Chapter 10
Just as I was about to open my mouth and tell Beta Malcolm to get lost, the low growl of an approaching engine interrupted us.
A sleek black sedan pulled up beside us. The moment the car stopped, the door swung open, and out stepped Alpha Zachary, looking every bit the overprotective mate he thought he was.
Before I could blink, he pulled me against his broad chest, his scent–pine, smoke, and something undeniably dominant–flooding my senses.
“My wife doesn’t need you to protect her,” he said, voice dripping with authority. “And for the record, Grandpa didn’t like you–he liked me.”
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His tone was casual, but the way he held me screamed territorial.
I felt his wolf’s energy pressing against mine, a silent but clear message: Mine. Stay back.
Beta Malcolm’s face twisted like he’d swallowed a mouthful of wolfsbane. His jaw clenched, and his gaze darted to where Zachary’s hand rested firmly on my waist.
“Rowena, he’s not your fated mate!” Malcolm burst out, desperation lacing his voice. “He’s just toying with you! Don’t let him fool you!”
“I’m different. We’ve been together for seven years, through everything. We were blessed by the Moon Goddess! You’ve always been the only one in my heart.”
He took a dramatic step forward. “No matter
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what you become, I’ll still love you the most!”
I stared at him, barely holding back my gag reflex.
Zachary let out an unimpressed snort. “What she became?” His grip on me tightened. “You mean the Alpha she was born to be? Or the woman too smart to fall for your nonsense?”
I could almost feel his wolf roll its eyes.
But for me, Malcolm’s little speech only dragged up an unpleasant memory–one that made my scalp prickle with phantom pain.
The image of him grabbing my hair that day, his voice cold and cruel, flashed before my eyes. My wolf bristled inside me, hackles rising in a silent snarl.
I met his gaze and sneered. “So ‘loving me‘
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t
J
t
means yankinking me around like a rag doll? ‘loving me meaeans slapping me across the face?“?”
My voice turned razazor–sharp. “Malcolm, y love is terrifying–gl–wavant no part of it.”
HiHis expression flickekededgeguilt, anger, scsomething like regreteBuButwawasn’t about 1 fafall for that act again.in.
H He took a step back, like myny words had phphysically struck him. For a sesecond, I ththought he might actually dropop to his kne fofor the full please–forgive–me effaffect.
Ild let out a sharp laugh. “Selectivevanamnesi: MMalcolm? Should I remind you of allah the thihings you did?”
He–feflinched.
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Good.
I took a deep breath, letting my next words slice through him like claws. “One last thing -I’m selling that house. You and Queenie better move out ASAP, or I’ll call the cops.”
Malcolm’s mouth fell open. “You’re selling the house? I don’t agree! That’s our marital home–where am I supposed to live?”
I blinked. “And that’s my problem… why?”
I cocked my head, watching his panic build. “You’re nothing but a stranger to me now. I suggest you act like one and move out before I really do call the police.”
With that, I turned on my heel, climbed into Zachary’s car, and slammed the door shut.
The moment we drove off, Malcolm’s voice
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rang out behind us, growing smaller in the distance:
“Rowena! We can still get married! You can’t just throw me out-”
I rolled my eyes so hard they nearly got stuck.
The ride back was silent.
Zachary’s hands were tight on the wheel, his jaw clenched like he was holding back a string of words. His wolf was on edge–1 could feel it simmering under his skin.
I was too exhausted to care. My body, my wolf, my very soul was drained.
The tension in the car, the quiet brooding Alpha beside me… all of it faded into the background as my eyelids grew heavy.
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When I woke up, I was no longer in the car.
I blinked, confused, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. The scent in the air- clean linen, sandalwood, a hint of something uniquely Zachary–told me exactly where I
was.
His apartment.
I groaned. “So much for divorced and done…”
Since my old place was still infested with Malcolm and Queenie, and hotels weren’t exactly a long–term solution, I’d let Yvonne talk me into staying here. For now.
A bad idea? Probably.
Speaking of Yvonne-
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I turned my head and found her sprawled on the couch, glaring at her laptop screen. Her fingers pounded the keyboard so furiously that I half–expected sparks to fly.
Frowning, I sat up. “Yvonne, what are you doing?”
She jolted so hard she nearly knocked the laptop off her lap.
“Nothing!” she blurted, slamming the screen shut. “Just watching a show and leaving some comments online!”
I squinted at her. “Uh–huh. And what kind of show requires that much furious typing?”
She avoided my gaze, suddenly very interested in her nails.
I let it slide. For now.
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It wasn’t until a few days later that I started noticing something… strange.
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