Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 2 : Rejected

*Lucas*

A pothole almost unseated me as my chauffeur, Ian, navigated us back toward my mansion on a hill from our stop at the post office.

“Ian, a little slower, please?" I said with a wince, pretty sure that last one was going to bruise my ass.

Not that it would be the only bruise on my body. I reached up and touched my cheek once more.

Sasha f*****g Wentley.

She packed a lot more of a punch now than I remembered her having as a kid, but she was still as feisty as ever.

A smile tugged at my lips, but I quickly covered it with a cough as Ian peered at me in the rearview mirror.

Mirrors were going to be the death of me.

When I'd snagged her deep, navy eyes at Nostalgia, I could hardly believe I was seeing her again after all this time. Sure, she'd become curvier in some places, places I couldn't help but notice as I approached her and her friend at the bar. With a tight skirt and a push-up bodice that was completely strapless, showing off miles and miles of fair skin, it was impossible not to notice. I was a red-blooded Lycaon male, after all.

She iced me out immediately, which was disappointing, but I guess at my twenty-seven to her twenty, I'd had more time to get over the past–seven years, to be exact.

I really should have found a new direction, and a different tight-dressed target, when her eyes telegraphed “f**k off" at me in that mirror. But her lavender scent was too tempting, too intoxicating to be ignored.

A whiff or two would be fine, I'd decided. I'd even contented myself with ignoring her, as she'd wanted, and talking with her friend. I could still breathe her in.

Sasha thwarted my carefully laid plan when she stood to go to the ladies' room, however. I'd gotten a few lungfuls of that sweet lavender, but not nearly enough when she slid off her barstool and stomped away.

And then that asshole....

That asshole–he dared touch what was....

I didn't finish that sentence in my mind. I didn't want to suspect something that was truly unbelievable and very, very poorly timed.

But when that bastard laid his grimy hand on her, the puppy was gone and replaced by my wolf. And he was pissed off.

I was surprised the whole bar hadn't heard my growl, crowded or not.

Then he'd started pushing her back into the darkest corner of the hallway, no doubt to do some dark deeds, and I lost it. I lunged, grabbed, and smacked faster than the fat asshole could stop his beer gut from jiggling.

The way my wolf was howling with rage, he was lucky I hadn't shifted right then. An ache had started in my bones, my wolf trying to come out to rip the i***t's throat out. Luckily, I'd had my temperamental wolf long enough to know how and when to get him to back down.

Still, my wolf whined as I let the bastard walk away.

That left Sasha staring at me, and me staring at Sasha.

I hadn't expected hugs and kisses but… she slapped me. What the hell was that for?

question died in my throat as those large eyes, deep and wide and blue as any ocean, bore into

of hers. They were as sharp as a knife, and they spoke volumes

pierced into mine, seeing through me and any number of facades I could have thrown in front of her, daring me to respond in kind. But

her. It was a risk to reach up and push her

with a sigh. I wasn't going to be seeing the girl again anyway, so it shouldn't matter. But my inner wolf was still licking

amused. I wondered whether, if Sasha were old enough to have

was all

rearview mirror, but this time, Ian did not meet my eyes. I could see his lips twitching, though,

was so big, it was being held in place by a length of twine. Such was

we kept hitting. You couldn't be a Royal Engineer without getting complaints about infrastructure. I was tempted to slit the twine with a claw and start getting the pain over with, but the way the expensive sedan was jostling, I decided it would be better to open it at

closing my eyes. This new library project occupied the bulk of my time, thank the Moon Goddess, but there was no shirking my other duties. Sleep had become a luxury, and just as I was about to grab some

sir," the graying chauffeur

blinked, looking out the

its large size was a marvel of modern engineering, and, I thought proudly, a testament to my engineering skills. Sunlight glinted off of tan brick and tall windows. Ivy was just starting to creep up

felt a great weight

realized he'd already gotten out

a pain in the ass, Ian," I grumbled,

grinned. “I know,

stomping across the cobblestone to the front door.

swung in to reveal a large foyer of stone tile floor and a sweeping, curved staircase. I walked right past the staircase, past the wide living room, and

from the blood of the White Queens, vampires no longer needed

Brady groused at me, pushing his

I grunted, finally elongating a claw and slashing through the twine holding

it spilled across the counter, carrying with it all

and started

at the table, and the next, he was leaning over my shoulder, taking in the voluminous stack. “You got all

and glared at him. “Will

Brady grinned unrepentantly. “Nope."

Brady's second favorite hobby, scaring the crap out of me with

His first....

waiting for you in your bedroom?" I

was

open my mail with

and start on the pile of complaints. As expected, there were more than a few about the potholes, as well as many from ordinary shop owners and citizens about plumbing, electricity, water quality, and the

really about redoing the palace steps because, and I quote, 'Mr. Nibbles is having a hard time

as though that would help persuade the Royal Engineers to demolish the palace steps. I wanted to bang my head on

on to the

as he snatched a general report to the royal staff out of the middle of the second stack. The man's

sobered,

Lycaons who believed any breach

their side and us to ours, but as the borders of the kingdom expanded, we'd begun bumping heads with