Chapter 37 037
DERRICK
I walked back toward my study with a slow, deliberate stride, a cunning smirk tugging at the corner of my lips. The corridor felt quieter than usual, the air heavier, as though the walls themselves were listening. Whatever that ridiculous performance had been earlier, I had enjoyed it far more than I cared to admit.
Charles had too.
“I didn’t know my mate could be so many things,” I mused under my breath as I pushed the door open and lowered myself into my chair. “But an actress? That was… ambitious.”
The memory of her stiff body, her forced stillness, and the way her lashes had betrayed her nearly made me chuckle again. She really thought she could fool me. The audacity alone was impressive.
I reached for the nearest document, determined to return to work, but my fingers froze halfway.
Something was wrong.
“But why did I mention her parents?” I murmured, my brows knitting together as an unfamiliar unease crawled up my spine. “I don’t remember ever meeting them.”
I leaned back, closing my eyes, searching my memory carefully....methodically. Faces passed through my mind. Names. Old alliances. Fallen packs.
Nothing.
“I’m certain I’ve never encountered them,” I said more firmly, as if saying it aloud would make it true. “That must have been a mistake.”
Yet the feeling didn’t fade.
A sharp heat bloomed in my palms, spreading fast. I glanced down, startled to see sweat gathering there, droplets forming where there should have been none. My forehead prickled next, warmth seeping into my skin like fire beneath flesh.
“What is this?” I muttered, clenching my fist.
Charles groaned inside me, a sound thick with discomfort.
My eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me he’s trying to take over now.”
Panic flickered briefly....dangerous, unwanted....but Charles hissed sharply, cutting that thought short.
‘That’s not it,’ he growled. ‘We’re in our heat. And we need our mate.’
I exhaled slowly, irritation and realization colliding.
Heat.
How could I forget something so fundamental?
“Why now?” I muttered, dragging a hand down my face as the warmth intensified. “The timing couldn’t be worse.”
‘Stop fighting it,’ Charles snapped. ‘Go to her.’
I shut him out immediately. He would push relentlessly if I let him. He always did when desire was involved....manipulative, persuasive, relentless.
I rose from my chair, intending to release the excess tension the way I always had, and my steps carried me down the hall before I could fully think it through.
I stopped.
Amanda’s chamber.
The doors were shut tight, exactly as I had ordered earlier. My jaw clenched. For years, she had been my convenient solution....easy, unquestioning, familiar.
And now, standing there, I felt disgust coil in my gut.
What shameless thing was I doing?
I snarled softly at myself and stepped back.
I could be ruthless. I could be cruel. But I would not be the kind of Alpha who touched another woman while his mate burned elsewhere.
That was disrespect.
“Do you want me to announce your presence, Alpha?”
The voice startled me.
I turned to find a maid stationed near the door, her head tilted in polite inquiry. I frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“You’ve been standing here,” she said carefully. “I thought you wished to see her.”
My eyes hardened instantly.
“I don’t believe I pay you to observe me this closely,” I said coldly.
Her face drained of color as she bowed deeply, apologizing over herself. I brushed past her without another glance.
I needed air. Cold. Distance.
A shower crossed my mind, but I dismissed it just as quickly. The lake was colder. Deeper. It had always worked before.
The walk there felt longer than usual. My body burned, heat pooling low, coiling tight and restless. By the time I reached the shoreline, my patience was threadbare.
I stripped without ceremony, tugging fabric away from overheated skin, muscles taut with restrained frustration. The night air kissed my body, cool but insufficient.
The lake shimmered under the moonlight, glassy and inviting.
I stepped forward....
....and froze.
A figure rose from the water.
“Mhmm… that was refreshing.”
My breath caught.
Lyka.
Water streamed down her hair, clinging to her skin, her thin clothing plastered against her body in a way that left nothing to imagination. Her eyes widened as she noticed me, shock mirroring my own.
“Ahhh!” she screamed, covering her eyes....then uncovering them just as quickly, her gaze snapping right back to me, fierce and unashamed.
“What are you doing naked?” she demanded.
I didn’t answer immediately. I couldn’t. My attention was entirely consumed by the way moonlight traced her curves, by the faint tremor in her stance, by the scent that flooded the air.
Heat.
She felt it too.
“Why did you come to find me here?” she asked, her voice sharp, accusing.
“Why are you still looking?” I countered coolly, though my control was already fraying.
She gasped and turned away....then glanced back again, as if pulled by instinct.
“I’ll stop looking if you put some clothes on!” she snapped. “Please!”
I scoffed lightly. “You should do the same. Before this gets out of hand.”
Her breath hitched.
“Don’t come closer,” she warned, stepping back into the water. “I don’t know what I might do.”
I ignored her.
Under the moonlight, surrounded by still water and night air, she looked otherworldly. Beautiful.
And dangerous.
‘Mate,’ Charles purred, seizing control.
I stepped into the lake.
The water barely cooled me now. In seconds, I was standing before her, close enough to feel the heat radiating from her body. My hands moved on instinct, wrapping around her waist, pulling her flush against me.
Her chest rose sharply, breath uneven, betraying her composure.
“I told you not to come closer,” she whispered, though she didn’t push me away.
“Then do it,” I murmured, leaning down, my breath brushing her lips. “Push me away.”
Her resistance crumbled.
When my lips captured hers, she sighed....a soft, helpless sound that echoed through me like a victory and a curse all at once.
She was burning.
And so was I.