Cruel Alpha, Season One (Wolves of New Eden #1)

13. Stalemate

13

Stalemate

Annalise

The estate is eerily quiet now that the orchestra has played their last note, and the guests—full of wine and exquisite food—have all left this home to return to their own. My steps echo across the pristine floor of the drawing room as Archibald latches the door closed behind me.

My eyes lock in on Caspian, and he doesn’t turn. He’s quiet and unmoving where he sits before the fire, still dressed in his tux. The bowtie is undone now, and so are the top buttons of his shirt. Something strong swirls in his glass where his hand drapes over the edge of the armrest. Illuminated by the glow of the flames, his profile resembles an oil painting—timeless, layered, complicated.

It isn’t until I’m a few feet away that he finally shifts his stare from the fireplace to me, and there’s the slightest smile set on his lips. I do my best not to fall victim to it.

“You asked to see me?”

He nods but doesn’t speak right away. Mostly, because he’s taking in my attire. The dress was far too bulky to shuffle around the house in it after the event drew to a close, so the first order of business when the clock struck midnight was to change. The silk nightgown that was laid out on my bed this evening is far more comfortable, and the matching, floor-length robe protects me from the estate’s persistent chill.

“You’re… in your night clothes,” he says, and his tone is hard to read.

“I am. I needed to be out of that dress, and it seemed foolish to bother changing, only to have to change again for bed, so…”

I lift my shoulders with a casual shrug when I feel I’ve explained enough. Caspian’s gaze lingers on me a moment longer, before he averts his eyes toward the fire again.

“Did you enjoy yourself this evening?” He takes a sip from his glass, and I study the way his lips mold to the curved surface, how his throat moves when he swallows.

“It was… lovely,” is the response I settle on. “It was interesting to see how all the raw material the decorators have hauled in over the past several days came together.”

Caspian nods. “Only the best for the best,” he says, and heat touches my face.

“Is there something you wanted to discuss? It’s been a long night. I’d like to get to bed soon.”

He offers a slow nod as he sets his glass aside, then echoes that one word. “Soon.”

My eyes lift with him when he stands, taking in his staggering height, his perfect physique. Slow, intentional steps carry him in my direction, and I find myself struggling to keep my breath steady.

“Your friend, Barron Fitzroy. Were you two… serious?”

His hands slip into his pockets as he takes a few more steps.

“I wouldn’t say I was all that serious with anyone ,” I answer, but have a question of my own. “Why are you so concerned about my past?”

He’s a breath away now, and he never misses an opportunity to assert his power over me, gripping my waist with both hands.

“You’re mine,” he says. “Why would I not be concerned?”

Smirking up at him, I arch a brow. “All you need to know is that any time I spent with the baron was time I chose to spend with him. I was never summoned. Never… forced . ”

My nostrils flare with excitement when he smiles again, darker this time, but still lighthearted. This comes as a relief because the flippant response could have easily provoked him. But instead, he draws me closer, and the way he holds me has me losing my train of thought.

“Dance with me,” he croons, leaning down to my ear. “But only if you want to. Wouldn’t want you to feel... forced .”

I roll my eyes, smiling a little at his response to my jab. But to keep things quiet and easy, I nod, granting him permission. Caspian’s hand leaves me and slides into his pocket. He retrieves a small remote that he then aims at the receiver on his bookcase, and half a second later, soft music lulls from unseen speakers hidden throughout the room. He returns the remote to his pocket, and my side warms from his hand again.

“Alpha Regent,” he says softly, the hum of his deep words resonating inside his chest. “This clan has never had a female alpha. This is sure to create quite a buzz around New Eden.”

We sway to the rhythm, and I fight the urge to rest my cheek on his shoulder.

“Yes, I’m sure it will. Is that why you did it? To show the people what a progressive thinker you are?”

He laughs. “Are you always like this? Assuming everyone has an angle?”

I shrug and move my hands higher on his arms, accidentally squeezing his solid biceps in the process.

“No. I suppose you just bring out the best in me.”

He nods, still smiling despite my cynicism. “Noted.”

We continue to move together, and with the absence of conversation the moment feels too… intimate.

“Dimitri and Creed seemed ecstatic with your decision to bestow me with such a lofty title.” My words are, again, dripping with sarcasm, but I think he’s come to expect it.

“Yes, well, they’ll recover. They always do when I shoot from the hip, as they say. I suppose I’ve always been of the mind that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.”

There’s another lull in conversation, but this time the silence is broken by my laughter.

“What’s funny?”

My laugh only grows when he sounds genuinely offended. “It’s just that you don’t strike me as the type to ask for either— forgiveness or permission . I imagine you’re more of a ‘these are my rules, deal with it’ kind of guy.”

He stares, only breaking a smile at the end. “You may be right.”

I nod, knowing I’m right, and I find myself leaning into him a bit more. For his size, he’s surprisingly light on his feet. If he were anyone else, I’d pay him the compliment out loud, but instead, I file this detail away in my thoughts, again using conversation to distract myself.

“You didn’t have to offer me the title, so… why did you?”

I peer up into his eyes and immediately know it’s a mistake. When they’re not angry and full of wrath, they’re actually somewhat warm.

He’s thoughtful and doesn’t seem in a rush to answer, which I take note of. And when he finally does part his lips to speak, I’m all ears.

“I suppose it could be considered an act of good faith,” he says. “Right now, from my perspective, it’d be easy to think we will always exist in this state we’re currently in. One where frustration and bitterness prevail. While I may be completely crazy for thinking this… I believe there will come a day when the walls between us will crumble. And when that happens, our interests will somehow align, and there won’t be a gulf between our ambitions. Because at the heart of the matter, we both want what’s best for this clan.”

I feel my heart racing, praying he doesn’t feel it too. And when I catch myself staring into his eyes again, I blink to break the spell.

“And how do you think your other mates will feel about this?” I ask next. “If I’m not mistaken, if an alpha declares his mate Alpha Regent, that’s a singular title. Meaning, there can only be one female alpha. Aren’t you worried the others—whoever they are—will think you have a favorite?”

That slow smile curves his lips again, and for a second, I imagine the feel of them against mine.

“Don’t you realize it, Annalise? That’s the point.”

This time, I’m certain he feels my heart. It’s beating hard and wild against my ribs, all at the thought of him favoring me above the others. It’s a sick thing to get excited over, but there’s no denying the effect these words have had on me.

“Sounds risky. You’ll spark a mutiny under your own roof,” I say, which draws a quiet laugh from him.

“I suppose that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

His lips seem closer now, and I don’t back away.

“Haven’t you heard the saying about a house divided?” I ask. “I believe the conclusion is that it will surely fall. Imagine the chaos that will ensue once they realize I’m esteemed higher than them. They’ll be jealous.”

Caspian inches even closer, and my eyes lower to his mouth when he speaks again. “Then, let them be fucking jealous.”

There’s an unfamiliar urge within me. One beckoning me to grip his jaw in my hands, take the lead by initiating a kiss, but I refrain, asking another question instead.

“And what if I don’t want the title? What if that’s a crown I’ve deemed too heavy to wear?”

One of his hands leaves my waist, and he uses the tip of his index finger to lift my chin, forcing my eyes back to his.

“It doesn’t matter how heavy it is, Annalise. I’ll be with you. I’ll carry this with you. And whatever else you face in this lifetime, we’ll shoulder it together.”

His words settle on my heart because they’re beautiful, romantic even, but there’s something fundamentally wrong with this declaration.

It isn’t true.

“You know? I actually believe that you believe those words, but the thing is, it’s easy for now. While there’s only me. While you don’t have an entire flock of women to keep happy. But what will happen when your plate’s full? When you’re being pulled in so many directions you forget which way is up?”

There’s a burn in my throat, and I recognize it quickly.

Bitterness.

Caspian’s jaw tenses, and his eyes are hard now. His fingertip slips from my chin, and I brace myself for his words.

“You surprise me, Annalise. You’re so strong-willed, forthcoming, and yet… you can never just come out and say what this is really about.”

“What what’s really about?”

“Your disdain for the idea of me taking on other mates!” he snaps. “One minute, you hate me to my core, the next you bring out the claws at the mere mention of there being other women.”

His stare makes me feel naked, and not in the way it usually does.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Slipping from his grasp, I take a step away, deciding this conversation has come to an end, but Caspian’s tight grip on my wrist implies otherwise.

My body snaps back toward his, and he locks me against him, so tightly I can hardly even squirm. Then, I nearly gasp when he kisses me, filling me with heat and desire that offset my anger in strange ways. He never comes out and says what his accusations are, but I think we both know.

That I, the woman who swore she’d kill him before she fell for him, or before she’d even have compassion for him, am undeniably… jealous.

We’re so close that his breaths become my own, and the world feels like it’s upside down. It only adds to the illusion when my feet leave the floor, and I’m swept into his arms. He carries me to the couch where I’m placed gently on the cushion. Then, half a second later, the weight of his body covers mine.

Frantic, I push the jacket of his tux down his arms, and Caspian slips out of it without ever breaking our kiss. He settles between my legs and my gown gathers around my waist, until the only thing between us is the fabric of my dampened underwear, and his slacks.

“You’re mine,” he groans. “I should be able to fuck you when I’m good and damn ready.”

His heated words fill my head with the possibility of it. Only, we both know why he’s frustrated. Because there are rules. Strict rules that bear consequences for not waiting.

“I should be inside you, Little Wolf. I should be making you explode with pleasure, dying a million little deaths as you come for me. Over and over and over again.”

He buries his face into my neck, and I’m dazed, half out of my mind as I somehow bypass my brain’s filter and whisper against his ear.

“Do it. I need you to make me come.”

The challenge has him groaning against my skin, and the sound of it inspires my hips to thrust upward, grinding my pussy against his large, rock-solid cock. The friction is euphoric, sending a wave of inexplicable pleasure rolling through me.

“But there are rules, Little Wolf.”

“Yes,” I say, breathing over his skin. “But there are ways around them.”

I feel his smile when we kiss again, and I’m giddy at the feel of him undoing his zipper. He reaches into his slacks and maneuvers himself out of his underwear, finally freeing his cock through the slit in the fabric. I stare down the length of my body to where he’s aligned with my core. But he doesn’t bother trying to remove my panties. Instead, he leaves my underwear in place and angles his swollen tip toward my clit.

With the slightest pump of his hips, he nudges the tender bud, and I moan. He repeats the movement, sliding his length easily over the smooth satin, and my body awakens with the possibility of finding relief. He lowers to kiss me again, and his hot, thick shaft still has full contact with my clit. His weight settles on top of me, and he grinds relentlessly against my pussy.

“I can feel how wet you are even through your panties,” he teases, nipping my lip. “Are you imagining it? Imagining how it would feel if I were actually inside you?”

I’m breathing so loudly I’ve barely heard him over the sound, but I manage to nod, answering his question.

“One day soon, I’ll finally get to feel you, Annalise. And once I do, there won’t be a single second that passes that I won’t want to take you all over again.”

His chest lifts away from mine, and he pumps his hips faster. The friction has me throbbing for him, aching in places I didn’t even know existed. The visual of him on top of me, moving and thrusting… I’m so close.

His stare narrows when I wet my lips, which he reads as an invitation, because the next second, his finger is in my mouth, pressing down onto my tongue as I suck it. A breath falls from his lips, and I draw the finger in deeper, letting my imagination run wild. A soft hum of sensation builds to a full blast, and I’m buzzing with pleasure, growing as Caspian grinds down against my throbbing clit, until I… until I’m…

“Fuck!”

The pleasure only mounts when I imagine him giving me more than this, more than a session of teasing through my underwear. I imagine the fabric disappearing, and him pushing his way inside me, releasing into me as I come. I’m still breathless when he replaces his fingers in my mouth with his tongue, kissing me so deeply that I want to be completely consumed by him.

But then, as soon as the high settles, I’m reminded of the whirlwind of emotions that led us here. And when the kiss slows to a stop, I’m fairly certain the same holds true for Caspian. The swell of heat leaves my body, and the chill returns all too quickly. Another kiss does nothing to rewind us back to the passion that ignited between us just a moment ago, so we end it.

I avert my eyes when he fixes his clothes, putting his still-hard cock back inside his slacks without having gotten a release of his own. I feel his stare settle on me, but can’t bring myself to look his way as that word from before echoes inside my head.

Jealous .

“For what it’s worth, Annalise, you have my word. I’ll be devoted to you. And in another life, you’d be my one and only.”

The sting of truth in these words has me standing from the sofa, straightening my clothes as I feel the pull toward the exit.

“Another life,” I say thoughtfully to myself.

“Annalise, I?—”

“Just… don’t,” I cut in.

Hearing him say the same thing in a new way doesn’t change the meaning.

“Your decision has been made. I understand that,” I inform him. “But my acceptance of this means there are certain truths that you’ll have to accept as well.”

Caspian’s eyes narrow, but he doesn’t speak.

“I can never fall for you. I will never fall for any man whose heart can’t be mine and mine alone.”

When my vision begins to blur from the water pooling in my eyes, that pull toward the exit grows stronger.

“Excuse me.”

My last vision of Caspian is of him resting on the couch disheveled, seeming to come to grips with the consequences of his greed.

He can have it all if that’s what he desires, but he’ll never fully have me.