Bad Love an Alpha’s Regret by Elise Sinclair

Chapter 315

EMILY

Axel is infuriated, and I think he must have seriously heightened senses to be able to smell Ronan on me when we barely touched for more than a few seconds.

“No one!” I yell angrily–though that anger is fed by a healthy dose of fear now that I know who Axel really is.

“Tell me the truth, Emily!” he growls menacingly.

“Fine!” I yank harder, and this time he releases me, and I stumble a step. But he crowds closer to me until I’m backed up against a tree with no means of escape.

“It was just some guy,” I lie, hoping he can’t somehow tell I’m not telling him the truth. “I tripped over on the trail up there, and he helped me up. That’s all. It was just some stranger. We barely even spoke!”

Axel stares at me, eyes hard, glittering and threatening.

I half think he’s going to run off and track down Ronan to ask him for his version of events.

However, Axel doesn’t do any of those things.

Instead, he moves back just enough to give me room to breathe.

Still, I don’t know whether he believes me, or knows I’m lying.

“Shift, now. We’re heading back to the mansion.” Somehow, his already intimidating stare becomes even more threatening. “And don’t even think about running off on me again. You won’t like the consequences.”

Part of me wants to defy him.

I wish I was brave enough–like Ronan had said–to ignore his threats, to shift and run and escape him and my brother and their stupid suffocating rules.

But I’m not that brave.

not

I’m reliant upon Aaron for a roof over my head.

and food and pretty much everything else

would have to live in

the Council to join another pack, but that

the monster within me.

still have to live in fear that someone might discover

secret.

worse, that Axel might somehow find out and come for me, just like we

his status as a

any petition I might put to the Council.

So I’m trapped.

living in that isolated

hard and fast

weak. I

away from him and shift before I can allow myself to

my clothes and rolls them into his own. He’s squatting, watching me. And I don’t dare let myself–my wolf self–linger on the

I run.

and fast over the terrain. The

We don’t traipse much near the public parks and the state preserves don’t typically see too many visitors this far out. Why was Ronan

in my room. I’ve been gone most of the day and it’s almost dark by the time I walk back into

I find out Aaron and Leah have already packed and left for Romania, I try not

me knows it was my own fault I wasn’t here to say goodbye, and Aaron probably viewed it as

didn’t think about

had been booked to take off. And because it is our own jet, he easily could have asked to postpone for an hour or two so

like Aaron is telling me how high his

low to