Sorry for the late update. Chapter 30 will go up in a few hours.
[Apple]"Good Morning, Apple," the Alpha stretches slowly. "Did you have pleasant dreams? You were making quite a bit of noise in your sleep." He plants a kiss on my temple and then rolls out of bed as if waking up next to me is the most natural thing in the world. I try not to watch him stalk around the room in his boxers but I fail. Miserably. He's an absolute Adonis. His body is so well-formed that even his muscles seem to have muscles. He isn't overly bulky but moves with the predatory grace of a wild animal designed to hunt its prey.And right now that prey is me. I take long steadying breaths as he walks toward his bathroom. "How did I end up in your bed," I ask in what I hope sounds like a neutral voice although internally I'm seething. I fell asleep on the couch, the only way I could have gotten here is if he carried me in here from the couch where I fell asleep."Don't worry," he says to assuage my worried frown. "We didn't do anything more than sleep next to one another, a
[Apple] "Alpha," I pull on his arm. We are seated in the car, just moments before Rudy opens the door. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"I try to pull my dress to cover the mark and the alpha growls softly. As I move my hand slowly away, I look to see his eyes watching me attentively. "Don't cover it, Apple. You should be proud of it. That mark on your neck is better than an engagement ring. If my wolf is so smitten with you that we'd willingly leave that kind of mark on such an important location," he explains, a touch of anger in his voice. "Most people will assume I'm very close to declaring you my official mate." Reaching down, Alpha Sylvester adjusts the deep v of my dress, until it frames his nibble mark like fine artwork. Looking me up and down appraisingly, he smiles widely. "I wasn't planning on this mark appearing, Apple, but I plan to take advantage of it. I was only thinking of saving your honor last night, but now that I think of it, I really couldn't have planned i
[Apple]Sitting at my desk, drinking a cup of coffee, and shouting into a phone, is the she-wolf of my nightmares.Alexis.Looking poised, professional, and every inch the Luna in charge, she sits in my place like she belongs there. As Rudy starts to growl softly in outrage, she raises her eyes briefly, then blinks away as if we are invisible, returning to her call.The nasty bitch who peed all over my room just snubbed me. I'm usually not a violent person, but I have a sudden urge to claw out her eyes. "Excuse me," I almost raise my hand to get her attention but remember myself. "Um...Hi, I'm..."Irritated, she closes her phone and addresses Rudy, ignoring my presence entirely. "Oh, you're finally here," she holds up a stack of papers. "Can you run these down to accounting?"To his credit, Rudy doesn't flinch. In his calm, easy-going way he says. "I'm sorry, Ms. Greystone, but you have the wrong office. I'm sure you'd be more comfortable in one of the visitor's suites down the hall.
[Alexis]How dare they.This is the company that my father built. By every right, it should be mine. As I walk down the hallways, I can see my father's hand in every detail. He poured his heart and soul into this company only to have his vision squashed by the very same upstart foundling he pulled off the streets. Sylvester. I want to hate him. I've tried to hate him. No, I do hate him. "That's never been true," Alana speaks to me from the shadowed corners of my mind, her white pelt shining in my thoughts. "You loved him once with all your heart. You love him still, just admit it." "No, Alana," I correct her, "I pitied him." "You loved him. And I love Rufus," she curls up in a ball, tucking her nose under her tail. "And I still don't forgive you for what you did to him." None of it matters now. I have a job to do, and his new little tart is getting in the way. I need to speak to the Board of Directors. The elders brought me here to reconnect with Sylvester, and now our plans ar
[Apple]I could see the rage brewing in Sylvester's eyes even before he took a step toward his Beta. Rudy immediately falls to his knees before the Alpha, his head bowed, prepared for the worst. "Explain now, Beta." There is nothing Rudy could say that would save him from some kind of terrible punishment. He is responsible for keeping me safe when the Alpha cannot, and I was harmed by Alexis on his watch. "It's all my fault," he begins, telling everything from how we entered the room and how he failed to keep Alexis from putting her hands on me. The longer he spoke, the more tense Sylvester became, holding onto me so tightly I'll probably bruise. Wolves, I've learned, are very possessive. Especially alpha wolves. Hazel had warned me about this possibility, that once the alpha considered me "his", Sylvester would be unable to keep himself from being as brutal as he deems necessary when it comes to protecting me.It won't matter that Rudy did his best. It will only matter that he fai
[Apple] Sylvester seems so happy, but all I feel is terror. I'm not a real wolf. What am I going to do in an agency full of alpha-class she-wolves? They'll smell my weakness a mile away.Not only that, the Alpha didn't ask me what I wanted to do. He just signed me up for classes as if my opinion didn't matter. "No," I pinch my lips as I grab my cup of water and take a sip. The miniature rose bush in the center of the table shakes as I set the glass down with too much force. "I have classes this afternoon. I can start tomorrow." "Skip class, get your friends to give you notes," he brushes off my concern as he takes a bite of his steak sandwich. "Problem solved." I close my eyes and repeat, “No." Why isn't he listening to me? He's always so stubborn. As I open my eyes, I cross my arms in frustration, accidentally knocking the rose bush over, leaving a trail of dirt and muck behind as I scoop the plant back into its overly fancy pot. Carefully, I replace the dirt, apologizing to t
[Sylvester]Our blended scents warming on my skin gives me a sense of calm I have never experienced before. It's like a drug, a dangerous, addictive drug.I wasn't being entirely truthful when I said I needed her to smell like me. I needed us to smell like one another. I crave her scent on my skin."We were so close to mating her," Rufus grumbles, disappointed that we hadn't taken our scent marking further. "All we needed was 5 more minutes.""She said no sex," I remind him. "No means no." "Something tells me she may be persuaded to change her mind," he flashes me a memory of her panting as I licked her nipple, her hands buried in my hair. The way her body ground into mine, our most intimate spots separated by the barest of barriers. "She was so close to saying yes."Groaning, I grow harder as I remember the salty sweetness of her skin between my teeth. I want to devour her, to lick her core until she melts in my hands."She tastes so sweet," Rufus licks his lips. "I wonder how she t
[Apple]Alexis is leaning over the reception desk as she screams, "Get your boss on the line, NOW! Or so help me I'll..." "Ms. Greystone, I told you, Ms. Weaver is not available, and I..."Alexis leans in far enough that only the tip-toe of one of her very high heels is still on the ground. "I know what you said, but you need to do as I said," she elongates her words, over-enunciating very loudly, and very slowly. "I. WANT. TO. TALK. TO. YOUR. BOSS."Her jasmine scent is cloying, making me gag as I remember how it tastes in the back of my throat when mixed with the added aroma of her urine. Hearing me cough, Alexis spins around. "What are YOU doing here?""Taking a refresher course," Rudy raises his eyebrow, answering on my behalf while also creating a barrier of muscle between us. "A better question is, why are you here harassing this poor woman?""I'm simply making a request," Alexis stands up straighter adjusting her suit jacket. There is a carpet burn on the right side of her che