Page 35 of Abandoned By My Alpha Husband

"Stop!"

Chapter Ten

Lucifer

You've been smiling. My wolf's voice cut through my thoughts.

"Have I?" I froze, instinctively denying it. "No, I haven't."

Sunlight leaked through the blinds, carving thin stripes across the desk. Dust drifted in the beams. I sat in my study, files open in front of me. Hadn't read a single word. My mind kept circling back to Elena.

"You have. You've been sitting there staring at the light with your mouth curved up." My wolf called me out without mercy. "And you've stayed with her five straight days, no matter how busy you were."

I flipped a page. Tapped my fingers on the desk edge.

"That's just because she saved Liam."

"Oh." My wolf drew out the syllable. "I see. You're just repaying a debt. Repaying it so hard you practically threw yourself at her the second she woke up. Whether she noticed or not, I don't know, but I'm your wolf—in that moment, you almost cried."

I said nothing.

Because I couldn't argue.

When that knife went through Elena's body, something in my brain snapped. Panic. Terror. Emotions I hadn't felt in years flooded my body and mind, then drained away just as fast, leaving nothing but emptiness.

I held her. So much blood from her abdomen. Eyes closed, leaning against me. Her breathing getting weaker. Only one thought in my head.

She's going to die.

Die meant she'd leave me. Forever.

When the healer was working on her, I stood to the side. Liam clutched my sleeve, his voice breaking. "Is she gonna die?"

I crouched down, pulled him close, and tried to soothe him. "No, she won't die. We have the best healer on the entire Moonfall Continent." Even as I said it, my heart kept sinking.

I realized—I didn't want her to leave.

I wanted her near me.

It was strange. She'd barely just married in, and already I cared this much. I'd gotten irritated when she ignored me, so much so that at the banquet I couldn't help asking her—when had I ever humbled myself like that? Especially in front of a woman. I'd fallen apart when she got hurt, kept vigil while she was unconscious, and finally, when she woke, held her so tight I nearly wept with relief.

She'd taken control of every emotion I had.

My wolf stayed quiet. In the study's silence, I gradually admitted—had to admit—I could no longer treat her like a piece of furniture. She had some special pull on me, made me want to get closer, want to kiss her, want to have her.

But she wasn't my mate.

"Lina's not either, but you're way colder to Lina than you are to her," my wolf said flatly.

"You don't hate Elena either," I said.

My wolf didn't hesitate. "No. She puts me at ease. Lina—I hate her. That's all." Then it curled up and went silent. Always did that. Said something that made me think, then ignored me.

"Lucifer." Someone knocked. Lina.

She opened the door, movements and tone both careful. Her eyes searched my face, looking for something. I could see the caution in them—she was reading my expression, trying to figure out if I still cared about her. I leaned back in my chair. Said nothing. She waited, then slid her hand across the desk, pushing her teacup forward with a soft scrape.

"Lucifer... about that night. I've been wanting to explain."