Chapter 23

My body curls into a ball as tears fall from my eyes, dampening the sheet underneath me. Why am I crying? We're not a couple, so why is my heart hurting so much?

I can hear my feline painfully meowing, trying to comfort me. All Foxy's doing, though, is giving me a headache. She must have sensed my distress caused by her since she quietens down, hiding into a corner of my mind.

The voice of Xavier explaining himself repeats like a broken record, and all I can do is take it in.

"What do you mean by sleeping with another girl?" I asked with a shaky voice.

"I'm sorry, Alexa, but it was the mission. I'm sure you're doing your part as well," he said, not sounding sorry at all.

I blinked back unexpected tears, my hand touching my wet cheeks in shock.
I'm crying?

"Please, say something," Xavier added, clearing his throat.

I sniffed my clogged nostrils while wiping my tears away. "It's fine."

"Don't cry. I don't deserve your tears," he whispered.

I frowned at that. "You don't deserve my tears?"

A forced laugh came out from the other side. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Yes, you did. I don't mind crying for you. You know by now that I have some sort of feelings. It might only be an infatuation, but still, what you did is hurting me. It's a miracle I can still speak without breaking into a full cry," I confessed.

A silence followed until he whispered the words I thought I'd never heard.

"You shouldn't cry because we're just friends. I broke the rule, but it's not that deep, right?"

My eyes widened, not believing in what just happened. "Goodnight, Xavier," I said, hanging up.

How can he say that it's not that deep? He's the one who begged me to be friends with benefits. He's the one who kept pushing for this stupid deal, and now it's suddenly not that deep?

Fuck that.

I wipe my tears off, refusing to cry for him. He's hiding something. I can feel it. I'll just have to get it out of him, one way or the other.

The sound of my stomach grumbling surprises me. I didn't eat that much today, now that I think about it. With that thought in mind, I get out of bed, going downstairs and hating the creaking sound of the metal stairs.

My eyes glow, giving me all the sight I need in the dark, and I take the opportunity to let my feline merge with me. My ears shift, my nails elongate, and a long red tail grows from my tailbone, sneaking out of the dark satin pajama shirt.

My tongue passes over my teeth, feeling my canines pointer than usual. I get to the kitchen safe and sound when a baritone voice reaches my ears.

I tiptoe toward the sound, walking past the dining room, the living room, and going straight to Dante's office.

"Werecats aren't like humans. Therefore you either pay everything now, or you won't get a cat delivered to you," I hear him say.

My arms cross across my chest as I lean against the wall, a few feet away from the door. Too bad I can't hear the other person.

"The race of the cat is unknown even to me, and the price is twenty thousand dollars. Take it or leave it."

Silence follows. The only plausible explanation for this madness is that the clients are asking for werecats instead of humans, which is making Dante cross the line, but why werecats? Why not fairies?  Hell, even mermaids, which are rarer to see.

"The payment went through. Your cat should arrive in less than two weeks. Pleasure doing business with you."

I take that as a sign to bolt. With a quiet, quick pace, I walk back inside the kitchen and open the fridge, looking for some type of snacks. My hearing picks up on a door closing and heavy footsteps walking closer to the kitchen.

I open the freezer, quickly taking out a tub of vanilla ice cream before grabbing a spoon and smoothly sitting down on the high sleek chair. With one spoonful, Dante halts since I can't hear his footsteps anymore.

"What are you doing here?" he asks.

I glance at him, lifting the tub of sweet in my hand. He's frowning at me but doesn't ask further questions, thankfully. Instead, he walks inside, sitting beside me. "Mind if we share?" he asks, putting his arm on the table and supporting his head on the open palm.

I shrug my shoulders, putting the tub in the middle. Dante flashes me a smile with his eyes glowing a light brown color before fading back to their usual black. "Now that's new," I say, pointing to his eyes.

"It's pretty cool, though, right?"

"I guess," I murmur as I scoop some ice-cream with Dante opening his mouth. I feed him only to freeze afterward at the gesture.

The Alpha notices it, and his smile falls. "Looks like no time has passed."

My eyes shift downward. "Dante—"

"Don't say anything."

"I'm sorry—" a gasp from me booms in the room.

Dante slapped his hand on the table, startling me. "I told you to not say anything."

I look at him, seeing the way he's clenching his jaw and quickly blinking his eyes. With shaky hands, I grab the hand resting on the table. "I know I fucked up. I—"

"Please, don't add anything else," he whispers, pulling away from my hold and standing up from the chair.

Why is he being like this?

I grab his shirt before he gets the chance to walk away. "Why don't you want to hear me out?"

"Because then it would mean that my hate for you these past five years has been for nothing. I should be mad at you for what you did, but yet here I am, acting like a scared wolf."

My mouth slightly opens, no words coming out from me. Dante grabs my wrist, detaching my hold from his shirt. "Goodnight, Alexa."

My body doesn't move as I watch his retreating back. This might be the only chance I have to get back on his good side.

It takes me a moment, but I eventually get up, running after him. I jog down the hallway, seeing his figure coming closer until my arms wrap themselves around his chest, hugging him from the back.

Dante halts. "What are you doing?"

"We weren't good to each other. Don't deny it. Bad things happened when you lost control of your wolf, but I lost control of my feline as well. I slapped you, many times at that, and I'm sorry. At the time, I didn't notice it, but I was at fault too. I don't know why I blamed everything on you."

He stays quiet for a moment as if processing my words only to reply with a broken, "Are you done?"

I shake my head. "Don't push me away."

A dry laugh comes out of him. "That's rich coming from you."

"Let's start over," I whisper.

"I can't. It would mean I'd have to erase all the years I spent with you." He pushes my arms away to turn around. His big hands touch my cheeks with a saddened smile on his face. "I know you're hiding the true reason for you being here."

My heart stops.

"Trying to take my heart back again won't change a thing. I don't trust—" Dante's last words are muffled from my lips touching his.

His eyes widen as I close mine. I thought he'd push me away, but instead, he lets my tongue slide inside his mouth. His hands slide down to my back, sneaking underneath the shirt. A shiver runs through my spine. I go on my tiptoes with my heart drumming into my ears as we kiss each other.

There's a part of me who's doing this for the sake of the mission, wanting nothing more but to gain Dante's trust. But as much as I hate admitting it, the other part of me is doing it just to get back at Xavier.

It's not that deep anyway, right?

I let Dante's hands grab my thighs, and I take it as a cue to jump into his arms. My legs wrap around his waist while he carries me inside his bedroom.

Clothes scatter around the room. Goosebumps run all over my body for the heated stare he's giving me as we get naked.  Lips crash against each other in a sloppy kiss, with the scent of our arousal mixing in the room.

Dante pushes me down on the bed before hovering over me. My tongue wets my lips. He growls at the action, and the next thing I know, the wolf is sucking on my nipple while pushing a finger inside me. Moans resound in the room. My feline is covering her ears, not wanting Dante to do me.

My hips move on their own. Dante's fingers are leaving me wetter. "Fuck, I missed this," he whispers as he trails kisses up onto my neck. Kisses that make my head tilt, giving him more access.

My hand goes down until his manhood is gently grasped. He growls as I skillfully move my hand just the way he likes it. He softly bites my feline ears, making me gasp.

Groans and moans fill the room until he takes out his fingers from me and positions himself, gently grinding against my bud. "Tell me who you want," he breathes out.

"You," I whisper as I eagerly wait for him to fill me, my eyes closed in bliss.

"Me, who?" he slurs huskily as he kisses my neck.

"Xavier."

A person's worst nightmare lol

The picture at the beginning is similar to the attic I have in mind, minus the library.

Don't forget to vote and see you next week! ✨