Page 35 of Forced Alpha Bride

The kitchen is separate from the dining area, so Winnie and I end up sharing tea and sandwiches at the counter. She keeps her eyes down and doesn’t talk to me, which only adds to my anxiety.

It’s like the whole fucking town is shoving it right in my face that I’m not good enough, even this damn house!

“So, Winnie,” I begin, deciding I might as well get the hard part over and done with first. “I think we should discuss your duties.”

“Excuse me?” she answers, looking up with wide eyes.

“You’re my wife. The luna. I expect you to be by my side at all official meetings and support me in all my new laws.”

“Okay,” she says, finishing her sandwich. “That seems reasonable.”

“You’re to dress appropriately and refer to me with respect at all times.”

“Excuse me?”

“And show affection in public. Nothing overdone, of course. Just hand-holding, kissing my cheek, that kind of thing.”

Winnie’s eyes are getting wider as she stares at me, and her cheeks turn a sweet, rosy pink.

I love it when she blushes. She’s so cute.

“We’ll have servants, of course,” I go on. “So, you won’t be expected to do any housework, but I do expect you to care for me most of the time.”

“Care for you?” she echoes.

“Yeah. Bring me coffee in the morning, make sure there’s always clean clothes ready, that kind of thing.”

For almost a full minute, all she does is stare at me, and the color slowly drains out of her face.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

I shake my head. “No. Believe me, if this were a joke, you’d know it.”

“You have to be out of your goddamn mind!” she says, her voice rising. “You kidnap me, drag me down the mountain, force me into a shotgun marriage, and now you think I’m going to kiss up to you in public and bring you fucking coffee!”

I don’t even move in the face of her outburst, calmly looking into her eyes as she gets up on her toes to yell at me, clenching her fists by her sides.

She’s so fucking cute!

“I would call that rescuing you, saving your life, and ensuring your compliance with a contract you willingly signed,” I say in a steady voice.

Her eyes flicker, and she steps back a bit, one of her hands twitching as if she wants to slap me.

Well. Looks like this is about to get interesting.

“How dare you,” she bites out. “You threatened me, you threw Krista in the dungeon—”

“Which I had every right to do. She moved against me directly, so I had no choice. I could have had her arrested or killed. She got off easy.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

I chuckle softly. “Perhaps I was never fully in it to begin with. Krista didn’t just disobey the alpha; she interfered with a legally binding contract. Porter’s has, like, ten pages of terms and conditions.”

“You read them?”

“Sure. Didn’t you?”

Winnie’s mouth twists as her fury rises, and I watch with fascination as the emotion floods through her, making her cheeks flush and her blue eyes burn like they’re lit with flames.