Page 28 of The Breeding Cave

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

LUCIANO

I had been waiting outside my office for Ella to arrive, barely keeping it together. What the fuck had happened last night? Why in Ella’s right mind would she come to my penthouse and hurt Yeosin? I planned to find out everything from her.

The elevator dinged, and her repulsive scent drifted through my nose. She walked in, hair bouncing in a high ponytail and lips covered in red, and headed my way. I flared my nostrils and glared at her.

“My office. Now,” I said when she was in earshot.

Ella curled a finger around a lock of her hair. “But, Luciano, I have a?—”

I snatched her upper arm, sinking my claws into her flesh. “My fucking office. Now!”

As soon as I slammed my office door closed, I allowed my beast to take form. My nails lengthened into claws, and my teeth grew into canines that could kill her in a moment.

“What did you do to Yeosin?” I growled.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

My hand snapped around the front of her throat, and I pinned her against the wall, her feet dangling off the ground.

“I’m not going to play fucking games with you, pup . You were in my home last night, and Yeosin has burns all over her.”

After blowing her bangs up with a pffttt , she growled back. “Your home? That penthouse isn’t your home. It has never been your home. Your home— our home —is the woods, is the packhouse. I’m sick of living in the city.”

“You think I want this?!” I snarled. “Over eighty percent of our pack is dead because we lived in those woods. Over ninety-five percent of our warriors are gone. We are rebuilding with the woman who lives in that penthouse—with my mate .”

The words left my mouth before I could stop them, and while I was sure that the Goddess had removed my abilities to have a fated mate, my beast had recognized Yeosin as his twice verbally in the past twenty-four hours.

And honestly, I had known that it was always true. I had been drawn to her from the moment that I laid my gaze on her, but I had kept my distance for as long as I could, as long as my beast would let me.

Because nothing good could come out of being close to her. Not with the Dragon Clan.

“ I should be your mate!” Ella exclaimed.

As soon as the words left her lips, I threw her to the other side of the room. Her body slammed into the bookcase, making the books on the second shelf from the top tumble out and land on the ground beside her.

“So you burn her?” I stalked toward her. “Who gave you the ability?! Are you working with the clan who killed your mate and your child?!” My gaze clouded with red, and I picked her up by her hair. “Are you working with the Dragon Clan?”

“No, no!” she exclaimed, eyes wide in fear. “I promise, I’m not!”

“Then why the fuck is Yeosin’s body covered in burns?!”

For the first time, something idiotic didn’t come out of this bitch’s mouth. “I don’t know. Molly called me over to heal her. She was asleep … and the burns began forming on her body before I even had a chance to touch her.”

“Liar,” I growled.

“I’m not lying,” she cried, grasping at her hair. “Please, let me down.”

After blowing a breath out of my nose, I tossed her down and walked back to my desk to calm the fuck down so none of the humans here would walk in and see my beast overtaking my body with his.

With one hand grasping her head, Ella crawled to my desk and pulled herself up onto a chair, a small whimper escaping her mouth.

“I promise I’m not lying to you. I didn’t touch her.

But I hadn’t come over to heal her. I had come over to see how it’d feel to be her.

” Her voice suddenly dropped. “I miss my mate, and I thought … since you couldn’t have one … ”

“I would never and will never mate with you,” I snarled. “Get it out of your head.”

Tears filled her eyes. “But I’m strong.”

“You’re strong, so you should be fighting the war that’s coming. Not bearing my pups.”

Not only that, but I don’t like her. Neither does my beast.

Her expression changed from sadness to pride and then to surprise. “The war that’s coming? Does that mean that you really are partnering with the Colossals? Brent told me this morning about your meeting with them.”

“Yes.” I flared my nostrils and looked away. “But I need more information about Yeosin’s burns. When—how did they start? She was sleeping? You didn’t see anyone else leaving the penthouse before you arrived, did you? No Dragon Clan member?”

Yeosin had said that she had a nightmare …

I cursed at myself because I had stupidly brushed it off like it was nothing, basically told her to get over it. If the burns had really formed while she was asleep …

What the fuck was I thinking, telling her that?!

“I don’t know how they formed. I didn’t have a chance to heal her. Molly kicked me out.”

“Rightfully so,” I snarled. “You just told me that you didn’t come to heal her at all. The next time one of your packmates asks you to heal someone, you fucking heal them. Do you understand me?”

Ella dropped her gaze to the desk. “I understand.”

“My mate wouldn’t refuse to heal someone just because they didn’t like them.”

“That’s not the reason why?—”

“I don’t give a fuck,” I growled at her. “You’re a healer. You heal, or you’re useless to me.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”

An apology wasn’t going to cut it, but I didn’t have time to argue with her any more today. I needed to get paperwork done as soon as possible so I could get back to the penthouse and make sure that more burns hadn’t formed on Yeosin’s body.

What the fuck actually happened? I shouldn’t have been an asshole to her last night, and I should’ve opened my mouth and asked her what happened like any normal fucking person would’ve. But my beast was caught up in revenge.

A whiff of pumpkin drifted through my nose, and someone knocked on the door.

Who is ? —

“Mr. Bates,” Yeosin said from outside the door, peeking inside the room. “Are you free?”

What the fuck is she doing here?! She’s supposed to be at the penthouse!

“What are you doing here?” I growled once the door opened enough for me to see her entire body.

Carrying two coffees from Pink Ivory, Yeosin shuffled into the room, briefly glancing at Ella—who didn’t spare her a look—and then the books that had fallen and headed straight for my desk. She set a hot coffee in front of me and smiled softly.

“Sorry that I’m late. I wanted to pick you up a coffee before work and?—”

“I asked you a question,” I hissed at her. “You’re in?—”

Before I could finish my sentence, I bit down on my tongue and balled my hand into a tight fist, my claws cutting through the skin on my palm. Any more anger, and my beast would begin to emerge again.

He was already riled up at the sight of her.

I cut my glare to Ella. “Out. Now.”

Instead of putting up a hissy fit like she usually did, she scurried past Yeosin without a snide remark or even another look.

Yeosin furrowed her brows together for a moment, then looked back at me. “Is Ella in trouble?”

“Yes.”

“Because of … me?”

“ You shouldn’t be here,” I growled, changing the subject.

I grabbed her wrist and yanked up her sweater to reveal another burn. This one was still hot. Where were all these coming from?!

“M-Mr. B-Bates,” Yeosin whispered, her pupils dilating. “Your eyes …”

“Who did this to you?” I growled. “This wasn’t here last night.”

She widened her eyes. “What?”

I stalked toward her. “This. Wasn’t. Here. Last. Night.”

She opened and closed her mouth a handful of times, and I realized that I had slipped.

“Y-you’re the billionaire,” she whispered, “who wants to breed me?”