Chapter 21 The Scratch
{Warren’s POV}
“Alpha, the apartments from the real estate project at East Norway need your approval for the renovation,” Jane said as she flipped open the document in her hand and turned it gently toward me.
But my mind wasn’t on it. No matter how much I tried to stay focused, it kept drifting back to Diana… and the guy who dropped her off.
Could he be her mate?
I didn’t even realize how lost I was in the thought until Jane touched my shoulder lightly.
“Alpha, is everything alright?” she asked, her voice laced with concern.
“Yes.” I cleared my throat and straightened. “Leave the documents with me. Once I’m done reviewing them, Diana will bring them to you.”
She lowered her gaze, nodded softly, and turned to leave. Just as she reached the door, I called her name.
Jane turned slightly. “Yes, Alpha?”
“I want you to look into the pack business. It seems Mathias is teaching the warriors new tactics. Check and make sure it doesn’t exceed that.”
She nodded and finally walked out.
As soon as she left, I leaned back in my chair and shoved a hand through my hair. Diana’s face flashed in my mind again, and I shook my head hard as if that could erase her. I looked down at the documents again, but the words didn’t make sense.
The creak of the door pulled my attention sharply.
Diana walked in with a tray. Carefully. Too carefully, like she was scared she might trip. I watched her with a smirk I didn’t even mean to have.
My jaw tightened at the memory of that guy’s car.
The way he dropped her off. The way she stepped out like she trusted him. Like he had every right to be close to her.
He didn’t look like he deserved her.
But she must love him… she must love him so much that she refused to attend my ball because of his sick mother.
She placed the tray on my desk and slowly lifted the cup from it.
My eyes didn’t leave her, and she was obviously trying not to meet mine.
“Did you add extra cream to it?” I asked, lifting the cup and taking a slow sip.
“Yes, si—”
She stopped mid-word as she realized my gaze had dropped lower.
Her hand, there was a scratch there.
My wolf growled quietly inside me, claws pushing forward in annoyance and something else… something hotter, darker.
“Diana,” I said, my voice tighter than I expected. “What happened to your hand?”
She blinked. “My hand?”
I frowned. “Did your mate do this to you?”
Her eyes widened in confusion. “My—what? No… what are you talking about?”
I stood up slowly, the chair scraping the floor behind me. Heat rushed through my body, anger, jealousy, and something I didn’t want to name.
“The scratch,” I said, nodding toward her hand. “It looks fresh. Did your mate hurt you?”
“My mate?” she repeated again like she had never heard the word in her life.
My teeth clenched. “Diana… don’t lie to me.”
She flinched slightly and touched the scratch. “It’s not my mate. It’s nothing serious.”
“Who did it?” My voice came out low. Too low.
She looked down. “It’s just… a scratch from when I was rushing to work this morning.”
Lie.
It was written all over her.
I walked closer before she could step back, standing right in front of her. I reached out and took her wrist gently, turning her hand over to look at the bruise more closely.
Her breath hitched.
“This is not from rushing to work,” I said quietly. “It looks like a serious scratch. Tell me the truth.”
She swallowed hard and looked anywhere but at me. My wolf pushed forward again, hating the fear on her face, hating the idea that she was hurt, hating that someone else, some useless mate, should’ve protected her.
I stepped even closer.
Her scent hit me like a wave. Warm. Soft. Familiar in a way I couldn’t explain.
I lifted my hand and touched the side of her neck where I noticed a faint mark. She tensed but didn’t push me away.
My finger traced the scratch lightly before I took her hand again. The wounds were healing, but not fully.
“Who did you fight with?” I asked, unable to hold back the edge in my voice. “This is from a wolf.”
Her eyes snapped up to mine, shocked.
She reacted to my touch in a way that made something inside me tighten. Her pulse jumped beneath her skin, and my wolf growled again, this time softer. Possessively.
Diana suddenly stepped back, putting space between us.
“I was attacked… when I was going home yesterday,” she said quietly. “It’s not a big deal. I was rescued by—”
“Your mate,” I finished for her, my jaw clenching so hard it hurt.
She looked at me silently but didn’t correct me.
Something punched straight into my chest. A tight, angry feeling I didn’t want to examine.
She cleared her throat. “Is there anything else you want me to do, sir?”
“No.”
“Okay. I'll be in my post.” She turned and walked out quickly.
The moment she left, the room felt colder. I dragged a hand down my face and let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.
There was more to what she told me, my instincts screamed it.
And the thought of her mate rescuing her…
The thought of her mate touching her…
It burned, It shouldn’t burn, but it did anyway.
I walked over to my desk and sat down heavily. My fingers tapped the wood, my wolf pacing inside me restlessly.
Why did I care so much?
Why did it anger me that she had a mate?
Why did the sight of that bruise made
me want to tear someone apart limb by limb?
I shouldn’t care.
But for some stupid reason…
I did.
More than I wanted to admit.