Page 19 of Rejected by My Stepbrother Alpha (Billionaire Shifter Club #1)

S cars

Ivy

The world around me took on a hazy, dream-like state. I forced my eyes to open as my arm throbbed with pain.

Asher ran back toward me. I recognized him as soon as he shot out of the woods to fight off my attacker.

I'd never seen him in his wolf form. His other form was a massive, light-brown creature.

He was one of the biggest wolves I'd ever seen.

I had just known it was him. And it hadn't been my mind that told me. It had been my heart and soul.

Asher ran up to my side and dropped a tattered cloth that he had been carrying in his mouth. A moment later, he was a giant wolf sitting beside me, then he shifted back into his human form.

“Ivy!”

Oh Goddess…

In the back of my mind, I registered that the large piece of fabric must be the shirt that he had been wearing before he shifted. Asher grabbed his shirt that had been torn to ribbons, kneeled beside me, and tightly tied it around my wound to stop the bleeding.

But I couldn't focus on anything besides Asher's naked body. I'd seen him naked seven years ago of course, but my memory had not done him justice. His muscles had only become more developed over the years.

Desire thrummed through me that was so intense I couldn't ignore it. Or, more accurately, I couldn't outrun it.

And I didn't want to.

As he saw to my injury, all of my self-restraint and common sense left me as I greedily took in his powerfully built shoulders and deep collar bones that I wanted to run my tongue over.

Sweat dripped down his tan chest, reminding me of our night together.

Asher had worked up a sweat for an entirely different reason, then.

The body heat coming off him made my head spin, and I unconsciously bit my bottom lip.

His stomach muscles tensed as he shifted to double knot the shirt around my arm, and I swallowed as I counted how many ab muscles he had—ten in total.

The beautiful bastard.

His warm arm was pressed against mine, and his bare thigh was touching my leg. When he looked up at me with those deep hazel eyes, my heart slammed inside my chest.

He was close enough to kiss.

My lust and attraction for Asher made me forget all the reasons I had to despise the man tenderly treating my wounds. My hormones took over, and I leaned toward him just a fraction of an inch.

But it was enough to catch his attention.

“Ivy,” he whispered, his eyes glancing down to stare at my lips.

A quiet gasp escaped me. I'd been going by Ivinia for so long that I wasn't used to my real name. Hearing my name on Asher's lips nearly undid me.

We shared a long look, studying each other like we were trying to commit the other to memory.

My heart burned when I saw all of the similarities between Adrian and Asher.

My son had inherited his father’s thick, light-brown hair and his strong, square chin.

But it was the gentle look in Asher’s eyes that I always saw in Adrian’s that affected me the most.

This close, I noticed that the scar above Asher’s eyebrow hadn't actually grown fainter, like I had originally thought.

In the bright light of his office, it had just appeared that way.

But now, from the light of the moon, I could see every inch of his handsome face.

My hand twitched involuntarily. I wanted to trace his scar and ask him how he got it.

Did he still have the scar on the palm of his left hand from when we cut ourselves at the mating ceremony? Mine had grown faint over the years.

Asher's eyes shut, and his head tilted just slightly to the side.

My body trembled as I allowed my eyes to flutter close, and I leaned closer to him.

Our lips touched only a fraction of an inch, and pleasure zinged down my spine.

Yes. More.

At that moment, my head spun. But not from desire. From blood loss. The world around me was no longer like a dream.

Pain, fatigue, and resentment replaced my desire.

Finally, my common sense had appeared.

Summoning all the willpower I could muster, I jerked away from him, almost slamming my head into the back of the building. Thankfully, I managed to stop my momentum before I got a concussion.

Pull yourself together.

Was I actually about to kiss the man who had rejected me as his Mate? All because he was attractive and had whispered my real name? Was it that easy for me to get caught up in his orbit again?

Because he had done all the same things the night we'd slept together. Then, he had pretended like that night had never happened and said that I was dishonorable to my pack—words that still haunted me.

This was why I didn’t want to work with him on the project. I couldn’t trust myself not to get sucked back into his games.

His eyes sprung open and were full of lust and confusion.

I pointedly scooted away from him and lifted my chin.

“Thank you for…saving me,” I said begrudgingly.

“But I only needed saving because that asshole caught me by surprise, attacked me from behind, and ripped a chunk out of my arm. I would have shifted if I hadn’t lost so much blood.

I’m pretty sure the bastard hit an artery.

” I paused and looked behind him into the dark wo ods.

I became dizzy from even that small movement.

“How did you get here so fast? Are you stalking me?”

Asher sighed and leaned his back against the wall. “I just happened to be running through the woods,” he said with a guarded expression. “Do you have any idea who would attack you out of nowhere? You just arrived in Sun Fire, didn't you? How could someone even know that you’re here?”

“I didn't leave any enemies here if that's what you're implying,” I snapped, my anger rising as the wound on my arm throbbed with pain. “Well…except for you.”

Asher's eyes widened with surprise, and he frowned. “Me?”

“Yes, you,” I said. “You seemed to really hate me the last time we saw each other.” I paused and narrowed my eyes. “Or has the mating ceremony slipped your mind?” I held up my left hand to display my fading scar, wincing from the discomfort radiating down my arm.

His expression softened, and he held up his hand, showing me the faint pink line that was tainting his smooth tan skin.

“Of course I remember.” A look of realization crossed his face.

“Is that why you pretended not to know me earlier today at the meeting? Because of, well, everything that happened?”

His inconsiderate question made my walls come up. I closed my hand and turned away from him. “Obviously, Asher. I wasn't about to rehash our past in front of our business associates. I'm not a moron.” I didn’t say it out loud, but it was heavily implied I thought he was.

“How could I forget about you?” I continued. “You're the one responsible for the most embarrassing moment of my life.” I meant for that to come out mocking, but there was a small catch to my voice that betrayed my unresolved feelings of betrayal from his rejection.

Asher's expression changed. “Oh, Ivy…”

As soon as I saw the pity on his face, I moved away from him and attempted to stand despite my injury.

Screw his pity. I didn't need it or want it.

“You know what? Don’t you dare feel bad for what you did to me.

I'm happy that you rejected me.” His eyebrows raised, which made me even angrier.

“You rejecting me made me into the strong, confident woman I am today. Sorry to break it to you, but I haven’t spent the last seven years crying and pining over you.

I actually went out and made something of myself.

” I paused and sucked in a breath, not even close to done with him.

“The way you treated me helped me realize my self-worth and not to accept bullshit from anyone…

especially men. So don't you dare look at me with pity in your eyes.” My chest was rapidly rising and falling with anger.

“I can attend to my own wounds, thanks. I have been for seven years.” My rage seeped through my words like water escaping a crack.

“I'd rather bleed out than spend one more moment with you.”

“Wait, Ivy. Please, don't go.”

There was a note of pleading in his voice that I'd never heard before.

I froze and sat back down.

What more could he possibly have to say to me?

“It's Ivinia now,” I murmured through gritted teeth, still refusing to look him in the eye.

“Ivinia,” Asher said softly and gently brushed my shoulder to get my attention.

Against my better judgment, I looked at him. His face was closer than I'd expected, and my stomach swooped with anticipation even though I was still pissed as hell.

He swallowed, ran a hand through his hair, and then met my gaze.

“When I was running through the woods tonight, I thought about your mating ceremony.” He reached out his left hand and grasped mine.

My heart lurched at the contact. Our scars from the ceremony were now pressed against each other.

“And I need you to know that I am truly sorry for rejecting you in front of the pack.

I'm sorry for rejecting you in the first place.

You didn't deserve that, and I'm now realizing the full scope of my actions.”

My jaw dropped.

I would have never thought that I'd get an apology from Asher for rejecting me. I thought I'd be carrying these unresolved feelings about that night with me for the rest of my life. But a weight lifted off my chest from his apology. I was still angry with him, but my fury had slightly reduced.

Before I could even begin to formulate a response, the door opened behind us, and Damian ran out.

“Ivinia? What’s going on?” he asked. “When I looked out the window, I saw you sitting out here and you looked hurt…” He trailed off and his face grew white when he saw the wound on my arm. “Holy shit!”

I looked down at my injury. Blood was dripping past the impromptu bandage Asher had secured. I hadn’t even noticed it was bleeding through his shirt. I’d been caught up in all things Asher.

“A wolf came out of the woods and attacked me,” I explained. “I’m not sure who it was or why. Asher chased them away.”

Damian hurried over to where we were sitting, bent down, and picked me up.

“We need to get you to a healer,” he said with an anxious expression.

Asher shot to his feet. “I can take her to my pack healer.” His voice held authority. Asher had switched to his Alpha persona quickly. “I was just about to, actually.” There was a jealous edge in his tone as he glared at Damian.

What the hell was happening?

With a jolt, I realized that Asher didn’t know Damian was my brother.

“I can take it from here,” Damian said with ice in his voice.

They scowled at each other for another moment, and then Damian whisked me away from Asher. As he carried me through the door, I looked back at my former Mate one last time.

Our eyes locked, and a muscle ticced in Asher’s jaw.

My heart dropped, but I forced myself to look away and ignore the small part of me that wanted to stay with him.