Page 75 of Alpha-Ex Wedding Ruse
Maybe it was time to stop keeping Victor at arm’s length. Maybe I should take my father’s advice and start living. After all, Victor had always been kind to me. And he believed me — even when my own Fated Mate didn’t.
Chapter Seventeen
Leila’s POV
Old memories stirredas I stared up at the observatory, a Diet Coke in one hand, and a bag of Popeyes Cajun Chips with ketchup in the other. It was always a long walk to the rooftop—long and borderline suicidal. The railings on the stairs were still shaky, threatening to give way with every step. But I didn’t mind. This was probably the most adventurous thing I’d done in five years, and I was strapped into my most comfortable sneakers.
I took a breath and began the climb. By the time I reached the top, I was panting. Thank goodness for the chilled Coke in my hand.
The steel door groaned as I pushed it open and stepped onto the rooftop. The wind hit me instantly—sharp, cool, biting—but I welcomed the sting.
Everything looked mostly the same. The broken dome overhead, maybe more shattered than before. The rusted telescope that used to point to the stars now sat in pieces, its parts neatly arranged in the corner.
I walked to the edge. The railing groaned faintly under my weightas I leaned against it. From up here, the city looked far away. Even the noise dulled beneath the hum of the wind. High. Quiet. Hidden. A place above everything.
I sat at the edge of the rooftop, swinging my legs as I ate my chips and drank, letting the nostalgia wash over me.
I didn’t hear the footsteps at first. But when I felt the air shift, I knew I wasn’t alone anymore. Nobody ever came up here. Then again, I hadn’t been here in five years, so maybe things had changed. Either way, I needed to be sure I wasn’t about to be walked in on by someone with a mental issue. Or worse, a serial killer.
My gaze darted around, landing on a jagged piece of the rusted telescope. I grabbed it like a weapon and pressed myself behind the door, holding my breath.
Then I smelled it. Faint at first. But familiar.
My wolf stirred, snapping awake like she’d been doused in ice water. She pressed against my skin, restless, pacing. I tensed, my heart kicking hard against my chest. No. It couldn’t be—
The door opened and my breath caught when I saw who stepped through.
Luca.
Of course it was him.
Because the universe had a sick sense of humor. Because just once, just once, I’d wanted a quiet moment to myself without him crashing into it like a storm I hadn’t prepared for. My chest tightened. My wolf pushed against me again, whining, desperate, like she couldn’t understand why we were still standing there, frozen, instead of running to him.
He turned abruptly at the sense of someone nearby, and when his eyes landed on me, they widened slightly. “Leila! What are you—”
“Are you following me?” I asked, still holding up the jagged metal like I was ready to strike.
He blinked, eyes trailing the weapon in my hand, one brow lifting. “Why are you holding that?”
Only then did I realize how ridiculous I looked. I lowered the metal. “I thought you might be a serial killer.”
His other brow lifted. “A serial killer? In Manhattan?”
I scoffed. “Because you know everybody in Manhattan?”
I dusted my palms off and folded my arms across my chest. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“And what question is that?”
“Did you follow me here, Luca? Are you watching me?”
didn’t reply right away. Just tugged one side of his mouth into that lopsided smile of his while his gaze swept over me, quick, but maddening. And if I was being honest, kind of thrilling.
“You say that like you enjoy the idea of me watching you,” he said.
My brows shot up. I knew what he was implying, and I wouldn’t even blame him. I had the composure of a wolf shifter in heat whenever he was within ten feet of me.
“I didn’t say it like anything,” I snapped. “I said it like a question—which is all it was. So, get whatever disgusting notion that just crawled into your head, out.”
