Page 23 of The Alpha's Pretend Mate

Cassius and Aleksander exchanged a look.

If only it were that simple.

"There's more," Cassius said, his voice low. "To make sure Marcus understood you were off-limits, I… I told him you were my mate."

The words hung in the air, heavy and charged. Alysa's eyes widened, her lips parting in shock. For a long moment, no one spoke.

Then, "You what?" Alysa's voice was barely above a whisper.

Cassius winced at the disbelief in her tone. "I claimed you as my mate," he repeated, forcing himself to meet her gaze. "It was the only way to ensure he wouldn't pursue the idea further."

Alysa stood abruptly, pacing the length of the room. Her scent spiked with a mix of emotions Cassius couldn't fully decipher. Confusion, certainly. Anger? Fear?

"I don't understand," she said, turning to face them. "Why would you do that? Couldn't you have just said I was already promised to someone else?"

Aleksander leaned back, crossing his arms. "That's a good question, Cass. Why didn't you?"

Cassius felt heat creep up his neck.

Because the thought of you with anyone else makes me want to tear them apart.

"It was instinctive," he said instead. "Marcus needed to understand that you were completely off-limits. Claiming you as my mate was the strongest deterrent I could think of."

Alysa's eyes narrowed. "And you didn't think to consult me first? This affects my life too, Cassius."

Cassius opened his mouth, but the words got stuck. He hadn’t thought it through—hadn’t considered how she’d feel, how she’d react. His wolf, so fiercely protective, had pushed him to act first and think later.

Guilt twisted in his gut. "You're right. I should have. But it all happened so fast, and I—"

"How long?" Alysa cut him off.

"What?"

"How long do we have to pretend to be mates?"

Cassius exchanged another look with Aleksander. "Two weeks," he said. "Until the territory exchange is complete."

Alysa sank back onto the couch, her face pale. "Two weeks of pretending to be your mate. In front of the entire Pack.In front of other Alphas." She looked up, her eyes wide with realization. "What happens after? When we suddenly break it off?"

The same concerns Aleksander had raised earlier. Cassius ran a hand through his hair, frustration building. "We'll figure that out when the time comes. For now, we just need to focus on getting through the next two weeks."

"Easy for you to say," Alysa muttered. "You're not the one whose reputation is on the line."

Her words stung more than Cassius cared to admit.

Is the thought of being my mate really so terrible?

Claiming her publicly, even in a negotiation, wasn’t something that could easily be undone. People would talk. The Packs would hear about it. And Alysa… she would be bound by the expectations of a claim like that.

But it wasn’t a charade. Not really. Somewhere deep inside, he had known the moment he spoke the words that they were true.

She was his.

Whether she wanted to be or not. But forcing her into it like this wasn’t something he had ever wanted.

“Alysa…” Cassius began, his voice softer now. “I didn’t mean to put you in this position. But if I hadn’t, Marcus would’ve taken you, and I couldn’t—” He stopped, clenching his fists at his sides. “I won’t let anyone take you. Ever.”

Her breath hitched, and for a moment, the fire in her eyes flickered with something softer, something uncertain. But then her defenses went back up, and she folded her arms tighter across her chest.

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