: Emergency Rant to Jiho

The moment they left the room, Nene flopped back onto the couch, yanked out her phone, and furiously typed.

Nene [11:24 PM]

- I AM GOING TO LOSE MY MIND.

- THERE'S A DRESS CODE.

- A FREAKING DRESS CODE, JIHO.

- Also, I have to "inform" my husband before I leave the house.

- INFORM.

- Which is Alpha-speak for "ask permission like a child."

- I HATE IT HERE.

Jiho [11:25 PM]

- LMAOOOOO.

- Oh babe. Welcome to Alpha life.

- You should've known the "wear whatever you want" phase wouldn't last.

Nene [11:25 PM]

- I AM NOT ACCEPTING THIS AS NORMAL.

Jiho [11:26 PM]

- Okay, okay. Let's analyze.

- What exactly did he say about the dress code?

Nene [11:26 PM]

- "Inside the estate, wear what you want. Outside, be mindful of what signals you send."

Jiho [11:26 PM]

- OH.

- That's actually… not as bad as it could be.

- If he was the controlling type, he'd be restricting you INSIDE too.

Nene [11:27 PM]

- That is NOT comforting.

Jiho [11:27 PM]

- Just saying. Some Alphas literally throw out half their wife's closet on day one.

- He's at least letting you live.

Nene groaned, shoving a pillow over her face.

Then—

Her phone buzzed again.

Jiho [11:28 PM]

- Also, let's be real.

- If your man saw you outside in a crop top and short skirt, he'd probably burn the entire city down.

Nene [11:28 PM]

- THAT IS NOT HELPING.

Jiho [11:28 PM]

- No, but I'm RIGHT.

- Also, let me guess: You have to "inform" him before you leave?

Nene [11:28 PM]

- YES.

- THIS IS INSANE.

- I am a GROWN WOMAN.

Jiho [11:29 PM]

- Yeah, but you're also an Alpha's wife now.

- And Alphas don't "let" their mates run around untracked. Ever.

- Just be glad he didn't install a security chip in your phone.

Nene froze.

Nene [11:29 PM]

- Wait. DO THEY DO THAT?!

Jiho [11:29 PM]

- LOL. I mean. Some.

- You might wanna check your settings.

Nene let out a slow, deep breath.

She was going to kill Zhao Alexander.

But first, she was going to check her damn phone settings.

Chapter 32: Privacy? Never Heard of It.

Nene gritted her teeth as she pulled up her phone settings.

"Okay," she muttered. "There's no way he actually—"

Her voice died as she stared at the screen.

Location Sharing: ON

Pack Tracking App: Installed

Text Forwarding: ACTIVE

Her stomach dropped.

Oh, hell no.

Nene [11:31 PM]

- JIHO.

- THE SETTINGS WERE ALREADY ON.

- HE INSTALLED A PACK TRACKING APP ON MY PHONE.

- ALSO, ALL MY TEXTS HAVE BEEN FORWARDED.

- DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?!?!

Jiho [11:31 PM]

- LMAOOOOO.

- YOU ARE SO SCREWED.

- This means he read every single thing we just said.

Nene [11:32 PM]

- NO.

- I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THAT.

Jiho [11:32 PM]

- Babe.

**- He saw you call him a controlling psycho like six times.

- He saw you say you hate it there.

- He saw the part where I said he'd burn the city down if you wore a crop top.

- …Actually, he probably agreed with that one.

Nene was going to DIE.

Her entire body locked up as she turned toward the door—

Only to see Alexander leaning against the frame, arms crossed, gold eyes cool and unreadable.

Oh.

Oh, she was dead.

She slowly, carefully lowered her phone.

Then, with as much dignity as possible, she cleared her throat.

"…So how much did you see?"

Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Enough."

Nene swallowed hard, her fingers tightening around her phone.

Alexander hadn't moved.

He just stood there, arms crossed, gold eyes unreadable, watching her like she was some mildly interesting problem he needed to solve.

Finally, he spoke.

"Since you know nothing," he said smoothly, "I have to be civilized."

Nene's eye twitched. "Gee, thanks."

He ignored the sarcasm. "If I wanted to enforce standard Alpha rules, you wouldn't have a phone at all."

Her stomach dropped. "Wait—what?!"

"Traditional Alphas," he continued calmly, "don't allow their mates to communicate freely without supervision. They don't allow them to leave without approval. They don't allow them to have privacy."

Nene gawked. "That's insane."

Alexander's lips tilted slightly. "It's normal."

She gritted her teeth. "I'm not normal."

"Exactly," he murmured. "Which is why I'm being reasonable."

She scoffed. "Oh, so tracking my location, monitoring my texts, and controlling when I leave the house is your 'reasonable' version?"

His gold eyes glinted. "Yes."

Nene's hands curled into fists. "You can't just decide what's 'reasonable' for me."

Alexander finally pushed off the doorway, stepping closer. His presence was steady, unshakable—too much.

"I can," he murmured. "And I have."

She stiffened, refusing to back up.

His voice remained calm, but there was something quietly dangerous underneath it.

"So," he continued, "since I'm being civilized, let's establish the conditions."

Her stomach twisted. "Conditions?"

Alexander tilted his head slightly. "You want your freedom, Nene? Then understand what it costs."

Her jaw tightened.

She knew there was no getting out of this marriage.

But she hadn't realized just how many rules came with it.

"Fine," she muttered. "Lay it on me."

Alexander's gold eyes darkened slightly, like he had been waiting for this moment.

"First," he said smoothly, "you don't leave the estate without telling me."

She crossed her arms. "And if I do?"

"Then I come find you."

Her breath hitched.

Something about the way he said it—calm, certain, absolute—sent an involuntary shiver down her spine.

"Second," he continued, watching her too closely, "you stay away from unmated males."

Nene rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on."

"Non-negotiable," he said coolly. "If you don't want an incident, don't test it."

She gritted her teeth. "That's ridiculous."

"That's reality," Alexander countered smoothly.

She wanted to argue—wanted to say she could handle herself, that he didn't own her, that this wasn't some medieval Alpha pack system—

But she wasn't stupid.

And deep down, she already knew—Jiho was right.

Alexander might be calm now. But if she pushed this? If she ignored the rules?

She'd find out exactly what an Alpha's possessiveness looked like.

She exhaled sharply. "Fine. What else?"

Alexander's lips tilted slightly.

"Third," he said, voice smooth, "if you need something, you come to me first."

She frowned. "Why?"

"Because," he said simply, "you are mine now."

Her breath caught.

Alexander stood up, stretching slightly, like he was done with the conversation.

Nene narrowed her eyes. "That's it? Those are all the rules?"

"For now."

She hated how he kept saying that.

She folded her arms. "So what happens next? Are you going to put a curfew on me too?"

Alexander's gold eyes glinted as he glanced at the time. "No. But you should go to bed."

Nene snorted. "Excuse me?"

"Tomorrow," he said smoothly, "we're meeting your stepfather and mother. Officially."

Her stomach twisted.

"Meeting them?" she repeated.

Alexander nodded. "It's your birthday, isn't it?"

She stiffened.

Technically… yes. ( She had tern eighteen. and the next second he got her maried.)

She gritted her teeth. "And what? They just decided to throw me a party like they actually care?"

"Your stepfather decided," Alexander corrected. "Your mother will be there, but this is his event."

Nene's pulse ticked up.

Her stepfather.

The Alpha who had taken her mother in. The one she had never met.

"Why now?" she muttered. "Why throw a party at all?"

Alexander studied her for a second. Then, smoothly, "Because it benefits him."

Nene scoffed. "Of course it does."

"Smile, Nene." His voice was calm, but firm. "Tomorrow, we play politics."

She exhaled sharply, already regretting everything.

"Fine," she muttered, standing up. "But don't expect me to be happy about it."

Alexander's smirk was too knowing. "I wouldn't dream of it."

She huffed, turned on her heel, and stomped toward her new bedroom.

Tomorrow was going to be a nightmare.