Page 20 of The Alpha Wolf's Pregnant Bride

When his adam's apple bobs in his throat, the movement serves to snap me from my daze and lock eyes with him as he approaches me. That's when his gaze flicks down and rakes me from head to toe.

I gulp, noticing how he drinks up the sight of curves in the black silk figure-hugging dress. Awareness has me pressing my thighs together, internally praying that a stray wind doesn'tbetray me right now and reveal the slit that ends high up on my left thigh.

“Cyrus…” the tiniest utter of his name is my feeble attempt to clutch onto my walls of defenses, which are hanging by a thread woven of the most delicate silk. Soft and fragile, made vulnerable by Cyrus's being.

Mentally, I'm undressing him while he scrutinizes my dress with sharp eyes.

“Why are you dressed like that?” he asks as he raises a brow and meets my eyes again. “Where are you going?”

Where was he? The question comes to mind as the most absurdly intrusive thought in a moment like this.

What did he do with that woman? Is that why his shirt is unkempt, his dirty-blonde hair tousled on his head?

Damn… Why do I even care? Perhaps it's his accusatory eyes as he glowers at me, his question hanging in the dense air between us.

Reeling my thoughts back in, I take a deep breath and reply, “Nowhere. I was just going inside.” It takes every ounce of mental stability I have inside me to spin on my heel, ignoring the blatant seduction of his eyes when he found me in this dress.

It's just a dress, I remind myself, when a large hand clamps my wrist like a vice-grip and spins me back around.

Shrieking from the swiftness of the motion, my hands fly out as a reflex, landing flat on his strong chest. I gasp when I look up into Cyrus's eyes, fierce and accusing as he stares into my face.

“Why are you dressed like this,Cassandra?”he punctuated each syllable of my name with a venomous bite, my heart skipping a beat with every pause. Breath hitching in mythroat when I realize how close he is to my face. His breath licks at my nose like hot flames.

Momentarily stunned, I let my eyelids flutter closed, basking in his rising body heat that swirls around us.

But just as quickly, my mind floods with the armor I'd worked hard to build, reminding me that I cannot fall victim to the clutches of any man.

Especially not Cyrus Rudolph.

Pushing at his chest, I back away, my eyes narrowing like jets of accusation.

“How I dress is none of your business, Cyrus,” I boomed, all the resentment for the man returning now that I've escaped the hypnosis of wood and citrus. Breathing in crisp air of vigilance now, I bite back with venom. “Where I'm going is none of your business, either.”

Cyrus licks his lips, leaving behind a sly smirk. “It is when you're a part of this pack, Cassie. Isn't that what you chose by remaining in Mysthaven?”

I scoff, crossing my arms over my chest and defiantly turning my head. “That doesn't give you the right to watch my every move.”

His sardonic chuckle forces me to turn back and notice the step he takes forward, sending panic up my spine.

I don't want to be around him when his presence threatens my better judgment of him.

When he leans in, it's almost my undoing. It takes every ounce of strength not to cave in at the knees, and I have to hold my breath so that my airways don't become intoxicated.

“It gives meeveryright to watch your move when the things out there could kill you…” he drawls smoothly, leaning even closer.

“K-kill me…?” I murmur unintelligibly.

Cyrus nods his head slowly and calmly. “Don't even dare go over those borders, Cassandra…” His eyes flick to my chest, where the loose neckline of the dress does little to cover the mounds of my breasts. “... Especially not looking like that.” Cyrus licks his lips as he draws his eyes to mine. “The dangers that lurk out there will have their way with you before having your neck…” He punctuates the statement by lifting a nimble finger to my neck, his fingertip coasting my exposed collarbone. “...Anyman wouldn't resist.”

Cyrus simply turns and strolls off, disappearing into the woods once again. Leaving me stunned, I can only stare into the void while my heart beats uncontrollably.

Whoa…

What the heck was that?

For the first time in my existence as a Moon Shine wolf, Alpha Cyrus Rudolph didn't criticize me for my body.

Instead, he made me feel… desirable.

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