<b>Chapter </b><b>184 </b>


    Julian’s POV


    <b>While </b>I was ramping up for a fight, Rafael looked at me coolly, his own anger freezing over like ice.


    “Before wee to blows,” he said, “You should remember whose pack <b>you </b>are in right now. Whose house you are in. It is only by my good graces that you have not been physically removed.”


    “You don’t want to fight?” I asked, confused.


    “There’s no point,” Rafael said. <b>“</b>You have no power here. From my perspective, you are nothing more than a child throwing a tantrum in a store when he doesn’t get what he wants.” He hummed. “I wonder


    what Amber would think if she could see you now.”


    He had been attempting to cow me, and I hated to say that it was actually working. Suddenly I felt some measure of shame. I had stormed into this Alpha’s home and postured against him, threatening him in


    his own pack, his own home.


    I didn’t like Rafael, but this was not how things were done. I was acting like a stereotypical Alpha who


    thought more with his brawn than his brain.


    Amber, if she was here, would be absolutely embarrassed for me.


    “If you wish to make a formal challenge…” Rafael said.


    “No,” I said. I had no desire <b>to </b>create <b>a </b>conflict between our two packs. My pack was thergest in the kingdom, but Rafael’s was a close second. For our two packs to fight, to go to war, there would be mass


    casualties on both sides.


    As much as I loved Amber, I couldn’t start a war just because I was jealous.


    “Very well,” Rafael said. “How about a drink?<b>” </b>


    I checked the clock. It was ten in the morning.


    He shrugged. “These kinds of conversations tend to go better with alcohol,” he said.


    “Or worse,” I replied. In my youth, I’d been in more than one drunken brawl.


    “Fair enough.” Rafael set aside his book then walked to the wall where a dry bar was built right into the bookcase. He poured himself two fingers of scotch. “There’s something you need to understand, Julian. This should put you at ease, though it will not make me like you.”


    “What is that<b>?</b><b>” </b>I asked, on guard. I had no idea what he was going to say and braced myself.


    He looked at me and said, “<b>I </b>have no romantic interest in Amber. What I feel for her is a sort <b>of </b><b>sisterly </b>affection.”


    “And I’m supposed to believe that?” I asked.


    He sipped from his ss. “Think what you want. I’m telling you how it is. She is not my mate. She is simply someone I admire and like as a person.”


    I stared at him, trying to take the measure of him, to determine if he was telling the truth or not. He seemed earnest, which confused me.


    “Why then would you invite her over here without including me on the invitation?” I asked.


    Point–nk, he said, “Because I don’t like you. I believe I’ve made that clear. You are too domineering, too controlling, and I think she deserves better than you. So you may think of me as an enemy to your rtionship, if you wish, but do not think of me as a rival.”


    Rafael’s POV


    My words confused Julian, that much was obvious from the scrunch of his brow and his downturned lips, but I hoped he would eventuallye to see that I was telling the truth.


    Amber was beautiful, but I had no interest in her. When I met her, the pull I felt was more familial than romantic. But I firmly did believe she deserved better than this mess before me.


    Now that I had said my peace, I saw no more reason to extend this conversation. Turning from him, I refilled my drink. It didn’t need refilled but it gave me something to do, an air of indifference, as I said, ” You can go now. I trust we won’t need to revisit this conversation.”


    Even though I said that, I imagined we would be having this conversation again, in some capacity. Maybe he wouldn’t use me of wishing for a romantic rtionship with Amber again, but I’d certainly use him of being an ass if he continued to mistreat her.