He Shamed Me Publicly, I Married Rival Alpha

Chapter 3

Alpha Ethan didn't deny it.

Cora rested against his chest, but the corner of her eye,sly, calculating,flicked toward me. Triumphant. Mocking.

"And what about Iris?" Someone pointed at me from across the fire.

"What's she waiting for? Don't tell me she's also got,well, someone in mind."

Every gaze in the circle snapped to me at once.

Alpha Ethan's eyes drifted over too. His brow tightened. Across the heat-shimmer of the flames, he gave me the smallest, sharpest shake of his head.

A warning.

Don't say a word out of place. Behave. Play your part,the obedient little secret you've always been.

I looked down at my phone. The marriage contract from my father glowed there. Kane's wolf-head sigil, stamped in gold.

I shook my head.

"No one in mind," I said. My voice was clean and cool, slicing easily through the noise.

"I'm not picky. Whenever the elders schedule it, I'll go through with it."

There was a beat of confused silence.

"And when's the council got it scheduled?"

"Tomorrow."

The word landed flat, thrown out as casually as a leaf.

"Tomorrow?"

"Are you serious? That fast?"

Alpha Ethan's hand froze around his glass. His face hardened into stone.

Cora let out a sweet little laugh. "Oh,is that all? I was starting to think Iris was single because…"

She nestled closer into Alpha Ethan's chest.

"she had her eye on someone."

"What are you implying, Cora?" someone cut in, ribbing her. "If Iris had any designs on Alpha Ethan, she'd have moved on him long ago. She's not the type to wait this long."

"Right. Iris is the strongest Gamma we've got. She's got higher standards than that."

Cora's friend leaned to her ear. She whispered,but werewolves all have keen ears.

"Even if she did make a move… after Alpha Ethan's been alone all these years, can't you see who his heart is set on?"

A bitter half-smile rose to my lips.

The truth was,Alpha Ethan and I,I hadn't been the one to start it.

I knew he was Alpha. I knew there were oceans of rank between us.

I had never once tried to seduce him.

It was a rainstorm, six months ago. He had appeared at my apartment door, drenched to the bone, his eyes red-rimmed and wild.

He had just fought with Cora, he said. He couldn't bear it.

Then he'd backed me against the door, his voice rough as gravel: I want you. Be mine.

A cold thought struck me now.

That sudden, breathless confession,had it been because Cora had just turned him away?

Had I been nothing more than a salve? A weapon to make her jealous?

I shook my head and rose. I needed air. I walked toward the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face.

Stop chasing this, Iris. None of it matters anymore.

When I emerged from the bathroom, Alpha Ethan was waiting in the corridor.

The hallway was dim. Only the faint green glow of the emergency exit sign cast any light at all.

He grabbed my wrist and yanked me into a darkened storage room. The door clicked shut behind us.

He looked agitated. His brow was knit tight.

"When did I ever agree to bind myself to you tomorrow?"

His voice was low and venomous.

"Iris. There's a limit to how far you can push me. That joke is funny exactly once."

"That thing with Cora was just drunken nonsense. You know that. You're throwing a tantrum, and it's getting embarrassing."

I leaned back against the cold cement wall and said nothing. I just looked at him.

He was visibly impatient, his eyes flicking back to the door.

"Look,fortunately no one took it seriously. Just go back, clear it up. Tell them you were joking, lightening the mood. That's all it was."

He extended his hand to me, expecting me to take it.

"Let's go. Don't waste any more of my time on this."

I drew my hand back. Tucked it behind me.

"Why would I clear it up?"

His brow furrowed deeper, as if I had said something obscene.

"Iris. Are you seriously planning to bind yourself to me tomorrow? Stop it. I am not going to agree."

"It doesn't matter whether you agree or not."

I drew in a long breath and looked at the man I had loved for six full years.

"My mate isn't going to be you."