where I was tied to a pillar and one of the men told me Delilah ordered them to kill me?"
Mark's jaw tightened. "I'm sorry. I should have protected you both."
"Both?"
"Yes. You and Delilah."
Melena let out a humorless laugh. "Of course."
Her scent flared again, sharper this time. Mark's Alpha pheromones pushed back instinctively, and the hallway filled with the uncomfortable tension between them. Melena took another step back.
"I'm telling you the truth. She's not pregnant. She told me herself."
Mark's expression changed. "How about a bet?"
Melena stared at him. "What?"
"I won't touch Delilah from now on. If her stomach doesn't grow, then you were right."
Melena raised her eyebrows. "And if it does?"
"Then you marry me."
Melena stared at him, but Mark continued before she could speak. "The three of us can live together."
For a moment, Melena could only look at him. She couldn't understand how he had managed to come up with such an absurd solution to the situation.
"Marry you? Have you completely lost your mind?"
"Believe it or not, Lena, I still love you."
Melena's eyes twitched. "That's supposed to make this better?"
"I love Delilah too," he continued. "But I love you. I want to take care of both of you."
Melena stared at him in disbelief. This man was unbelievable. He had cheated on her, left her for the woman he cheated with, allowed that woman to stage a kidnapping, and then somehow decided the solution was for all three of them to get married.
Mark wanted everything.
Apparently, the Alpha in him wasn't the only thing that was territorial.
"What do you say, Lena?"
Melena wanted to punch him. She wanted to tell him to go to hell. But as she looked at his face, she realized something that made her even angrier. Delilah had him completely wrapped around her finger, and Mark wasn't going to believe anything she said without proof.
Fine. If that was what it took, she would play along.
She met his eyes. "Okay. We have a deal."
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