AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The moment the call ended, she felt the urge to rush to his office and jump on his lap. What the hell was wrong with her? Just because Carvin got under her skin did not mean she needed a big, strong man to take care of her.
Not to mention, calling Magnus probably just ruined his friendship with Carvin. To be fair, if Magnus was friends with someone like that, she wasn’t sure what it said about him.
Carvin was incredibly creepy, and the last thing she wanted to do was anger a panther shifter. Unfortunately, she had already checked that box. But as luck would have it, she had the alpha on her side.
THIRTEEN
MAGNUS
Magnus sat in his chair, twirling a pen between his fingers as he stared at the documents in front of him. Alexis lingered on the forefront of his mind, and no matter how much he tried to focus on his task, it remained that way for almost the entire day.
Smiling to himself, he noted internally that he didn’t necessarily mind the intrusive thoughts of her. It just meant his work for the day would get backlogged. But he accepted his struggle and leaned back in his chair, letting out a sigh of contentment.
He was excited as he pondered the fact they were fated mates. How would things play out? What was the road ahead that would lead them to their official union? Those questions and more bounced around his train of thought.
“It’s going to be a little tougher than usual,” he muttered. “Being that she’s human.”
At that moment, his phone vibrated, inching across the table as it buzzed with Alexis’s name showing up on the screen. Eagerly, he answered it, eager to hear those sweet notes of her voice.
His smile quickly dropped when she detailed her encounter with Carvin Hibbard. He nodded intently, hanging on to every word she spoke.
Bastard, he thought. I knew Carvin was an asshole, but I didn’t think he’d stoop so low.
He was more concerned about the effect it had on Alexis. It was clear she was freaked out. In the short time they had known each other, Magnus knew it was strange for her to sound so unusually anxious. He felt his inner panther step up to the plate.
“Alexis, you have nothing to worry about. I’ll handle this,” he told her. His tone was firm and reassuring, but his panther growled at the thought of Carvin scaring his girl.
“I’m going to turn off my phone for a little while, but call me later or something, all right? I need to wind down and get all of this off my mind.”
“Good idea. I’ll call you later.”
As soon as the call ended, he was on to the next one, fingers scrolling angrily for that dreaded name in his contacts. He pressed Carvin’s name, not expecting his rival to answer, but he did.
“What?” demanded the scumbag.
“You know what, Carvin.” Magnus hissed his words through clenched teeth. “How dare you go after Alexis the way you did.”
“Let me guess, she called you up and whined to you about it. Just what the hell are you going to do, exactly?” asked Carvin, speaking like a child mocking his peers. “You two aren't even mates. You’re fighting so hard for a girl that isn’t even yours.”
Magnus barely gave a thought to his next words. He had the mating bond to reassure him of his feelings for Alexis.
“There’s only one way for panthers like us to settle this. Meet me on the Pride property in an hour. We’ll settle things accordingly.”
“Fine!”
The call hung up. Magnus tensed, every muscle in his body straining as he struggled to control his breathing.
The opportunity had come for him to beat Carvin to a pulp. A duel was the formal way two shifters settled their differences, and now he had the perfect reason to officially call him out.
But duels only mattered when there were spectators around to spread the word of the results within the hierarchy of the pride.
This put a smile on his face. A duel was the perfect way he could embarrass his enemy in front of others. Revenge tasted better when paired with humiliation. Phoebe was summoned to his side.
“Send word to all high-ranking members of the pride. They need to be there to witness to the thrashing coming Carvin’s way.”
Phoebe smiled as she got to work.
An hour later, Magnus arrived at their set location. The sun still hung in the sky, but Magnus dripped with sweat, having pumped himself up for the showdown with Carvin.
