The Alpha stiffened, his eyes flashing with anger and malice. After staring at me, wordless, Griffon quickly pulled out some wet wipes and wiped his fingers.
Seeing his actions, I couldn’t help sneering. “Beta Starke told you that he had slept with me. Why bother checking, Alpha?”
I kept my face schooled, without a trace of annoyance or embarrassment reaching it, but rather with a hint of worldly charm.
My indifferent attitude and repeated provocations made the usually composed Griffon lose his temper. It’d been a while since I’d seen this side of him.
He threw away the wet tissue and pinched my chin. Hard.
I was going to bruise. My human flesh, the lack of a wolf to help me heal… My body was no match for any wolf’s strength, let alone an Alpha as powerful as him.
There was no way he didn’t see that I was in pain, especially since I was wincing, but Griffon ignored it and lowered his head until his nose was almost touching mine.
“Haven’t I told you that no one is allowed to touch anything I’ve used?”
His eyes were filled with killing intent, and he squeezed my chin with increasing force-almost as if he wanted to dislocate my jaw or break it in half.
It was the first time that I had seen him THIS angry, so I was slightly stunned.
I didn’t mean to provoke him like this, but he humiliated me again and again. I had to fight back.
But… He didn’t care about me. Why was he so angry?
I endured the pain, raised my eyes, summoned all my courage, and asked, “Why do you care if I slept with someone else? Have you fallen in love with me?”
I had been with him for five years and had never seen him lose his composure to this level. He must have some feelings for me, right?
I stared at Griffon without blinking, trying to find a trace of love in his eyes.
My heart sank as I saw only disdain.
“Don’t you know what I care about?”
Any hope I had was shattered.
Of course, I knew what he cared about, but I was just unwilling to give up.
I had always known he would never love me like I loved him, but I’d prayed to the goddess for just a sliver of something back.
However, Griffon was different from everyone else.
He was the most unfeeling, distant person I had ever met.
I’d thought he was completely incapable of loving anyone…until Tara Thorin showed up.
With a wry smile, I said, “It seems like I misunderstood. However…” I paused. “I asked you before if I could have a boyfriend, and you said it was up to me. Since I have a boyfriend, it’s normal for me and him to have sex, don’t you think?”
Griffon was stunned, and his face became even darker, his eyes glowing even brighter with his wolf.
Before I could stop my hand, before I could think about what I was doing, I reached up and ran my fingers over the furrows between his eyebrows as if trying to smooth them out. Trying to erase the anger on his face.
This was the man I had loved for five years. How could I bear to hurt him like this?
But he didn’t love me-not even a tiny bit of “like”. Why couldn’t I let go? Why did I care if I managed to hurt him one tiny sliver of what he’d made me feel?
He grabbed my wrist.
“Don’t touch me!” he growled. “Your fill thy now.”
I knew he would react like this, but hearing him say I was dirty again made me ache.
Belonged to him, it was tarnished, dirty, film thy…
Unfit for the all-powerful Alpha Knight.
Gritting my teeth, I suppressed my emotions and looked at the hand that was tightly gripping my wrist.
“If you h ate me this much, if I’m so filthy, why don’t you let go of me?” I cocked my head to the side, once again unable to bottle in my hopeful thoughts. “Or…do you not want to let go?”
Everything before this felt like an act I was putting on. And now… Now, I was the most authentic version of myself. The woman who was desperate to receive SOMETHING from him.
Griffon seemed to have seen through. The killing intent in his eyes faded away and was replaced by indifference.
Without any hesitation, he pushed me away, snarling, “Get out!”
I fell out of the car as Griffon opened the door that I was leaning against. My tailbone banged against the sidewalk as I landed in a sprawled heap, dressed only in my underwear and bra, my hair and makeup a mess.
A second later, my bed and the tatters of my clothes were tossed out, landing beside me.
But I didn’t care. I tucked my tangled hair behind my ear, picked up the torn clothes, and put them on again.
I grabbed my purse and stood to walk down the sidewalk,
mustering all the bravery and composure I could, praying no one had seen.
Just as I took my first step away from the parked Town Car, Griffon stopped me.
“Taya,” he growled low.
I turned around, a smile I didn’t feel plastered on my face. “What? Can you not bear to part with me? Don’t want to watch me walk away?”
Without even looking at me, keeping his focus straight ahead, Griffon threw a crumpled-up check onto the sidewalk at my feet. “I have fucked you for five years, and I pay for what I use.”
I stood still for a few seconds, then quietly bent down to pick up the check.
Five years ago, this money was life changing. Five years ago, I’d desperately needed it.
But now, it didn’t matter even a bit.
Calmly, I took a step toward the car and placed the wad of paper on the car seat.
“Alpha Knight, you are too generous, but if I were to take your money, I wouldn’t be able to marry Roman with a clear conscience.”
It wasn’t until then that Griffon realized why Taya didn’t want a penny from him. It turned out that she had plans to marry a wealthy and powerful man.
As he looked up at her, all doubts in his heart dissipated entirely, leaving him numb.
“I never want to see your face again.”
Taya smiled indifferently, and something flitted through her eyes, an emotion or thought he couldn’t place. “You won’t.”
At the gate of Griffon’s private manor, Preston quickly got out of the car.
A Town Car drove into the garden when he was about to enter the villa to look for Griffon.
A man who was nearly 6’2 tall got out of the car.
He exuded an arrogant aura from head to toe, with a strong sense of command that made people dare not approach him.
Even Preston felt a chill run down his spine when he saw him.
He shook off his thoughts and walked up to Griffon.
“Griffon-” Preston started to ask where Griffon had gone after Nightshade, but he clamped his mouth shut when the Alpha’s look shot daggers at him.
With a low, rumbling growl, Griffon walked past Preston and headed straight for the villa.
As the entrance, the servant, who had been waiting some time for him, greeted him with a bow. They’d expected their Alpha to be back much earlier, but they hadn’t dared to leave the door for fear of Griffon’s wrath should they not be in their proper places when he returned home.
Griffon removed his jacket and tie, handing them to the servant.
Then, he walked to the wet bar and grabbed a decanter full of caramel-colored liquor.
He casually picked up two tumblers and poured a glass for each of them. He turned and handed one to Preston.
“What brings you here?” Griffon asked.
Preston rarely came to the pack manor. He must have something to tell him, especially at such a late hour.
Preston took the tumbler, sniffed, and then took a swig. Bourbon. The good stuff.
He looked Griffon up and down. Seeing the Alpha’s expression, which wasn’t as grim as before, Preston mustered up the courage to speak.
“Did Ms. Palmer offend you somehow before tonight?”
The Alpha’s actions tonight were completely out of character for him.
“It’s none of your business.”
Preston remained unfazed and probed further. “Is she the woman you keep?”
He knew that his cousin had a secret lover, but he had never seen her before. Something about the way Griffon had treated this woman made Preston think there was something more at play between them. Griffon raised his head and clenched his jaw. “What are you implying?” Preston plan.