Page 31 of The Alpha Wolf's Pregnant Bride

With tight brunette curls framing her face and barely touching her shoulders, her round face is the friendliest one I’ve seen tonight. Eyes beaming with blue brilliance, it’s a pleasant face that can hold my attention long enough to push Cassandra out of my mind.

Lord knows I need the distraction! Luckily for me, my Goddess-given charm is the aura I exude without batting an eyelid. It’s the type of charm that always works on humans and makes my quests as easy as a gentle breeze.

All I have to do is smile and human women melt.

Like the human tending the bar tonight, her eyes sparkling with wonder now that she’s managed to get my attention.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” I sniff, lifting the drink and spectating the woman’s reaction as she watches me take a sip. She has no idea that I’m a werewolf, and it probably comes as a surprise that I’m onto my second glass without a trace of being affected by the strong liquor.

I have to stifle my bemusement, setting the empty glass down and nodding at the back bar.

“Anything that might interest me back there?”

“Apart from me, I’m afraid not,” she smirks slyly, cheeks growing bright with color.

Her bold attempt at flirting is intriguing enough to hold my attention. Leaning in, my eyes twinkle suggestively. “When do you get off work?”

The woman’s lips toy with a smile. “In an hour.”

“Maybe we can share a drink when you’re done,” I propose with a smirk that has her breath catching in her throat. Satisfied that I’ve just reeled in a willing fish for the night, I order a martini this time and sprinkle in some crushed wolfsbane when the bartender tends to other patrons down the bar.

Using a toothpick to stir the herb into the drink, I watch intently as the dried powder rehydrates, thanks to the vodka. Finally, I can put something in me that won’t burn out before it reaches my stomach.

Chuckling under my breath, I take a few slurps of the drink while stealing glances at the bartender. She’s a keen candidate for tonight’s distraction, and I’m eager to get my mindaway from the pack and all the responsibilities that weigh down on my shoulders.

Except, I’m not duty-bound to keep Cassandra safe, yet it feels as if that’s the reason I feel the need to be around her all the time. Like her, safety has suddenly become my priority, even if I don’t understand why.

“She has Jarrod…” I mumble bitterly under my breath, though the reminder does little to calm my nerves. It has the opposite effect as acrid bile crawls up my throat.

Why does it bother me when whatever they have going on between them would only make it possible for me to dismiss the attraction I feel for her? I shouldn’t care this much when I’ve already decided that I hate the she-wolf. I hate she-wolves in general, but Cassandra Chikara sticks out like a sore thumb, standing up for herself and always going against anything I say.

Her defiance seems willful as if she had a special grudge against me. Is that why she left in the first place?

Was I important enough to be the reason she left?

“I’m ready to leave if you are,” the bartender says, snapping me from my thoughts to notice her putting on her jacket.

Usually, a human woman’s eagerness would be the driving force for my decision to never have to give up my antics out here in the human world. Yet, somehow, tonight feels different as I notice the woman’s willingness to follow me, a stranger, to whatever I have planned for tonight.

It’s almost… Disgusting.

All I can think of is the way Cassandra pulled away from me that night outside her cottage when I was so clearly undressing her with my eyes. Then, she clearly didn’t care aboutwhat I thought of her in that white dress on the night of the full-moon gathering and instead lapped up the attention Jarrod was giving her.

It’s never been so hard to get what I want.

Wait.

Is that what I want?

I lift my head, a frown tugging at my brows when the brunette’s face morphs into a face I was hoping I wouldn’t see for the rest of the night. The only reason I’d hoped for something so absurd was so that I wouldn’t have to face the truth I’d been denying all along.

Cassandra Chikara is the only she-wolf I’ve ever been remotely attracted to. It’s those plump curves and voluptuous chest that draw me in. It’s never been anything to be ashamed of. I only made it seem that way so she wouldn’t catch on that if I permitted it, my cock would engorge with arousal just for her.

Fuck!

I blink fervently, but Cassandra’s face lingers before my eyes, slowly fading away in an imaginary whiff of ivory smoke similar to her wolf’s fur.

Maybe I’d consumed too much wolfsbane. That's why these heinous thoughts haunt me—thoughts I shouldn't have about the she-wolf who abandoned her pack. So I get to my feet to test the stability of my legs, which happen to work just fine.

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