<b>Chapter </b><b>68 </b>


    E & Gabriel


    ? ??<b>, </b>61% <b>2 </b>


    <b>33</b>/


    E


    Lilith and I stood in the doorway watching Sophia and Sarah face off like two alley cats fighting over the same scrap of meat.


    “You bitch!” Sophia shrieked, hurling what looked like a ceramic figurine at Sarah’s head. “You don’t belong here!”


    Sarah dodged the projectile, causing it to shatter on the wall behind her. “At least I’m not some pathetic woman who can’t take a hint!”


    “Pathetic? You’re a fucking maid who thinks she can seduce an Alpha!” Sophia’s face was turning an rming shade of red. “You’re nothing! A nobody!”


    “And everyone knows that you’re a spoiled Daddy’s girl!” Sarah shot back, hands on her hips.


    I found myself staring at this absurd disy of jealousy over Alexander, and something bubbled up in my chest. Not ánger or hurt or even embarrassment. Laughter.


    Here I was, dying slowly because my mate wouldn’tplete our bond, and these two idiots were literally throwing pottery at each other over the chance to climb into bed with him.


    It was so fucking ridiculous that I couldn’t believe I’d ever wasted a single second worrying about either of them, or Alexander, for that matter.


    I was dying. Actually dying. And instead of spending my remaining time with people who genuinely cared


    about me–people like Lilith and Liam–I’d been letting myself get worked up over… what?


    What was the point? Even if Alexander marked me tomorrow, was this the kind of life I wanted? Constantly


    defending my ce, constantly worried about the next beautiful woman who might catch his eye?


    Fuck that.


    Lilith stepped up beside me. “Should we do something?” she whispered.


    “Let them destroy each other<i>,</i><i>” </i>I said, folding my arms across my chest and casually leaning against the wall. “I don’t care anymore.”


    Sophia had just picked up another decorative object and was winding up to throw it when Alexander’s voice boomed through the foyer.


    “What the hell is going on here?”


    11:34 Sat, 23 Aug D


    61%


    33)


    Both women froze and whirled around. Alexander was standing at the bottom of the main staircase, looking absolutely murderous.


    “She started it!” Sarah said immediately, pointing at Sophia.


    “I started it?” Sophia’s voice went up about three octaves. “You’re the one-”


    “Enough.” Alexander’s Alpha Voice cut through their bickering with ease. Both women snapped their mouths shut. “Sarah, you’re fired. Pack your things and get out of my house.”


    Sarah’s face crumpled. “But Alpha, I didn’t do anything wrong! She attacked me!”


    “You destroyed property, disturbed the peace, and conducted yourself in a mannerpletely unbing of staff.” Alexander’s voice was ice cold. “You have thirty minutes to gather your belongings and leave the premises.”


    “This is so unfair-”


    “Twenty–nine minutes.”


    Sarah shot a venomous look at Sophia, then at Alexander, then stormed toward the servants‘ quarters


    without another word.


    Alexander turned to Sophia next. “And you. I thought I made myself clear about your behavior.”


    “Alex, she was beingpletely inappropriate with you! Someone had to put her in her ce!” Sophia tried to step closer to him, but Alexander held up a hand.


    “Leave. Now.<i>” </i>


    “But-”


    “Now, Sophia.”


    For a moment, I thought she might argue further. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. But even Sophia wasn’t immune to Alexander’s fury, and when she saw the thunder in his expression, she seemed to think better of it.


    “Fine.” She swept toward the front entrance in a huff. The door mmed behind her, leaving the foyer in silence.


    Alexander just stood there for a moment, surveying the damage. Broken pottery, scattered dirt, flower petals everywhere. Then he rubbed his face with both hands and let out a long, exhausted sigh.


    “Goddess give me strength,” he muttered, clearly not realizing that he still had an audience consisting of me and Lilith.


    That was when I lost it.


    Theughter started as a snort, then grew into giggles, and finally exploded into the kind of hysterical cackling that made my sides hurt. I couldn’t stop. Every time I tried to get control of myself, I’d look at the destroyed foyer or remember the sour expression on Sophia’s face, and I’d startughing all over again.


    It was the first realugh I’d had in weeks. Maybe months.


    No… I hadn’tughed like this in five fucking years.


    Alexander’s head snapped toward me, and for a second, I swore I caught the corner of his mouth twitching, like he was fighting back his own smile.


    But then he schooled his expression, turned, and stormed off, leaving meughing in the middle of the destroyed foyer.


    Gabriel


    Gabriel was reviewing security reports in his office when someone knocked on his door. He looked up to find Sarah standing there, no longer in her maid’s uniform, with her bag slung over her shoulder.


    He set down his papers. “I heard you were fired.”


    “Because you lied to me!” Sarah’s eyes were zing with fury. “You told me Alexander was lonely and desperate for a woman in his bed. You said his marriage was a sham and that he wasn’t getting any satisfaction from his frigid wife!”


    Sarah stormed closer, lowering her voice, although her anger still radiated off of her.


    “You specifically told me that Alexander wanted someone who could actually please him, someone who wasn’t sick and pathetic like E. You said all I had to do was make myself avable and he’d jump at the


    chance.”


    Gabriel leaned back in his chair. Sarah was right, of course. He had said exactly those things when he’d


    contacted her three weeks ago. He’d known her from his days before bing Alexander’s Beta–she’d


    been <i>one </i>of many women who’d warmed his bed over the years.


    Beautiful, willing, and most importantly, discreet.


    The n had been simple. Alexander and E were sharing a bedroom now, which was dangerous. The more time they spent together, the more likely it was that biology would take over and they’d end up having


    sex<b>. </b>


    And if that happened, if Alexander started developing real feelings for his mate…


    <b>3/5 </b>


    11:35 Sat, 23 Aug .


    Gabriel couldn’t let that happen.


    So he’d called in a favor. Sarah had been between jobs anyway, and the promise of seducing a wealthy Alpha had appealed to her. She was so beautiful that Gabriel had been certain even Alexander, who had never been with a woman so intimately, wouldn’t be able to resist.


    It wasn’t supposed to go like this.


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    “Alexander showed zero interest in me,” Sarah hissed. “Zero. When I asked him about his marriage, he practically threw me out of his study. And then today, when I tried to get closer to him, he couldn’t get away from me fast enough. He looked at me like I was something he would scrape off his shoe.”


    Gabriel frowned, his mind racing. If not Sarah, then who? Alexander would never fall for Sophia, especially not with her history of being aplete and total nutjob. No, he’d have to find someone else, someone


    better…


    Gabriel tilted his head. “Do you have any hot friends? Twins, maybe?”


    Sarah rolled her eyes. “Screw you. I’m done with this whole mess.” She stormed over to the door, but then hesitated, her hand on the knob. “And for what it’s worth,” she added, “I think you’re wrong about his feelings for E. The way he looks at her is more fond than you let on.”


    With that, she stormed out, mming the door behind her.


    The word made Gabriel’s jaw clench. Fond. That was exactly what he’d been afraid of.


    For a long moment, Gabriel just sat there, staring at the closed door. Was Alexander in deeper than he had


    realized?


    This was worse than Gabriel had thought.


    He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a small cloth bag. Inside were the broken pieces of that locket–the one he’d told Alexander he would take to a jeweler for repair. The same locket that Alexander had specifically asked him to fix because he knew how much it meant to E.


    Gabriel had never taken it anywhere. He’d been carrying it around for days, trying to decide what to do with <ol><li>it. </li></ol>


    Now he knew.


    He walked to the small bathroom connected to his office and dumped the broken pieces into the toilet. The silver fragments glinted in the water for a moment before he flushed them away, watching with satisfaction


    as they disappeared down the drain forever.


    He wouldn’t let Alexander fall for E, no matter what it took.