Page 20 of The Alpha's Crimson Vow

I can’t think about anything.

I’m cumming.

And as the overwhelming ecstasy shatters me into pieces, I catch a glimpse of something strange.

It’s fleeting, like a hallucination, a vision that lasts only a heartbeat. A golden thread—radiant and breathtaking, more beautiful than anything I’ve ever seen. It glimmers for just a moment before vanishing, leaving me gasping and unsure if it was ever real.

But then my eyes lock onto something just as mesmerizing.

Alex’s eyes.

They burn with an intensity that matches the rhythm of his passionate strokes, consuming me.

Another workday. Another long, uneventful stretch of sending emails, poring over invoices, and staring at work files until the words start to blur together. It’s the same routine, the same grind. But today it’s different. Not because the workload has changed or because my tasks require more effort, but because my mind just won’t stay in the game.

No matter how hard I try, my thoughts keep drifting.

Drifting to Alex.

It starts as a flicker, a memory that sneaks in while I’m typing out another dry email or signing off on yet another report. Thenit takes over, vivid and all-consuming, like a movie playing on repeat in my head. That first kiss. The way his lips met mine—soft, sure, and unhurried. And then the way his touch followed, igniting a spark that shot through me like a lightning bolt, setting every nerve alight.

It’s not like this was part of the plan. Not by a long shot. Hell, we had a whole contract, for crying out loud. A very clear, very professional, very boundary-laden contract. One that explicitly stated there was no need for anything physical between us. No intimacy required. No strings attached. It was supposed to be simple: just an arrangement to get the elders off my back.

But that night? That wasn’t about necessity. It wasn’t about fulfilling some unspoken obligation or crossing off a box on a checklist.

No.

We had sex because we wanted to.

Because in that moment, nothing else mattered. Not the contract, not the rules, not the carefully constructed boundaries we’d both agreed to. It was just us—two people swept up in something that felt bigger than either of us could have planned for.

There’s this magnetism between us that I can’t quite explain. It’s like my body is addicted to the way he feels. And Alex, he’s... incredible. Thoughtful in ways that catch me off guard, like how he’s the one that made sure we used protection. It’s sweet, honestly. You’d think, given the circumstances, he’d be looking for a way to tie me down, maybe a baby to secure a good financial future for himself. But that’s not him. He’s genuine, unselfish in a way I’ve never seen before.

And it makes keeping up appearances with the elders so much easier. If Frank, Uncle Lawrence, or any of the old guard havebeen watching—and let’s face it, they always are—they’d see exactly what I want them to see. Frequent dates, affectionate smiles, my hand casually resting on Alex’s arm as we walk into a restaurant.

But today, my mind isn’t entirely on Alex.

I glance at the clock on my desk, my foot tapping impatiently against the floor. Alice is in town. Tonight, we’re meeting for drinks, and just thinking about it makes me feel lighter.

Alice isn’t just a friend; she’s like a sister. We met a few years ago when she was our legal representative in a case. We clicked almost immediately, and since then, she’s been one of the few people I can truly rely on.

I think about everything that’s happened with her. It still feels surreal. I remember when I found out she was a Wolf shifter. That was mind blowing enough, but then she became Queen of the Wolf Kingdom, and that? That was on a whole other level.

It’s funny how quickly the extraordinary becomes ordinary. Now, when I think of Alice, I don’t see a wolf-shifter or a queen. I just see my friend. My fierce, loyal, friend who also happens to rule over an entire kingdom.

I lean back in my chair, my lips curling into a smile as I imagine her reaction when I tell her about Alex. She’s going to have a field day with this one—I can already hear her teasing me, demanding every last detail.

With a single click, I shut down my computer, the hum of the screen fading into silence.

I arrive at the restaurant within minutes of leaving the office. It’s a cozy spot, charmingly elegant without being ostentatious—classic Alice. For all the fact that she is Queen of the Wolf Kingdom thing, Alice has always preferred the understated and the simple.

The moment I step inside, she spots me. She’s out of her chair in a heartbeat, weaving gracefully through the tables as though she owns the place—which, honestly, she could, if she wanted to.

“Katherine,” she greets, her voice warm and familiar, like the first sip of coffee on a cold morning.

Before I can respond, she pulls me into a hug—a real one. The kind you don’t realize you’ve been craving until it wraps around you. I let myself sink into it, my shoulders easing just a little.

But when she pulls back, there’s something in her expression that wasn’t there before. A flicker of curiosity, maybe even caution. Her head tilts ever so slightly, her eyes narrowing in quiet observation. Her nose flares—just a little—like she’s picking up on something she can’t quite place.

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