My hand stilled as I dabbed ointment on his burns. I lifted my eyes to him. “Just me? You’re not coming?”
Alpha Leopold sighed, his tone heavy with regret. “Work’s too busy. I can’t get away. Next time, alright?”
But Alpha Leopold… there won’t be a next time.
I lowered my gaze, resuming my task. “I might not be able to get time off.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll handle it,” he said firmly.
“I don’t want to go,” I whispered.
His Alpha command sharpened, leaving no room for refusal. “Be good. I’ve already booked everything—it’s nonrefundable.”
I didn’t answer, but a cold heaviness settled over me like a shadow.
My thoughts slipped back to the night before, when I’d been half-asleep and overheard his phone call.
“I’m not telling her,” his voice had rumbled low, rough with smoke. “I’ll keep it from her as long as I can.”
A pause. Then: “To be safe, during the wedding I’ll send her on a trip. Keep her out of the way for a while.”
The voice on the other end sighed. “And then what? You’re going to let her become the other woman?”
Leopold hadn’t spoken right away. I could smell the faint drag of his cigarette, the exhale curling into the night. It felt like forever before he finally muttered, “We’ll deal with things as they come.”