Page 21 of The Alpha Under My Bed

By the time she woke up, it would already be locked in place.

Her body would be ready—begging, desperate—but completely inaccessible.

And there wouldn’t be a damn thing she could do about it.

A slow, satisfied exhale escaped me as I crouched near her closet, sliding the belt into her heat kit, burying it beneath her favorite weighted blanket. It looked harmless there—just another part of her preparation.

She wouldn’t question it.

Not at first.

Not until the moment she realized what was happening.

Not until the moment she understood she was trapped.

Because this time, she wasn’t getting through her heat with those pathetic little toys. This time, there was onlyme.

This time, she was gettingbred.

This time, she was gettingbonded.

This time, I was making her mine.Forever.

I straightened, rolling my shoulders, forcing the anticipation to settle deep in my gut. I had been patient for years, letting things unfold at the right pace—making sure she needed me.

But I wasn’t waiting anymore.

Her scent started shifting even more—rich and thick, clinging to the air. It was almost time.

She would be perfect.So fucking perfect.

By the time she realized what was happening, she’d be too far gone to stop it.

I cast one last glance at Ellie. She shifted in her sleep, a quiet sigh escaping her parted lips, her fingers curling into the fabric of her sweater.

Mine.

Seven

MALCOLM

The grainy black-and-whitefeed from Ellie’s bedroom camera flickered on the screen of my phone. I leaned back in my chair, exhaling slowly as I watched her shift in her nest, barely visible beneath the heavy pile of blankets. Even through the low-resolution video, I could see how restless she was—tossing, kicking off layers, only to pull them back onto herself moments later.

She was finally feeling it.

The heat crawling under her skin. The slow, aching need curling deep in her belly.

She was so close.

I flicked my wrist, checking the time. Right on schedule—like always.

A slow smile tugged at my lips as I rolled my shoulders, feeling the first prickling tingle of my blockers wearing off.

I had been careful for years—so fucking careful.Masking my pheromones. Holding back every instinct. Making sure she never caught even a whiff of what I truly was.

I inhaled deeply, letting the edges of my control slip as my real scent began to trickle into the air. My glands throbbed, aching to release more, to fill the space around me with everything she had been denied for so long.

She wasn’t ready for the full weight of it yet.

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