Chapter 15
I bristle at the term of endearment, even more so when Selina lifts up on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek. The nearby onlookers
coo at the public display of affection, but I feel like retching.
The moment I’m able, I pull Selina off to the side under the guise of dancing to the orchestral music and lean close to whisper in
her ear.
“You promised you wouldn’t make any statements,” I mutter, keeping my expression as neutral as possible. To anyone else, it might look like we’re just whispering sweet nothings, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. “That you would brush it off
as me helping a stranger and nothing more.”
Selina tilts her head, her eyes flickering with something bordering on malicious. “I said I’d consider it. Not that I would.”
I feel my jaw feather with annoyance. But before I can say anything more, a voice cuts through the crowd.
“Alpha President.”
1 look up to see none other than that Brian fellow striding toward me. His expression is nothing short of thunderous. “You,” I say, pulling away from Selina and offering him my best smile. “I’m sorry, I seem to have forgotten your-
“Don’t act like you don’t know me,” he cuts me off. “And don’t act like you’re innocent.” He glances at Selina, and his eyes darken just a little more. “Unshakable bond, eh? Is that the lie you’re selling people?”
My mouth parts. “You must be mistaken.”
Brian scoffs. “I’m not. It’s quite simple, really; you abandoned your fated mate for her.” He gestures to Selina, who stiffens beside me. Her smile is plastered firmly on her face, but I can feel her hand shaking with rage around my arm.
And I can see the others standing nearby, watching and whispering in shock.
“Fated mate?”
“He left his fated mate for Selina?”
“I didn’t even know he had one…“!
“Darling, deal with him,” Selina whispers from behind her smile before she gracefully disentangles herself from me and brushes.
past Brian.
I know exactly what to do. Without another word, I turn on my heel and leave, Mindlinking my Beta on the way. “Bring him my car,” I say curtly. “And make sure he doesn’t cause a scene.”
n out to
A few minutes later, Brian is sliding into the backseat of my car. His eyes are still dark with rage, although I can’t say I necessarily
blame him. Even now, after five years, I still feel protective over Iris. I guess Brian and I are alike on that front.
I
He opens his mouth, but I hold up a hand to stop him.
1/2
“You endangered Iris tonight,” I say simply. “I hope you’re aware of that.“”
His brow furrows. “Endangered her how?”
I almost laugh out loud. “You’ve just exposed her identity.”
“No one can see her fac
in the photos. And I never mentioned her name.
“Is that so
I scoff. “Check your phone and tell me what you see.”
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With a frown, Brian pulls out his phone. As he checks the photographs, I watch with a mixture of disdain and frustration. Before I
became Alpha President, only a few other Alphas ever saw Iris‘ face. Paparazzi had photographed us once during my campaign,
but it didn’t gain much attention.
But not anymore. With my current status, it would take mere hours for the public to find out who Iris is–something that I’ve
been avoiding for more than five years now. It’s been three days already, so the trolls have been given more than enough time.
And now that Brian gave his little speech, it’ll only take minutes for them to find her.
Sure enough, Brian huffs out an incredulous sound and hands me his phone. Just as I suspected, there are already internet trolls
comparing the photos from last night to Iris‘ personal photos.
I’m about to give Brian the scolding of a lifetime, but then my eyes snag on a link at the bottom of the page: “Abandoned fated
mate of Alpha President Arthur Daven?”
My stomach falls into a pit. At the top of the article is a live feed of the front of the Marsiel Gallery. And there, near the doors, I
can just barely make out Iris.
She’s surrounded.
“Take Brian and two bodyguards to the gallery,” I instruct the driver as I climb out of the car. “Quickly.”
Brian’s eyes widen. “Wait, where are you-”
But he doesn’t have time to finish, because I slam the door shut and the driver peels off toward the gallery without another word
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