Xavier’s POV
The sound of tires crunching on the gravel snapped my attention toward the window. I’d been pacing for what felt like hours, waiting-though I hated admitting even to myself that I was.
When she stepped out of the sleek, black car, my chest tightened.
She was smiling.
That carefree, radiant smile that I hadn’t seen in so long. But it wasn’t directed at me. The wolf sitting in the driver’s seat leaned out, saying something that made her laugh softly. She waved him off, her entire demeanor light and carefree as she walked toward the house.
I couldn’t stand it.
The door clicked shut as she entered, her steps purposeful and quick. She barely glanced at me as she headed toward the stairs.
“Where the hell are you coming from?” I demanded, stepping in front of her path.
She didn’t stop, her expression unbothered as she brushed past me.
I grabbed her wrist, my grip firm. She turned to look at me, her eyes hard, her calmness cutting through my anger like a blade.
“Who the fuck was that with you?” I asked, my jaw tight as I forced myself to keep control.
“It’s none of your business,” she said simply. “I’m away from you and your brothers. Where I go and who I’m with has nothing to do with you.”
The coldness in her words snapped something inside me. My fingers tightened around her wrist as I stepped closer. “So that’s it? After seducing my brothers, you run straight into the arms of another wolf? And you’re smiling about it?”
She tugged at her wrist, her movements sharp. “Let me go, Xavier.”
Her calm demeanor, her refusal to answer, only fueled the fire burning inside me.
“Not until you tell me who the hell he is!” I snapped, my body moving before I could stop myself. I lifted her into my arms, ignoring her protests as she pushed against me.
“Put me down!” she yelled, her fists pounding against my chest, but I didn’t listen.
The house was empty-no one to stop me, no one to intervene. I carried her into the living room and dropped her onto the sofa. She gasped, scrambling to sit up, but I leaned over her, pinning her down before she could escape.
“Who was he?” I demanded, my hands gripping the armrest on either side of her head.
She glared at me but said nothing, her lips pressed into a thin line.
My hand moved to her face, my thumb brushing over her lips. “Did he touch you? Did he kiss you?”
Her body tensed beneath me, her eyes narrowing as she tried to push me away. Her silence was infuriating, her defiance stoking the fire in my chest.
“You like it, don’t you?” I asked, my hand trailing to her neck, feeling her pulse quicken beneath my fingertips. “Do you like it when another man puts his hands on you?”
Tears welled in her eyes, but still, she refused to answer.
I leaned closer, my teeth grazing the soft skin of her neck as I nipped at her. Her body trembled, and I felt a grim satisfaction in knowing she was affected.
“You’re nothing but a slut,” I said. “Just one day after knowing that we won’t accept you, mate, and you’re already with someone else. Damn, we didn’t even reject you yet.”
Her body shook harder, her hands pressing weakly against my chest, but it wasn’t enough to push me away.
When I pulled back to look at her, the tears streaming down her cheeks stopped me cold. Her wide, fearful eyes met mine, and I froze.
She wasn’t fighting back anymore. She was terrified.
The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. My hands, still resting on either side of her head, shook as I stared at her.
Her body trembled violently, her breaths uneven and shallow as she curled into herself.
I stepped back, my chest tightening with something I didn’t want to name. I’d gone too far.
“GO AWAY,” I muttered, the words falling flat.
She didn’t respond. She didn’t even look at me.
The silence in the room was unbearable. I turned and left, the weight of what I’d done pressing down on me with every step.
The scent of another alpha clung to her clothes, making my wolf pace restlessly beneath my skin. Something about it teased at my memory-familiar yet just out of reach.
Her footsteps echoed above as she moved in her room, probably still trembling from our confrontation.
We’d starved her. Watched her grow weaker day by day. Nathan’s idea, but I’d agreed. Even enjoyed it, telling myself she deserved to suffer for her mother’s sins.
But now some other alpha was feeding her, protecting her, making her smile in ways she never had with us.
The thought made my vision blur red.
I grabbed my phone and dialed my beta, pacing as the call connected.
“I need you to look into someone,” I said, my voice sharp and clipped.
There was a brief pause on the other end. “Who, sir?”
“Mia was with someone earlier. A wolf. I want to know who he is, what he wants, and why the hell he was with her.”
Another pause. I could tell they wanted to ask questions, but I didn’t have the patience for it.
My hands curled into fists as I thought about the wolf who had been with her. Who was he? What did he want from her?
“I will find it, alpha,” James’s assured me.
“Just find him,” I growled. “And keep it quiet. My brothers don’t need to know about this.”
I hung up before he could respond, that scent still haunting me. Where did I know it from? It carried power, old power, the kind that made even
I was going insane, just to think that someone toucher her.
She wasn’t mine to protect. We’d made that clear when we rejected her.
Then why I couldn’t controlled myself.
But the thought of another alpha’s hands on her, another wolf claiming what the Moon Goddess had marked as ours…
My desk cracked under my grip.
I hated her.
Didn’t I?