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.

his tongue suddenly feeling too heavy

traveled over the soft 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

Fucking hell.

swallowing thickly. But when he met Asher’s eyes, that knowing, taunting glint told him he knew exactly where his mind had

That bastard!

mess this time, Asher. I want no part

any strings," Asher

Asher wasn’t spinning, he was spinning. If you understood

won’t accept her," Roman told him

all the same to him. "Nor would I be forcing you either. Everything will work itself out.

calculating intensity in his gaze. Asher always played the long game—watching, waiting, moving his pieces with the patience of a winning side. And tonight, he had plans. Plans that involved Violet, whether

that he, himself, planned to

to fight the Alpha king?" Roman asked out of concern for his friend. "Elsie

a mate. However, she 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

Roman knew the answer before Asher

Asher murmured cryptically before kneeling beside the bed. Without

into

Fuck. This was serious.

chest, possessively. She

gaze finding Roman’s once more. "You already know what’s happening tonight. I take it that I have your

course." He lied to

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

"Good." He nodded, satisfied.

on her, he’ll try to keep her between himself and Griffin, and away from me. I can’t let

to stand beside Roman, placing a hand on his shoulder,

Roman said,

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

sensed from a fellow Alpha.

about your antics with her, but her first time is

into a lazy smirk, unbothered on

claim her." He said.

room snapped, as if it had never been there. Asher’s deadly countenance softened.

"Good."