Chapter 23: Alpha Tension

OLIVIA

~Warmth~.

Despite the throbbing headache threatening to split her skull, she felt enveloped in a comforting cloud. She snuggled into the warmth, her nose buried in it.

She felt ~safe~. Her heartbeat had slowed, her body had relaxed, and for a moment, her mind was free of thoughts. This was what tranquility felt like.

Then it hit her.

A pounding headache, like a relentless hammer against her skull. ~Oh no~. Her stomach churned, waves of heat washing over her…~This was hell~.

She whimpered in pain, regretting her choices from the night before. She was about to—

“Livy, you okay?”

The voice was sleepy but unmistakable.

Her eyes flew open and panic seized her.

She touched her ~cloud~, only to find it was ~bare skin~. A firm chest, more abs than should be legal. She took a deep breath, gathering the courage to look up, even though she knew what she would find.

Alexander’s face.

He was looking down at her, worry evident in his blue eyes. And he was holding her. Actually, holding didn’t quite cover it. They were entwined in each other.

Her petite legs were trapped between his muscular thighs, his arms encircling her, resting on the small of her back.

Her hands were shamelessly flat on his chest, feeling the ripple of his muscles beneath her touch.

Alexander was in bed with her.

And he was half-naked.

Her brain slowly, painfully processed the information until panic took over. She pushed against him, using more strength than she initially intended.

Since Alexander was as immovable as a ~rock~, her body bore the brunt of the action and she was sent flying in the opposite direction.

Her foggy mind, pounding headache, and sluggish reflexes were of no help, and before she knew it, she felt her body falling into nothingness.

Her head hit the floor first, her legs in the air, resting against the edge of the bed. ~Ouch~. That hurt.

Olivia wanted to get up on her own, but she ~couldn’t~.

The upside-down position was exacerbating her already severe hangover and she couldn’t even muster the strength to think.

She heard Alexander scramble off the bed, and then he was beside her.

There he was, on his knees, looking down at her with a furrowed brow.

Sometimes, he was domineering—actually, ~most of the time he was domineering~—but then, he was also kind.

So far, he had seemed honest.

More honest than someone else she had trusted.

But then again, her ability to detect lies seemed to be malfunctioning.

Still, she trusted Will because he had been there for her during her darkest times. She had been alone and lost, with nothing to hold on to in this world. Alexander… It was different.

It was a gut feeling.

It was a voice inside her ~shouting~ that he was telling the truth. It didn’t make any sense; they barely knew each other.

“Livy?”

“Sorry,” she groaned.

He took her hand, helping her sit up.

“I—I thought you were gone.”

“I came back.”

She snorted. “Clearly.”

Olivia was dressed. He was semi-dressed. “Why aren’t you—um…” She gestured towards his exposed torso.

“I was grimy from the patrol and exhausted. Plus, someone was occupying my bed.”

“Right, my apologies.” She hadn’t intended to doze off. Maya had been rambling about werewolves, instincts, bonds, omegas, betas, alphas.

Just thinking about it made her head whirl.

She appreciated the information, but she’d need a hearty breakfast and several cups of coffee before she could digest it all.

She blinked. “Hold on, patrol?”

“There are other packs around, so we sometimes need to shift and check the territory.”

He was now making even less sense. She vaguely remembered Maya mentioning something about that. “Shift?”

He laughed, his chest vibrating with the sound, then propped his chin on his hand, his gaze fixed on her. “We ~must~ shift during a full moon, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it at other times.”

“I—but… I.”

“He told you that. Doesn’t mean it’s accurate.”

“Yeah, I’m beginning to see that.”

He let his hand fall from his face and instead reached for hers. He cupped her chin with his thumb and forefinger, tilting her head back.

“What happened?”

Will had deceived her. Will ~blamed~ her for something that wasn’t entirely her fault. Everything she thought she knew was crumbling around her.

Any of these could be responses, but none of them made it out of her mouth.

He didn’t like Will. Telling him what happened wouldn’t solve anything, and it wouldn’t provide her with unbiased answers. She wanted the truth.

She’d gleaned some information from Maya, but it wasn’t sufficient. She needed much more.

“I needed a break. From everything.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either.

She had questions for him.

But not at this moment. Later, when she didn’t feel like she was on her deathbed.

He seemed to ponder it, and she wasn’t sure he was convinced. He let go of her, his arm dropping to his side.

“Okay,” he said, catching her off guard. “You can stay here as long as you need.”

Right. This wasn’t her place. But she couldn’t go home yet. It was the same desperate feeling that had led her to call him.

She could take a break from work. They wouldn’t be thrilled, but she’d been accumulating vacation days.

Perhaps now was the time to use them. It would mean spending time with Alexander.

Despite the anxiety that caused, it wasn’t inherently bad. She’d made a lot of assumptions about him, and she probably owed it to him to get to know him without any preconceived notions.

“I—I could take a week off work.”

“A week it is.”

Hold on, she hadn’t agreed to spend the entire week here. “I—a week? I don’t have any belongings. And I can’t keep using Maya’s things.”

In fact, she now associated Maya with her throbbing headache. She didn’t want to see Maya or even think about wine right now. Oh God.

“I’ll fetch it for you.”

“Pardon?”

“Hand me a key, I’ll grab some of your stuff. That way you won’t run into him, right?”

So Maya had divulged a bit of what had happened. Yet, Alexander wasn’t questioning her about it.

She’d expected him to curse him out once he learned he was involved in her distress.

There were many facets of him she hadn’t seen yet. It was insane. She shouldn’t agree.

The logical, rational part of her brain knew that.

But her gut instinct? It wasn’t listening.

“Okay. Thank you.”

He smiled at her and she could swear her heart missed a beat.

Oh God.

She could only hope she wasn’t mistaken ~again~.

***

ALEXANDER

Getting to her apartment was quick. Naturally, he could have stayed with her but he didn’t want anyone else rifling through her things.

Besides, he wasn’t sure if that beta would linger and spy on her place.

He wasn’t about to risk a member of his pack for that jerk. The thought of dealing with him ~personally~ brought him immense satisfaction.

He didn’t have all the details, but he knew enough to believe that the guy deserved a good thrashing.

For the time being, he’d keep his cool, unless he was pushed.

He was finally making progress with Olivia and he didn’t want to mess that up.

One day that jerk would get what was coming to him, but not today.

There was a certain excitement in being alone in her apartment.

He knew he should be quickly gathering her belongings and leaving, but the desire to stake a claim on her was overpowering his better judgment.

He couldn’t claim ~her,~ her mind, and her body—not yet.

Instead, he succumbed to his primal instincts and left traces of his scent throughout her apartment. It wasn’t anything ~major~.

A brush of his fingers across the counter, a brief pause on her couch…~maybe he even buried his face in her pillow~.

He was consumed by thoughts of her. She invaded his thoughts even when he tried to think rationally.

Not only did he hope she felt the same way, but he also wanted it to be clear: she was taken. Sure, that fool was the only other wolf that came around, but that didn’t matter.

It was enough.

There might be consequences for his actions. After all, someone born a wolf like her ~friend~ should be able to detect the lingering presence he left behind but…

But that was his little treat to himself.

~A silent challenge.~

Once he was satisfied with his scent marking her living space, he grabbed a bag and started packing her things—clothes, toothbrush, books, anything he thought she might want with her.

He knew this was a temporary situation; she had said a week, but he wanted to make it more. The more comfortable he could make her, the better his chances.

Alexander took one last look around, and once he was satisfied, he left her apartment, glancing back. As he pocketed the key, he felt his nose twitch. He recognized that scent.

He took a deep breath, his chest expanding, and confirmed his suspicion; the little beta ~was~ stalking her. He turned and followed the scent, which led him straight to the elevator.

He held the backpack’s handle so tightly his knuckles turned white.

He could do it. He could keep his composure.

The doors opened, and as expected, ~he~ was there.

Alexander leaned his much larger body to the side, allowing Will to exit the elevator. His upper lip curled as he fought the urge to block his path, to keep him away from anything that was ~hers.~

He clenched his toes in his shoes, keeping his shoulders straight. ~Leave~, he repeated to himself over and over. ~Leave~. Finally, his feet obeyed his command, and he stepped onto the elevator.

He half-expected the fool to stop him, but he didn’t.

It hadn’t hit him yet. He hadn’t picked up on the scent, the ~presence~ of an alpha.

And this was the guy supposed to be protecting Olivia? What a joke.

It wasn’t that he thought she was ~defenseless~. As a human, he was sure she could handle herself. But this was different and this ~mentor~ of hers—if that’s what he could be called—had let her down in every way.

He hadn’t prepared her for the reality of their world. He had kept her sheltered. He knew once she saw through his scheme, she’d explode like a firecracker. She just needed to ~see~ it.

But already, there were signs.

Alexander pressed the button for the ground floor, noticing that Will had stopped his departure toward Olivia’s apartment. ~Ah~. There it was.

He waited for it, patiently.

He kept his gaze straight ahead, waiting for the little twerp to realize what he was. Any moment now, his dull senses would piece it together. And they did.

The turn of his head was in slow motion, eyes widening, lips parting.

But then their eyes met and Will looked like he’d been punched in the gut. His eyes hardened, tiny hands balling into fists at his sides and Alexander could ~hear~ the rush of his blood. ~He knew~.

The elevator doors began to close, but the intense stare between them remained unbroken.

And then Alexander smirked just before they closed.

~Game on, beta~.