Page 71 of Alpha Mates

“Of course you didn’t know!” he snaps, whirling on me. “You’re a fucking imbecile!”

Oh, shit.Cursing? Juliannevercurses.

“Okay, okay.” I step in and grab his shoulders, rub them comfortingly to cool him down before he pops a vessel. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. Breathe.”

He holds my gaze, his eyes molten and furious, before he finally closes them. He breathes slow and deep. When he looks at me again, I’m glad to see familiar,calmirises staring back at me.

“Don’t say sorry,” he mutters, sounding far more like himself. “I’m the one acting crazy.”

“I mean, I pushed you to that level of crazy, so it’s my fault,” I say with a small smile that I hope eases things. He doesn’t return it, so I drop it. “I didn’t realise that I was making you uncomfortable. I should’ve, and I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he says with a dismissive wave. “I know you guys aren’t actually… like we are. The bond just—”

“It can distort things,” I finish, and he nods. “I get it.”

“I don’t want you to stop speaking to Emitt. I just … just tone it down with the touching, please,” he says, his blue eyes flashing behind his contacts before he takes another breath. “I don’t like being controlled by emotions like this, especially when they involve you.”

“What emotions?” I ask as I squeeze his shoulders. “You mean the jealous ones? Because you got jealous over me?” I tease. He frowns, but his cheeks flush.

“Shut up,” he grumbles, stepping closer to me.

“Why? I think you’re kind of cute when you’re jealous,” I say, sliding a hand to his cheek.

He opens his mouth—definitely to tell me not to call him cute—but I shut him up with a kiss. He freezes, shock holding him taut before he tugs me closer. I smile against his lips, groaning my pleasure as he tilts his head and kisses me back, gifting me with that addicting rush of electricity that rattles through me.

I press closer, trying to deepen the kiss, but Julian pushes me away before I can.

“You still smell like him,” he says. He straightens his clothes and slips that detached mask back on. “Don’t kiss me when you smell like another man.”

Julian slips from the room without another word, leaving me lost, hard, and far too needy for himagain. I drag a hand over my face to stifle my groan.

I’m really not cut out for this mating shit, but fuck if I don’t love it.

Chapter 14

Julian

Julian,

Your mother and I are leaving for a few days to meet with our pack’s outer representatives. As you should know, ensuring your succession is secure in all areas is essential. Remember yourself, do not stray from your duties, and lead the pack precisely as you were taught.

“They left only an hour ago,” Beckett reports, breaking the silence that’s shrouded the office since the moment he handed me the note.

I hum before offering it back to him. He takes it, eyes hurriedly scanning the words before they rise to meet mine with a glowing fury.

“Say the word, and I’ll bring them back,” he says without hesitation.

“It would be better if you didn’t.”

I sound calm, which is a miracle, because calm is the last thing I feel right now.

As their son, I’ve learnt to live around my mother and father’s tendency to do whatever they pleased, as they pleased. But as their alpha…this blatant act of disrespect encourages my more primal side to surface.

Pack law—every pack’s law—states that no wolf is allowed beyond the borders without the alpha’s explicit permission. They’re the ones who taught me the Council’s laws, yet they’d actively defied them—defied me.

To anyone else, this could read as a well-intended act on behalf of their son, but I know my parents’ games as well as I know their tests, and this is a painfully obvious mix of the two. They’ve been silent since the coronation, but this is a message that even though I’m now alpha, in their opinion, I’m still not ready. Once they return, I’m sure they’ll be giddy to point out eachof my mistakes to prove that I still need them. But that would not be happening.

“We could postpone the training session,” Beckett offers.