Page 76 of Claimed By My Fiancé's Brother

“—let me help you,” she said, her voice low and throaty. “Or have you already fallen for your mate?”

Alexander was silent for long enough that I thought he wouldn’t respond.

Then he spoke, his voice as cold as ice.

“I feel nothing for my brother’s whore.”

CHAPTER 13

ELEANOR

As those terrible words left his lips, Alexander lifted his eyes, meeting my gaze without an ounce of remorse.

He’d known I was there before he spoke. He’d known I was watching while he held Anastasia. He’d known, and he didn’t care.

I took one step back, then another, my legs shaky beneath me.

I tried to breathe, but the pain in my chest choked me. My vision swam, my ears ringing as Lara keened within me, her desire to return to Alexander’s receiving room and rip Anastasia off him almost taking over my mind.

With great difficulty, I pushed my wolf down and staggered away, my hand on the wall the only thing keeping me upright.

There was nothing between Alexander and me. I knew that.

I’d known it for a long time so why did hearing those words hurt even more than Dylan’s betrayal the day before our mating ceremony?

Why did it feel like I was dying?

I didn’t know how many steps I’d taken away from the receiving room before my legs gave way beneath me, my entire body trembling.

But I didn’t hit the ground.

Strong, lean, muscular arms wrapped around my waist, holding me up. A familiar scent hit me, and disappointment bloomed dark and heavy in my heart.

As unlikely as it was, I’d been expecting someone else.

I looked up at Dylan, who examined me with an unmistakable look of worry in his eyes.

“Eleanor, are you?—”

I shoved him away before he could complete his statement.

“Stay the hell away from me,” I snapped, walking past him.

I didn’t need sympathy from the wolf who’d betrayed me, who looked too much like the wolf who’d just broken me with one sentence and a glance.

But Dylan didn’t stay the hell away from me.

“What’s wrong?” he insisted, easily outpacing me and standing right in my path. “Did something else happen?”

“Just leave me the fuck alone!” I growled, slightly terrified by the sudden burning in my eyes.

Damn it.

I wasn’t going to cry because of Alexander. He didn’t deserve my tears, and I…I didn’t even like him enough to cry over him.

Dylan looked past me, his gaze flitting to Alexander’s partly opened door at the end of the hallway and then back at me.

Something shifted in his expression and he embraced me, his voice low, steady, and understanding in my ear.

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