Divorcing My Alpha King.
Chapter 20
Gemma
Lucky Draw
The silence stretches, and as it does, uncertainty wells up inside
- me.
Did I go too far?
The other two of Cassian’s aunts, Natalia and Eleanor, exchange disapproving looks.
I can tell I’ve shocked everyone here. Their expressions say I might be aggressive and dangerous.
That’s laughable. I am the only person here who doesn’t have a
wolf and can’t turn into a giant killing machine on a whim.
I wish I wasn’t facing them all down alone.
*****
Cassian
I stand in the shadows just beyond the room and watch the way my family acts toward my wife.
Zephyr snarls. Let me out. They will never disrespect our mate
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again.
Wife, I correct. But his anger is infectious.
Lucky Draw
In three years, I’ve never heard them speak to her like this, but
from the way everyone is acting so casually about it, I have to
assume that it’s a regular occurrence.
Her talking back, though, seems new.
She’s too clever for them, Zephyr says. See how she rips them to
shreds. Our mate may not have fangs, but she has teeth.
I grunt. The way she defends herself with wit alone is impressive.
Except in this place, she shouldn’t have to defend herself at all. As my wife, she outranks all of them. They should defer to her.
Gemma told me that they’ve been rude to her in the past. I wrote it
off as her being overly sensitive.
Maybe I’ve been wrong.
I narrow my eyes and step into the room. I can feel the way everyone’s attention immediately snaps to me. As acting Alpha, I hold all of their lives and their fortunes in my hands.
I reach Gemma’s side and speak directly to her. “Dinner is ready.”
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I hold out my hand to help her up from the couch, but she rises without reaching for it. “I can find my way. You should go in with your grandfather.”
Displeasure rises inside me at her clear dismissal in front of
everyone else. I snake a hand around her waist and pull her close
to me.
She doesn’t resist. Good. I’d hate to have to make a scene in front
of my family.
“Grandpa is already waiting. I’ll walk with you. Wife.”
Gemma flashes me a bewildered look with her wide,
seafoam–green eyes, as if she can’t fathom why I might want to
walk with her.
It’s her own fault for becoming so interesting lately.
We go into the massive dining room with its long, heavy table. My grandfather is already seated at the head, as he should be.
As my wife, it’s Gemma’s job to serve the Alpha rather than one of the servants. She gets his plate and makes it exactly how he likes, then puts it in front of him as I sit down.
The old man beams at her. “Thank you, Gemma. You are always
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such a kind girl.”
Lucky Draw
I want to roll my eyes, because certainly she wouldn’t do this if she
didn’t have to.
But then I catch the smile she gives my grandfather–a soft one. with the glow of real affection, as if she really does care for him.
I begin to wonder if I’ve misjudged Gemma for the last three years.
I’ve always believed Reyna, but Reyna did have a reason to be jealous of Gemma for being born the legitimate daughter.
What if Reyna was mistaken about her half–sister?
That would be…interesting.
You have misjudged her, Zephyr says. That’s what I’ve been saying. She’s our mate. She’s worthy of us. You’ve never bothered
to look and see her.
I push his thoughts away. I have too much going on in my life right now to pay any attention to my wife. The sabotage, my mole being exposed…
Our position at the top of the underworld is more precarious than anyone realizes. Yes, there is power here. But there are also a thousand targets on our backs.
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→ Lucky Draw
When you’re at the top, all anyone wants is to pull you down. I am
the person who has to make sure that doesn’t happen. It takes a
toll.
It’s one of the reasons I fly–a love my father instilled in me before
he died. I need that freedom. That release.
“Make sure you eat, Gemma,” Grandpa Donovan says. “You’re too thin. I made sure the cooks made all of your favorites today.”
I don’t know what my grandfather is talking about. Gemma’s body is all luscious curves. It’s perfect. But Gemma just nods and smiles
at him again.
Since we have to put on the act of being a happy couple in front
of my grandfather for now, I reach for a dish and heap food onto Gemma’s plate. It’s green beans with slivers of almonds on top.
These are always on the table when we eat dinner at home, which
is how I know she likes them as much as I do.
But Gemma stares at the beans on her plate and looks
uncomfortable.
“Eat,” I whisper to her under my breath. “We’re supposed to be getting along for my grandfather. You want Seaside Manor, don’t
you?”
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Lucky Draw
She forced a smile and leaned close, like she was whispering ant intimate secret in my ear. She put her hand on my knee, and her warm breath on my neck almost made me hard just sitting there.
Damn. I want her again. Once was not enough.
“I don’t eat almonds,” she says.
I frown at her obstinance. She just doesn’t want to eat it because
I’m the one who put it on her plate. “Yes, you do. We have these all
the time at home. You love them.”
“No, Cassian,” she says, her voice still low and in my ear.
I can feel the goosebumps climbing my spine and the heat
growing inside my skin. “Reyna loves almonds. I’m allergic to
them. I only have them served at home because you like them.”
I blink. Wolves don’t generally have allergies. Apparently, having
no wolf made Gemma different.
She takes a breath and says, “I have to take a pill before any meal where I let the cooks use tree nuts, just in case. But I didn’t bring my pills today, so I can’t eat this. Not even for you.”
I feel a flash of embarrassment that I don’t even know my wife’s food allergies. I don’t like to feel embarrassed. It makes me angry.
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Lucky Draw
I hiss back, “Why bring Reyna into this? You could have just said you were allergic. Why do you always make everything about
her?”
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