Page 11 of Bully Alpha's Pregnant Mate

“Doesn’t it?” I fire back, my tone cold. “Because that’s exactly what it looked like. While the rest of us were here, dealing with everything the demons left behind, you were conveniently out of reach. You didn’t know half of what we went through.”

“Maybe I didn’t,” she snaps. “But you don’t know what I went through, either. I came back, didn’t I?”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” I say, sarcasm dripping from each word. “You came back when it suited you. After you’d had your fill of wherever-you-went, you waltz back in and expect everyone to pretend like nothing happened.”

Her hands are clenched into fists, her eyes flashing like she’s barely holding herself together. “You don’t get it. Justbecause I wasn’t here doesn’t mean I didn’t care. I love this pack as much as you do.”

“Do you?” I challenge. “Because it sure doesn’t look that way. All I see is someone who leaves when things get rough, who thinks she can come and go like none of it matters.”

“Don’t turn this around on me, Alec,” she snaps. “Just because I wasn’t here to fight your battles doesn’t make me some flight risk. You’re the one who’s been bending over backward to keep everyone happy, playing the perfect little alpha for the council and the pack elders. So don’t stand there lecturing me about loyalty or responsibility.”

I take a step closer, anger and something else—something raw—building with each word. “At least I’m here. Present, standing by them, doing what needs to be done, even if that means making sacrifices. I’m not the one who left.”

Her face flushes, and for a second, I wonder if she’s going to hit me or storm out. Her gaze darts to my mouth for the briefest instant before she scoffs, throwing her shoulders back.

“I hope you have no grand delusions about what’s going to happen tonight, Alec. I’d rather kiss a frog than share a bed with you.”

Her words are sharp and biting, but instead of pulling back, I find myself stepping closer, drawn in by the fire in her eyes, the defiance practically radiating off her. Her blue eyes stay locked on mine, and there’s something in the way she stands—her chin lifted, breath coming just a little too fast—that gives her away. Her shoulders are tense, but she doesn’t move, doesn’t put any real distance between us. It’s like she’s cemented to the spot.

“Is that so?” I say. “Because right now, you don’t look like you’re about to deny me much of anything.”

She narrows her eyes, standing her ground, and I can’t help but admire the way she holds herself these days. Isadora is all grown up.

My line of sight drops to her mouth, to the slight part of her lips, and I feel a pull I hadn’t anticipated, something raw and electric that’s as maddening as it is tempting. She’s close enough now that I can feel her breath wash over my face, and I catch the faintest scent of her perfume mixing with the night air. Orchids and vanilla swirling together with her pheromones.

It’d be so easy to lean in, to close the distance between us. To turn all that heat and anger into something else entirely. And for a second, I almost do.

But then she pulls back, snapping us out of the moment like a taut string suddenly cut, leaving only silence and a cold reminder of the distance between us.

“Nice try, Alpha,” she sneers. “But I’m not one of your little admirers who’ll just fall in line and do what you say.”

The words sting, but I force myself to remain in control. “Believe me, Isadora, I wouldn’t expect you to be. But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re here now, and we’re going to have to make this work. So you can either keep fighting it or—”

“Or what, Alec?” she snaps, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. “I’ll be forced to live with you, forced to play the perfect luna for the council, the alliance, the pack… and you’ll just go on doing exactly what they want, won’t you?”

“You think you know me, Isadora? You think just because we knew each other as kids, you’ve got me figured out?”

She doesn’t respond right away, and I almost laugh at the irony of it. Here we are, facing off like adversaries on oppositesides of a battlefield, and somehow, it feels like she’s closer to understanding me than anyone else has been in a long time.

“Maybe I do know you,” she says finally, her voice quiet but cutting. “And maybe that’s exactly why I want to be anywhere but here.”

For a moment, I just stand there, watching her, the fire in her eyes and the way she holds herself with such fierce pride. There’s a part of me that almost admires it, that can’t help but be drawn to the strength in her defiance, even as it drives me crazy.

“So that’s how it’s going to be, then?” I say. “You’re going to keep fighting me, no matter what?”

She doesn’t answer, but the look in her eyes says it all. This isn’t going to be easy, and we both know it.

I stare at her, trying to keep my temper in check, but all I feel is the heat rising under my collar, frustration building up to a sharp edge. I’d brought her here tonight with every intention of trying—trying—to smooth things over, to apologize for how we left things in the past. But here we are. She’s made it abundantly clear that she’s not interested in apologies, unity, or anything close to understanding.

“You know what?” I growl. “Fine. If you want this to be a war zone, then have it your way, Isadora.”

She rolls her eyes. “Glad we’re on the same page.”

Without another word, I turn, striding out of the room, leaving her standing there with that defiant glint in her eye like she’s won something. The urge to slam the door behind me is strong, but I force myself to keep my footsteps steady, each one echoing through the house as I make my way to the living room. The last thing I need is for one of my security personnel to start running their mouth about early marital strife.

Her words replay in my mind, each one stinging a little more than the last. And I can’t ignore the guilt buried underneath the anger, the knowledge that maybe I earned some of those accusations.

I grab a blanket from the armchair, throwing it onto the couch with a resigned sigh. If she wants the bed to herself, then fine. She can have it.

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