Page 19 of The Alpha Under My Bed

Neatly packed rows of silicone, a set she had used for years. One in particular made my vision darken—a smooth, knot-shaped one, designed to mimic what she thought she needed.

She thought these worked.

She thought they scratched the itch.

She thought they got her through the worst of it.

But she hadn’t remembered a heat in years, and I had made sure of that.

I picked up the familiar toy, turning it over in my palm, the smooth material warm from being in storage. My thumb dragged over the base, finding the power button. A weak vibration buzzed against my skin—a pathetic imitation of what her body really needed.

Ellie finally glanced up at the sound, her cheeks darkening when she saw what I was holding.

“Mal!”

I smirked, twirling the toy between my fingers like it was nothing. “What?”

Her hands flew up to cover her face. “Why are you holding that?”

I arched a brow, keeping my voice perfectly neutral. “You’re still using these?”

She groaned, sinking deeper into the couch. “Oh my god. Don’t ask that.”

But she didn’t deny it.

And that was enough to twist something dark inside me.

I leaned back on my heels, watching her carefully. “You could just get a real alpha, you know. Someone to help with your heats.”

Her shoulders stiffened.

Her silence was sharp.

I knew that struck a nerve.

“I don’t need an alpha,” she muttered, shifting uncomfortably. “I’ll be fine.”

Good.

Because she didn’t.

She only neededme.

She didn’tget it.

She didn’t realize that these pathetic little things weren’t enough, that they wouldneverbe enough. But she would when her heat hit full force and none of them worked. And when she was desperate—when shecouldn’ttake it anymore—she would have no choice but to let me take care of her the way Ishouldhavefrom the start.

Carefully, I placed the toy back in the box—except it wasn’t the same one. It was the new one I had slipped in earlier, one with a slightly different shape, asubtleescalation in what she was using. Something that would make her body crave more.

Something that would push her just a little closer tobreaking.

I snapped the lid shut, placing the kit back exactly where she had left it.

Ellie sighed, shifting against the couch. “You’re so weird sometimes.”

I smiled.

Ellie curled deeper into the couch, half-draped in a blanket, her fingers lazily scrolling through her phone. She was soft like this—unguarded, completely at ease, trusting me to take care of her without a second thought.

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