Page 68 of Claimed By My Fiancé's Brother

I caught her before she could fall, holding her close to me to keep her upright.

Eleanor stiffened in my grasp.

“Let me go,” she said evenly.

I didn’t let go of her.

“You’ll reopen your wounds.”

Eleanor tipped her head back and glared at me, her eyes aflame with anger.

“I’ve looked after myself for my entire life. I assure you, I can see myself to the bathroom,” she intoned, her icy tone matching the cruelty of my earlier words. “To me, you aren’t my mate. You’re just the wolf I fucked to get even with Dylan, and now I’m stuck with you.”

I let go of her.

The monster within me bared its teeth. Eleanor was our mate, and we were hers. Nothing else was acceptable.

Eleanor shuffled away from me, her breath labored and her lower lip between her teeth as she tried and failed to hold in another pained whimper.

That did it for me.

Moving too quickly to give her room to dispute my actions, I lifted her into my arms bridal style.

Eleanor gaped up at me in unabashed shock.

“Alexander!”

“You are my mate,” I informed her as I began to walk to my bathroom. “Whether you accept that fact or not is your business, not mine.”

“You can’t do this,” Eleanor protested, shifting in my grasp, only to freeze when another wince of pain escaped her.

I kept walking.

“I hate you,” Eleanor seethed, her voice a hushed whisper, but I heard her loud and clear.

I set her down in the bathroom before stepping out to give her privacy.

When the faucet stopped running and Eleanor stepped out, I was waiting.

Tossing me another glare, Eleanor reluctantly let me carry her.

I did my best to ignore the subtle shift in her scent as we moved, as well as the shift in her breathing when I placed her back on my bed and reached for her shirt.

Eleanor placed her hand over mine, stopping me from pushing her shirt up, her eyes so dilated they appeared completely black.

“W-What are you doing?”

“I need to check your injuries,” I said matter-of-factly.

Eleanor looked away, her jaw clenched, but she didn’t try to stop me again.

Carefully, I peeled off the bandage on her side and inspected the wound. It was almost fully healed on the outside, but I knew from experience that even with our advanced healing, things on the inside took more time.

Eleanor winced as I put a fresh bandage on, those green eyes flicking to mine as her hand reached for mine reflexively. I instinctively took her hand in mine.

At that moment, my world paused, narrowing down to the sensation of Eleanor’s hand on mine, the shallowness of her rapid breaths, and our inevitable connection drawing us to each other.

I couldn’t do this.

---