Page 70 of The Alpha’s Heir

I wasn’t sure if his lack of decorum was what irked me or if it was the little show of him pretending to care now about his intended wife. He hadn’t even heard her leave last night. I sure had.

Despite my exhaustion, every nerve of mine was a livewire on high alert. I’d been asleep until the window in her room had clicked. Then I’d tossed and turned half the night as I waited for Meg to come back, forcing myself to stay put and not run after her.

We were in Cerberus Territory. She was safer here than in Ethica. After being trapped in the councilwoman’s house for so long, she was probably eager to get out and see her friends. Or maybe a… lover.

My stomach churned at the thought.

It’d serve Justus right to have the tables turned like that, and I needed to be careful not to imagine there was anything more between us than there was. She hadn’t been thinking clearly last night. I never should’ve reached above my station by kissing her. The consequences went beyond what the council or my chain of command could even impose.

The gods had marked her for Justus. She wasn’t mine. The idea of Meg and me together was only a fantasy. I knew how to differentiate between that and real life.

“And what exactly are we supposed to do while she is gone?” Justus stopped pacing to stare at the Alpha.

I could tell the woman didn’t like him by the curl of her upper lip, but she had strong military bearing and held herself steady in the face of his tantrum.

“Help yourself to breakfast. Go for a walk. Come downtown and visit the market if you’d like,” Kera offered. “You have my assurance that you and your men are safe in my territory.”

Her stone-blue eyes cut to me, and it was an effort not to cower under the intensity of that look.

What is it with the gaze of these Cerberus women?

Kera nodded, seeming to come to some sort of conclusion. “Meg should return in a couple of days.”

“Days!” Justus threw his hands in the air. “When Mother finds out about this, she’s going to go nuclear. This was not the arrangement.”

Kera frowned. “What exactly is the arrangement?”

“I… um…” Justus looked helplessly at me.

This wasn’t my mess, but I threw him a bone anyway. Old habits die hard. “The citizens haven’t been… accepting of the marriage. Councilwoman Troy is working on public relations now, and they all thought it best if Meg and Justus returned here for a few days.”

“Curse the gods,” Kera whispered under her breath.

“Should you really be cursing your gods?” Justus’s voice was full of mock concern. “I wouldn’t want to risk waking them early and putting this whole marriage thing in jeopardy.”

Kera’s jaw ticked. “Listen to me, human. I don’t care what your name is, in my territory, you will show respect. And if I find out that my niece suffered at your hands or because of your people, I’ll show you what real fear looks like.”

She hadn’t raised her voice, hadn’t so much as moved, but Justus paled, sinking into himself anyway.

“Noted.” He nodded.

I cracked a grin.

So this was where Meg got it from.

“You.” Kera pointed at my head. “Come with me.”

“Roman, don’t leave me…” Justus pleaded.

Kera was already in the yard and I was almost to the front door.

“Just cook something.” I waved toward the kitchen.

“By myself?” he cried.

The door closed behind me, and I hurried to catch up with Alpha Kera.

“I assume you’re his bodyguard,” she said.