Page 4 of Cruel Alpha: Season Two

“This ritual… was it quick?” I ask.

He nods, and his chin moves against my shoulder.

“The process itself didn’t take much time, but you’ve been out for hours. I meant to stay awake to keep an eye on you, but… I guess it took more out of me than I realized.”

He laughs quietly, but I’m caught off guard by the new information.

“Took more out ofyou…What do you mean?”

His laughter grows quiet, succumbing to the silence in the room, and I feel his slow, steady breathing behind me.

“It means that I… loaned you my strength,” he says quietly. “It was the only way to save you. It was the only way to jumpstart your healing.”

I take in what he’s said, along with the fact that he’s as drained and exhausted as I am right now. Again, he’s making light of this, but something tells me this ritual was a much bigger deal than he’s saying.

“Thank you. Forwhateveryou did, whatever yougave.Just… thank you.”

I’ve barely finished speaking, and he’s pulled my hand from underneath the sheet, placing a kiss on the back of it.

“You don’t have to thank me, Annalise. Ever. Foranything. You’re mine, and I’ll always protect you.”

A tear slips from my eye and soaks into the pillow while his declaration settles on my heart. Words mean very little when there’s no action to back them up, but Cas has gone above and beyond where action is concerned. It would take an act of the gods to convince me I’m not important to him.

“Are you hungry? Thirsty?” he asks.

“Neither, just still pretty sore.”

He stirs behind me, and I’m disappointed when he sits up and slips from under the sheet.

“I’ll draw us a bath,” he says, and hearing that he’ll join me has me feeling content again.

I flip onto my side, facing him as I smile. “You had me atus.”

He smiles and stretches with a yawn, and while I’d like to say I’m mature enough to only be focused on that boyish smirk that’s just crossed his lips, that isn’t quite the case. Instead, I’m scanning his physique. He’s all perfect symmetry and ratios, not a single part of him lacking or unseemly to look at. His smooth,tan skin is without blemish, and I have the very specific urge to lick him everywhere.

Everywhere.

I feel my mouth curve with a smile as my gaze lowers to his cock, remembering the feel of it as it hardened even more in my mouth, slipping back and forth over my tongue. I’m far too weak to act on this fantasy at this exact moment, but a girl can dream, can’t she?

I’m in the middle of unashamedly gawking at his body when movement off to his left draws my attention away. It’s his hand, twitching at his side as I feel my expression shift from total admiration to deeply concerned.

I prop myself up on one elbow, holding the sheet to my chest as my heart gains speed.

“Cas… I think something’s wrong. Should I get Jezebel?”

A sudden flash of awareness fills his eyes when he glances down. Then, he quickly draws the trembling hand to his chest, clutching it with the other.

“I—no. It’s probably just an after-effect of the ritual.” He forces a weak smile, likely with hopes that it will make me less worried, but it isn’t working.

“I think we should have someone examine you. Maybe it was too much and?—”

“Annalise,” he snaps, pausing to breathe and quiet his tone before continuing. “I’m fine. There’s no need to worry.”

The tension between us is thick, but his eyes soften a bit. I study him, searching for other signs that something’s off, other signs that he isn’t as okay as he’s pretending to be.

“I’ll start the bath,” he says again, and it isn’t lost on me that this is his way of politely dismissing my concerns. He can talk his way out of this conversationnow,but once I’m back on my feet, back to full strength, we’ll revisit this.

I rest my head against the pillow again, trying my best to quiet a barrage of worrying thoughts as Cas swaggers toward my bathroom. I’ve decided to let his explanation be enough to settle my nerves for now, but the moment I find peace, a sharp knock at the door steals it away.

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