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Chapter 2

last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-12-02 14:44:35

Iris POV

I waited for an answer, but Arthur just looked at me, his expression going from cold to unreadable. I was going to insist he say something when someone knocked loudly on our door. Arthur turned and opened the door wide, smiling his professional smile as several people came through.

I recognized some of them from articles and TV interviews where they’d been discussing Arthur’s possible candidacy, but others were strangers. They were all obviously, though not ostentatiously, wealthy, and they were all alphas, except two beta males who acted like assistants to their alpha bosses.

Feeling the pressure to be a gracious hostess, I stepped forward and welcomed them all to our home, but they only made the briefest eye contact with a few nods and then seemed to forget I existed.

“So, you’re the human?” one of them asked with that haughty but not quite insulting disdain I was so used to from alphas. He was about Arthur’s age but not quite as tall and sporting well-coiffed light brown hair.

I said something about my name, but no one seemed to notice that either.

“Why don’t you go upstairs and have a rest?” Arthur turned to me, and I was hoping he would use the moment to introduce me properly, but instead he said, “We can continue what we were talking about later.”

I wanted to protest, to point out that as his future wife and mother to his child I had every reason to remain with these people as they discussed Arthur’s future. But Arthur’s eyes had gone cold, not the ones that I familiar with, and with reluctance I agreed, stepping back from a part of Arthur’s life I had never truly realized before excluded me.

Yes, I thought as I climbed the stairs with what felt like lead in my shoes, my life with Arthur had always been private, but I had never thought he was ashamed of me or wanted to hide me from the other people in his life. Had I been naïve? Those alphas hadn’t treated me with the respect one would give to a housemaid.

I went into the main bedroom to change out of the suit I’d worn to the doctor’s and put on my jeans and paint-splattered smock, which made me feel better right away. My canvas was as I had left it, washes and waves of bright colors that would become the background to the field of wildflowers I was painting to celebrate my recent BA in fine art.

Growing up, I’d always known I wanted to paint. The only true obstacle was money, but I’d worked hard and received several scholarships to get through college in four years.

It took a little longer than usual, but eventually I was lost in my art, what Arthur liked to call my “other-world trance.” The brush was an extension of my body that allowed me to soar and dance.

I was painting in oils, which I ground and mixed up myself, and the images on the canvas were coming together just as I wanted.

I breathed in the smell of linseed oil, which I knew some people found harsh, but it was an old friend to me, like an actor and the smell of greasepaint, I supposed. It was the one area of my life where I had found praise and appreciation even from betas and alphas.

I found myself wondering if any of the Alphas downstairs liked art before sternly telling myself I didn’t need their approval.

I found it much harder to concentrate than usual. I’d been given two great pieces of news with the baby and Arthur’s candidacy, so why was I feeling so alone, so far removed from my mate? I scowled at my canvas. The joy I was trying to show wasn’t coming through; the lines looked uncertain and confused.

I painted undisturbed until the sun went down, powering through until I was a little happier with the painting, if not with my situation in general.

Painting in artificial light had never worked for me, even when my subject was abstract. I crept down to the kitchen and made a sandwich, listening to the murmur of the alpha’s voices in the living room, then went back upstairs and looked over the canvas I was prepping before giving it a good sanding.

I went to bed alone, feeling cold and unsettled. Much later, well past midnight, Arthur joined me, his body a little damp from his nightly shower. Still mostly asleep, I rolled over then and put an arm over his chest. He responded immediately, chuckling softly, and held me back tenderly.

I was half asleep, so it was not a good time to discuss our baby, but I felt my fears dissipate somewhat as he kissed my chin, my forehead, and then my lips. His warm hand ran over my shoulder and around my back, and again I was pleasantly overwhelmed with the sensation of the way my fated mate just fit against my body and, I presume, my soul. He pulled down the strap of might nightgown and kissed my shoulder, then down to my beasts, which he bared to the cool air of the room and his own warm breath.

I shivered, and I felt him smile. But even as I responded to his touch, I wondered how real this was.

I was still feeling that ambivalence the next morning, but I waited Arthur and I both had a little coffee before I asked, “Are you ready to talk about the pregnancy now?”

“Yes, we do need to talk,” he said, “but I have to get to the office.”

“I see. This evening, then?”

He shook his head and looked at his watch. “I have an alpha gathering and fundraiser this evening after work at the Waldorf, so don’t wait up for me.”

“The Waldorf?” I repeated, smiling at him with gritted teeth. “Sounds like fun. I’ve never been there.”

He shrugged and then drained his coffee. “Alphas only, like last night. You wouldn’t have anyone to talk to.”

I wanted to say he could introduce me to his friends and then I would have many people to talk to, but instead I pressed him for at least some feedback about our child.

He took his briefcase off the counter and checked inside. “If you want to keep it, I’ll cover all expenses, of course.”

“Expenses?” I asked, deeply disappointed and not bothering to hide it.

He looked up then. “Children are expensive, and my child should be raised with care and respect. You’ll need to step up for at least this year while I campaign.”

“But we’re fated mates,” I objected. “Shouldn’t we get married when we’re having a child?”

He looked at me sternly. “Voters will not like a human Luna.”

My mouth opened in shock. “That is so discriminatory! You told me you would be running on a platform for human-wolf equality!”

He looked like he restrained himself from rolling his eyes. “There’s a big difference between championing for people’s rights and shoving a human Luna down their throats.”

“What did you just say?” I leapt up from my stool and stood there.

He waved at me, using the motion to check his watch. “Look, I’ll easily be able to give you a million dollars for raising the kid,” he said, lingering slightly on the human slang for “child.” “That’s more than you’ll need.”

I almost threw something at him. “This is about your fatherhood to our child, not money.”

“Look, I have to get to work, and I’ll be working a lot more for a while. You tend to things as you think best.” He stood and grabbed his briefcase, and my anger just kept me standing there to watch him walk out of the kitchen. I heard the door to the garage open and close.

In a sort of fog, I cleaned up the plates from breakfast. What was happening? Was I the mother of his child, his fated mate, and his future wife, or not? And if not, what the hell was I?

I sat on the sofa in the living room, unable even to gather myself enough to paint. Nothing made any sense, and everything I had thought my life was wasn’t real. I was too stunned even to cry.

There was a brisk knock then, and I walked robotically to the front door, wondering if Arthur had forgotten something. A tall, beautiful alpha woman stood there.

“Hello?” I asked her. “May I help you? Who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Selina,” She said with a polished smile, “Arthur’s fiancée. I came to see who I’ll be sharing my husband with.”

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    Iris POV“What?” I asked, though I wasn’t any more shocked than I had been before opening the door.Life had lost its context. This was just something on top of what had already occurred.“May I come in?” she asked even as she strode past me with a whip of blond hair and whiff of expensive perfume.

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  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 4

    Iris POVMy friend and former senior classmate Brian Eldridge was standing there in a tuxedo, his salt-and-pepper hair, which was usually a sort of disheveled halo around his head, had been neatly combed, and his typically paint-smeared hands were clean and with shiny, recently manicured nails.“Bri

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  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 5

    Arthur POVI woke up in my office lounge, my neck stuck to the leather and my whole body cold. My mouth tasted like stale champagne and way too much small talk.A gentle knock on my office door got me sitting up on the couch. “Come,” I said.My assistant, a solid beta named Jose, entered my office a

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  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 6

    IrisFive years have gone by since that fated day. Five years, and hardly a day has passed that I haven’t thought about it, about the pain that I felt in my chest I drove away from that house and the way my tears blurred the streetlights all around me.But life goes on.It’s been two years since I l

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  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 7

    IrisArthur looks like he’s about to explode in the subtlest way possible. You would think that after five years apart I wouldn’t be able to see his telltale signs of frustration, but I can still locate the infinitesimal twitch of his jaw like I can locate the freckle on the back of my left hand.“Y

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  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 8

    IrisThe kiss is warm, familiar, and entirely consuming.And for a brief, fleeting moment, I nearly fall into the abyss of it all—the way his lips mold so perfectly to mine, the press of his hands against my waist in the spots where they once fit like puzzle pieces, the rough thrust of his tongue on

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  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 9

    ArthurI searched for Iris for five years, and today, I finally saw her.At first, I felt a mixture of heartache and longing. Finally, I found my fated mate.But the longer I watched her today—her smile, her ease with the man and the children—the more the ache turned to anger. How can she look so at peace when she has torn my world apart?My chest tightens at the memory of her defiant face in that alley. I’ll admit that the anger took hold of me then, and I couldn’t help but mock her for leaving me for money.And then I tried to offer her more than whatever that bastard could give her. But for some reason, she refused. And she looked like she wanted to kill me.Now, as I sit in my study later that night, the confusion consumes me. And so does the anger.The thought of her having children with someone else cuts deeper than I expect. Judging by their age, she must have moved on almost immediately after leaving me and aborting our child.My jaw clenches at the image of her in someone else

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  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 10

    “Thank you, darling,” she said.Tony’s was a good place for spotting political figures, and Selina and I went there often, so my arrival didn’t create much of a stir. Several people did find a reason to walk by our table, and I ended up shaking a few hands.Selina was in her element, and when a frie

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    He shrugs and goes to pick up the glass again. “It’s just how it is.”I shake my head and move the glass out of his way. “No more of this tonight. You’ve had enough.”Arthur pouts, actually pouts, which confirms my suspicion that he’s drunker than he’s letting on. “But how will I sleep?”The questio

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    IrisThe baseball bat connects with the wall with a sickening crack as Arthur ducks just in time, letting out a surprised yelp.“Holy shit!” I shriek, the bat slipping from my hands and clattering to the floor. “Arthur! I almost took your head off!”Arthur straightens up, his eyes wide in the dim li

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    I glance at Arthur, who shrugs. “I’d love to,” he says, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. “Just one story, though. It’s past your bedtime.”I leave them to it, Arthur’s deep voice following me down the hall as he begins to read one of Miles’ favorite books. Something warm unfurls in my chest at

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  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 172

    I feel a flush of pleasure at his praise. “Thank you.”“And you have a son together,” Wendy states, leaving behind the subject of my career. “Miles, is it?”I nod, dragging my lower lip through my teeth. I feel like I’m being grilled, one question after another in quick succession.“He’s five,” I sa

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    Iris“You’re sure you can handle this?” Arthur asks, his hand resting on the small of my back. We’re standing just outside the ballroom entrance, about to make our reappearance.I take a deep breath, smoothing the front of my new black dress. It’s simpler than the emerald gown—a sleek, form-fitting

  • Reject My Alpha President   Chapter 170

    “I’ve missed you,” he breathes against my skin. “So much, Iris. You have no idea.”I thread my fingers through his hair, tugging him back up to my mouth. “Show me,” I whisper against his lips.His eyes darken further, and he captures my mouth again in a kiss that makes my eyes roll back with pleasur

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