Chapter 40

Adrian.

I fall onto my back, dripping with sweat as I try to catch my breath. The young girl next to me collapses and passes out in my bed after our little adventure I put her through. I am nowhere near to having my needs met, but this girl doesn’t have the energy or drive that I need to quench my sexual needs.

No girl ever has, although Lola does come close.

I push her name out of my head as a tempting thought. After hearing how desperate she is to seduce me, I need to keep her out of my bed for as long as I can.

I get up and pull some sweats on to go downstairs to get something to drink.

My wolf is restless and is constantly filling my head with thoughts about Poppy. The very girl I’m trying my damnest not to think about. I don’t understand why he is so enraptured with this girl.

As I make my way down to the kitchen, I hear a faint tapping on the front door. I hesitate for a moment before answering it. Who would be coming to the house at this hour at night?

I suck in a breath in an attempt to catch the scent of the person on the other side of the door, but I’m not able to catch their smell. Against my better judgment, I decide to open the door to see who it is.

I open the door, and to my surprise, I see Poppy standing on the other side of it. Her eyes scroll up and down the length of my body before shifting elsewhere, trying to look at anything else but me.

I smirk at how uncomfortable she looks at this moment.

I raise both arms and lean against the doorframe, exposing all my muscles for her to see.

“Poppy, what are you doing here so late? Is there something I can help you with?”

Poppy shifts her eyes back onto me before pressing her lips into a thin line, “This is a bad idea. I shouldn’t have come here,” she says before turning to walk away.

I quickly reach out and grab her wrist to stop her from leaving. I watch as a shiver travels through her when my skin touches hers.

At first, her reaction confuses me, but my thoughts shift to earlier this evening when she gets mad at me for killing that wolf.

Do I repulse her that much?

“Stop, don’t leave. Why are you here? Did something happen?” I ask as a look of concern crosses my face.

Poppy shakes her head, but she refuses to look back at me. I release her wrist.

“So, what’s going on?” I continue to pry while standing in the doorway, folding my arms across my chest.

Poppy lets out a sigh as she runs her hands through her raven hair.

“I don’t know why I’m here. I was running through the forest, not sure where I was heading, and I ended up here in front of your house.”

“Wait, why were you running out in the forest? My captain was supposed to take you home.”

Poppy lowers her eyes as she begins to fidget in her place. I can see she wants to avoid my question.

“Poppy,” I say her name in a firm tone.

Poppy releases a huff before answering, “Your warrior left me in the middle of the forest because he had more important things to do than babysit me.”

I drop my arms to my side and feel the muscles in my arms begin to tighten as my hands clench into fists when I hear how one of my captains talks to Poppy.

“I’m going to have a talk with my captain,” I tell her through grit teeth.

Poppy shakes her head.

“No, don’t say anything. I’m not trying to cause trouble. It’s obvious he doesn’t like me. I don’t need him to hate me because I told on him.

I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration with the situation at hand.

“You’re not tattling. I gave an order, and he disobeyed. I need to know these things so I can continue to run a strong, disciplined pack. I can’t have warriors breaking rules and thinking they can do whatever they want.”

My anger is continuing to rise, and I’m ready to hit something.

Poppy reaches out and places her hand on my arm. “Okay, calm down. You don’t have to get so angry about this.”

My anger begins to calm down when I feel Poppy’s cool touch against my skin.

I stare into her silver eyes, and for a moment, I see something gentle and loving staring back at me. It’s gone quickly when her eyes shift to something behind me.

“There you are, Alpha. Are you coming back to bed?” The concubine says as she walks up next to me and places her hand on the back of my shoulder.

Poppy’s demeanor quickly changes as she pulls back her hand from my arm. “I’m sorry to have disturbed you, Alpha. I’ll be leaving now so you can get back to more important things.”

Poppy turns quickly and runs away.

I want to go after her, but the girl next to me wraps her arms around me in an attempt to stop me from leaving.

“She’s better off, Alpha. Besides, I’m ready for another round, and I found someone else who would like to join,” she purrs into my ear.

I feel another pair of warm hands against my skin. I look to the right of me, and it’s another girl with darker hair and blue eyes. She doesn’t look anything like Poppy, which is in my favor.

My head and my wolf are playing games with me, and I want to feel a sense of normalcy for just a little while.

I turn and wrap my arms around both of the girls while walking them up to my room.

“Maybe two girls are better than one.”