ALEXANDER
Being the alpha, he was used to the unexpected.
Surprises were part of his job description.
But to truly shock him, it would take something monumental.
And heâd just stumbled upon that monumental thing.
Nothing in recent memory had stunned him as much as finding ~Maya~ and ~Olivia~ passed out drunk on his bed.
He was rooted to the spot, blinking in disbelief, unsure of where to even begin. Why were they in his room? ~Why were they drunk~?
More importantly, ~why~ was Olivia here?
He could just walk away, find another place to sleep, and deal with this mess in the morning. ~Butâ~ patience wasnât his strong suit.
He was already stretching his patience thin by resisting the urge to pounce on Olivia. He couldnât be expected to stay calm about this.
Still, he wanted to understand the situation before he confronted Olivia.
Depending on the circumstances that brought her here, he might be able to turn things to his advantage.
That left him with one intriguing option: Maya.
He just had to wake her without disturbing Olivia.
Given the strong smell of alcohol and the loud snoring filling the room, he wasnât too worried about that. Plus, as her future mate, his presence shouldnât alarm her.
Her wolf instincts shouldnât react to him. The only question was: could he actually wake Maya?
He looked at her petite body sprawled on the bed, her long red hair hanging off the edge. ~Perfect~.
He tiptoed towards her, trying to make as little noise as possible. Once he reached her, he placed one hand on her shoulder and the other over her mouth.
The last thing he needed was for her to scream. ~In theory~, she should recognize her alpha, but Maya was a sweet girl with a fiery temper. He couldnât risk waking Olivia.
He pressed his fingers into her skin, hard enough to get her attention but not enough to leave a mark, and shook her. Her nose wrinkled, her lower lip twitched against his hand, but her eyes remained closed.
He felt a flicker of irritation and sighed. Then he shook her again. When that didnât work, he decided to try a different approach.
He knelt down so his mouth was level with her ear, his hand still firmly over her mouth.
â~Wake up~.â He kept his voice as low as possible to avoid waking Olivia.
It worked.
Her eyes snapped open, fear shining in her green irises as she struggled against his grip.
He forced her to look at him and as soon as she recognized him, she relaxed.
Slowly, he removed his hand from her mouth and put a finger to his lips.
She sat up, glanced at him and then at Olivia. She gave a weak nod and got off the bed. Her first few steps were shaky, but she steadied herself as she followed him out of the room.
Once they were in the hallway, he gently closed the door, hoping Olivia would remain asleep.
Maya rubbed her eyes, which were bloodshot. She pulled at her skin as she dragged her hands down her face.
âMy head is killing me,â she murmured.
âNo kidding.â Heâd seen what, three, four bottles of wine on the floor? He just hoped there wasnât an open one leaking onto his bed.
She winced. âSorryâ¦â
He raised a hand to stop her apology. âWhy is she here?â
She could barely keep her eyes open, but she laughed anyway.
âI think you meant to say, ~oh thank you, Maya. How thoughtful of you to get Olivia into my bed.~ Something you havenât managed to do yourself, by the way.â
He gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing.
Having her in his bed was more of a torment than a pleasure. He couldnât touch her. He couldnât claim her. This was pure, unadulterated teasing.
It had been hard enough to get rid of her scent in his room when she hadnât even touched anything. How the hell was he going to get rid of it ~now~?
And did he even want to?
His bed would smell of her every time he lay in it.
Would that be a comfort or a torment? He wasnât sure. But he was almost willing to find out.
â~Maya~.â
She raised both hands in surrender. âOkay, donât get all worked up! Geez. She called ~you~.â
âWho?â
âShe did. Normally, I wouldnât answer your phone, but when I saw it was ~her~, I thought youâd be mad if I didnât.â
âMaya, cut to the chase.â
She gave an exaggerated eye roll. âIâm not entirely sure what went down. She didnât give me many details. All I know is she was upset on the phone, and she was upset when I picked her up.
âShe said a few things when she was drunk, but I think it had something to do with that guy Will and his girlfriend and some incident about them sleeping together. Iâm not sure. But he really ticked her off.â
The thought of that worthless, spineless beta upsetting her made his blood boil. He didnât even deserve to be in her presence, let alone upset her. But the fact that she was mad at him? ~Good~.
Heâd been wanting to cut the ties between them, but he didnât know how to go about it. It was clear that ~he~ couldnât be the one to push her to do it. She trusted him too much, and she needed to see the truth about him.
âSo you brought her back here and got her drunk?â
âShe was upset. Donât worry, she had a good time, we chatted.â
He blinked. âAbout what?â
Maya tilted her head to the side, scrunching up her face.
âItâs a bit hazy, but I think I might have mentioned werewolvesâ¦â
âMaya.â His voice was stern. âDid you tell her about mates?â
She pursed her lips. âIâm 85 percent sure I didnâtâ¦â
â85 percent sure?â
âHey, why donât you ask me when there ~isnât~ a tiny drummer boy pounding away in my head? Iâm sure Iâll remember the night much better when Iâm not feeling like death.â
âMayaâ¦â
â~Chill~, everything is fine. You know me, I wouldnât screw up ~that~ bad.â
The fact that he did know her was exactly why he was worried. He slapped his forehead with his hand. âAlright, go.â
~âGo?â~
âYes, leave.â
âAnd what about ~Livy~?â
âIâll take care of her.â
She squinted at him.
â~Iâm not going to take advantage of her,~â he snapped. âYou know what she means to me. You think Iâd do anything when sheâs passed out?â
âNo. But I enjoy getting under your skin.â
âYouâre unbearable. Get out.â
~âYes, boss.â~
Now he was left wondering what she might remember when she woke up. Maya and her big mouth. She was already a chatterbox and now he didnât even want to think about what she might have blurted out while drunk.
She was a very loud drunk.
He sighed, running his fingers through his hair, messing up the dark strands. He hated this. He ~usually~ had his phone with him but he didnât take it on these types of patrols.
There had been sightings around the borders of his packâs territory. More often than not, the betas would handle it, but he didnât like anyone messing with his territory.
Especially not now when he was away from the pack more than he wanted to be. Olivia didnât live with them and she certainly wasnât coming to him. If he wanted to see her, he had to go to her.
Even though he was annoyed that Maya had gotten her drunk, he was relieved she answered the call. Whatever Will had done to upset her, it wasnât good. And the fact that her first instinct was to call him?
It made his heart flutter. He could only hope it was her wolf guiding her without her knowing. He wanted to be her safe haven, he wanted to be her everything. But he had to be patient.
More patient than he wanted to be.
He gripped the doorknob and quietly opened the door. He peeked inside, finding Olivia just as he had left herâpassed out on her stomach. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
Her hair was spread across her face, her hands tucked under her chest. Her instincts should be sharp, sharp enough to sense someone in the room, yet she hadnât stirred. Was it because of his presence? His scent?
~He didnât care~.
Alexander yanked his shirt off, unable to bear the dirt clinging to it. He decided to keep his shorts on, not wanting to cause any unnecessary confusion if she woke up.
He moved towards the bed, halting when his thighs brushed against the mattress. He sat down next to her, his hand instinctively reaching out to touch her hair. He gently moved the brown strands aside, revealing her face.
Her cheeks were flushed, a result of her drunken state, adding a touch of color to her otherwise pale complexion. Her lips were slightly parted, soft sounds escaping from them. He traced a finger down her cheek, his touch feather-light.
He could easily lose himself, surrender to his desires.
He knew that whether she was drunk or not, she wouldnât resist him for long. But he couldnât do it. As much as he yearned for her, he needed her to want him too.
He dropped his head onto his chest, feeling tortured. This was all ~Mayaâs fault~. He couldnât be angry at Olivia, so he directed his anger at someone else. ~Damn it~. He flung himself back, his body landing on the bed.
Sleep was going to elude him, wasnât it?