After being treated by Selena, Bryan stood in his bedroom.
He shrugged off the jacket his beta had given him, revealing his sculpted body, marred with countless scars from the battles he had fought.
He ran a hand over the marks on his chest, each one a symbol of his journey to becoming the alpha of his pack.
They filled him with pride—reminders of his resilience.
But his hand paused over a particularly large scar on his chest, his fingers lingering.
This one was different.
It was the scar from the day he lost everything: his father, his mother, his best friend, and his home.
He had made many enemies along the way, but most of them were dead now.
None remained who could send an assassin—none, except one.
Logan. His current rival.
But whether it was truly Logan behind the attack, Bryan couldn't yet confirm as the assassin had managed to escape.
She's more elusive than I had expected.
Bryan stood in thought as an unfamiliar feeling crept over him. It was strange, unsettling—and utterly confusing.
He had never been one to spare his enemies, always ensuring they paid with their lives.
Even Logan, in his eyes, was a dead man walking.
But the assassin?
He'd had multiple chances to end her, yet he hadn't.
He couldn't bring himself to do it.
Instead, he'd marked her—put a claiming mark on her neck, declaring her as his.
It made no sense.
Even now, as he thought of her, his body betrayed him, a familiar heat stirring in his loins.
"Seriously, dude," Bryan scolded himself.
He really should take this seriously, as this was a real problem, but his body and his wolf couldn't help but react with excitement when the image of the female entered his mind.
He put on black jeans and reached for a blue shirt to put on, but then the door to his room swung open unceremoniously. An unwelcome intrusion, especially without so much as a knock.
"What are you doing here?" Grey asked with a scowl.
It was Amaya, the daughter of the alpha of the Sivermoon pack. The pack he wanted to ally with.
Amaya had cascading red hair, luminous pale skin, and delicate, symmetrical features.
Her wide, doe-like eyes glimmered with innocence, framed by long lashes.
A slight, enticing curve graced her full lips, and her lithe, hourglass figure was accentuated by her graceful posture.
Her movements were fluid and deliberate, her every gesture exuding an understated allure.
A walking temptation.
"I just wanted to see if you were okay," she said softly, gliding into his personal space with ease, which made him growl.
She placed her soft palms on his chest, her fingers trailing slowly down his muscles.
"I heard you got poisoned," she said, her voice low and sensual. "Are you alright?"
Bryan could smell her lust, heavy and overwhelming, filling his senses, but oddly, he didn't want it.
She pressed a soft kiss to his chest, then looked up at him with innocent eyes, a silent request in her gaze, her lips parted and expectant.
"What are you doing?" Bryan asked, but she grinned playfully.
"You know what I'm doing," she then kissed his chin, sucking at it, but Bryan, fed up with her antics, grasped her arm and roughly shoved her backward
Amaya stumbled, her smile vanishing, replaced by confusion and displeasure. "What's wrong with you?" she yelled.
"Leave my room, Amaya. You can't just waltz in here whenever you feel like it."
"What?" she exclaimed, her voice rising. "You didn't have a problem when I came in yesterday! So what are you saying now?"
She wasn't wrong. Yesterday, she had come to seduce him just as boldly, and he had caved, losing himself in her. Ravaging her like a beast.
But now, she wasn't so appealing anymore.
"Did I stutter? I said out now!"
Bryan yelled, but Amaya leaned on him, with both her hands on his chest, caressing him, as if apologizing.
"Why are you getting mad? I was only trying to comfort you," she said softly into his ear.
"I'm not allowed to do that anymore?"
Bryan could feel her warmth and had to admit he was tempted, but unlike before when it was due to how attractive Amaya was, now it was rather because the thought of ravaging her, might bury the strange longing sensation, the assassin had left him.
"Aren't you attracted to me anymore?" She whispered, as her hand slid down, slowly making its way to his crotch. "I can make your worries disappear,"
His wolf growled low in his mind, showing a sharp rejection of the idea.
Amaya's scent, once enticing, now felt off—wrong. It grated against his senses, and his irritation flared.
Bryan clenched his jaw and gripped her hand having had enough, "I told you to fucking leave. Are you deaf?"
If she thought she had him under his thumb and could get whatever she wanted, then she was utterly delusional.
Amaya jerked her head backward, giving Bryan an incredulous stare.
She certainly wasn't expecting this, usually, things would have started getting hot on the bed.
"You, what's wrong with you? Why are you treating me like this? Aren't we supposed to be mates."
" Mates?" Bryan exclaimed in disbelief.
She really was delusional.
"It seems you're mistaken about something, Amaya. Having sex doesn't make us mate. What we have is nothing but a fling, and I believe I made that clear before we started any of this."
Amaya frowned and was going to speak, but something caught her attention and she began to sniff.
She had noticed it earlier but had ignored it, assuming it may just be the scent of his pack mate, but now it was clearer.
The scent was that of a female, and for it to smell this strongly, it meant they had touched each other or rather tangled with one another.
Amaya took a step back in shock, her voice trembling.
"Bryan, that's... this is a female scent."
It was most likely from Selena, but the scent of the female assassin had to be stronger, especially since he had gotten so close to her.
He hadn't bathed, and the scent still clung to him.
Bryan responded coldly, "What about it?"
"Who are you cheating on me with? Is it Cherry?" she demanded, her eyes frantic as they darted around in a frantic manner.
"How could you do this to me?" she continued, her voice rising with hurt. "I thought we had something special. Isn't that why you wanted me close?"
Bryan snorted, "Special? How delusional. The only reason you're even here in the first place is because I'm on good terms with your father. Now, I'm not interested in taking you as my mate, and I never will be. So do not make me say this again, get the fuck out of my room!"
Amaya winced at Bryan's coldness.
She found it hard to comprehend how Bryan could change all of a sudden.
She bit her lip, a mix of resentment and threat in her eyes.
"You… I'll make sure my dad knows everything that happened and how you treated me."
Bryan remained unfazed. He wasn't afraid of her father—if anything, it was the other way around.
With a cold, merciless tone, he responded, "Sure, Amaya. Go cry to daddy and don't come back. Honestly, I'm sick of seeing your face."
Amaya froze, her heart breaking at his words. In a rush of tears, she fled the room, leaving him behind.
Bryan's gaze was cold as he watched her run out.
Sure, Bryan wanted an alliance with her father, heck he even needed one.
But if he was going to have to comply with someone's demand or be manipulated, then he was better off leaving things as they were, working with what he had.
It was kind of the reason he had refused Logan in the first place.
He did not like to be controlled.
Besides, Logan would have to kill him even if he agreed to be assimilated, as they were both two highly dominant males, and they would constantly be vying for power.
So the path Bryan chose with Logan was the best.
Bryan sighed wearily, though he had no remorse for yelling at Amaya, he was still confused by his actions.
He could have used the warmth, given there would be no attachment, but Amaya was seeking one, which was what put him off, partially.
The major reason was that he couldn't get his mind off the assassin after his confrontation with her.
If it were Bryan from yesterday, he might have fallen onto the bed with Amaya without a second thought. But ever since meeting that woman, something had been gnawing at him.
A need. An urging from his wolf, who craved being around that strange female so badly.
The crazy part was when Amaya touched him, he felt irritated with himself—almost like he was cheating on her with Amaya. It pissed him off.
What this meant was that he couldn't have any kind of intimacy without feeling guilt.
And that was a problem.
Seriously...What sort of bullshit was that?