Page 34 of The Alpha Wolf's Pregnant Bride

I’m about to change the course of our conversation and propose a late-night drink with Dakota when there’s anunexpected knock on the front door. My eyes widen as I turn to her, but all she offers me is a diffident shrug.

“I’m not expecting anyone…” I murmur as I get to my feet and walk tentatively to the door. Taking a deep breath as I reach for the handle, I try to make sense of the unwarranted shiver of awareness that courses down my spine.

It’s only when I carefully pull the door open that I soon realize why I’m feeling uneasy.

“Cassie…” Cyrus breathes, his shoulders dropping as if a weight has just been lifted. When our eyes meet, his eyes soften. “... You’re home.”

“Where else would I be?” I ask with a frown, stepping fully between the doorway. Behind me, there’s shuffling as Dakota goes around the room, but it prompts Cyrus to attempt to peek over my head with a frown.

“You’re not alone.” It sounds more like a statement than a question. “Who's here? Is it Jarrod?”

Huh? Jarrod?

Grabbing the door behind me, I fling it shut just as I step out onto the porch. I am trying my best to stay as brave as I can right now. It doesn’t help that I have to crane my neck to glower up at him.

“Why the hell would Jarrod be inside?” I demand.

Cyrus’s eyes lose their softness, a flash of mighty accusation darkening the emerald jets. “You didn’t answer my question, Cassandra. Is Jarrod inside your house?”

Shaking my head in slow confusion, my brows furrow just as Cyrus’s eyes darken dangerously. I notice his nostrils flare as if blowing off hot air of unrest, his fists curling at his sides so tightly that his knuckles pale.

“Cyrus—”

“Answer the fucking question, Cassandra.”

“Jarrod is not inside my house, Cyrus!” I snap back irritably. With the way his chest heaves unsteadily, I’m too wary to play games with him.

He looks like he’s about to burst at the seams, his jaw clenching and pulsing as if his heart is in his throat.

“... It’s Dakota, my friend. She’s inside. Look.” Without a second thought, I throw the door open and point inside to where Dakota is repacking the bookshelf with the souvenirs from the box I previously packed.

“Alpha Cyrus,” she greets with a curt bow.

Cyrus grunts, a string of unintelligible murmurings falling from his lips as he quickly steps aside into a shadow cast from the pillar on the porch. Almost as if he’s hiding, I have to stifle the urge to giggle by pressing a hand over my mouth as I step out onto the porch.

“Care to explain what that was all about?” I put forth a serious stare, crossing my arms as I stood before him.

His throat works on a gulp, which seems to strengthen his shoulders and expand his chest. Cyrus’s radiant green eyes are dark pits of ferocity right now as he glares down at me.

“Care to explain why you’re always running off with my Beta?” he grates savagely, but all I can do is stand frozen on the spot, my jaw dropping in disbelief.

“Wait… You think I have something going on with your Beta?”

Cyrus shrugs. “I wouldn’t be surprised. You’ve had your tongue dangling for him ever since you returned.”

“Are you hearing yourself right now?” I chuckled, taking a step toward him when I caught a whiff of a smell more pungent than the rich delicacies of his usually masculine scent.

“... You’ve been drinking,” I remark snidely. It’s the only reason he’s acting crazy again.

Cyrus frowns, dipping his head so that his eyes can appear more fierce. “You think I’m raving ‘cause I’m drunk?”

It’s so hard to take him seriously when his breath reeks of alcohol. “I think you’re too drunk to be taken seriously right now.”

He sneers. “So tell me I’m wrong! You can’t, can you?! ‘Cause you know it’s true. You’ve been fucking my best friend and—”

Cyrus’s voice is abruptly cut off by the sharp blow of my fingers connecting with his cheek. The impact snaps his head to the side, and it’s only after I’ve slapped him that I realize the magnitude of what I’d just done, and a hand flies over my mouth, my eyes widening in horror. In the heat of the moment, I just slapped the leader of the Moon Shine Pack.

It feels like all the horrible words he’d uttered about me and to me in the past came piling up into one moment that spurred me into thoughtless action.

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