Page 121 of Rejected By the Shifter King

Why did it feel like he had violated all of those rules the moment he had mated with Samira? It was as if their souls had suddenly become fused as one being, his heart now beating in rhythm with hers. When he had thought himself in love with Brandy, he had seen his feelings for her as his right to claim ownership of her body.

But with Samira, it was completely different.

Something about her just messed him up completely, and his jaw clenched as he headed up the stairs, and another memory assailed him when the tall stairwell window revealed the expansive training grounds ofL’Alliance.

He had been invited a few days ago by one of the Panthera captains to train with them, and it was after soundly defeating two young cubs in hand-to-hand combat that he had sensed her presence.

And it distracted him enough to turn towards her scent.

Big mistake.

Samira had let out a cry of dismay as his third opponent took advantage of his distraction to score a mighty left hook. It was good enough for Hexius’ head to snap to the side, and everyone groaned. But then it was his turn, and all he had to do was stare menacingly at the boy while allowing his power as alpha to slowly radiate like a palpable force field.

Three...two...one.

He had simply taken a step, said‘boo’—

And everyone laughed good-naturedly as the boy’s imaginary fears had him stumbling back and falling to the ground.

The Panthera captain had thanked him for an excellent display ofPsych War 101, and Hexius was equally gracious as he thanked everyone for being courteous enough not to call him a pussy for allowing himself to be distracted by his own mate.

By the time he turned around, Samira had wisely already run away, having realized her role in his defeat. But of course, it had been easy for him to hunt her down, and all she had been able to do was gasp when he swung her up on his shoulder like she weighed nothing at all.

“H-Hexius!”

The closest room at that time had been the armory, and so he had taken her there, literally, and then after that, as an alpha would his mate. He had meant it to be her punishment, for being too damn distracting for his peace of mind, but as it seemed to always happen where Samira was concerned—it had just as swiftly backfired, and Hexius had been the one to lose control the moment he heard her whimper his name.

Even now, he was unable to put into words why everything she said and did hit differently. And what made it worse was how other people had started to take notice as well, such as what happened a few days ago when he paid a surprise visit to her workplace.

The studio where she and her friend worked was only half an hour away fromL’Alliance, and his first impressions had made him question why anyone would sign up for such insanity. There were too many people rushing to and fro. Everyone was shouting. And in his extremely objective opinion, the director and producers could do well to be less demanding when it came to Samira’s work.

Could they not see that she needed a break from stunt work every twenty minutes? And what about her safety? She was human, dammit. There was not even a surgeon on site, no medical equipment on standby that could scan her for concussions or internal injuries if anything were to go south.

And when she had been asked to demonstrate a jump sequence three stories up?

Insanity.

It was fucking insanity, just like most of the crew and cast were equally insane, with how none of them seemed to understand the unnecessary risks she was taking.Human, dammit!She was human, and thus with fragile human bones that could shatter with just one mistake.

And to make matters worse, the actor she had been tasked to instruct had the unfortunate habit of standing a little too close, and when the boy had even dared to throw an arm around her shoulder and calling her his‘buddy’—

Hexius had seen enough.

He reached for his phone, made a call, and ten minutes later, the director announced about a change in plans, and it would now be one of the actresses making the jump sequences and requiring Samira’s aid.

Such changes were not uncommon, and so it was business as usual for everyone.

Or at least that was what he thought...until he turned around and saw none other than Samira’s roommate standing behind him, a knowing smile on her lips.

“Did you have something to do with that?”

“That being what?”

But this only had Anastasia’s smile widening. “How cute. The Leopard King, of all men, is actually—”

Samira suddenly popped between them, water bottle in hand. “What are you guys talking about?”

The words had Hexius jerking, Anastasia laughing, and Samira looking at both of them like they had lost their minds. “What am I missing?”