Chapter 5 Caught Between Alphas
The stranger was still watching Irene.
She had felt his gaze before she saw him. Now that their eyes had met, he made no effort to look away.
His dark eyes were cold and unreadable.
Irene had never seen him before, but everything about him felt different.
He was taller and broader than any werewolf she had ever met.
A Lycan.
Irene quickly looked away, but she could still feel his eyes on her.
An uneasy feeling crept through her.
She wanted to find Skylar and leave.
Before she could move, the stranger began walking toward her.
Irene’s stomach tightened.
With every step he took, the uneasy feeling inside her grew stronger.
When he stopped beside the table, his shadow fell over her. He pulled out the chair across from Irene and sat down without asking.
She forced herself to meet his eyes.
“Who are you?”
Her voice sounded weaker than she wanted.
“And what do you want?”
He did not answer immediately.
Instead, he studied her face as though trying to understand something.
“You’re Irene?”
She frowned.
“How do you know my name?”
“The rumors about you are everywhere.”
Her stomach dropped.
“What rumors?”
“That you’re the rejected mate of Hellfire’s future Alpha.”
Irene’s fingers tightened around her glass.
She lowered her gaze.
“I don’t know anything about those rumors.”
The stranger watched her for another moment.
Then he finally gave her a name.
“Arnold.”
Irene stopped breathing.
She had heard that name before.
Alpha Dave had mentioned him. So had Luna Lorraine.
Arnold was the new Lycan Alpha.
He was also the son of the Lycan Alpha Eugene had killed during the war.
Why was he speaking to her?
More importantly, why was he here at all?
Irene swallowed.
“What do you want from me?”
Arnold did not answer.
He simply continued watching her.
Then a familiar scent reached Irene.
Her entire body went still.
Eugene.
She turned.
He stood a short distance away, looking directly at her.
Irene had avoided him for an entire week. Yet the moment their eyes met, the mate bond stirred inside her.
Her heart betrayed her once again.
“Irene.”
Hearing her name in his voice still hurt.
“I’m glad you came.”
Eugene smiled as if nothing had happened.
As if he had not broken her heart.
As if they were still the same people they had been before he left.
Irene looked away.
“Irene,” he repeated, his voice softening. “Can we talk?”
She stood.
“No.”
The answer escaped before she could reconsider it.
Eugene froze.
Irene had never spoken to him that way before.
“I don’t want to talk,” she said quietly. “I want to leave.”
She turned, but before she could take a step, Arnold stood and took her hand.
Irene froze.
He gently pulled her to his side.
She looked up at him in surprise.
Standing beside Arnold made her feel small. But strangely, she no longer felt trapped.
She could breathe again.
Arnold looked at Eugene.
“I’ll speak with her first.”
His voice remained calm. He did not need to raise it.
“You can find another time for your business.”
Eugene’s expression changed.
His gaze dropped to their joined hands.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then his jaw tightened.
“Irene is my mate.”
Arnold looked at him without the slightest concern.
“And?”
Eugene’s face darkened.
“You don’t get to take her away from me.”
Something tightened inside Irene.
Take her away?
Eugene had no right to say that.
He had chosen another woman.
He had brought Ruby into the pack.
He had gotten her pregnant.
Yet he stood there acting as if Irene still belonged to him.
She slowly met his eyes.
“Then why did you let me go?”
Eugene fell silent.
For the first time, he had no answer.
Something shifted inside Irene.
It was not love.
It was not forgiveness.
It was something colder.
Something stronger.
She turned away from him.
“I don’t want to talk to you.”
Eugene stepped forward.
“Irene…”
Arnold’s hand tightened around hers.
“Didn’t you hear her?”
Eugene stopped.
His gaze moved from Arnold’s face to their joined hands.
The jealousy in his expression was impossible to miss.
The man who had returned with another woman and her child was jealous because someone else was holding Irene’s hand.
For the first time since Eugene came home, Irene did not feel guilty for hurting him.
Arnold led her away from the stall, and she followed without resisting.
Only when they were far enough from the crowd did Irene pull her hand free.
“Thank you,” she said. “And I’m sorry for dragging you into that.”
Arnold said nothing.
He merely stared at her.
Irene shifted under his gaze.
“What?”
“You used me to escape from him.”
She stiffened.
“I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“You didn’t.”
“Then why are you looking at me like that?”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“Because I’m wondering if you truly want to leave.”
Irene frowned.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Instead of answering, Arnold turned and walked toward a quieter part of the grounds.
Irene reluctantly followed him.
When he finally stopped, she crossed her arms.
“You said you wanted to speak with me.”
“I do.”
“Then speak.”
Arnold studied her for a long moment.
“I brought you here because I want something from you.”
Her heartbeat quickened.
“What?”
He stepped closer.
Irene instinctively moved back, but his eyes remained fixed on hers.
Then he said something she never expected.
“Be my woman tonight.”
Irene’s mind went blank.
“What?”
Arnold’s expression remained serious.
“Come to the party as my partner.”
She stared at him.
“You want me to pretend to be your partner?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He held her gaze.
The faint amusement disappeared from his face.
“Because I don’t want a pretend partner.”
Irene’s breath caught.
“Then what do you want?”
Arnold moved closer.
His voice dropped.
“I want you.”
Irene could not breathe.
She had only met the Lycan Alpha tonight.
Yet he stood before her, asking her to become his woman.
And the question frightening her most was not what Arnold wanted.
It was why he had chosen her.
