Chapter 12

KESTER.

Kasmine was chaos personified, her presence pulling every dark and dangerous thread of restraint I had taut. Well, she would always bear the consequences, as far as I was concerned.

She could yell, curse, and claw at the barriers I'd built, but ultimately, she was mine. She just didn't know it yet.

Although I couldn't get my hands on any solid evidence yet, I knew she was hiding something. And according to my source, there was more I needed to know about her and Jake, which was why I made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Of course, that was after I made sure he was suddenly discharged from his place of internship without any offense.

Everyone has a price. The trick is knowing which strings to pull... and when to tighten them.

"Everything is set now, Alpha," Knox said.

"You may leave," I dismissed him and his team.

I had returned home early today. I know Mine would have the chance to talk to that subhuman in my absence, but it was okay. I was handling a better situation here at home.

I went to my laptop and turned it on, checking out the view of the room - her room.

It was perfect.

The surveillance team I hired had done an excellent job. Every angle of her room was visible on my laptop, the cameras expertly concealed.

I didn't like leaving loose ends. That's why, after last night, I decided to keep a closer eye on her. I didn't like the fact that she was hiding something from me.

Watching her felt wrong in a way that only made me crave it more.

I know she wouldn't like it if she ever got to know about it. But fuck it. Who cares? She should be grateful I didn't have one installed in her bathroom. Just yet.

My door banged open, forcing me to jerk my head in the direction of the noise.

Fuck. She was back. And angry.

I calmly closed my laptop, unfazed by her wrath, though the sight of her—her flushed cheeks, her heaving chest, the way her lips trembled with fury—sent a jolt of heat straight through me.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Kester? Why are you doing this to me?" She yelled, shutting the door behind her with the same energy she had opened it with.

I leaned back in my chair, unhurried, as if her outburst were nothing more than an annoyance. "Watch your tone," I said coolly, standing and stripping off my shirt. Her anger only added fuel to my fire. She was stunning when she was like this—so alive, so utterly unaware of the effect she had on me.

"I begged you. You promised not to harm him," She pressed.

"I haven't touched him," I said, my tone devoid of emotion. Jake was exactly where I wanted him—within reach, under my control.

Her hands clenched into fists. "Then why is he at your company? I know you're behind this! You're trying to manipulate him, to manipulate me!" She stepped closer, her small frame trembling with the effort to contain her frustration.

She keeps pressing, and gods know that if she doesn't stop, I'd be forced to do something we'd both regret.

I turned my back on her, walked to my closet, and began to unbuckle my belt. I had to take a shower to calm the storm she was stirring in me. Her voice grew louder, more insistent. "Talk to me, Kester!"

I snapped when her hands grabbed my arm, trying to force me to face her. My restraint shattered like fragile glass. My hand moved before I could think, wrapping around her throat and pinning her against the wall. Her body collided with a soft thud, her eyes wide with shock.

Her scent... gods... Her scent was intoxicating, invading my senses and clouding my thoughts. The delicate arch of her neck beneath my palm, the way her lips parted as she struggled to breathe, the rapid rise and fall of her chest—it was driving me to the brink of insanity. My thumb brushed against the pulse, beating frantically beneath her skin.

Her long, thick lashes were getting wet with moisture... It was all a fucking recipe for sin.

"I told you to watch it, Kasmine!" I snarled through gritted teeth, "If he's just a friend," I murmured, leaning in so close, our breaths mingled, "then you shouldn't have a problem working with him, should you?" I could almost taste her breath.

My lips uttered warnings and threats, but my insides craved something else... Something forbidden.

She wasn't just a temptation; she was the chaos in my veins, the forbidden desire that would tear me apart.

She wasn't my weakness. She was my ruin waiting to happen.

"Ke... Kester..." She choked, her voice almost not audible, "Pl... please..." she choked out, her voice barely a whisper. Her small hands gripped my wrist, weakly pushing against my hold, making me realize I was still holding her. 

She was fragile in my grasp, yet she had the power to unravel me completely.

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, and I hated how much I loved the sight.

Oxygen was leaving her.

I loosened my grip slightly, just enough for her to greedily sulk in some air.

She let the tears fall. Her soft sobs filled my ears, but they were like music.

"Kester..." She sobbed, "Why are you doing this to me? This is torment," She cried, squeezing her eyes shut, refusing to meet my gaze anymore.

Fuck. Could someone's tears turn a man on this much? I felt like licking her tears. The sight of them glistening on her cheeks made my mouth water with an urge I couldn't explain. I wanted to taste them—salt and sorrow mingling on my tongue—just to claim even her pain as mine. I wondered if they'd taste as sweet as the torment she unknowingly fed me.

I wanted to tell her—Gods, I burned to tell her—everything. That every possessive, maddening thing I did was because the thought of another man's hands on her made me feel like I'd tear the world apart… That the feelings I had for her were dangerous, a wildfire that could burn us both to ashes. I ached to tell her that the only thing holding me back from pinning her against the wall and claiming her, body and soul, was the thin thread of morals I clung to. But Gods, how I wanted to shred that thread.

I wanted to ruin her for anyone else, to make her mine in every way that mattered. To hear her cry my name until it was carved into her soul until no one else would dare exist in her world but me.

I wanted to tell her so much. But the words stayed trapped in my throat, caged by a restraint that was crumbling, inch by inch. Because once they escaped, there would be no going back.

"You will be a good little sister and do as I say..." I moved closer to her, closing the little distance between us so much that I could hear her shudder, "You will intern at my company alongside your little friend," I murmured, My eyes locked onto hers, daring her to defy me. "And you'll be a good girl about it. Won't you?" I gritted out, almost counting my words.

Her lips parted, trembling, before the words tumbled out in a hurried rush. "Yes. Yes, I will." She nodded quickly, like a fragile bird desperate to appease its predator.

Poor, sweet Kasmine. The way she looked at me in that moment—wide-eyed, like a cornered lamb—almost made me smile. Almost.

"Now," I said, my tone deceptively calm, "go to your room and get ready for bed. You've got a long day tomorrow."

The thought of her preparing for bed, peeling off her clothes piece by piece, her bare skin—it sent fire racing through my veins, pooling low in my body. But, no. I won't do that. I can't watch her innocently naked...

Not just yet.