Page 42

CHAPTER 42

Soren

My head was killing me but the fever was finally gone. I didn’t feel like I was going to kill anything that moved and my dick wasn’t in excruciating pain anymore.

I did feel dehydrated which was unusual for me after a rut.

That wasn’t the only thing that was different though.

Lavender pheromones covered everything.

My stomach flipped when it all started coming back to me.

Glancing over at the pile of blankets beside me, I told myself it was all just a fever dream.

There was no way any of that actually happened. I’d just been hallucinating from all the pent-up pheromones like I usually did. The only difference this time was that Frankie was the star of my fantasies instead of some faceless woman.

I lifted up the blanket and my stomach lurched again when I saw red hair sprawled across the mattress.

This couldn’t be happening.

Slowly, I placed the blanket back over her and then stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out what the fuck I was going to do now.

I was pretty sure the thing that was fucking with my head the most was that none of it had been a fever dream. My rut hadn’t conjured her up to torture me with. She’d actually showed up and offered to help me.

Frankie James took my virginity.

I ran my hand over my face, trying not to laugh.

This was so far out of the realm of possibilities I might as well be in outer space. There was no way Frankie would be so willing to help another alpha through their rut. That was just insane.

…right?

I turned my head to study the pile of blankets beside me.

She was a blanket hog. No surprise there. But the way she slept was fucking bizarre. She didn’t use a pillow and slept on her stomach with her hands up near her face like an exhausted child.

I wanted to slide under the blankets with her and just watch her sleep, but I didn’t know what I’d do if she woke up. I was still reeling from the reality of this situation and adding whatever reaction she had to mine when she woke up wasn’t something I could handle right now.

What if she freaked out? It was entirely possible she’d regret this the moment she realized it was me and not someone else.

I don’t even remember everything that happened after she used her alpha voice on me.

All I remembered was how good it felt.

She’d covered me in her pheromones too. I could barely smell my own scent and it was making my dick hard.

I should get washed up first and then figure out what I should do.

Rolling out of bed as smoothly and quietly as possible so she wouldn’t wake up wasn’t as easy as it should have been.

My legs didn’t give out, but every muscle in my body ached.

I stood and ran my hand over my chest where it hurt the most, pausing when I saw all the bruises and bite marks.

She’d torn into me real good. Some of the teeth marks had pierced through the skin and had scabbed over in a few places.

Every single mark was in the purple and green stage of a bruise, some of them darker where they overlapped. Even my nipples were swollen and I ran my hand through my hair, wanting to laugh.

I didn’t think she’d be so possessive when she wasn’t the one in rut. I certainly wasn’t mad about it, but she might be when she woke up and saw just how far she’d gone.

Frankie wasn’t the most stable person in the world. I’d gathered that much at least. Her behavior was erratic and unpredictable, but she wanted this or she would have left when I told her to.

Unfortunately, I didn’t think she’d be happy to see I was aware of how just badly she wanted it.

And then there was the issue of my employer.

I made my way through the apartment as silently as possible, pausing when I saw all my gear laid out on the dining room table.

Every time I had my rut, I went through and cleaned every single weapon I owned.

Taking them all apart, cleaning and oiling them, then putting them back together. If it had a blade, I sharpened and oiled it. If it was ammunition, I counted them and arranged them by size and weapon.

It looked like I only got through a little over half of it before Frankie had showed up.

Deciding to leave it there, I headed to the guest bathroom. There was no point in hiding any of it when I needed to tell her what was going on anyway.

I just had no idea how to bring it up.

Finding out I was hired to spy on her would piss her off and I didn’t want to do that before she ate something. She’d storm out of here reeking of my pheromones while starving and exhausted after I’d worn her out.

That was the last thing I wanted.

I turned on the shower and kept the water cold. I was sticky and my dick was sore but just thinking of everyone smelling my pheromones on her had me as hard as a rock.

Frigid water shocked the system but it still took a few minutes for my arousal to go down.

Scrubbing my hair with shampoo, I tried to figure out how to broach the subject.

The longer I waited, the worse her reaction was going to be.

I had to figure out what I was going to do about my employer too. I hadn’t spent any of the money they’d wired me, but I didn’t think I could just send it back and cancel the contract either.

Despite being hired by a third party, I knew my employer was part of the Lopez pack. That made me a loose end.

The only way to avoid an early death was to eradicate the cause of that death.

Unfortunately, only one person could help me figure out who that was and it wasn’t Frankie.

I needed to call Leo even though that was the very last thing I wanted to do.

Frankie came first though.

I had to make sure she was okay. If she freaked out when she woke up, then I’d deal with it.

For whatever reason, she responded well to my pheromones. There was a chance I could get her to calm down but only if she allowed it, because Frankie had insane control of her pheromones.

Come to think of it, everyone I’ve met from the Lopez pack did.

Granted, I’ve only met two of them, but I didn’t think the Lopez alpha would be any different. Or anyone he's trained.

How did they manage that? What kind of training did he use exactly?

I finished washing up and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around my waist before brushing my teeth.

Once I was done, I headed back to my bedroom, hoping she was still asleep.

I could only imagine how exhausted she was. An alpha’s rut was no joke and we’d been at it for days per my phone.

Looked like that psycho had texted me yesterday too.

If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.

And if you kiss her, I’ll rip you apart, limb by limb, and then feed you to the rats.

A wave of fury washed over me when I realized why she’d been so adamant about not kissing me.

I didn’t know how, but this asshole was definitely to blame.

Frankie let out a soft sigh and I went completely still.

Had I let my anger color my scent? I didn’t think so, but the pheromones were so thick in here it was hard to tell.

I crossed the room and opened the window so it could air out. Then I opened the top drawer of my dresser to grab a clean pair of sweats.

The last thing I needed was to be naked around her when she woke up.

I needed to make food and have it ready as quickly as possible for the both of us.

Two hangry alphas was a recipe for disaster.

Leo was a problem for a different day.

“Soren?”

Shit, I was too late.

I yanked on my sweats and pulled my towel off before heading to her side of the bed. Then I crouched down and lifted the blanket just enough I could see her face.

Except she wasn’t staring at me with those big blue eyes of hers.

She stared at me with grey ones.

My heart jumped into my throat and I tried to understand what the fuck I was looking at. My first thought was this wasn’t Frankie but someone else and I’d just imagined spending my rut with her, but that red hair was definitely Frankie’s.

She even had the same beauty mark just under her left eyebrow.

Plus, that velvety voice of hers…

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

It was so like her to ask me that when she was the one with some weird shit going on that all I could do was stare at her in disbelief.

“You look pretty banged up,” she murmured, her cheeks flushing as her eyes roamed over my bare chest. “I didn’t hurt you did I?”

What the fuck was going on?

Tossing the blanket back, I reached for her, burying my nose in her neck as I settled my hand over her pulse.

I breathed her in deep – looking for anything that would tell me why her eyes would change color but would keep her scent exactly the same.

Maybe it was a little stronger than usual, but she still smelled like lavender and honey with a hint of tangerine.

I pulled back and searched her neck for any sign that I’d bitten her there.

Had I accidentally bonded her? I didn’t think it was possible for one alpha to bond another, but that was the only thing I could think of to explain why her eye color had changed.

“Soren?”

The way her voice sounded so small made my heart clench, like she’d punched through my chest to squeeze it with her own hand.

“I’m fine,” I promised her, rubbing my thumbs over her cheeks to reassure her. “What about you? How are you feeling?”

“A little sore, but otherwise I’m fine.” She propped herself up on her elbow and watched me with an almost nervous expression. “Why are you so worried about me when I’m the one who made you cry and beg?”

I froze.

If I wasn’t so freaked out, my face would probably be bright red right now. I didn’t remember doing that, but I firmly believed she’d gotten me to do it. It was all hazy after that alpha command, but I would have done anything she wanted at that point.

Even beg and cry.

“I don’t remember much after we came in here,” I admitted, tilting her head from one side to the other to check her neck. “Did I ever bite you?”

“Well, yeah.” She blushed again and sat up, holding the blanket to her chest. “But I told you to.”

What?

I didn’t see any marks on her neck though so what was she talking about?

Then she tucked her hair behind her ear and I saw it. A big fat bruise on her wrist with a circle of teeth marks so deep that each one was still pretty bloody looking.

I tried not to panic, but I couldn’t remember if it was possible to bond anyone with a bite mark on their wrist, let alone an alpha to another alpha.

“It wasn’t just me,” she muttered, looking away like she was embarrassed.

Yeah, I saw the mark on my own wrist, but that didn’t mean anything necessarily. My eyes hadn’t changed color and in the worst-case scenario, it was a platonic bond that would fade in a day or two.

But this didn’t look temporary.

“I’m not upset, but…” I stood and grabbed her face, angling it so the sunlight would shine right in her eyes.

They were definitely not blue anymore. They were a very pretty grey that reminded me of a dark, stormy sky over the ocean.

“Soren, you’re scaring me.”

I studied her face, surprised to see she really did seem scared.

I had to tell her. No matter how nervous I was about how she’d react, I had to tell her. If I’d bonded to her by accident…

“I didn’t mean to,” I managed. “I didn’t even think it was possible.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Frankie…your eyes are grey.”