Page 17 of Rejected by My Stepbrother Alpha (Billionaire Shifter Club #1)

S weet and Sinful

Ivy

“How was your day with Grandpa?” I asked Adrian as I tucked him into bed.

After I rejected Asher’s proposal to work together, Damian and I came back to our hotel and began to workshop ideas for the Alpha king’s project.

The four of us were staying on the same floor, and Adrian’s room was connected to mine.

After we were finished working, we had a quick dinner with our father and Adrian in the hotel’s restaurant, and then it was my son’s bedtime.

Since Adrian was in a new place, it was important to keep his routine the same so he didn't feel overwhelmed as he adjusted to his new surroundings.

My favorite part of the day was getting Adrian ready for bed.

I loved his sweet giggles as he splashed around the bath.

I loved helping him pick out his pajamas—all of them race car-themed—and reading him a story after I tucked him in.

I cherished every bath, every story, and every hug because I knew that they were numbered with each passing day.

My little boy was growing up too fast. I knew that Adrian's childhood would go by fast, but I hadn't been prepared for the way watching him grow would make me feel .

“It was fun!” Adrian answered and shoved his hair out of his eyes as he settled into his bed. “He surprised me with a new car, and he even brought the racing track from his house. He set it up in his room so we could race our cars.”

I smiled as I pictured my father packing up the racing track he kept at his house for his two grandsons. The love he held for those two boys was one of my favorite things about my dad.

“Did you do your school packet?” I asked.

“Yes, Mom,” my son said with a little huff.

I laughed and ruffled his hair.

At the daycare, Adrian worked on a school packet every day to prepare him for next year, and I made sure to bring it with us.

“Which story do you want me to read tonight?” I asked and eyed the pile of kids books I’d put on Adrian’s bedside table. “Maybe The Little Werewolf and the Witch or your favorite, Goodnight Little Shifter?”

“Hm…Goodnight Little Shifter.”

My heart melted as he grinned up at me, patiently waiting for me to read the story.

He had lost two of his baby teeth already, and it was just another reminder that he was growing up.

I used to read Goodnight Little Shifter when I was pregnant with Adrian out loud, and I knew my unborn baby liked it because he would kick with excitement every time I read it.

When I opened the book, a nostalgic feeling settled over me. Adrian was fast asleep before I even got to the second page.

Quietly, I closed the book, kissed his forehead, and shut off his bedside light.

Back in my room, I considered calling it a night and getting ready for bed, but I was too agitated.

I couldn't sit down right now, let alone relax enough to fall asleep.

Seeing Asher for the first time in seven years had stirred up all the feelings that I'd been suppressing since I left the BloodMoon Pack and Asher behind.

Emotions like powerlessness, betrayal, and worthlessness.

No.

Asher Callahan might have been able to make the old Ivy feel worthless and rejected.

But I wasn't going to let him affect the new me—Ivinia Blackwood.

I was a respected in our business. I had a hand in most of our company's million dollar accounts.

I could choose how Asher's presence would affect me these next upcoming weeks.

Even though we weren't working together on the project, I'd see Asher at the mandatory check-in meetings Anya had planned for all the companies to present their ideas.

I had a plan when we came face-to-face again.

I was going to treat him with the same cruel indifference he had shown me seven years ago.

Well, except for one night…

Without my permission, an image of Asher’s naked and sweaty body against mine popped into my head. The feeling of his thumb against my clit as he pumped his hard—

Stop!

Immediately, I forced the memory out of my mind and took a few deep breaths.

Why did the bastard have to become even more attractive? Now, when he starred in my fantasies, I would be imagining him how he looked now instead of back then.

I left my room, deciding to go for a walk to clear my head. I knocked on Damian’s door and he answered wearing a white shirt and black pajama pants.

“Do you mind staying in my room while I go for a walk to keep an ear out for Adrian?” I asked. “He’s already asleep and I shouldn’t be too long.”

“I’m about to call Sage and Matteo. I won’t wake him up, will I?”

Since Mateo was starting first grade soon, Damian’s son and his wife had to stay in ColdCrest. I knew that my brother missed his family. Today he had video called them three times and that was just when I was around him.

One of the main reasons I didn’t go back to ColdCrest to get away from Asher was because my brother was making sacrifices to be here.

Damian was a devoted husband and father.

He loved his family more than anything. But he was willing to give up time with them and even miss Mateo’s first day of first grade for the good of our company. I could make a few sacrifices, too .

“Nah, you know that kid. He can sleep through almost anything,” I said.

Damian grabbed his phone and we walked across the hallway. After I let him into my room, I grabbed my blue cardigan, and left. I rode the elevator down to the hotel lobby. My footsteps echoed through the spacious room as I walked across the marble floor.

There was a little sitting area outside that led to a trail in the woods behind the hotel.

I put on my cardigan to fight off the night's chill and sat on the bench. I looked up at the bright moon, then my eyes strayed to the hotel roof. Although I couldn’t see it, I knew that there was a pool there.

This was the same hotel I had snuck into and climbed onto the roof of the morning after my mating ceremony so I could watch the sunrise.

It was the rooftop where I had realized I might be pregnant with Adrian.

Staying here brought back old memories of betrayal and rejection, but there were only two luxury hotels in Sun Fire.

And I didn’t want to even think about the emotions staying in the other hotel would torture me with.

After seven years of living without Asher, how could seeing him again make me feel like I couldn’t live another day without him?

I sighed and looked down at the moon’s reflection on the pond. All of a sudden, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.

Quickly, I turned and scanned the woods, but I didn't see anything. The forest was quiet tonight. The oak trees and bushes were still and silent. The only sound I could hear was the faint hoot of an owl. After a moment, my heartbeat began to return to normal, and I let out a sigh of relief.

I knew that I was on edge because I had just seen Asher after all these years.

I couldn’t stop thinking about him. The new intense look in his gorgeous hazel eyes.

The brown beard with a red tint that my fingers itched to feel.

The insistent, annoying urge to simply be next to him that hadn't faded over time.

Although it felt good to snub him today, something deep inside of me still yearned for him, and I had no idea why.

Despite everything that he had put me through, there was still a pull and desire for him that was soul deep.

We used to be Fated Mates but our bond was broken. Asher had made sure of that.

My phone vibrating in the pocket of my jeans was a welcome distraction. I smiled when I saw that Maeve had texted me.

Maeve and I had always kept in touch and three years ago, I invested in her makeup company, Sweet and Sinful Shades.

My investment turned out to be a good business venture for both of us.

Sweet and Sinful Shades was now a million-dollar business.

Now, Maeve was married and had two twin girls.

Since Maeve and I were both businesswomen and parents, it was hard to get together.

But when I told her that I was traveling back to BloodMoon for work, she demanded that we find the time to see each other. She wanted our kids to be best friends despite living so far away. She was convinced they would get along despite their four year age difference.

I opened up my messages and read the one from Maeve.

How did it go with Asher today?? Please tell me that you kneed him in the balls. Also, I can't believe you're only a few hours away from me! I NEED to see you soon.

Her text made me laugh, and instead of just messaging her back, I wanted to call her. What had happened with Asher—and all of my complex emotions about it—was too long to explain over text. And I knew I’d feel better after hearing my best friend's voice.

But before my thumb could hit the “call” button, a noise came from behind me that filled my body with cold dread.

That sound was unmistakable.

It was the pounding of a wolf's paws on the ground…headed right for me.