Page 3 of Deadly Wolf Bite

Whatever made her stay away tonight, I blame him.

The man’s a poison.

At Lexi’s bedroom door, I don’t even hesitate. Two hours of worrying and wondering and nursing my own pride have left me so twisted up that I don’t even know where my fear ends and my anger begins.

I’ve never been stood up before, and it fucking sucks. But that’s not what this is about. Lexi is mine to protect, and I can’t do that if she shuts me out. A million scenarios run through my mind, each one worse than the last. We were fine this morning. A little awkward but fine. And now she can’t even bring herself to eat a meal with me.

Something must’ve happened—but what?

My blood pumps with an anger that’s a thin veneer spread over my worry. Urgency drives me to move faster.

Her door is locked, but that little detail barely slows me down. With the strength of a predator, I use my shoulder to shove it open. Wood splinters as the lock jam strips and the door swings wide.

The room is empty.

My worry spikes. I stalk to the closed bathroom door, prepared to break it down too, but it opens suddenly, bringing me face to face with the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

Lexi’s green eyes go wide at the sight of me. Her white-blond hair is wet, her smooth skin clear of makeup. She’s wearing a skimpy black tank top and matching pajama pants, both of which are sheer enough to leave little to the imagination. The fact that I know exactly what she looks like beneath these clothes only makes my mood more chaotic.

Fuck me, this woman has me in knots.

“Grey,” she says, breathless, and my balls tighten at the way her nipples have already pebbled against her shirt. But now’s not the time.

“Are you all right?” I demand, searching her for some sign of injury.

“I’m fine,” she assures me.

I don’t move. I’m too confused to let that be the end of it. To wrung out not to demand answers. My father already knows she didn’t show up for our dinner. He’ll want answers too.

This would be so much easier if I felt some stirring of a mate bond between us, but there’s nothing. The only proof I have that Lexi is my mate is that she called my wolf back to me after my father’s alpha order suppressed it. Something like that could only be possible if she were my true fated mate—but there’s no evidence of a bond between us, much less a wolf inside her skin. Only desire for her body and a painful twisting in my heart, an ache that’s bone-deep and distracting as hell.

“Did something happen?” I ask, hating that I can’t read her. “You didn’t answer my calls or texts.”

She ducks her head, but not before I see her cheeks flush. “I got sick.”

“Sick?” I repeat, trying to wrap my head around it. “Do you need a doctor?”

“No, I think I just ate something bad at lunch. I was throwing up all afternoon.”

My eyes narrow. “Ramsey said you were upset.”

“I told him to say something to make you stay away.”

“Why?”

“It was embarrassing. I didn’t want you to see me like that.”

I glance past her to the bathroom, frowning at the sight of her discarded clothes in a soaked heap in the tub. Did she throw up on them? Bleach scents the air so strongly it overpowers anything else.

“Someone should’ve told me. I could’ve at least sent you some soup or crackers.”

“I wouldn’t have kept it down,” she says with a shudder.

My mood falters.

An upset stomach isn’t a foe. With nothing to aim it at, some of my anger drains away.

“You’re really all right?” I press. “Nothing else happened?”

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