Page 27 of Alpha Mates

I resist the urge to snoop and return to find Aiden stuffing empty plastic bags under the sink. Hands on hips, he turns to me.

“So?” He tilts his head. “Everything to your liking, Mr. Heil, or are the walls the wrong colour?”

“I know you think you’re funny, but you’re not. You’re like a child learning the alphabet.”

“I’ll have you know that I finished learning it last week,” he retorts, stretching his arms overhead. “If you’re good, then I’m going to bed. I’m tired as fuck. You can cook and read or whatever, just keep it quiet.”

I frown. “Don’t you need to eat too?”

“Aww, are you worried about me, Jewels?” he coos.

“I’m worried about my own life. If you die, I probably will too.” I step past him and open the fridge, scanning the fresh ingredients for something quick I can whip together. “I’ll make something, just be a good boy and sit.”

“I’m not in the mood, Julian,” he says. And for once, he sounds serious.

“Doesn’t matter if you are. Or have you forgotten our little problem?” I say while I sift through his fridge. “As long as I’m here, you can’t go that far. And I’m not leaving until I eat.”

“I fucking hate you,” he spits furiously, but when he walks away, it’s into the joint living room. “Just don’t take too long. And don’t you dare poison me.”

I smile to myself, fondly recalling the laxative incident.

“Too easy.”

“For a man who doesn’t eat meat, you make a damn good burger,” Aiden says, taking another huge bite of what he doesn’t know is a mushroom patty.

I try not to gag as I watch him chew without a shred of manners.

“And for a man who wasn’t hungry, you sure can eat a lot,” I reply, earning me a slitted glare from his side of the table.

He wipes his greasy lips with the back of his hand. “What’s in this?”

“Food.”

His right eye twitches. “You are the most infuriating person I’ve ever met.”

I smile for him. “And what do you think you are?”

Aiden shovels the last bite in, hate-eating while I wait for him to choke.

“Alright, I only got a few rules for the bedroom,” he says as he stands with his empty plate. “No snoring, no hogging the sheets, anddo nottouch me,” he rattles off as he dumps the plate in the sink. “You can empty a drawer if you need it, but the right side of the bed is mine.”

I force my mind away from the plate for a second. “What are you talking about? There’s a second room.”

Aiden looks at me, confusion warping to amusement. “Aw, were you planning on sleeping there? Look, I fucking wish, but I’m not about to risk suffocating in my sleep because a door slams in the middle of the night. We’re sharing.”

Dread drops into my stomach.

“This is true hell,” I whisper.

“Can’t argue with that.” Aiden shrugs. “If you don’t want the bed, youare most welcome to the floor. In fact, I encourage it.”

“I am not sleeping on the floor.”

“Up to you. Just don’t touch me, and we’ll be fine.”

“Trust me, there’s no risk of that.”

When Aiden heads for his room, I stop at the one I thought would be my respite to grab my bag before I follow.