E & Alexander


    E


    Golden sunlight was streaming through the bedroom windows when I woke, warming my bare skin where the sheet had slipped down.


    For a moment, I justid there, smiling like a fool, my body pleasantly sore in ces that had never ached before. A wave of something that I could only describe as an aftershock of arousal rushed through me, starting from my groin and radiating outward.


    Instinctively, I reached out, expecting Alexander to beying beside me. Thest thing I remembered was his warm body flush against mine before I had fallen into the sweetest sleep I’d had in years.


    But


    my hand met cool, neatly made sheets.


    I cracked my eyes open against the bright sunlight and saw that he was gone. And then the memories fromst night came rushing back. First came the pleasure of our first time together, but then came…


    My hand flew to my throat.


    Nothing was there. Just smooth, unmarked skin where his fangs should have left their im. The disappointment was immediate and intense. I pressed my palm against the spot where he should have bitten me, where for one heart-stopping moment I’d been certain he was going toplete our bond. I’d tilted my head back, offering myself to himpletely, and he’d…


    He’d pulled away.


    And now his side of the bed was empty and cold. He had left before I’d even woken, hadn’t even bothered to let me know he was leaving.


    But of course he was gone. Why had I expected anything different? He’d gotten what he wanted from me-my body, my virginity, probably myplete and utter surrender-and now he was back to hating me.


    Oh, who was I kidding? He’d never stopped hating me. Andst night had been a mistake, a moment of weakness on my part. I had been so enthralled by my hero that I had forgotten he was still my enemy. For all I knew, it was likely just a maniption to keep me satisfied for the remainder of our contract so I wouldn’t try to pull out early.


    What a lovesick fool I was.


    Although I had to admit, my body did feel better today… Stronger. The intimacy we’d shared had clearly made my condition improve, or so it seems. But whatever physical benefits I might


    have gained from our night together were overshadowed by the hollow ache of bitterness in my chest.


    If Alexander wouldn’t mark me after what we’d sharedst night, then he never would.


    Stupidly, I’d given him everything, and it still wasn’t enough. He still saw me as the mate he never wanted. One night of passion couldn’t erase five years of hatred.


    I curled into a ball under the covers, pulling the sheet over my head in shame. Goddess, how could I have been so stupid? How could I have thought that sleeping with him would change anything between us?


    Alexander had made his choice. He would rather watch me die than im me as his true mate.


    Alexander


    I was sitting in my office, trying to go over paperwork but not really able to focus on anything, when Gabriel knocked and entered. His eyes immediately zeroed in on my neck, and narrowed when he spotted the dark bruise E had left there with her mouthst night.


    The Beta folded his arms. “Did you sleep with her?”


    The question was blunt-typical Gabriel. I finally raised my eyes to meet his, keeping my expression neutral despite the fact that my wolf was practically purring with satisfaction at the mere mention of E’s perfect body beneath me.


    “Yes.” There was no point in trying to hide it, especially not from a subordinate.


    Gabriel’s face went through several expressions before settling on panic. “Please tell me you didn’t mark her.”


    The memory shed through my mind for the millionth time already since I’d woken that morning. E had tilted her head back just as we reached our peak together, exposing the elegant curve of her throat, and I had nearly lost control.