hapter 29
Chapter 29
Tires shrieked across the pavement, the piercing sound slicing through the air. Alistair stomped on the brakes, rolled down his window, and scowled as he caught sight of Aveline.
“Are you courting death?” he barked, his voice cold as steel.
The Alpha pressure radiating from him instantly spread outward, making Aveline’s wolf tense nervously in her consciousness.
Aveline didn’t waste a second on his temper. She strode right up to the window and thrust the stack of documents toward him.
“Alpha, I just need a moment. These files require your immediate attention.”
Alistair’s eyes flicked from her determined face to the documents in her grip.
For a heartbeat, he said nothing–then hit the door release with a curt motion.
“Get in. I’m on a tight schedule. We’ll go over them as we drive.”
She hesitated, pressing her lips into a thin line, ready to protest. But something about his expression made her swallow the words. Instead, she circled the hood, pulled open the passenger door, and slid inside.
The car glided away from the research institute, its engine humming quietly. Neither of them noticed the watchful eyes fixed on them from a car parked just behind and to the right, observing every detail of their exchange.
Jaxson had just finished a meeting with Alphas from other packs and was returning via the route past Aveline’s research institute.
To his surprise, he spotted Aveline at the entrance, slipping into another man’s car.
From where he sat, he watched Aveline flash the man a bright, easy smile–a smile Jaxson couldn’t remember her giving him in ages.
A storm gathered in Jaxson’s expression as he reached for a cigarette and lit it, the flame trembling slightly in his hand.
Did that mean Aveline had been with someone else these past two days? The realization made him crush the cigarette between his fingers, embers snuffing out in his palm.
His feelings for Aveline ran deep.
In his view, he’d done his best to give her everything she wanted.
Had his recent attention to Lirael pushed Aveline into someone else’s arms? Lirael was just a fling to him; he would never replace Aveline. But what was Aveline doing here?
His wolf growled low in his consciousness. Fury flared–he slammed his fist onto the steering wheel, making the horn shriek through the enclosed car. Aveline belonged to him–no one else.
Inside the Bentley, Aveline extended the documents toward Alistair. “Alpha, my team and I prepared these documents for your
Alistair arched an eyebrow, his gaze fixed on her for several lingering seconds, making sure she really was just talking business.
review.”
An amused smile curled at his lips. “I have to say, you’re a lot more tempting now than when you tried to play innocent yesterday.”
She definitely caught his eye–there was something about her that set her apart from the rest.
His wolf was completely captivated by her scent, urging him in his consciousness to get closer to their mate.
10.14
Betrayed by Her Ex, Marked By the Alpha King
93.3%
Chapter 29
The word “tempting” rolled off his tongue, paired with the same charged look he’d given her that night.
A chill crept over Aveline as she caught the strange glint in his eyes. “Mr. Briggs…”
That unblinking stare unsettled her, and for a moment, she felt hunted, though her wolf howled excitedly in her consciousness.
“Pull over. I’ll get out here,” she said firmly.
Alistair’s eyebrow flicked upward, but he did as she asked, steering the car to the curb.
Aveline wasted no time; she pushed open the door and slipped out.
Alistair’s car sped off without a backward glance.
Only then did Aveline breathe a sigh of relief.
She headed straight back to the office, burying herself in work.
That night, she returned home to an empty house, well aware Jaxson wouldn’t be coming back.
If everything continued as planned, she didn’t have much time left.
She craved nothing more than to vanish from Jaxson’s world for good. Glancing around the house, her eyes caught on small things she hadn’t managed to clear out.
She’d already packed away whatever wasn’t on display, but now she turned her attention to the last traces. A stack of instant photos with Jaxson lingered on the shelf, along with a handful of souvenirs from old trips.
In recent days, the demands of the project had kept her too busy to dwell on these details.
But now, with her place on the project team secured and her schedule lighter, those forgotten bits resurfaced, impossible to ignore.
Fragments of her life with Jaxson drifted through her thoughts, sharp and bittersweet.
She reached for the pair of ceramic cups on the shelf, the ones they’d shaped together on vacation.
They’d never actually used the cups–just left them out as a reminder of a different time.
In those days. Jaxson’s attention had belonged to her alone, his gaze never straying to anyone else.
Now, her eyes landed on the pair of ceramic cups, and she let out a low, self–mocking chuckle.
With a tightness growing in her chest, Aveline tore her gaze from those reminders of the past and began gathering them up, determined to throw
them out.
Just as she started to pack everything away, the sound of the front door opening made her pause.
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10.14
Betrayed by Her Ex, Marked By the Alpha King
95.0%
Chapter 30
