Page 42 of Fated to the Enemy Alpha

I shook my head. “No, I see you for who you really are now—someone who puts vengeance before the safety of their mate. Last night was a mistake—”

He stood up, coming toward me. “Lina, please—” He reached for me.

“Don’t come near me.” I ground out, flinching away.

He froze, hurt clouding his expression.

“I want you to leave,” I told him fiercely. “I don’t want to see you except at work. And if you dare tell Magnus anything about me and my friends, I’ll present evidence of your alliance with the rogue wolves.” I clenched my phone in my fist.

Fury stole over his features, and a muscle ticked in his jaw as his attention fell to what I held.

“Lina, don’t do this. I never meant to hurt you. I regret how I handled things between us back then, but I want to be here for you now.”

“I don’t need you,” I argued. “I don’t want you in my life, Stephen.”

His nostrils flared, and a muscle ticked in his clenched jaw, but in a moment, he’d pulled on his shirt. I flushed as I saw how shredded it was down the middle, barely covering up evidence of our shared passion, something I told myself I could forget once again. Something I needed to.

In a moment, I had the bedroom door open. He strode down the stairs. I got to the front door, opened it, and silently willed him to leave, refusing to look at him.

But his step paused. “I know you’re strong, but you don’t need to do this alone, Lina.”

I shook my head, feeling emotion constricting my throat again, but I forced it away. “You’re wrong. I do need to do it alone because that’s the path you set us on when you chose vengeance over your own mate.” I averted my gaze and shut him out of my life for the second time.

Needing to wash the torturous spicy and earthy scent of Stephen off, I showered and dressed in a fresh pair of pants and jumper, tossing my shredded clothes into the bin. After a quick check on Betty—still safe in her slumber, her little form stirring ever so slightly beneath her blankets—I went downstairs to our office with cleaning supplies.

As I moved through the sunlight beneath the skylights, my heart squeezed painfully as I cleaned up, wishing I could wash away all traces from my memory and heart of what had transpired between Stephen and me here as easily.

I’d just retrieved my laptop from my bag and booted it up when the sound of the bookcase rolling aside echoed down the corridor.

Both Emily and Matt walked in. I’d texted them that Stephen had gone, so they knew the office space was useable again.

“God, I slept like a log,” Matt said, his voice buoyant as he carried a cup of coffee and a chai tea for me before going to his desk.

“Thanks,” I said, a wash of comfort enveloping me as I reveled in how familiar this felt with the three of us settling into our space.

“How come Stephen didn’t feel the need to tail you anymore?” Em asked, eyebrows knitting together as she twirled around in her chair to face me.

As much as I wanted to push aside the events of last night, I owed my friends honesty about the danger surrounding us. “I found him in here last night,” I revealed.

“Shit,” Matt said, his expression tightening. “Shall I go get Betty ready?” The protectiveness in his tone touched me.

Em’s gaze darted straight to her machines, probably already calculating what she needed to wipe.

I shook my head quickly, reassuring them. “We’re fine. Stephen won’t report us to Magnus.”

“How can you be sure?” Em asked incredulously.

“Because it turns out Magnus murdered his mother, Charlotte Blackthorn, the original alpha of the Blackthorn Pack.”

“Holy cow!” Emily exclaimed, returning to sip her coffee and stare at me as if she were watching one of her favorite K-Dramas.

“There’s more,” I said darkly. I attached the picture of Stephen in my bed, the totem tattoo on his back on full display, sending it to both Matt and Em; it needed to get uploaded to our network so that should I need it, the evidence I had on him was backed up. I tried to see it as just that, but as Em brought it up on her laptop screen, my heart climbed into my throat.

“What the fuck?” Em exclaimed.

“Stephen’s the leader of the rogue wolves,” I explained.

“Something he only told you after jumping into bed with you, I guess?” Em said.

---