Page 73 of A Female Alpha for the Lycan Prince

“No!” A sudden wave of horror hits me. Other wolves are after her? She’s my fucking mate, and they want in her pants? They only see her beauty and her rank, but there is so much more to her! “Why would she even consider that!?”

“Are you serious?” his voice vibrates in suppressed anger. He’s getting fed up with our conversation. “You fight the mate bond, tell her you don’t want her, and when she tries to move on, you won’t let her? Did you ever consider her feelings?” He pauses, his eyes boring into me. “I know you’re hiding something and that you think it’s so bad you can’t share it with me,” he says to my surprise. “And I can’t believe you truly want to hurt her.”

I feel my nerves tensing, my defensive mechanism kicking in instantly. It has become second nature to me over the years. No way. I can’t allow him to know. No freaking way! “What do I care?” I yell in sudden fury. “You think I would bang and mate just any slut, like you?”

I can see wrath pooling in his eyes. Before I can even react, he has grabbed me by my shirt and slapped me hard. I flinch at the impact. Oh, shit, that hurt. What hurts more though, is the way my brother looks at me. I still momentarily, feeling dread settle inside me. Please don’t hate me, just don’t hate me… Liam is my last safety net, I can’t lose him.

Fuck, what the hell am I even doing here!?

I should have just told him everything. I should have just said what’s going on. Maybe… maybe he would have believed me.

Dante appears from behind him. He looks torn, though. Like he’s uncertain how to proceed from here on.

“I don’t understand,” Liam yells and shakes me. He looks furious, his control is slipping. “What did these two innocent women ever do to you to be treated like this by you!? How do they deserve the pain you keep inflicting on them? Do you realize how much you’ve broken your mate?”

“Liam,” Annie’s voice reaches us. I didn’t even realize she had come into the room. She grabs his arm to make him let go of me. She always does that, protecting everyone. Why? Not everyone is worth protecting. She keeps looking at him, probably linking him. “There is something I want to tell you,” she says. “I want you to be fully here for it, Liam.” To my surprise, his grasp softens. I don’t know how she does it. She’s the only person who can rein in Fenris that way. “Leave for now,” she says and turns to look at me. Her gaze is firm, it’s hard to read what she’s thinking. “And just so you know, I’m not just any slut. Neither is Celine.”Oh shit, she heard me. That wasn’t planned. She shouldn’t have been here. The gaze my brother throws me says it all.

*ANNALISE*

Liam’s grip on Marius’ shirt loosens, and Marius tumbles free. I just tell him to leave for now. I know he is battling something. I know something or someone scarred him so deeply that he shoves everyone around him away, but I can’t believe he just called Celine a whore. That he would even say something like that.

Thanks to the whole ruckus, Aryanna appeared too and stumbled right into the scene. She is smart enough to put two and two together and looks sincerely worried now.

I’m still feeling torn between being pissed at Marius for what he said and feeling sorry for how he self-sabotages himself.

But I have a different problem at hand here for now.

Liam has turned his head to me. His eyes are dark, indicating that his lycan Fenris is on the surface. “Hello, my Alpha mate,” I whisper as I approach him and take his face between my hands.

He growls both in appreciation of me touching him and in annoyance that I stopped him from laying down the law in front of his brother. “Mate,” he grumbles. “What did you want to tell me?”

“Can’t you guess?” I purr, leaning closer against him, so his nose is buried in my hair.

He takes a deep breath, obviously wanting to say something when he stiffens. He sniffs again.

“It’s barely there, isn’t it?” I smile. “I didn’t notice myself for a while.”

Now that Fenris is distracted, I turn to Aryanna.

You are…A smile lights up her face.Goddess, Luna, congratulations!

Thank you, Ari. And now I need you to do something.

Anything,she promises.

Go and look for him.I say.And prevent him from doing something stupid.

Are you serious, Luna?She wants to know.

I know he fucked up,I tell her.But he needs someone now, and he trusts you more than anyone else here.I pause.I’m mad too, but he is self-sabotaging himself, Ari. Something is seriously wrong here, and I’m scared that if we don’t make him open up, we might lose him forever.

Aryanna nods at me before turning on her heels and silently leaving the room. I gesture towards Dante to leave too, and he follows my command, just briefly stopping to smile at me.

“And now that we are alone,” I look into Fenris’ eyes, waiting for a while until I can see how one eye turns from black to ice blue. They are both with me now. “We are expecting a baby.”

Before I can even say anymore, Liam and Fenris have grabbed me and twirl me around before pressing me against their chest. “Is this true!?” Liam blurts out.

“It’s why I was feeling so sick,” I chuckle. “When I stayed the night in Silverlake with Ella and Celine, it finally occurred to me to take a test. I wanted to surprise you with the news today, but well…”