Page 13 of The Alpha’s Forsaken Vow

Chapter Thirteen

A LARIC HELLS

The banquet is an absurd tradition the pack insists on every damn year.

It’s a grand, ridiculous affair where appearances matter more than anything else. The elders claim it’s a way to uphold the Goddess’ will, but in truth, it’s just another excuse for them to meddle in everyone’s business. They are nosy old geezers with nothing better to do.

Normally, I wouldn’t care. I’d show up, endure the night, and leave the moment everyone was too drunk to care. But this year is different. This year, I’m on edge, my senses on high alert as I stand outside the pack house, watching a yellow cab pull up to the curb.

Lila Winter is late.

Twenty-three minutes late, to be exact. And I’ve been counting every single one of them, wondering if she stood me up.

She refused to let me pick her up. I could have easily gotten her address from HR—hell, I nearly did.

She also didn’t want me sending Ethan to fetch her from her home.

Given everything that’s happened in the past week, I didn’t push her. I agreed to do this on her own terms.

But now, as I watch her step out of the cab, I’m hit with a visceral reaction that slams into my chest like a hammer.

She’s wearing the same satin dress she bought with my money. The one that clung to her curves like it was made for her in that boutique.

The only difference now, is her hair, which is half tied in a ponytail, the rest cascading over her shoulders in soft waves that catch the faint glow of the streetlights.

And fuck me, she looks beautiful.

My gaze locks onto her neck as she speaks to the driver, handing him a wad of cash. I should walk over, pay the fare for her, but I’m rooted in place, transfixed. My eyes travel down the elegant curve of her throat, pausing on the sparkling red jewel resting just above her clavicle.

A necklace I saw, thought of her, and bought.

A necklace I fastened around her neck with my own hands.

Possessiveness coils in my gut. My wolf hums with satisfaction, his hunger barely contained.

That necklace, that smooth expanse of skin on her neck, it’s like she’s calling to me, daring me to sink my fangs into her, to claim her, to mark her so every single man in that room knows who she belongs to.

Goddess help me, I’m a goner.

Lila finally glances around, searching, until her eyes find mine. Recognition flickers across her face, followed by something softer. And then, she smiles.

It’s small. A bit apprehensive.

But it’s for me.

And boy, does a rush of satisfaction flood through me. I don’t think she’s ever smiled at me before. Not like this.

She starts walking toward me, and I should meet her halfway.

I should pull her to me and tell her exactly what she does to me.

Instead, I let myself take in every single inch of her—the way the dress hugs her waist, the way it dips at the neckline, teasing just enough to drive me insane.

If I have to buy her a hundred dresses to get her to look at me like this, I will.

The screech of tires breaks my trance as the cab pulls away, leaving us in a silence thick with unspoken tension.

Lila stops at the foot of the stairs leading to the pack house patio. She exhales lightly, a hint of a smile on her lips.

“Hi.”

Goddess, that smile.

My gaze drags up to meet hers. “You look stunning, Lila.”

“Thanks.” She tilts her head, teasing. “You don’t clean up too bad yourself, sir.”

That damn word hits me like a punch to the gut because I have hated it for weeks.

Sir.

Not Alaric. Not even some snarky remark about me being a bastard. Just sir.

I know why she does it. She’s trying to keep the distance between us. Trying to shove us back into neat little boxes—boss and secretary, employer and employee.

But we both know that’s not what we are anymore. At least that’s not what has been running in my mind 24/7.

Last week changed everything.

Our kiss. The one in my office after I got too close to her. She was so damn beautiful it hurt to look at her at that moment. I didn’t plan to kiss her…it just happened. One second, I was brushing hair out of her face, the next, my mouth was on hers, and everything else fell away.

It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t careful.

It was desperate.

And fuck, I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

Then there’s me nearly tearing Julian apart for even touching her, let alone speaking to her.

All the way to buying her that dress. Placing that necklace around her neck. Pretending I didn’t want to devour her whole in it.

She knows it. And she’s fighting it.

“I hope I’m not too late.” Lila tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I had an incident at home that ran later than I expected.”

I don’t respond right away. I’m too distracted by the way her red-painted lips move, but then I catch something in her voice that makes my ears prick.

“What incident?” I ask, my voice lower now.

Her shoulders tense, so subtly that most people wouldn’t notice. It could be the evening breeze touching her shoulders or my question. My money is on the latter.

I see the flicker in her eyes before she blinks. “Nothing major. Just a leaking faucet.” She waves a dismissive hand. “Shouldn’t we go in now? They must all be waiting for you.”

A leaking faucet? That’s what made her twenty-three minutes late?

I don’t believe it.

But why would she lie? A boyfriend, maybe? Another man? Is she still hung up on Julian?

No. It can’t be Julian. I made sure of that. My men have been watching him. He hasn’t come near her since that night.

Still, unease lingers in the back of my mind.

“Of course,” I say, reaching for her. “Come here, wild one.”

The nickname rolls off my tongue naturally, and for once, she doesn’t fight me on it.

Instead, she blushes. The sight itself is so rare, I almost lose my composure right here.

She steps closer, lacing her fingers with mine, and my wolf lets out a pleased rumble. Having her hand in mine electrifies every nerve in my body.

As we stand there, on the threshold of the pack house, ready to get this night over with, her grip tightens slightly around my fingers.

I can only smile at that.

I want to hold you all night, baby. You have no idea just how much.

The doors automatically open, and the chatter from the hall greets us like a freight train slamming into our ears over and over. The clinking of glasses, the pompous laughter of some of the most arrogant bastards in this room—all of it comes to a sudden halt when the spotlight falls on me and Lila.

Someone coughs in the silence. Another person grins in the distance. Then, the room erupts in a wave of murmurs.

Wow, look at her dress.

That’s exquisite.

Is that a red beryl on her neck? It is very rare.

Who is she?

My hand tightens around Lila’s waist. I can already feel her discomfort creeping in.

“I’ve got you, wild one. Follow my lead,” I murmur against her neck, her scent consuming me whole.

“Okay,” she breathes.

She doesn’t fight me. She doesn’t push me away. Instead, she melts into my touch like I’m her anchor when, in reality, it’s the other way around.

With Lila by my side and the eyes of the pack scrutinizing our every move, we make the necessary rounds, exchanging pleasantries, shaking hands. Every time I introduce her as my assistant, it feels like I’m swallowing glass.

I see how the men look at her like she’s free game, like she’s unclaimed. Like they could be the ones to change that.

The worst part? She doesn’t even notice.

She’s…fuck, mingling.

“You’ve been his assistant for that long? Damn, you should tell us the secret to making him happy. He’s never happy,” one of the bald guys, probably the one handling the pack’s accounts, jokes.

Lila chuckles, oblivious to his flirting.

I take a sip of my scotch, barely masking the urge to fire him and the other bastard talking to her.

“I know,” Lila teases. “The secret is to do what he says. Never argue.”

I step in behind her, my chest meeting her back, my arms bracketing her in place. Any man with half a brain should read the action and interpret that she’s taken.

Just to make myself clearer, I lean down, my lips ghosting over her ear.

“Never argue, huh?” My voice is an octave too low. “If I said I wanted to bend you over this table, make you moan my name loud enough for them to hear. Would you do as I say and not argue, wild one?”

Lila chokes on her drink, snapping her head up to glare at me.

I grin.

Eyes on me at all times, wild one.

“So, Lila,” the bald guy presses, apparently not getting the message, “apart from being Alaric’s assistant, he at least lets you have a personal life, yeah? Any hobbies? A boyfriend?”

I don’t like the way he asks that.

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” Lila answers.

Bald guy chuckles. “Well, that’s good news because I was wondering if you’d like to—”

“Would you like to dance with me, Miss Winter?” I interrupt, my patience stretched to its limit.

If I had my way, I’d let my wolf deal with them. Goddess knows he’s as pissed off as I am.

“Of course, sir.”

The moment her hand slips into mine, the irritation fades, if only a little. I guide her onto the dance floor, where classical music hums softly in the background. My hands find their place on her waist, and hers land on my shoulders, her green eyes locking onto mine.

“Back there, you were angry,” she says quietly.

“They were flirting with you.” My jaw tightens. “No man likes watching someone else flirt with what’s his.”

Her lips part, her pupils dilate, and I watch the pulse at her neck jump.

“Alaric, please—”

“I meant what I said in front of my nephew, Lila. You’re mine.”

Her lips tremble into a smile, but her eyes glisten with something I can’t quite place.

“Yeah? I thought you brought me here for work.”

I don’t even bother denying it.

“I did.” I tighten my hold. “Ask me why, wild one.”

“I don’t want to know.”

I catch her chin, my forehead brushing against hers. “Ask me, baby.”

She hesitates, her lips inches from mine. If I move even slightly forward—

“Why?”

“Because if I told you I wanted you here just so I could look at you, hold you, resist the urge to kiss you, you would’ve said no.”

She exhales sharply. “You don’t know that.”

I chuckle. “Would you have come here with me if I told you the banquet wasn’t about work?”

Her lashes flutter. She looks away, then back at me, her green eyes lighting up with mirth.

“Maybe.”

Maybe?

She would’ve come with me anyway?

“That’s not a yes or no answer, Lila.”

“Wild one,” she murmurs. “I like it when you call me that.”

Her confession stuns me.

So, I do the only thing that feels right at the moment. I kiss her.

She responds instantly, opening up to me, and fuck, I praise her for it, because never in my wildest dreams did I think the night would turn out like—

“No one is stopping you from fucking all the whores in the city, boy, but you will have some damn respect for your pack!”

Lila stiffens in my arms, her lips going cold against mine.

A heavy silence swallows the room.

I turn slowly, pushing Lila behind me as I meet the hard gaze of the man who interrupted us.

“Elder Matthew.” I grind my teeth. “My date is not a whore.”

Elder Matthew stands before me, cane in hand, his sharp gaze almost cutting right through me.

As one of the senior elders of the werewolf council appointed by the previous Alpha to oversee my leadership, he's someone I’ve always treated with respect. I’ve followed every piece of advice he’s dished out without question, but this makes me pop a vein in my neck.

“When you were made Interim Alpha, no one questioned your choice of company. You are a man with a missing wife, a man with needs. We understood that,” Matthew says, leaning on his cane. “But flaunting her, kissing her on sacred grounds? In front of the pack? That is a disgrace to our missing Luna.”

Lila’s fingers slip from mine.

I don’t have to turn around to know she’s pulling away. Regretting everything.

“Elder Matthew, I respect you, but this is going too far—”

“Does the woman behind you know you are already in an arranged marriage with our Luna? That you are actively searching for your one true Mate?”

I don’t answer.

I turn around.

Lila looks like she’s been slapped, her eyes desperately searching mine for answers.

When she finds them…

She runs.

Every instinct in me screams to chase after her, to explain everything.

But as I watch her disappear, only one thought lingers.

I haven’t cared about Irene, my supposed true Mate, since Lila came back into my life.

I haven’t even cared about our bond.

I’ve only thought about one thing.

My love for Lila.