Chapter 38
The Alpha's Mate
Sion's arm circled Safia's waist, pulling her against his broad back. She let out a soft sigh, feeling the steady thrum of his heart against her. That night, she fell asleep with a new thought: maybe she could give a chance to the man sleeping beside her. Maybe Sion wasn’t as bad as she thought. He had settled all her company's dues and helped her re-establish her firm. Perhaps he had developed genuine feelings for her, which was why he had annulled their wedding contract.
They both had a wonderful sleep, but the next day, their plans were thwarted. "The sky is still very cloudy, and the weather department reports a heavy storm in the next 24 hours," Sion said, his voice a low soft whisper. "Why take risks? Life is precious; I realized that more than anyone can a few years ago." He sounded as though he was reliving a bad memory. "We will be leaving for New York tomorrow."
As if to punctuate his words, he planted a soft kiss on her forehead when she woke to the ring of her alarm. "Take as much rest as you want. I won't wake you up."
Safia welcomed the dream world once again, feeling utterly exhausted. The previous day's events had been overwhelming: a sudden change in Sion’s behavior, his open affection, his announcement to the Stans that she was his wife, and the nullification of their contract. Why had he changed so suddenly?
She woke the next morning to a heart-wrenching conversation coming from the living room. "Hello, handsome, I came to know you've been here in California since last week. Why didn't you call me?" A scantily dressed woman with a deep neckline and bulging breasts walked through the door and kissed Sion 's cheek.
Instantaneous anger, at the velocity of a hundred kilometers per second, seeped through Safia's veins. So, everything he had said the previous day was just an act.
"Sera, please leave. I'm not in the mood for all this," Sion said without even sparing her a glance.
"Wow, you're stunning and glowing. Does the California weather agree with you?" Promiscuous eyes regarded her statement when she saw from upstairs Safia watching them with red hound ears of a she-wolf.
"I told you to leave, Sera," Sion said again, this time with a firmer, more dangerous tone.
"Pancakes with strawberry sauce. I love something so tasty to welcome me early in the morning. You are a wonderful cook, Sion. I've always been telling you, if you were not a businessman, you would have been a world-famous chef." Sera sniffed, relishing the aroma of the steaming pancakes from the saucepan.
"If you want, you can have all of them, but please leave before my wife wakes up. It will cause me a lot of problems," Sion requested.
"Your wife? Is this the latest joke you're playing on me? I'm your oldest friend, Sion, and I know who you are. You often told me you don't like commitments. Marriage and relationships are not your cup of tea. Do you think I will fall for your game? I never have, and I won't in the future. Come on, fancy pants, I know everything about it. We can have a threesome. The weather is so inviting..."
"Stop it!" Sion shouted before Sera could continue. "Can't you understand simple English?"
Sera looked at him, abashed, before her lips once again curled into a smile. "Spanish men are players, but they are charmers with their accents and their big smiles."
"Who told you that I belong to Spain? I'm a born and brought up New Yorker." Sion flipped the last set of pancakes.
"Your food. The best Paella that I have ever tasted was made by you. Don’t tell me stories. One night after our steamy fornication when you were completely drunk, you told me that you are half American and half Spanish because your dad is an American and your mom is from Spain. That's how you make excellent Spanish dishes. She taught you. I get it." Sera pecked his cheek again.
Safia had been listening to their entire conversation from the balcony connecting the rooms on the first floor of the penthouse. He had earlier told her that he was not friends with Guild but she knew Guild ’s mom used to teach the neighborhood kids, and in return, the neighbor would cook Spanish dishes for Guild and his family. Was Sion one of those kids who was taught by Guild’s mom?
Sion had so many things in common with Guild . They had the same brown eyes—cognate brown to be exact—and both of them were excellent cooks. She remembered telling Guild that he could easily establish himself as a chef, just as Sera had told Sion . Though she would not like to compare Sion with Guild , his touch felt familiar. Those hands, worn and rough, felt reliable every time he touched her. The scent Sion used, some kind of lemon and hue, always reminded her of Guild . She could smell him whenever he was close. That’s why she had probably imagined Guild when Sion was sleeping beside her. She could recognize his perfume even in her deepest sleep.
Sion’s features weren't even close to Guild's. She knew what she was thinking was a fairytale: a man couldn't come out of his grave to marry her. But there were strong chances that Sion and Guild were neighbors and maybe good friends. That's why Sion knew so much about Guild , and he had married her to take revenge for her refusing his friend's proposal.
"I told you we were over long ago, Sera. Tell me how you are, and if you need anything, I can help you, but only as a good friend." Sion 's words brought her out of her reverie. Unfortunately, it wasn't the conversation that Safia was happy to hear. She had just started accepting Sion , and this new woman arrived to ignite a fire in their just-building relationship.
"I am great, if great means going on your honeymoon alone, sadly sipping margaritas, re-reading your texts over and over again, and dreading the humiliation that awaits back home. For heaven’s sake, you know I spoke about you to my parents. You're cruel; you dumped me after promising a fancy wedding." Her eyes reddened with vengeance.
Sion rubbed his slightly grown stubble with his fingertips in thought. "Didn’t you know I have sex with no strings attached? You shouldn’t have believed everything that I said in my drunkenness. One could rightfully argue being married to me would be far crueler. So be happy; you're saved from marrying a playboy like me."
Sera didn't directly combat him, but she was full of fury. "Ancient Romans used to toast their enemies before going to war. If I don't succeed in my mission to bring you to your knees, lick my cunt, and give you a nice kick in your ass, my name is not Sera Gui." She poured wine into a glass and raised it to him.
"In Bocca al lupo—that's just how Italians say good luck. But the literal translation is, 'into the wolf's mouth.' I hate you until the cows come home and the chickens fly north. Try everything you can, but don't tell me I didn't warn you. You're stepping into a game I have already excelled in." He told her in a sing-song way.
Gui shot him a glare and closed the door with a thud.
Safia would have never liked eavesdropping on that conversation, but she was glad that at least Sion had decided to stick to her, as opposed to the playboy he always was. She tiptoed to the front room, but Sion 's sharp ears heard her. "Damn woman," he muttered, looking at the door through which Gui had left a few seconds ago.
"I know that was a sound big enough to wake someone up from sleep. I'm sorry. How much of that conversation did you hear?"
Was he really that concerned about her feelings? Safia thought with a touch of conceit.
"All of it," she scoffed. "But you don't have to bother. We are together only on paper."
"Next time you say that word again, I am going to cut that tongue of yours to pieces," he growled. "I tore that contract right before you. It is non-existent. Why do you want to bring up the same conversation between us again and again?" He dragged one of the dining chairs to him in an ungentlemanly way and sat on it with his head in his hands.
"What you saw was just a small piece of my old life. Right here with you, now, that is where I belong." He raised his head and looked at her with determination. "Relationships are a compromise. I know it is difficult for you to adapt and accept me with all these unsolicited developments, but I'm trying... trying to be the man you will admire and would like to spend the rest of your life with."
"Nothing is impossible for you, Sion Canes. You can bring back that contract if you wish to at any time. I know the type of man you are," Safia called out firmly.
His jaw tightened in anger as he got up from the chair and took two steps forward, towering over her in ascendancy and dominance. "What type?"
But Safia wasn't going to back down. "The type of guy who doesn't know how to smile, but can fill a woman with all these intense emotions despite being a major prick." She chuckled wryly. "You're the rudest, most reckless, meanest, most selfish, and disrespectful evil werewolf I've ever seen. I know I am only a deal for you, but what confuses me here is why you sent that woman away. You could have had a nice time with her. Were you and Guild neighbors and good friends that you are taking this revenge on me on behalf of him?"
Before Safia could realize what was happening, she felt a sharp sting on her cheek. He hadn't just struck her, he'd branded her. An unfamiliar scent, a mix of old earth and something dangerously wild, filled the air, and a crimson mark bloomed on her skin. Safia's hands flew to her face, not in pain, but in stunned horror. The mark wasn't a bruise. It was a branding symbol, a complex knot of swirling lines and angular edges that pulsed with a faint, golden light.
As she stared at the reflection in the window, her blood ran cold. The mark was identical to the one Alpha gets on his Luna. Did he mark her as his with that slap?
Sion’s rage simmered, his eyes now glowing with an unnatural light she’d never seen before. A low growl rumbled in his chest, a sound that was less human and more akin to the predator she had just insulted.
"You speak of revenge," he said, his voice a chilling whisper that was barely his own. "But you have no idea what true love means. You belong to me, Safia. And now, the moon knows it, too.”
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