An Alpha's Favor

Chapter 5: Wanting Her

-Angela-

My brother was right there as soon as I entered the castle behind Lucian. He hugged me tightly, making it impossible to breathe, but honestly, I didn’t care. I felt so safe in his arms that I started to cry. I had missed him so much. He pulled back slightly and set me on my feet, gently wiping my tears away. I could see the big smile on his lips, but it did nothing to hide the concern in his eyes.

Then Kate appeared, hugging me with one arm while cradling her son with the other. She presented him to me, but I didn’t even get a chance to hold him. No, something was distracting me from all the questions, hugs, and greetings…

What is that smell? Something musky, like spices.

It had my head spinning, and for a moment, I couldn’t focus on anything else. I had to find the source of it. I had never encountered a scent like this before, and then a small gap formed in the crowd. My heart began to race, and I felt strangely hot all over. My skin itched beneath my clothes, and I wanted to whimper at the hungry look this magnificent male shot me with his yellow eyes.

“So, this is the famous Angela,” he said. His deep, warm voice resonated within me, tightening my core with need. It was as if he knew exactly what was happening to me.

Mate! my wolf cried out.

Oh, f*ck me… I thought.

Yes, please!

I gulped, my wolf already scheming ways to get him alone, to mate with us until there was no doubt we belonged to him. A smile spread across his lips, and his eyes held dark promises—promises to fulfill my every need… and I would let him.

He looked like he had stepped out of a movie. The sharp lines of his face, his intense yellow eyes, the short blond hair falling slightly forward, and the dark blue suit he wore fit him perfectly. He emanated power. Power and… to me, safety. In that moment, I wanted to run over, let him wrap his arms around me, and tell me everything would be all right.

F*ck, this is not the time, I thought.

“She isn’t for you,” my brother growled at him, shielding me from the alpha’s eyes.

“No?” the alpha asked, sounding surprised.

“No!” my brother insisted.

I was actually a little grateful my brother intervened. I could breathe a bit easier now that those intense eyes weren’t on me. Luckily, the king soon stepped in.

“Maybe we can continue the meeting while Angela gets settled,” he said.

Meeting? Who was this alpha, anyway? He had yellow eyes… eyes like the king.

“Hunter?” the king said after the male didn’t respond.

Wait a minute… Hunter… Oh no. No, no, no, he can’t be my mate! Hunter Dayton had done nothing but cause trouble—not just for my brother, but for everyone here. And now… he was my mate! This was so wrong. Does the Goddess have some kind of sick sense of humor? I wondered, reaching out to grab my brother’s shirt.

He slipped his arm around me, holding me close. I both hated and appreciated being here. I didn’t want Chris to get hurt. I couldn’t be the reason his son lost a father. Yet, at the same time, I was so grateful to feel his protective arms around me.

“Hunter?” the king called a second time.

I peered around my brother, meeting Hunter’s yellow eyes before he finally turned to the king.

“Yes. Let us continue,” he said.

I swallowed hard as I watched the king and most of the males leave, except for my brother, who turned back to me with a reassuring smile before pulling me along to get settled. Lucian stayed back too, following closely behind.

-Hunter-

We were back in the king’s office again, but this time, I had something entirely different in mind: stunning Angela. One look from her had taken my breath away.

So, this is what it means to find your mate, I thought. I had never believed it could be this powerful. In an instant, everything inside me shouted to claim her as mine, to ensure no one else would ever have the chance. But I didn’t just want to mark her or fill her until she was pregnant, like I had originally envisioned for my future mate.

No, I wanted to own her. Possess her. I wanted her to be just as hungry for me as I was for her. Sh*t, I was painfully hard, my c*ck throbbing, craving to be buried deep inside her.

But I had to focus as I sat in front of the king, even though all I wanted was to storm out of this meeting, find Angela again, and have her however I could. Whether standing, sitting, or lying down, I didn’t care. We didn’t even have to take the time to get naked—though I wanted to see all that was mine, all that would be marked by me.

Focus!

“I’m sorry for everything that has happened, but I’m ready to listen to your demands now,” Valerio said.

I slowly nodded, no longer in the mood to play games. “Good, because they have changed.”

“Changed?” he inquired.

“I want the little female. Angela.”

The room fell dead silent, and I could sense my own men were confused.

“I’m not sure I heard you correctly,” the king said, almost giving me a chance to retract my demand, but I didn’t.

“You heard me,” I said.

“Hunter,” he growled deeply. “Why the sudden change?”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you,” I replied. “Remember? Whatever I want, whenever I want.”

“This is more complicated,” he said.

“Because she’s Chris’s sister?”

“No, because her father k!dnapped her after Chris refused to bow to him and let him take my mate away. Connor will come for her. No doubt about it.”

“Even more reason to give her to me,” I insisted.

“How so?”

“Connor already cornered you once. It’s not hard to figure out that Angela would run to her brother. Who else would she go to? So, give her to me. I’ll take her back with me. He won’t expect that, and I certainly have the means to protect her from him. He has no real power on the other side of the water.”

The king glanced at the others, and I could tell he saw the logic in my words, but he was clearly still conflicted and confused about why I wanted this.

“Someone get Chris…”

Evan left, shooting me a hard glare as he walked out the door to fetch her brother.

The king turned back to me. “He will kill me for this,” he said.

“I don’t believe he will. Not when he hears how good this plan is.”

The king tapped his finger against the armrest of his chair, his yellow eyes fixed on mine. “You certainly know how to mess with people, don’t you?”

I smiled a cruel smile. “One of my specialties.”

The door opened behind me, and Evan returned with Chris and Lucian, all three positioning themselves further into the room to see me better. I glanced at them, a small smile playing on my lips.

“What is going on?” Chris inquired.

The king sighed but didn’t look at him as he explained my demand. “Hunter has asked me to hand over Angela, as the favor I owe him.”

“What?” Chris yelled, reacting exactly as I had expected. “You can’t be serious!”

I turned my head and nodded calmly. “I am.”

“And what gives you the right to demand my sister for yourself?” he growled.

“I’m her mate.”