Chapter 29 #3
I smiled. I had always felt loved by him and Mom.
“Maybe it’s just some infatuation. I can see the Alpha’s appeal. Many women are after him, although they’re scared to approach him,” Dad said.
Out of all these women, Torin had chosen Layla.
I shivered. “Dad, please don’t worry about me.”
“You’ve always said that, but how can I not? Finish school and come back here. Your mom and I will be waiting.” He sighed. “It’s better that Alpha Torin is not your mate. He’s a half-vampire, after all. Even if he were your mate, I wouldn’t allow it anyway.”
Dad respected the Alpha but held his vampire side against him.
I nodded automatically even though he couldn’t see me. “So, it all worked out for the best, then.”
“Find your fated mate and inherit the throne, Anna. I’ll take care of everything else,” Dad said.
He always fixed everything for me, but who would fix me?
I marched into the boardroom where Torin’s Councilmen were already seated. I didn’t know them well, so I nodded my greeting.
His Beta gave me an awkward wave, and I smiled at him. At the head of the table, Torin sat behind his laptop.
Minus Layla on his lap. I stifled the scoff threatening to escape my throat.
The Alpha had counted on me to separate from my bodyguard and to come to him when he stole my book. He did so not to protect me and not out of duty to the King.
But why, then? Why would he want to trap me now when he’d rejected me five years ago?
I planted my feet in the same spot I’d stood before, crossed my arms, and looked Torin straight in his eyes. “Hand over my book, Torin.”
Torin reclined in his chair, a devilish grin stretching across his face. The seductive aura emanating from him stirred up a whirlwind of emotions inside me. Annoyance and anger battled with desire that I was determined to suppress.
Torin didn’t spring toward me, invading my private space as usual. He didn’t glare at me. He didn’t lash out at me. Any of these responses would have been familiar and expected.
“Did you have your men abduct me and stash me in a safe house in London so you can bring me to my father?” I asked. “Are you trying to earn the King’s favor, Torin?”
“I have no intention of handing you over to anyone, Princess. You belong with me,” he said, causing flames to ignite in my stomach.
“Then, why?”
“I needed you to come here on your own, Anna.”
“For the book?” I raised my eyebrows.
What game did he want to play? Regardless, I was dead set on winning this time around. The prize—my magic book.
“The book was just the bait. You fell right into my trap,” he purred, his voice tinged with arrogance and amusement that shot straight to my core.
He wasn’t going to give me more answers, was he?
I was prepared for a battle with the Alpha but not for the surge of raw need that vibrated in the air between us. My skin prickled as Torin’s gaze lingered on me like a mate’s touch.
Heat flared low in my stomach as I returned his stare—a challenge simmering between us.
His glove-covered fingers traced circles on the smooth surface of the table, and I imagined how it would feel to have his bare fingers on my skin. The thought sent shockwaves throughout my body, every nerve ending awakened.
I shook my head slightly, but it didn’t help clear my mind. The Alpha radiated pure, primal desire that beckoned, luring me into him.
“It’s only a trap if one doesn’t know about it,” I said, and although I could steady my voice, I couldn’t calm the fast thumping of my heartbeat.
Torin was mistaken if he thought he’d trapped me on his pack's territory. I came here of my own accord, with one agenda in mind—retrieve my book and get answers.
The Fates were my witnesses to how hard I’d tried to break the chains of my supernatural fate. An impossible task.
Something pulled me back in whenever I thought I was close to escaping.
It cost me numerous attempts on my life, risking my best friend’s life, and Lisa’s death.
The fight to disengage from the poisonous tentacles of my supernatural destiny only added more guilt on my shoulders and pain in my heart.
I wasn’t entirely ready to confront my royal parents in the werewolf kingdom, but I could face Torin and his Council on their territory. Even if I couldn’t control my destiny, I had a chance to take control and decide where I belonged in the supernatural world.
I couldn’t turn back time, but I could change my future.
With each passing moment, the tension in the room thickened as if we were on the brink of an inevitable collision. Torin, with his Alpha authority, was accustomed to having others bend to his will, but I refused to succumb to his dominance without a fight.
There was a twinge of admiration and something else behind Torin’s eyes. I could only imagine that he didn’t appreciate my brazenness as it posed a challenge to his trap, whatever it was.
“Is that so, Princess?” His voice was thick with lust and promise.
Torin didn’t know how this princess planned to steal the bait and escape his trap.
His long fingers stopped drawing circles next to his laptop, and the way Torin looked at me made my heart skip a beat. The feral glint in his eyes, promising unforgettable pleasures, made it clear that this—whatever this was between us—wasn’t just about power, dominance, or the magic book.
It was about carnal satisfaction between two mates. Whatever sultry game he was itching to play, I planned on winning.
I only hoped to escape unscathed.
Challenge accepted, Alpha Torin.