Page 71 of Rejected Pretend Mate

Ivan narrowed his eyes, and Ayden growled. "Watch yourself, pup. You're in my territory here, and I'm not above snapping necks to prove a point."

My eyes snapped to Ayden, and I didn't doubt his words for one moment. I'd heard how his relationship came to be and saw how he ran the pack. I didn't want to see what happened when he was disrespected.

"Hold your tongue," Zavior snapped at Ivan.

Ivan leaned back, his eyes growing angry. But he remained quiet.

Tristan sighed, looking irritated. "So, you've proven she is rightly yours. Is that all you wanted? Did you drag me out here for this?"

"If only," Ayden looked at Tristan. "I want you to do a better job watching your pups."

"I'm not a pup," Ivan growled.

"Only a pup would be stupid enough to come into another alpha's territory and set fire to several buildings."

Ivan snorted. "You can't prove that. You can't prove anything. Otherwise, you would have called the police."

Ayden slid a picture across the table. A picture that I had taken when Ivan broke into my apartment. It was pretty clear what he was doing as he unlocked my key and snuck inside. I knew right away that it was Liv’s doorbell camera.

"I also have video recordings from the cameras. I think you forgot that Weslie had those in his building. We have video footage of you sneaking into their other apartment and jamming the doors. We also have a video of you watching April and stalking here."

I felt a shiver roll down my back, hating that he'd been watching me so closely. There were photos of him in the school parking lot and in front of several parking lots in various places I'd been.

I watched as Tristan and Zavior looked at the photos. Their faces remained calm, but I could see their eyes shifting. They looked disappointed. And embarrassed. Ayden had proof that Ivan was here, and he didn't have permission.

"I think this proves enough. Ivan has been coming into my territory for some time now and stalking one of my residents. He set fire to not only one of my buildings but two, injuring several of my residents and landing them in the hospital. Alpha to Alpha, we have a fucking problem here."

Ayden's voice shook the space, and Tristan's throat bobbed, telling me he was uncomfortable.

Tristan remained quiet for a second, and Ayden knitted his fingers together. "I don't know about you, but I would certainly apologize if one of my citizens had done such a thing."

Ivan exploded. "She's a whore! She was spreading her legs for him when we were hardly even split up! She's my wife! And no fucking paper is going to change that! We made vows! We made promises to each other!" Ivan reached across the table, grasping at my hand, but I quickly yanked it away.

Ayden swung up, his chair slammed, and hit the ground. Tristan swung up next quickly pulling his hands up, stopping Ayden.

"Take him outside," Tristan ordered, looking at Zavior, who quickly moved, grabbed Ivan, and pulled him to the door.

Ivan looked at me and continued to yell. "April! Stop this! Just come home! You know it's where you belong. You know we belong together!"

The door slammed shut, and I felt tears build up. Weslie placed his other hand over mine, giving them a squeeze. He leaned closer, his shoulders brushed against mine.

I tried to think of last night. When we arrived at the house, I was blown away by its beauty. I was starstruck, and he'd bought it for us—for our future.

We hardly had anything, but we had a blow-up mattress, and he'd made soft love to me, promising me that tomorrow would be okay, that we would get through all of this together, that Ivan was no longer going to be a problem, and that Ayden was going to handle everything. We just had to be there.

Ayden reseated himself, and Tristan looked at me. "April, I want to extend my apologies. You are legally part of this pack, and Ivan overstepped. We will be reprimanding him for everything."

Tristan looked at Ayden. "And I apologized for the buildings. Please fax me the paper with the bills. One of my men created this problem, so we will help clean it up."

Ayden seemed a step ahead and slid a paper to him. "This is the cost of everything so far. I will expect a check within a week. And next time, maybe keep a closer tab on your people."

Tristan looked at the bill and then back at Ayden. "That is unacceptable. This is outrageous."

Ayden placed his hands together. "No, what's outrageous is the fact I had a man stalking one of my women, and I haven't called the police. If you don't want them involved, you'll pay. And trust me, Tristan. I am not someone you want to make enemies with."

Tristan looked at me, then at Weslie. He looked at the rings on our fingers, and then he looked back at Ayden. He gave him a nod before he pulled himself up and slipped out of the room.

Tears broke free. I wiped at them, hating how emotional I was feeling.

---