Page 9 of Alpha's Chosen Mate (Wolf Billionaire #2)

CHAPTER 9

CHRISTIAN

F ive years ago

“Nothing comes for free, Christian,” my father says, kicking a fallen branch in his path. I know what comes next. I’ve heard it all my life. “If you wish to rule the world, you must seize it, not plead for it. Play by the rules, and you’ll forever be a pawn in someone else’s game.”

The humble Blue Moon packhouse comes into view, and curiosity floods me at the sight of children playing tag and wolf. I never had that—a normal childhood. My mother was an omega whore, and my father was a mated male who’d been trying for months to have a child with his wife. After I was born, he got rid of my mother, and I was raised by a bitter woman who found that her greatest pleasure was abusing a child.

Perhaps she’s why I turned out this way. My stepmother was, after all, my first kill.

Manuel snorts somewhere behind us, chuckling at his wife’s discomfort as he puts his hands in places we all can see. I’d feel sorry for her, but she knew what she was getting into when she married Manuel. He might be wealthy, but he’s a pig .

“Seducing the girl won’t be that hard. From what I hear, she’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.” My father places a hand on my shoulder, and his hard eyes hold mine as he squeezes painfully hard. “Mardoc must believe that you’re enamored with her. This marriage might just be for a treaty, but he’s no fool. He’ll never hand her over unless he truly believes she’ll be safe with us, and trust is not something we share with the Blue Moon Pack.”

Leilani Stone. I’d heard a little about her. She’s a tiny firecracker with more fire than sense. She earned that reputation when she threw herself headfirst into a fight with a man who touched her maid wrong. He was three times her size and she still swung at him, even if she knew nothing about dueling. She broke both fists trying to punch him, and the only reason she hadn’t been killed was because her father’s beta found her in time. A second later, and we’d be seeking different terms for this treaty.

I have as much interest in her as I do my father’s lectures—none. But I needed her if I wanted to rule the wolves one day. Joining the Blue Moon Pack to ours was a brilliant suggestion on my father’s part, but he didn’t see the big picture. Conquering the Dark Fangs and owning the Dark Alpha’s territory was my goal. That was true power. Hiding in the woods, scared of humans making treaties with them that are as fickle as their short lives and memories is pathetic. I want more than this life. More than these small territories and packs have to offer. There’s a hunger within me that spreads every day—for power, for love, for everything I have been deprived of.

Guards stationed at the entrance of the packhouse bow as we approach. An older man stands by the door, his shoulder tense as he watches us. “I am Morris, beta of the Blue Moon pack. The alpha has been expecting you.”

Of course he has. His first and only visit to our pack had ended on an unsure note. He’d extended an olive branch, but my father hadn’t been receptive. Mardoc left displeased, but he kept his word. There were no skirmishes, no attacks, no deaths. My father saw Mardoc’s desire for peace as a weakness and a sign of desperation, and he decided to play with it, using his favorite tool in the process— me.

I ignore the beta, stepping around him as I take in the ground floor. There’s nothing special about it. It’s too simple. Laughter fills the halls. The servants move about loosely, happily. More children run about, squealing joyfully. How…odd. Did Alpha Mardoc not enforce rules in his pack like my father did?

“I will take you to him,” the beta says, and I follow him as he leads us up a series of cramped staircases. The delicious smell of bread and spices carries through the house, and as we approach a small dining hall, I realize that we’ve caught them during breakfast.

“Come on, Dad,” a feminine voice whines from inside. “I’ll be back before midnight. And Georgia will be there!”

A deep masculine voice answers, “No.”

My nostrils flare as I catch a sweet scent. My mouth waters.

I hear a frustrated sigh and an angry stomp. “Mom, please. I’ve never been to a party. Everyone else has. Please let me go, just this once.”

Another sigh, this from another female. “Get off the table, Leilani.”

Morris turns to us. “I’ll inform the alpha that you’re here.”

My blood rushes and my pulse pounds in my ears. I swallow a growl, my senses confused by that intoxicating scent. Heat spreads to my groin, traveling along my skin until my clothes feel too tight. A purr resounds in my mind as my wolf howls with need. My eyes rise to the door, and my fingers itch to tear it off its hinges.

My father, oblivious to the growing turmoil inside me, waves Morris off and smiles, the scar on his bottom lip stretching wider. “That won’t be necessary.” He steps forward and pushes the door open, startling the family inside .

The chair screeches loudly as Mardoc stands abruptly. “Ken,” he says, amber eyes wide with surprise. “To what do I owe this visit?”

But my eyes aren’t on the alpha whose aura wars against mine and my father’s. The reason for my torment sits on the edge of the table, feet dangling above the floor as she scowls at us. Her red hair lights up like fire in the sunlight. Her amber eyes narrow with annoyance. Her full lips twist into a frown as her small nose scrunches up arrogantly, like she smells something foul.

I feel it in the very depths of my soul the moment her eyes meet mine.

She freezes, eyes widening with confusion as her pupils dilate with lust. Color rises to her cheeks, and I notice the faint freckles dusting her nose for the first time. Her lips part as she slides off the table with the gracefulness of a dancer.

Leilani can’t be taller than five foot three inches, an oddity among our kind, and she is dangerously curvy. The baggy slacks don’t hide her hips or ass, and I can almost imagine what lurks underneath that hideous sweatshirt. Her hair is up in a messy bun, stray strands falling over her face and teasing her flushed skin. She blinks once, twice, watching me as intently as I watch her. She reeks of innocence and sincerity. She looks like the kind of woman who’d love you forever after you fucked her once.

I expect a wave of disgust to rise. She isn’t my type of woman. I wasn’t cut out for love or commitment. I’m too damaged for that. Or too selfish, sick in the head, and depraved, as my exes would say. But the destructive need I feel erodes my senses. I look at her and know that I’ll keep her forever, whether she wants me or not. I’ll build her a tower and provide her with everything she needs, so she never leaves. She’ll live for me, exist for me, breathe only for me.

Defiance sparks in the depths of her gaze as she fights the effect of the bond. I don’t like that very much. If she’s my mate, there will be no fighting me. She will submit to me in everything, and obey my every command.

“You’ve met Christian...” My father’s words trail off as he notices the shift in the air. Mardoc looks between me and his daughter, and the beginning of a smile blooms on his mate, Clara’s, lips. She knows what this is. She seems excited for her daughter. She has no idea who or what I am. If she knew what kind of devil the Goddess has shackled her daughter to, she’d be horrified.

Leilani’s chest heaves. Once. Twice. She’s hyperventilating. Panicking. She takes one step in my direction, shakes her head like that will make it stop, and stumbles three steps back, like she doesn’t want to be in the room with me. Is she bothered that I’m the son of her father’s rival? Doesn’t matter. She’ll accept me.

“Mine,” I growl when she takes another step away from me, and her answer comes out in a harsh pant.

“Not with that attitude, I’m not. Someone piss in your pants?”

“Leilani!” her father chides, but I see right through the act. She’s rattled, and trying to gain control of her emotions. She’s only saying the first thing that comes to mind to buy herself enough time to process what’s happening. And they said she was a complete airhead. The intelligence behind her sharp eyes throws those rumors in the dust. There’s no way I could have seduced a woman like her unless she wanted it to happen.

Clara, the luna of the Blue Moon Pack, takes her husband’s arm. “Alpha Ken, we have so much to show you. I believe the children might need the room.” Her voice is laced with mischief as she adds, “For a while.”

I wonder if I could’ve turned out differently if I had a mother like her.

I feel my father’s gaze burning into the back of my head, and I don’t need another of his lectures to understand the message he’s trying to convey. We are here for a purpose. Leilani Stone is just a tool to that end.

Someone tell that to my dick and my wolf.

Leilani makes a run for the door the moment we’re alone, choosing to flee over confronting this, but I’m faster. I snatch her by the waist and kick the door shut.

“What the hell is wrong with you? You can’t touch me like that!” she yells, kicking at the air as I carry her over to the table. She hisses like a viper as I set her down on the hard surface. She stabs a finger into my chest, poking me with more strength than I expected from someone so tiny. “This isn’t happening.”

I arch a brow, letting my finger trail lightly across her skin as I cup her neck. “What isn’t?”

Her brows furrow in deep concentration as she struggles to find her words. “We...” She gasps as my finger teases her pulse point. “We’re not having sex.”

“Alright. Not now, then,” I murmur, even though I’m hard enough to burst through concrete. That’s how I know she’s trouble. I’m not thinking straight.

She attempts to smack my hand off her neck, but she shudders when her fingertips brush against my hand. They stay there. Her eyes are wide, and I know that whatever I tell her in this moment, she’ll never forget it. So I settle for something decisive as I pull her thighs apart and settle between them.

“I will be your first, and your last.”

She gasps, surprise flashing in her eyes. “How did you...?”

I can smell a virgin from miles away if I want to. Any male wolf can. The purity is an appeal, and Leilani Stone has appeal in spades. I trace my thumb along her bottom lip. She trembles, her thighs pressing down tightly on the table. “Have these lips been claimed by another?”

She swallows, but catches herself before she blurts out the truth. “That’s none of your business, actually. But since you’re asking, yes. I’ve had plenty of ? —”

I lean over and kiss her. She tastes like I knew she would—like a drug. I’ll keep her, even after I ruin her life and steal her joy. I will never let her go.

Present

I have her in my arms again, but it’s not the same. Her scent mingles with another man’s, driving me mad. I find the source of that scent on her left shoulder. “You let him touch you. You bear his mark!” I growl.

“He’s my husband,” Lei breathes, the scent of liquor and berries tickling my nose. “Let me go, Christian. I’m no longer yours to paw at.”

Her words fray the last bit of control I have left and I snarl, slamming my lips onto hers. Leilani pushes me and digs her nails into my skin, but I don’t let go. I’ve been away from her for too long. It’s like taking your first breath of air after being trapped underwater.

My arms wrap around her small, writhing frame, caging her in so she can’t run from me. She bites my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood and I kiss her harder, smearing it across her lip and her tongue until she tastes like me again.

At some point, my hold on her weakens enough for her to push back and hit me across the cheek, hard enough to break the kiss. I flex my jaw to ensure it’s still intact. “Never touch me like that again. You disgust me,” she hisses, tears glistening in her eyes.

My fingers twitch as it spreads through my entire body—that odd, cold feeling that overwhelms me when I don’t get what I want. The bitterness in her voice can’t be directed at me. She’s just drunk. She loves me. She can’t move on from me this quickly. I tried to get over her, but my efforts only made me more obsessed. “Lei?—”

“Don’t you dare.” Her voice shakes as she takes a step back, swaying a little. “I moved on. So should you. Does Georgia know you’re here, trying to seduce another man’s woman?” She chuckles. “Maybe she does. You’re both cut from the same shameless, unhinged cloth.”

I grab her arm before she can get any farther away from me. Her brows furrow as she frowns at where I touch her. Another tear slides down her cheek. “You hurt me, Chris. You can’t walk in here expecting to find me still crying over you. You fucked Georgia. You rejected me and made me feel like I wasn’t good enough. For a moment there, I thought it must’ve been my fault.” Her voice breaks and she leans against the wall. “I wondered if I really wasn’t good enough. If you deserved better than me. Your words festered until they almost ate me alive.”

Rage suddenly brightens her eyes, turning them into molten gold. “You know what made me see the truth, though? That you’re just a horrible piece of shit? The dinner with my family. You know, the one where I found out you were screwing my stepmother, too!”

“You’re right,” I whisper. “I hurt you deeply, but everything I did, I did for you. Don’t reduce everything we’ve been through into simple black and white. You paint me as a monster, when I’ve been doing everything I can to protect you.”

Leilani stares at me like I’m crazy. “Are you listening to yourself? You rejected me...for me?”

My jaw tightens. “You didn’t want to be luna. You said so every day. You wanted a simple, quiet life. I was going to give you that. With Georgia as luna, you would’ve been free. Still mine, but without the pressure of being luna.”

She snarls, like I just said something atrocious. “You’re crazy. I said that because I was overwhelmed. I was worried that I would fail you and your pack! I didn’t mean that I never wanted to be luna. I could’ve done anything, so long as you stood by my side!” A ragged sob rips out of her. “And Madeline?” She yanks her hand from my grip. “Oh, let me guess. You were trying to spare me from your sick fetishes?”

I cock my head, amused at her accuracy. “Correct.”

“Moon fucking Goddess!” she screams, and pushes me. “You’re insane!”

She turns away, stomping her bare feet against the ground like she always does when she’s mad. “You don’t walk away from me, Leilani.” My heart thuds slowly as fear creeps up my spine, threatening to cripple me. I lurch forward and pin her against the wall again, my forehead dropping to hers as I whisper, “Not you.”

I cup her cheeks, forcing her to look into my eyes. “Come home with me, Lei. I got us a house. Cozy, like you always wanted. I’ve been preparing it for some time, just for you, so you never have to lift a finger ever again. I understand that my methods seem odd to you, but I promise that if you come with me, you’ll understand everything. ”

She raises her chin, another tear running down her cheek. “I want nothing to do with you anymore, Christian. Let me go.”

I choke out a word I haven’t used often in my life. “Please, Lei.”

“Nothing you say will change my mind. Do us both a favor and leave before Asher finds and kills you.”

His name on her lips makes me see red. My grip tightens, and she winces. “Tell me you haven’t let him taste what’s mine.” She doesn’t respond. “Have you spread your legs for him? Fucked him like you have me?”

Her lips curl with disgust. “You don’t get to ask me that!”

“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want with you, Leilani.” I grip her shoulders and shake her hard. “Answer the damn question! Do you love him? Does he make your heart race? Does he know where and how to touch you to make you come? Does he understand you the way I do? You think he can love you more than I do?”

Her eyes are clouded with hurt and anger and confusion. And then, they turn empty. “And what has love given me? Pain? Betrayal? Rejection? The destruction of my reputation? I don’t want love anymore, Chris, not after all you’ve done. I’m staying with my husband because he’s all I have left. And to answer your first question…” She smiles coldly, angling her neck so I can see the full length of Asher Wilde’s mark. “You think I’d let a man close enough to mark me without giving my consent? Without, in your words... spreading my legs ?”

I let go so she won’t feel the trembling in my hands. I’m losing her, and I don’t know what to say or do to fix it. I’ve never had to plead for anything in my life, much less a woman’s affection. I grapple for words, for anything at all to make her stay. “I’ll fix everything. Come home with me, Lei, and we’ll forget this ever happened.”

Leilani shakes her head and laughs, pushing off the wall. “This…” She gestures between us. “This is over. Come to terms with it and stay the hell away from me.”

I watch her walk away from me, against my better judgment. Our time will come. I’ll never let her go. It won’t hurt to share her for a little while, just until I can make her mine again.