Filed To Story: Claimed by the Alpha I Hate Book Read Free
“We just had the carpets and hardwood redone…” She murmured, toying with her dainty french tip manicure. The tendons in her slender throat stood out as she swallowed and said, “…he didn’t want to get blood on them, so he dragged him outside.”
I tore my eyes off Nolan long enough to frown at the trembling woman and say, “You and any other employee that needs it, take a paid week off. It’s the least Nolan can do to apologize for his disruption.”
Her lips lifted for half a second, but Nolan’s abrupt snarl made them drop.
“Thankyou, Luna. I’ll spread the word…” She said quietly, brushing one of her loose curls behind an ear before making a beeline for the door.
Calling it a battle was kind considering Clint Armstrong had nothing on Nolan. What skill he might’ve possessed dried up when he chose to sit behind a desk for the last two decades, and his skills as a
Judge were doing nothing to protect him against Nolan’s merciless blows.
Blood covered most of his face and was overwhelmingly bitter as I scented it in the air. I could see where some had dried along his cheeks and lips, from where the wounds Nolan left healed only to be reopened seconds later.
Before I could storm over there and tear into him, Nolan grabbed Clint by the neck of his shirt and lifted him like he was a child. The middle-aged wolf was taller than Nolan by a few inches, so his feet d**g along the ground as he pulled him into the grass and continued unloading punch after punch to his face.
“You saw it too, right?” Zeke asked without looking away from the fight.
I didn’t bother answering. Of course, I saw it too.
This was the Nolan that turned on my dad, on his closest friend the same one wailing on Clint so hard the impression of his body would be visible within the dirt for the rest of the week.
His eyes were pitch-black, which happened only when he was severely pissed off, but it wasn’t the color Zeke was referring to. There was a complete lack of awareness within them, like his head had been emptied of everythingevery memory and thought replaced by endless rage.
I didn’t hesitate as I stormed up to the two of them, but before I could place a hand on Nolan’s shoulder, he turned on me. It took everything within me not to flinch as he spun around and raised his hand. His elongated claws caught the sunlight but stopped before they reached my throat.
Cassidy’s gasp rang in my ears, and I could practically feel the tension oozing from her and everyone else in thick waves.
“Really, you’re going to a****k me?” I snapped at him, which might’ve made me look insane to everyone else, but Nolan always responded differently to my anger.
He tilted his head, staring at me with eyes plucked from the darkest abyss. His hair was disheveled, and his face flecked with blood. The button-down shirt he wore shimmered with it but was too dark in color to show how much. When I crossed my arms over my chest, his eyes broke from my face to follow the movement.
I wasn’t sure what made him lower his clawed hand, but whatever it was made his eyebrows crease and the anger in his eyes flicker.
Clint Armstrong chose that moment to stir and began shuffling further away from us. I gritted my teeth to keep from snapping at the man, not that it would’ve mattered because Nolan’s snarl was loud enough to d***n out even the shrillest of voices.
“Mr. Armstrong, I’m going to recommend you don’t move…” I told him, keeping my voice a low and even tone. Clint muttered something unintelligibly, but I did manage to snag the word ‘feral,’ which made a second snarl tear from Nolan’s throat. There was a flash of annoyance in my voice when I added, “…or speak.”
“You aren’t my Alpha-” Even distorted by pain and the blood in his mouth, I could make out Clint’s slurred words. “…she seduced you just like that other-“
I could tell Nolan was going to turn around and lunge when every muscle in his body tensed. Acting on the idiotic desire to spare Clint Armstrong’s life, I stormed my mate and didn’t stop until I felt his wet shirt beneath my hands.
“Snap out of it and listen to me.”
The demand both vibrated in the air between us and shot through my body like a bolt of lightning, rushing into Nolan from where my hands met his heated skin.
Awareness seeped into his eyes and replaced the feral light that once danced in their depths, but it did nothing to erase the anger on his face or ease his desire for retribution.
On the bright side, Nolan was no longer snarling and frothing out the mouth. The only caveat was that my fickle magic hadn’t taken away the rest of his anger, because without an explanation or apology, he turned around and grabbed Clint by the shirt a second time.
The battered but slowly healing Judge was thrown to his knees just a few feet in front of me. Even though his face was a mottled and swollen mass of flesh, he managed to hold onto the air of superiority that clung to him. Its strength surpassed that of the scent of blood, and was stronger than the expensive cologne he wore, that even now I could smell.
“Apologize to your Luna.”
When Nolan spoke his voice resembled the endless pit I had seen in his eyes, the very one I somehow chased away using magic. His hair wasn’t even disheveled from the fighthis heart rate barely elevated. His spine was made of pure steel, as rigid and unbreakable as his stance.
Clint Armstrong sucked in a deep, shaky breath and spat a wad of saliva and blood at my feet.
Before Maya could snarl in outrage, Nolan moved. Without an ounce of hesitation he turned crushed his knee into Clint’s nose. I remained stoic even though the sound of Clint’s nose shattering made me want to cringe. Even when fresh blood splattered across the tops of my white shoes, I remembered my title and who I was to these people.
I’d always be a warriora protector, but the honor of being Luna came first. I couldn’t openly challenge
Nolan, not in this way and certainly not after Clint disrespected me so badly, but I couldn’t let him m****r the man either. No matter how inexcusable Clint’s actions were, he had just lost his only son.
“I’m sorry.” He said through gritted teeth stained red with blood, eyes glittering with hate.
The crimson liquid ran down his nose, which was now bent at an odd angle and lightly swollen.
“Mean it.” Nolan snarled, glowering down at him. He bent down to Clint’s level and tilted his head when the older werewolf flinched. “…and use her title.”
I could feel Nolan was nearing that dark place I had pulled him from and sent my thoughts careening into the middle-aged wolf’s mind. His pain was the soul-deep kind that came with losing a child, even though Cassidy let it slip he and Devin rarely spoke. Only when Devin needed something or had gotten himself into trouble did he call on his father-not that Clint minded since he was often busy with work.
There was nothing on my face that would give me away as I snarled at the man knelt before me, seconds away from what was becoming his e*******n.
‘For f***s sake, Clint. You can’t get vengeance or whatever it is you’re after if you’re d**d. You went to
Law school, which means you’re most likely a good liar. Just apologize and mean it before he kills you.’
Clint took a staggering breath and let out a nasty cough. The whites of his eyes were tinted red from his blood. They were wide with fear, absent of the hate and rage that had previously poured from their depths.
“I’m-I’m sorry, Luna…what I did was inexcusable. My son…” He stammered; his voice gritty with emotion. “I was so angry and upset…II should’ve never spread those lies about you.”
Oh, he was good.
If it weren’t for the persistent feeling in my gut, I would’ve never known he were lying.
Nolan stared at him for a long moment, and finally acting on that sense of self-preservation, Clint avoided making eye contact.
“It’s you he disrespected, and it’s you who should decide his fate.” He said, eyes swiveling to my face.
They were a warm chocolate brown, which wasn’t close enough to his honey shade to ease my worries over a spontaneous decision to k**l Clint.
I kept my stare pinned on Clint’s slowly healing face, counting the seconds as his bruises faded from purple to yellow.
Without another word to the man who caused irreparable damage by feeding the media a false story, or my stoic mate who could taste every fiber of my anger and matched it with his own, I turned on my heel and walked in the direction of the porch steps.
A near silent but relieved sigh sounded from Clint’s direction.
‘We need to talk.’ I forced my way into Nolan’s head, fueled by rage and what could’ve easily been a pinch of magic. There was no keeping my voice calm as I shoved the words into the deepest recesses of his thoughts. ‘Now.’
I didn’t break my stride as I climbed the stairs and nodded at a stone-faced Zeke.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
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