Mated To The Cold Hearted Alpha
Chapter 20

Her mouth twisted. I could see the gears of her mind churning. “Okay, do you have a pen and a piece of paper?”

What the hell was she up to now?

I sat forward in my chair. “Why?”

“Simple. So I can write all of their names down. I doubt I’ll be able to recall such a long list off of the top of my head.” It was her turn to smirk and smirk she did.

I studied her, looking for any hint of humor she may be joking or bluffing. Her expression didn’t crack as she looked at me expectantly. Okay, she was serious. Fan-f*****g-tastic.

I stood and walked to my desk, opening the top drawer, pulling out a pad of paper and pen. I turned around to replace her holding out her hand eagerly.

This was going to be bad. I just knew it in my gut.

This conversation was going to get us nowhere, or more likely, it was going to push us back even farther than we already were, which was saying something. I closed the distance between us, depositing the items in her waiting palm and then resumed sitting in the chair. I gritted my teeth, irritated that I’d opened this particular can of worms. “Do you really want to do this? You’ve already said you don’t give a shit about me. What does it matter?”

She somehow managed to look down her nose at me. “I can’t challenge a female if I don’t know you’ve been with them. And you said it was my right to challenge any one of them that I wanted. Are you going back on your word now?”

I ground my teeth together even harder, hoping I didn’t crack a molar with the force I was using. “What is it you want to know?”

“Names,” she said simply. “Everyone you f****d. Go ahead, hit me with it.” She studiously looked down at the pad and held the pen ready, waiting for my answer.

I sighed heavily and began giving her name after name. After name. She wrote down the first five without comment. But as we continued, as expected, I wasn’t the only one now irritated. We were five more names in, and she growled under her breath furiously, “I should have f****d every damn male I came across.”

She looked back up at me, voice stiff with obviously fake pleasantry, “Okaaay. It’s clear I’m going about this all wrong. Why don’t you just tell me the names of the women you haven’t f****d? I suspect it will be a much shorter list.”

That wasn’t exactly true, but I preferred to focus on her earlier comment. I interrupted her fuming. “Why didn’t you?”

She looked at me in confusion. “Why didn’t I what?”

“Why didn’t you f**k every male you came across? It’s obvious you could have your pick of any one of them, and yet you chose none of them. Why?” I leaned forward even farther, very interested in hearing her answer.

A blush blossomed on her cheeks. She shifted her position, dropping her knees down and sitting cross-legged instead. She fiddled with the pencil, tapping the eraser against the pad of paper, and refused to look at me.

Now I was even more curious. I lifted from the chair and joined her on the bed. I cupped the side of her cheek, gently forcing her head up to look at me. Tingles ran through my hand, where it made contact with her skin. She jolted but didn’t pull away. I brushed my thumb gently along her cheek and whispered softly, “Tell me why.”

“I tried,” she muttered, again looking down.

I held back my growl. That was not quite the answer I expected. Forcing myself to remain calm, I asked, “What do you mean you tried?”

She abruptly broke from my hold and stood to her feet, pacing across the room, gesturing madly with her hands in the air. “I tried! I’d be kissing a male and thinking maybe this time I could go farther. And then you showed up! Every single damn time!” she cursed bitterly.

I showed up?

That was also not quite the answer I expected. I was going to need a bit more clarification. I waited because it looked like my little mouse was just getting started in her diatribe. And I was right. She spun around and stomped back across the room to me, poking me hard in the chest, hissing, “YOU! I’d close my eyes and see your f*****g face!” *poke, poke* “Your f*****g, freaky purple eyes!” *poke, poke, poke* “Who has purple eyes, anyway?” Her tantrum was gaining speed.

Shit, it was the same thing I’d gone through for the last three years.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her down to the bed next to me..

She squeaked in surprise, “Oh!”

When she stopped moving, I cupped her face in my hands, curling my fingers around the back of her neck. I stared into her dark, liquid lake blue orbs, swirling with flecks of iridescent particles of the Moon. Eyes wide, her breath came fast.

I whispered intently, “I’m sorry you were frustrated. But I can’t say I’m sorry you waited. I promise I will make this special for you. No one will ever treat your body the way I will-the way your mate will.”

F**k. And there it was again the bond gleefully f*****g with me.

I wanted to k**s her so damn bad, but I held back. I knew she wasn’t ready just like I knew she wasn’t ready for anything further the night before. On top of all the other challenges, one remained more difficult than all the rest-I had killed her parents.

Her eyes clouded over and she pulled back, away from my touch, muttering, “Don’t…I can’t…”

I let her go once again, pushing away the stale taste of disappointment in my gut.

A knock on the door interrupted our tense moment. Irritably, I commanded, “Come in.”

The door opened, and Sydney stepped inside. She held items from the list of supplies and clothing I’d given her.

She didn’t acknowledge Hycinth. Instead, she spoke only to me, her voice a little higher than normal, “Good morning, Alpha, I brought everything you asked for. Shall I just put the clothing in the closet? I know there are a few drawers that are empty.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” I replied flatly, still too focused on the disappointment of another rejection. I cursed for even allowing myself to feel discontent. And then my little mouse’s expression caught my attention.

Her eyes had narrowed into slits, mouth set in a thin white line, as she watched the other shewolf wander off into my closet.

Interesting.

Very interesting.