Page 58 of The Alpha Wolf's Pregnant Bride

I nod dolefully, my eyes hanging on the table with shame in my gut.

I deserve her bluntness, her unwillingness to hear me out. I should consider myself lucky that she’d chosen to sit back down.

Just as lucky as I am that I’ve been the only man she’s ever been with.

I take a deep breath, but it does little to ease the unworthy feelings that unsettle me. But I have to persist if I have any hope of fulfilling my duties tonight.

Looking up, I notice the way her eyes flit around, searching for something other than me to settle on.

It’s amazing how a misunderstanding—or, in our case, miscommunication—can harbor such a strained distance between us.

I’m not willing to give up. I am Cyrus Rudolph, the Alpha of a distinguished werewolf pack in Oklahoma. This is a battle I’m not about to lose.

I can’t lose her again.

“I wasn't sure if you'd be the one at this meeting,” I say.

Cassandra looks up through narrowed eyes. “Our clients think I'm just the assistant. It's safer that way.”

Realization hits me, then. “So it was you who came to the meeting before…”

Cassandra only scoffs in response, tearing her gaze away.

It all makes sense now.

It wasn't Asuka's assistant who fled our previous meeting in the Japanese restaurant.

It was Cassandra herself, who fled when she saw me flirting with a human woman.

It's no wonder she was appalled to hear that I had no intention of taking a mate.

She saw firsthand how I'd behaved in that restaurant.

Fuck!

“I guess we’re picking up where we left off…” I chuckle, hoping to cut through the icy coldness that surrounds the air. Despite my trepidations and Cassandra’s obvious inhibitions toward me, I can’t ignore that she’s breathtaking in that dress. Memories of the night when I felt most drawn to her come tumbling back, the beginning of my inability to fight my urges and desire for the she-wolf.

A fleeting frown of recognition passes by her sharp features, magnified by the touch of makeup that amplifies her facial structure. I know her mind goes where mine has drifted, and the blush on her cheeks heats up with a more distinct color.

She bats her eyelids pointedly, any trace of the softness in her eyes leaving now as she clears her throat.

“I want answers, Cyrus,” she says firmly, this time staring directly into my eyes.

I gulp down on the bundle of nerves that form a lump in my throat. I didn’t think it was possible to feel so unnerved by a she-wolf, but her demeanor tonight was imposing enough to shake me.

She’s not Cassandra, but Asuka tonight.

The smart, iron-willed genius who knows her worth and can hold her own.

I shouldn’t have expected anything less. Even if a moment of emotional impulse had her fleeing from Mysthaven again, she’s picked herself up.

Clearing my throat, my attention is pulled to the waiter when he returns to our table. To reinstate my intrinsic domineering force, I take it upon myself to order for both of us. Cassandra remains quiet, her face softening momentarily.

There’s nothing like a show of masculinity to woe a female, even one as independent as the she-wolf at the table.

“Firstly…” I begin, hanging my head penitently. “... I had this meeting set up with the help of a friend. Alpha Simon of the Misty Creek Pack.”

I let the moment of silence stretch to allow Cassandra to process this information. She finally nods slowly and says, “I see.”

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