Chapter 200
Alexander’s POV
I walked to the deck, letting the cool night breeze wash over my face, clearing my mind somewhat.
The ocean stretched endlessly before me, dark waters merging with the night sky in a seamless tapestry of shadows and silver moonlight.
Finding an empty lounge chair, 1 sank down, instinctively reaching for my cigarettes. Instead, my fingers closed around a small medicinal tube.
I pulled it out, staring at it with a mixture of confusion and irritation.
It was a bruise–healing ointment. During dinner, I’d noticed the swelling on her forehead and cheeks hadn’t subsided.
Without conscious thought, I’d visited the medical bay and acquired this cream for bruising and inflammation.
When I’d returned to our suite, Sarah had been completely absorbed in her phone, so focused she barely acknowledged my presence.
An inexplicable irritation had flared within me, and I’d kept the medicine in my pocket for hours, unwilling to offer it to someone who couldn’t spare me a glance.
I turned the small tube over in my hands, genuinely perplexed by my own behavior.
What was happening to me? How could I possibly care this much about a woman I’d known for barely forty- eight hours?
Earlier, I’d misunderstood her intentions, spoken to her with veiled hostility about the incident on deck, and ultimately wounded her with deliberately cruel words.
As if only by hurting her could I release the anger burning inside me.
This wasn’t who I was. Alexander Blackwood, Alpha of the Blackwood Pack, didn’t lose control of his emotions over a woman he barely knew.
Everything felt wrong, unnatural, yet somehow inevitable.
Frowning, I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I knew by heart.
The call connected after several rings. A deep voice answered, tinged with subtle undertones of interrupted pleasure.
“To what do I owe the honor of this late–night call, Alpha Blackwood? Don’t you think disturbing someone in the middle of the night is rather… uncivilized?”
I could hear a female’s soft moans in the background but remained unfazed. “Not particularly.”
“Well, well. You must be facing quite the predicament to call me at this hour.”
On the other end, I could hear rustling, the sound of movement as Kane Silvercrest, Alpha of the Northwestern
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Silvercrest Pack, apparently extracted himself from his evening entertainment.
“Kane, baby…” a woman’s voice whined in the background. “Come back to bed.”
+25 BONUS
“Just a moment, sweetheart. Important call.” His dismissive tone was followed by more rustling sounds.” Alright, I’m listening. But make it quick–I have a rather impatient she–wolf waiting.”
I lowered my gaze to the medicine tube in my hand, hesitating before finally asking, “Did I ever know a wornan named Sarah Winters before?”
“Are you joking?” Kane responded without hesitation.
“You’ve never shown interest in any female–wolf or human–for as long as I’ve known you.Except-”
“Except what?” I cut in, my voice low.
“Nothing,” he said too quickly.
“Is that so?” I narrowed my eyes. He was hiding something.
“Absolutely. Come on, Alexander, you know yourself better than anyone. You’ve always had a headache the moment any she–wolf approached you.”
“Not with her,” I admitted quietly.
A beat of silence.
“Wait… what are you saying? Are you telling me the mighty Alexander Blackwood has finally found someone who doesn’t make his wolf want to run for the hills?”
Kane’s voice turned gleeful. “Are you calling to brag about finding your mate after all these years?”
“It’s not about mates,” I stated flatly, though something in me recoiled at the denial. “I’m simply stating a fact. My body doesn’t reject Sarah Winters‘ presence.
When I’d first realized this, my emotions had been a turbulent mess, a storm of confusion and resistance.
But now, sitting under the vast night sky, I felt strangely calm, able to examine this phenomenon with a detached curiosity.
“So your body doesn’t reject her presence… and then what? Are you trying to tell me you’ve already slept with her, or that you want to?”
“No,” I said firmly. “I won’t. I already have a fiancée.”
“Look, if she’s making your wolf sit up and pay attention after all these years, maybe there’s something there worth exploring,” Kane said, his tone more serious now.
“You deserve some happiness, my friend–even if it comes in a package you weren’t expecting.”
My eyes narrowed dangerously. “Fuck off,” I growled, ending the call abruptly.
Within seconds, my phone vibrated again. I answered reluctantly. “That was just a joke,” Kane said without
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preamble. “No need to hang up on me.”
“Focus on what matters,” I demanded, in no mood for his games. “The point.”
“There is no grand point here. Can’t a friend take interest in your love life after years of celibacy?”
+25 BONUS
“You’ve shown your interest. Now kindly fuck off.” I disconnected again and immediately powered off my phone, tired of the conversation.
I sat smoking until my cigarette burned down to the filter. Crushing it out, I tossed the empty pack into a nearby trash bin and stood up, the medicine tube still clutched in my hand.
I returned to our suite, deliberately not turning on any lights as I entered. My footsteps were purposefully light as I approached the couch.
Moonlight streamed through the windows, illuminating Sarah’s curled form on the black leather sofa.
She’d covered herself with a thin blanket but didn’t appear to be sleeping peacefully. Her delicate brows were furrowed slightly.
The exposed portion of her face was still visibly swollen, the redness standing out starkly against her pale skin, making her look unbearably vulnerable.
I reached out, my long fingers gently brushing her cheek.
She seemed to feel the pain even in sleep, her brows tightening as she let out a soft whimper.
Something in my chest constricted painfully. I frowned, bending down to lift her from the couch.
She was light, almost too light, with hardly any meat on her bones. It took virtually no effort to carry her to the bedroom and place her on the bed.
Unlike last night, she didn’t react to being moved.
Yesterday, when I’d carried her, her arms had instinctively wrapped around my waist, her head resting softly against my chest like a trusting animal. Tonight, there was none of that—and I found myself missing it.
The absence of her responsiveness left an unexpected hollow feeling in my chest.
My wolf whined softly, urging me to wake her, to make sure she was truly alright.
I pushed away these thoughts, retrieving the ointment tube from my pocket.
I squeezed some onto my fingertips and began carefully applying it to the reddened areas of her face.
Afraid of causing her pain, I made my movements deliberately gentle, barely touching her skin as I spread the medicine.
