Page 104 of Alpha-Ex Wedding Ruse
I wanted her. And I knew she did too.
She threw her head back in laughter at something Gabe said. He was Alpha of the smallest pack in the region—Staten Island. She’d ended up in the corner of the room where no one except me was paying attention to her.
My grip on my glass tightened. I saw the way he was looking at her—like she could be his one-night stand after this summit was over. It took everything in me not to stomp over there and haul her away from fucking Gabe.
A man came to call Gabe away and whispered something in his ear before he walked off. As the man moved, his purse fell from his pocket. Leila picked it up and ran after him to return it.
Something in my chest tightened.
And it wasn’t just the way Gabe looked at her like he’d found his next conquest. That irritated me, yes—but not as much as the thought gnawing at me now.
Five years ago, I’d believed Leila capable of stealing something she would’ve returned without thinking. That moment—her chasing after a man to give him back something he didn’t even know he’d lost—wasa reminder of who she really was. The same woman who took on three jobs to pay off a debt that wasn’t even hers.
Kind. Honest. Good to her core.
And the thought was starting to gnaw at me, keep me restless—had I made the biggest mistake of my life by not trusting her?
Her gaze landed on me across the room, and I saw the moment her breath hitched. After a few seconds, she started walking toward me.
“Apparently, Alpha Gabe has this whole wild idea he is picking the Alpha Regent,” she said.
“Is that what you two were talking about that made you laugh so hard?” I couldn’t even hide the sharpness in my voice.
Leila turned to me with an amused expression. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous.”
“Oh, I’ll tell you,” I leaned in, letting her scent wash over every one of my senses. “I. Am. Jealous.”
She didn’t respond. Just lifted her champagne flute and took a slow sip, her gaze fixed ahead. But I saw the shift in her posture—the slight angle of her shoulders as she placed a little more distance between us.
“Just so we’re clear,” she said after a beat, her voice rough around the edges. “If we don’t win this pitch, it doesn’t mean I still owe you, right? I mean…the deal was to work on it together.”
“And win it,” I added, turning toward her. “Where’s your optimism, Leila? Five years ago, you would’ve been oozing confidence.”
“I’m confident,” she replied. “I’m just a little…nervous.”
I smirked. “Because of the summit? Or because of me?”
Leila’s eyes cut to mine, sharp and full of defiance—confirming everything I already knew. “Don’t flatter yourself, Luca.”
She turned away, already smoothing down the front of her dress and pulling her confidence over her like armor. “Let’s go,” she said. And just like that, it was business again.
Leila killed it.
Her voice didn’t waver once as she delivered her pitch. Her ideas were seamless—confident, clear. She handled the tough questions from the Regent’s panel with grace, countered objections, and redirected skepticism with charm. I filled in where I needed to—strategy, scalability, the numbers behind the vision. But make no mistake: she was the star.
I saw it on the faces of the Alphas. Of the crowd. They weren’t just intrigued—they were impressed.
And I…I was fucking proud.
After the pitch sessions ended, the Alpha Regent announced that the winner would be revealed at the end of the summit, once the panel had enough time to weigh the pros and cons of each pitch.
As we made our way toward the main hall, Leila’s phone buzzed. I caught the caller ID. Valerie.
“I think I’d like to go to the suite now,” she said. “I promised Ollie I’d call before his bedtime. And I want to pack up my things ahead of tomorrow.”
I don’t know why, but the thought of her leaving sent a sharp pang through my chest. Maybe it was knowing I wouldn’t see her gliding through the halls in that dress again tonight, all grace and purpose and temptation wrapped into one.
“Do you want me to walk you back?” I asked.
