Page 12 of Bully Alpha's Secret Baby

I follow, standing over her. The moonlight pours through the stained-glass window above, bathing her in soft light. She looks so fragile, so vulnerable.

But I can’t let myself think like that.

This is a job.

The elders watch on as I settle on the edge of the bed next to Jade. Her scent wraps around me, pulling at the base of my spine, and for a split second, I’m taken back in time. I remember what it was like before everything fell apart, to that night in the field when we were alone, just the two of us. How much I wanted her.

But those memories are a long time ago, and tonight is different. We’re not alone, and this is a duty, nothing more.

“Are you ready?” I ask.

She gives me a sharp look, a reminder that she doesn’t have a choice. “As I’ll ever be,” she mumbles.

With a nod, I begin. My hands slide over her arms, her shoulders, her neck. Everywhere they land, the skin warms and tingles, responding to my touch. I can sense the shift in her, the change, and I know the ritual is working.

Her body is coming alive under my hands. Her eyes are closed, and her breath comes quicker. She’s fighting it, but it’s too late. The spell is taking hold, and I have to bite back a growl of triumph.

This is going better than I expected.

I work my way down her body and bunch up the hem of her dress. My fingers trail along her calves and thighs, and a soft moan escapes her lips. She tries to cover it, turning her face away from me, but I hear it, and my wolf howls.

I lean closer, letting her scent flood my senses, and my fingers slip between her legs. She gasps, arching off the bed. Her heat surrounds me, and my cock stirs.

Fuck.

This isn’t supposed to be sexy. This is a duty.

Before I lose my senses entirely, I position myself between her legs and undo my pants. I pull her close and thrust inside, swallowing her cry with a kiss. We move together, finding a rhythm. Our bodies seem to remember the past, even if we don’t want to. I want to draw this out, to make it last and make her scream my name like she did three years ago, but that’s not what tonight is about.

So, instead, I fuck her hard and fast, chasing my release. It doesn’t take long before I feel the familiar coil in the pit of my stomach. The pleasure builds until it’s too much to hold back, and just before I come, I elongate my fangs and sink them into the tender flesh of her neck.

She cries out, her body spasming beneath mine, and it sends me over the edge. My vision blurs, and the pleasure hits like a tidal wave. I ride it out, letting the feeling wash over me, and when I finally pull away, we’re both breathless and spent.

I stare down at her, drinking in the sight. Her cheeks are flushed, her lips parted. She’s panting, her eyes wide, and there’s a thin trickle of blood on her neck where my teeth broke the skin.

She’s mine now. Forever.

The elders are still watching, and they look pleased. Good. Everything is going according to plan.

The room feels colder somehow as I step away from the bed. Jade doesn’t move at first. She’s still staring up at the ceiling with a look of detachment on her face. Eventually,she pushes herself up and smooths her dress down with shaky hands. She doesn’t look at me, doesn’t speak. Fine. Let her have her silence. I have bigger things to deal with.

I walk toward the door, needing some space to clear my head. Outside, the compound is alive with the soft sounds of evening, with the crickets chirping and the occasional hoot of an owl. The moon is high in the sky, the light from it illuminating the stone paths and the old buildings. This place has always felt like a fortress, but tonight, it feels more like a cage.

This is why I prefer my cabin in the woods.

A flicker of movement catches my eye, and I turn to see Alec standing by the central square with Penny in his arms. She’s chattering away, and her little voice is bright and full of excitement. He’s smiling—genuinely smiling—like this is the most normal thing in the world.

I frown as I watch them. It doesn’t make sense. Alec shouldn’t have even known about Penny, but he didn’t look surprised at all to see his niece. Penny’s completely at ease with him, waving her hands around as she tells him some story about her stuffed wolf, and Alec… well, he doesn’t seem like a guy who’s just meeting his niece for the first time.

Something’s off.

I move toward them, keeping my footsteps deliberately slow as I approach. Alec looks up, and the easy smile on his face falters when he sees me. He knows. He knows I’m onto something.

“You two look pretty comfortable for people who supposedly just met.”

He shifts Penny in his arms, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before setting her down. “Penny, why don’t you go find your mom, yeah? I think she’s right in that big building.”

Penny nods, oblivious to the building tension, and skips off toward the chapel. Alec watches her go, but when he turns back to me, his expression is guarded.

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