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CHAPTER 16
Iknew immediatelythat Rio and Madeline’s relationship had taken a huge step forward when he walked into the apartment just after eight in the morning. He was slightly damp, and smelled of delicious sugared cherries. Madeline’s scent was strong and aromatic, which told me that they’d definitely had sex. However, even if I couldn't smell anything on him, I would have known that they’d slept together just by the dopey smile that was plastered on Rio’s face as he went to shower and get some more sleep.
“You shouldn’t frown like that, your face’ll get stuck.” Adair said from where was leaning against the kitchen counter. He was half-dressed for the day, and his tie was hanging around his neck, ready to be tightened before he left the house.
“I’m just worried,” I said and crossed my arms over my chest. “He’s falling really quickly. Hell, it took him nearly a year and half of living with us to realize that you liked him romantically.” I point out, but Adair just chuckles.
“He’s a grown adult who can make grown adult decisions, Marcus. Besides, from what I can tell, Madeline isn’t the kind of person to take advantage of others.”
I scoffed inwardly at that. I didn’t know much about Madeline, but I knew that there had to be some kind of ulterior motive for getting close to Rio, and by extension, Adair. It was an election year, and omegas, betas, and other alphas had been throwing themselves at my pack in hopes of joining us.
‘You are worthless. You should have been my ticket out, and instead we’re both trapped in this shithole.’The memory of my mother’s words floated through my head, and I had to physically shake myself to get rid of them. Adair watched me, his blue eyes pinned to my changing expression with sympathy. Adair was the only person who I had ever told my full story to. He knew all about my mother, and the fact that she’d spent the majority of my life berating me for her shitty decisions.
Adair sighed, rinsed his coffee cup out, and made for the back hall, pausing as he passed to give me two firm pats on the shoulder.
“Give Madeline a chance, and I think you’ll be surprised...either way I’m going to ask her on a date too. You are my brother, Marcus, but somethings gotta give eventually.” With that he went to his room to finish getting ready for the day.
I sat perched on the back of the couch for much longer than I needed to, thinking about his words before finally coming to a decision. Iwouldgive Madeline a chance...a chance to fuck up, that is.
“Um, not to be rude,” Madeline was sitting in my office looking confused and nervous as I sat reading through memos and my calendar for the day. “But why did you set up an emergency appointment with Poleman’s? You don’t look like you need to be professionally dressed...”
Ididn’tneed to be professionally dressed. I already liked what I wore, and I knew that it looked good. No, I had scheduled an emergency appointment with Madeline Zhao because I wanted to get a good look at her without Rio or Adair interfering.
The last time I’d seen her in person was when she was incapacitated. She had been confused and in pain, and my protective instincts had taken over. That wouldn’t be a problem now because she was practically glowing.
She wore a cream-colored knit sweater dress that clung to her slender body, and a pair of incredibly distracting sheer stockings covered her legs. On her feet were black suede booties, one of which was tapping nervously on the floor of my office.
Madeline Zhao was definitely pretty. Her shiny black hair floated around her head in soft waves, and she had the front bits pinned back out of her face, giving her an innocent look. Her face, which had been flushed and sweaty the first time that I’d seen her, was now smooth and covered expertly in makeup that made her round cheeks look soft and supple. She also had a pair of big brown doe eyes that were fixed on me with a look of suspicion about my motives.
“No, you are correct about my not needing to be dressed,” I admitted without even an ounce of shame. “I have been hearing a lot about you from Rio,”and Adair, I added silently. “And I wanted to catch a glimpse of the woman who has enchanted my packmate.”
As if sensing my hostility, Madeline crossed her arms defensively over her chest. “And you interrupted my work day forthat? Haven’t you ever heard of grabbing a coffee before?” Her brown eyes flashed with anger, and I felt just the tiniest twinge of guilt.
“I prefer to do things on my own terms, Madeline, that is something you will have to learn if you are going to be dating any members of my pack. I will protect them from anything, even if it’s protecting them from their own poor decisions.” This was what I wanted to say to her, to draw the line clearly in the sand so that she knew where she stood in my esteem. It probably made me the biggest arsehole who ever lived, but this was how I would protect myself, Adair, and Rio from outside dangers.
Madeline blinked, one long, slow blink as she processed my words, and then her beautiful face scrunched up in anger as a red flush filled her cheeks. “And I take it, that I am a poor decision, in your opinion?”
I just shrugged. “I don’t know you. All I know is that you grew up as the child of one of the richest families in the modern business world. Your upbringing wasverydifferent from ours, and I’m just not sure if that’s a gap we can bridge.” She had probably grown up being given everything that her little heart desired. I had struggled to claw my way out of the slums of London in order to sit in this very fancy office and be able to take care of and protect those that I cared about. I wouldn’t compromise that, not even for a pretty face like Madeline’s.
Madeline reeled back in her chair as if I’d struck her, and all of the color drained from her face. A tiny tendril of worry fought its way into my chest. I was just about to ask her if she was alright, when she stood and snatched up her purse and coat before turning to glare at me.
“I don’t know where you get off saying anything that just came out of your mouth, butyou don’t know me.” Her voice shook with rage and hurt. “I also don’t know what your problem is with me or other betas, but don’t put your trauma shit on others.” With that, she turned on her heel and stomped out of my office.
I scrubbed a frustrated hand over my face and made a noise of aggravation as I tried to maintain control of my composure.
“You really fucked that up, didn’t you?” Aria said as she poked her head into my office.
I glared at her. “Were you eavesdropping on my conversation, then?”
“Yep.” Aria breezed into the office and sat down in the seat that Madeline had just vacated, her amber eyes full of judgment as she took in my frustrated appearance. “You know you were in the wrong for that, right?”
I shrugged. “I like to think of it as being honest.”
Aria crossed one leg over the other and fixed me with a glare. “You really don’t know anything about her, do you? Did you even do any research on her, other than who her family is?”
I shifted guiltily in my seat because, no, I hadn’t. Not that it mattered, her family name and upbringing told me everything that I needed to know about Madeline.
Aria rolled her eyes. “I thought so. You’re just going to have to figure it out on your own, I guess. Good luck with that now that you’ve practically declared war on her.”
