Page 20 of Cruel Alpha: Season Two

“I solemnly swear to you, I have never slept with any woman who works within the High Chamber. You can continue walking through these corridors with your head held high.”

She’s stubborn, so it takes a moment, but she finally softens up, relaxing in my arms, pretending not to be the brat I now know she’s capable of being.

But she’smyfucking brat.

“I still think the guards I have are sufficient,” she says, letting a small sigh slip when my mouth grazes the side of her neck.

“Then, we’ll leave things as they are.”

She lets out another breath, but a deeper one this time as her body melts against mine. I bask in her silent surrender, placing a gentle kiss to the soft, delicate skin beneath her jaw.

“I’m… sorry for being so… unlike myself,” she eventually says.

“Don’t apologize. Your behavior tonight has taught me something new. Well, actually,twothings.”

She laughs quietly. “And what might they be?”

I taste her skin again, and the feel of it against my tongue makes my heart race. “I’ve learned you have a bit of a jealous streak,” I say, breathing against her.

“And the other thing?”

I pull her closer. “That I fucking like it.”

My lips travel back to her throat, but the warmth in her touch begins to fade as she starts pulling away. When she slips from my grasp altogether, she moves toward the fire, staring at the flames as she wraps both arms tight around herself.

“What is it?”

She shakes her head, refusing to answer at first, but I won’t accept that. If I’ve done something wrong, I’d like a chance to fix it.

“Annalise…”

At first, she holds her ground, her jaw tensing in anger, but then her gaze lands on mine, and I don’t expect the wave of emotion that slams into me.

“That’s all any of this is about to you, isn’t it?” she says. “Imagining being fawned over by your carefully curated collection of mates strokes your fucking ego. Does the idea of us fighting over you, hoping for some tiny scrap of your time get you off?”

She hits me with one accusation after another, and my lips part in surprise, wanting to say something to defend myself, but I can’t. I can’t explain that thecarefully curated collection ofmates,as she put it, is solely to ensure the bloodline. Even my insistence that all the women be from noble stock is with hopes thattheirgenetic makeup will somehow overpower mine and produce viable offspring.

Not… to stroke my ego.

And now, it makes sense why my suggestion to bring Zara on board was shot down, followed by the line of questioning regarding the rest of the female staff.

Annalise is on edge about tomorrow, meeting the other mates.

It crushes my soul seeing how this affects her. It’s also painful to hear that she believes she’s just some vessel whose sole purpose is to stroke my ego, but… I suppose I haven’t given her reason to believe otherwise. Not when I consider how bringing in the other women must imply that she somehow isn’t enough.

I take a step back, lowering into the chair as her eyes stay trained on me. She deserves more than my silence. She deserves a full explanation, my full disclosure on what’s really happening, but… I can’t.

I can’t tell her I’m damaged and fatally flawed.

I can’t tell her I’m a man fading into nothing.

“Annalise… all I’m at liberty to say is that, what’s taking place tomorrow, it isn’t at all about me. It comes down to what’s best for the clan.”

“Bullshit,” she scoffs, and I feel the chill in her words. She paces a few seconds longer, but then she gets so fed up she storms toward the door. I can’t let her leave, though.

Not like this.

Not with her believing she means nothing to me.

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