Chapter One Hundred and Seventy Six
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy Six
I was heading toward the huge gates when a voice stopped me.
“Who are you, Miss?” the uniformed man asked. A guard. I realized.
“I came to see Alexander Blackwood,” I said. Of course, I wasn’t even sure if he lived here. Austin had given me the address, but what if it was wrong? What if this house belonged to some stranger?
“Do you have an appointment with him?” the guard asked,
My heart lurched. That meant he was here–the man had recognized the name.
“I need to see him right now,” I said urgently. The only other way in was to climb over the high gates–not a difficult task for me–but something told me more guards were waiting inside.
“Are you a relative?” the guard asked. I had no time for his questions.
“No. I am his mate.”
A moment of silence passed, and only then did I realize I was speaking to a human, who also thought I was human.
“I’m sorry, miss, I can’t let you in unless you have an appointment with him.”
“I am his wife!” I bet he would understand that?
“Mr. Alexander didn’t tell us about any ‘wife‘ or relatives. You can only meet him if you have an appointment with him.” The man repeated, staring at me like I was crazy. Of course, calling Alexander my ‘mate‘ had been what made him believe I wasn’t mentally fit.
“Then inform him that I am here; he will let me in.”
“Mr. Alexander doesn’t want to be disturbed. You can only meet…”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” I screamed at him, and that silenced him.
“Leave, Miss, or I will call the guards to escort you out.”
That did it.
The gate wasn’t the only way in; the small room cut out for the guard was another way in. I climbed my way into the guardhouse, and he bolted to set off the alarm. He didn’t make it. I slammed his head against the wall.
He fell unconscious.
I hurried into the building. Following the walkway. I could spot the cameras; they were almost everywhere. Alexander would have been alerted to my arrival by now.
There were even more human guards at the entrance to the house.
“Who are you?” one of the guards with a thick Russian accent asked.
“Alexander’s wife,” I said. The guards exchanged looks, and for a moment I thought I would have to fight them all, but then the guy with the Russian accent walked forward.
“I will escort you.” He said, though he still sounded unsure I was a stranger to him, and he didn’t know if this was the right thing to do or if it would end up causing him his job.
Alexander was here. I could feel it. His intoxicating scent filled the whole place. The guard stopped before the double door. He knocked once. There was no response from the other side of the room, but the man spoke on.
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Chapter One Hundred and Seventy Six
“A woman is here; she said she is your… wife.”
Another silence followed, and the gue
“Let her in.”
glanced at me. Before he could speak, I heard Alexander’s voice.
The door was pulled open, and I walked in before it was shut behind me.
My eyes met Alexander’s, and for a moment, I couldn’t bring myself to even breathe. Has he always been this beautiful? Had those blue eyes always been this bright?
His brown hair was neatly cut. He wore only a pair of sweats that hung sinfully low on his hips. A bottle of wine sat on the table before him, a cigarette resting between his lips.
He wasn’t alone.
There were girls–many of them. Some barely dressed, others completely naked.
“Alexander,” I called. His eyes met mine, but there was no anger, no pleasure–just indifference.
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy Six
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy Six*
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One after another, I seemed to be discovering my greatest fears. I wasn’t as fearless as I had believed. When I thought I would die in the woods, I had been afraid. And now, as I stood before the love of my life, watching the naked women crowd around him, I realized this was another of my fears.
Strangely, in the six hours it took me to get here, I had imagined countless scenarios—but not this. I had always known Alexander’s love for women, but he had changed for me. And now… he was back to the man he used to be. I couldn’t say another word–I just stared at him. And then suddenly, anger surged through me.
“I want to speak to you, alone.”
“Well I don’t, and you cannot make demands here.”
What did that even mean?
“Alexander, I don’t know what the hell is going on with you, but we need to talk.”
“Then talk.”
The women, sensing the tension, drew back.
“So this is what you’ve been up to? Drinking and having your ‘fun‘ while I was back at the pack, waiting for you wondering what I did wrong. And you? You were out here living your best life?”
“This had been what you wanted, right? I gave it to you; it’s not my fault it turned out to be more work than you anticipated.”
“So that’s what this is about, isn’t it? Some kind of payback.”
“Payback? You seem to forget–we’re no longer mates. Nothing binds us together. The humans would call it‘ divorced.‘ I expect you to be a big girl and move on.”
“Move on? Are you seriously telling me that?”
Alexander turned to the girls. “Get out.” He said to them, and they rose, hurrying away. “Kaida. Once I loved you; once I was willing to do anything for you. It is not the same. I’ve found a new life, and in this life you are not a part of it.”
Those words tore into me, sharper than any dagger. Tears burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
“Do you know what it took me to find you?”
“Find me? I wasn’t hiding.”
“You were. Why else would you come this far?”
“To get away from you. If I were hiding, I can assure you, you would never find me.”
I couldn’t believe he had said that. “Are you drunk?” I asked. He didn’t answer–but he didn’t have to. He was drunk, just not enough to be unaware of his own words.
He lifted the bottle to his lips, taking another gulp. It reminded me of his crazy obsession for alcohol spiked with wolfsbane. I took in a breath. I had sworn to myself that I wouldn’t leave without him, I couldn’t afford to back down so quickly.
“I still love you, you know,” I admitted, watching him closely, searching for any sign that my words meant something to him. Nothing. He looked unmoved–like none of it mattered. “I thought with the mate bond gone, wouldn’t feel the same way about you, but I was wrong. I still love you. More than you would ever know, and I…
I
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Chapter One Hundred and Seventy Six*
can’t do this without you.” My voice broke at the end.
“I don’t share those feelings.”
That did it–I strode toward him. He sat on the couch, completely unbothered by his obsessed lover, me, now closing in on him.
“Everything is falling apart. I need you.” I whispered.
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“Fix it. That’s what Alphas do. They don’t go looking for help.”
“But you are the Alpha.”
“No. Not me. I lost the title the day I lost my wolf.”
I took off my jacket, and my shirt followed next. “I had been attacked a few days ago. Shot twice by rebels from our pack, I survived by a slight chance. I cannot do this alone; if you care even a little bit for me, you would come with me.”
“There’s nothing to return to. This is my life now.”
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Chapter One Humbed and Seventy Seven
