Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 150: Betray A Friend

Asher Nightshade must have slipped into the room while they had been asleep, and for a strange, irrational reason, it annoyed Roman that he had waltzed in, uninvited, into a moment that belonged only to him and Violet. He shouldn’t have cared, but damn it, he did.

However, Roman blamed the lingering irritation on the residual effects of his animal transformation. Like every Cardinal Alpha, his powers came with their flaws.

The traits of the animal he morphed into always bled into his human side, influencing his instincts and temperament. He had spent hours as a cat, and cats were territorial by nature which explained why Asher’s uninvited presence in Violet’s room was grating on his last nerve.

Roman sat up, his muscles tense, every inch of him vibrating with the urge to throw the unwelcome guest out of the room. He glared at his so-called friend, keeping his voice low enough not to wake Violet.

"Do you sneak into her room like this every day?"

Asher barely blinked. "I keep watch over her."

"Really?" Roman sneered, unconvinced.

Asher could spin lies like silk, wrap them around anyone he pleased, but not him. Roman knew him. Saw through him. He knew the depths of his darkness, the sickness that resided in his soul.

"Are you judging me right now? You?" He arched a brow. "Are you any better?"

Roman was ready to argue, only to pause. Fair point. He was, after all, currently naked in Violet’s bed after spending hours as a damn cat. But at least when he sneaked into a woman’s room, it was usually by invitation. Most times. kind of.

He frowned as he thought back to certain occasions. Okay, maybe not always. Roman exhaled. It seemed birds of the same feather truly flocked together.

But at least his conquests had never involved this level of obsession.

And Asher was obsessed. Completely, dangerously, beyond reason. And the motherfucker was surely never going to forgive him for what he planned to do tonight.

"She’s not Lucille," Roman pointed out, his voice harder than he intended.

"No, she’s not." Asher’s agreement came smoothly at first, only for him to add, almost reverently, "She’s so much better."

Roman watched as Asher rose to his feet, closing the space between them, his eyes dark with desire as he approached the bed where Violet lay, blissfully unaware of the two wolves hovering over her.

"Look at her," Asher murmured, his voice hushed with an awe that was so dangerously close to worship like one would a goddess. "So beautiful. Strong. Irresistible."

Roman did look. And it was a mistake.

throat tightened, his tongue suddenly feeling too heavy in

rising and falling of her chest, the way her hair, black at the roots and fading to purple at the tips, sprawled across the pillow in a wild, untamed wave. To the slight part of her lips, full, inviting, sinful. Those lips would look

Fucking hell.

met Asher’s eyes, that knowing, taunting glint told him he

That bastard!

snarled, teeth flashing. "Keep me out of your mess this time,

pulling any strings," Asher

believe him for a damn second. Even when Asher wasn’t spinning,

told him with a tone

as if it was all the same to him. "Nor would I be forcing you either. Everything will

his gaze. Asher always played the long game—watching, waiting, moving his pieces with the patience of a winning side.

he, himself,

the Alpha king?" Roman asked out of concern for

was not ’his’ choice. And if there was anything Asher loathed the most, it was others having control over him. And he would rather burn the whole damn world to the ground than

knew the answer before Asher even

kneeling beside the bed. Without hesitation, he brushed his

widened slightly as Violet leaned into him, chasing his

Fuck. This was serious.

chest, possessively. She was perfect. He

gaze finding Roman’s once more. "You already know what’s happening tonight.

course." He lied

kept his expression blank, his body still, willing him not to smell the deceit. If Asher did, he gave

"Good." He nodded, satisfied.

"Now that Alaric thinks he’s gotten his paws on her, he’ll try to keep her between himself and Griffin, and away from me. I can’t let that happen. Alaric’s too eager and foolish to understand the game here. I’ll be the

placing a hand on his shoulder, saying, "Thank you for

nothing," Roman said, his

as suddenly, Asher’s fingers tightened on his shoulder, the temperature in the room

sensed from a fellow Alpha. He knew what was the problem even before Asher spoke

your antics with her, but her first time is mine." Asher marked his territory like the possessive wolf he

grip on his own temper wavered slightly, but he didn’t crack. Instead, his lips curled into a lazy smirk, unbothered on the outside yet seething on the inside from the warning his Alpha side

He

moment, the tension in the room snapped, as if it had never

"Good."