Page 35 of The Alpha Wolf's Pregnant Bride

“Cyrus… I’m so sorry…” I mumble through my fingers as his hand moves mechanically to his cheek. He winces when he touches the imprints of my fingers, which appear like deep pink streaks across his face.

When he turns his eyes on me, his lips peel back to flash a sardonic, almost devilish smile. “I was wrong, wasn’t I?” he chuckles perversely. “Nothing is going on between you two, isthere?” His eyes light up as if he’s just made the most interesting discovery.

It takes me a moment to gather my thoughts and come back from the shock and horror of slapping the Alpha across the face. He removes his hand from the damage, his Alpha abilities employed to swiftly undo the defacement as if the slap never happened.

The only thing that remains is the deep sense of guilt and regret gnawing on my conscience and brewing inside my chest. The only reason I don’t over-apologize is because of the smirk he’s wearing.

He’s so drunk right now… So drunk that he isn’t as angry as he should be.

He takes a menacing step forward, towering over me with a brooding threat, but he doesn’t lift a single finger. His smile is unwavering, and I remain confused.

His reaction is a stark contrast to what I would have expected, his smile betraying his dominance as the Alpha of this pack.

“I don’t know why you ever thought something was going on between Jarrod and me,” I whisper tersely, my voice faint despite the racing of my heart.

“It doesn’t matter. You’ve proved me wrong,” he admits, his voice dropping an octave lower.

With a frown of confusion growing on my face, I stare into Cyrus’s eyes as he gazes down at me. He isn’t as angry as I thought he’d be. He’s not even remotely upset, his lips toying into a playful smile. It’s almost as if discovering that I have nothing going on with his Beta has brought him bemused relief.

Why?

He’s too drunk for his own good. First, accusing me of having something to do with his best friend. It’s not even worth using my energy to explain that Jarrod has been using me as a middle-man to get to my friend, Dakota.

Now, he’s not as enraged as he should be about the slap.

I just slapped the Alpha of the Moon Shine Pack, and all he’s doing is staring at me with twinkling eyes. Eyes that are so intense and penetrating, I feel as if I’m about to lose myself in the soft swirls of green with golden specks acting like pixie dust that might hypnotize me.

“Go home, Cyrus,” I suggest once I’ve successfully peeled my eyes off him, fighting against the magnetizing feeling of his hypnotic gaze. He’s too drunk to be taken seriously, too drunk for any of this to mean something more.

“Are you telling me what to do?”

I bow my head in an attempt to steer clear of his mesmerizing eyes and to show him that I am truly apologetic about what I just did.

“Please, Alpha Cyrus…” I plead. “... Go home. You may decide what my punishment will be tomorrow. With a clear—”

“A clear head?” he muses, hooking a finger under my chin and drawing my face up. I gasp when I meet his eyes, full of wonder and a glint of something I can’t quite discern.

“You’ve already cleared my head, Cassandra,” he whispers, staring fiercely into my eyes. When his gaze flits to my lips, he quickly pulls his hand away as if my skin just scorched his forefinger. His brows knit with confusion and accusation, all wrapped up in a package that I wish I could unwrap.

Without another word, he spins on his heels. He rushes off the porch, taking two steps at a time and disappearing behind the shadowy trees in the forest.

Mouth agape, I shriek in surprise when a dainty hand touches my arm.

“Good Lord… What was that about?” Dakota asks in surprise, staring at the woods.

All I can do is offer her a shrug. I’m too stunned to make sense of what just happened.

“Did you hear all of that?” I ask, to which Dakota nods.

I groan, turning toward my friend. “No one can know about what happened,” I warn. It’s one thing for the Alpha to show up here while he’s drunk. It’s another thing that I slapped him, my palm tingling now with regret.

She pinches the skin on her throat and solemnly swears, “I will not breathe a word of it. The Alpha’s honor is of utmost importance.”

“Thank you,” I murmur, staring out at the forest.

“But did you see my point?” she goes on. “He hasn’t grown up.”

“Dakota!”

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