Falling in love with my Ex's Alpha Chapter 68

***Kaiden***

I can't take my eyes off her when I finally see her, not through Troy's eyes but with my own eyes.

I'm furious with Troy for telling our mate that I don't like her, and now she must be even more hesitant to accept our mate bond.

However, what gives me the most hate is the fact that they were in a very colorful and happy relationship, and as soon as I showed up, she wiped the smile off her face, and all that atmosphere of happiness evaporated.

I feel like she likes Troy more than me.

'But in fact, she likes me more than you, human idiot. She doesn't tolerate you at all, and it's all your fault,' Troy says without the slightest remorse.

I should be able to stop the two of them from interacting until she likes me more. As the two of them talked and I watched, they made it seem as if everything was easy, and I was the one who made things complicated.

Clearly, this is not the case.

The problem isn't me.

She's looking at me apprehensively, with her arms in front of her, unconsciously trying to protect herself.

Does she really think I'm going to attack her?

The animal here is the bastard Troy, not me! For fuck's sake!

But I don't care. I don't give two shits what she thinks.

She's my mate, just like everything else in my life, if I want it, it's mine, and that's it.

Her fiery red hair blazed like a vibrant ember in the soft, warm embrace of the setting sun. Each strand seemed to dance with the flickering hues of twilight as if it were ablaze with its own inner fire. The gentle caress of the wind teased her hair, creating a mesmerizing illusion of flames swaying in the breeze.

The scent of her, a sweet, intoxicating fragrance, intensified as the wind carried it to me and enveloped me. It was a scent that played havoc with my senses, tempting my primal instincts. The urge to mark her, to claim her as mine, surged within me, but I fought to maintain control. The desire was undeniable, but the timing had to be right.

I just want to mark her here and now.

Goddess Selena, have mercy!

After an extended silence, during which our eyes lock in a silent battle, she can't resist the urge to break it. "What do you want, Kaiden?" She asks, crossing her arms in a somewhat petulant, adorable manner.

I can't help but respond with a raised eyebrow and a sly, naughty smile.

Ahh, my little flame, you have no idea what I want.

Internally, I revel in the thought that she has no inkling of my true desires, the secret cravings that dance in the depths of my mind.

My mind dances with devilish thoughts.

I know she's clueless, completely unaware of the storm that rages within me, fueled by a burning desire she can't fathom.

Her reaction is priceless; she closes her eyes briefly and clears her throat, her cheeks flushed with a telling shade of red.

Oh, I think she gets the idea of what I want.

It's a revelation that brings a wicked satisfaction to my thoughts, like a predator toying with its prey.

"Isn't it obvious? You are my fated mate. You will not reject our bond." I say coldly, completely changing my mood so she understands how serious I am. The tension in the air is palpable.

"What? You can't make me do anything. You don't boss me!" she says angrily, pointing her finger at me.

"I'm your fated mate. Of course, I'm in charge of you. You're mine. You were made for me," I say coldly as I take two steps towards her.

She takes three steps back.

'Very well, great way to make her accept our mate bond.' Troy speaks, his voice thick with sarcasm.

'You didn't help anything by saying I don't like her, so don't butt in now,' I shout at him.

"You can't be serious," she says in surprise and takes another step back while I take two steps forward, and her eyes widen as she stands still, staring at me.

"I never joke. You're mine, whether you like it or not." I say coldly to her.

'That way, you're just handing it gift-wrapped to Chad, idiot,' Troy growls.

Never. He will never have her.

I will never let that happen.

Until now, I remain baffled by Chad's earlier actions. I thought he understood that I wasn't giving up on Katie.

Chad is not just my Gama; he's family, he's brother. With Jason, they are my only ties in this world. Losing him is not an option, yet I can't merely acquiesce to this situation.

It's imperative that he finally comprehends: he and Katie are no more. They are over, forever.

And they will never be together again because she is mine, a fact that must be etched into the deepest recesses of his being.

I hate this situation, but most of all, I hate that Chad doesn't seem to understand the gravity of what he's done, as if he has any claim on Katie.

I exerted every ounce of my will to contain Troy, preventing him from tearing Chad apart. To Troy, Chad's existence had become inconsequential, reduced to a mere obstacle for daring to touch Katie.

But I can't act the way Troy wants, or else Katie will never accept our bond.

I need to improve my approach.

"Kaiden, you don't have the right," Katie says and takes two steps back.

Fuck. She shouldn't be taking steps backward. This makes me want to go hunting for her. It's a basic instinct; if she starts running, I don't know if I can control myself from attacking her.

I don't trust myself enough to just mark her.

As much as she is mine, regardless of her opinion, I still want her to accept our bond. I want her to want me just like I saw how much she wants Troy.

I want what they have. How do I get from here and get there?

I take a deep breath and run my hand over my face, trying to rationalize the situation.

I'm an alpha. I've fought in countless battles. I can do this.

"Katie, don't pretend you don't want me. I can feel you," I say softer, trying to control my voice from being so harsh.

In fact, I really could feel her. When she was riding on top of Troy, I smelled the sweet scent of her getting turned on. I had to control myself at that moment in a way that I never controlled myself before because I was almost shifting and marking her at that moment, whether she wanted our bond or not.

"Kaiden, you lied to me this whole time. You made me sign a contract to be your mate when, in fact, I was your mate the whole time. You didn't need the contract at all, and yet you insisted on it. If you really wanted our bond, you wouldn't have done that," she says quickly, almost without breathing, with a sad look in her eyes, and I feel like an idiot for everything I did.

'If you had listened to me, we wouldn't be going through this,' Troy says, and I try to ignore this fucker.

When I didn't respond anything, she continued, "you told the entire pack that I was your mate, Kaiden. Theoretically, you told everyone and just me that you lied. Do you realize that? I feel totally fooled." She exhales while pinching the top of her nose.

I hadn't stopped to think about it, really.

Only she didn't know.

Fuck, I hope her list of reasons is over.

However, Katie goes on, "not to mention you said you would never want me because I'm human. I can't change that, Kaiden. I'll always be human," she says seriously, looking at me with so much sadness that I want to go to her and put her in my arms. I just want to comfort her.

"I don't care about that anymore, Katie. I'm an alpha, and I'll soon be the Alpha King. You'll always be protected. I'll never let anything happen to you. You don't have to worry about your safety anymore," I try to explain to her.

"You don't understand. That's not the point! I'm not worried about my safety, Kaiden." she screams angrily and then takes a deep breath and starts to say again. "What you said about not wanting to get involved with me because I'm human and weak hurt me a lot... I don't know if I can trust you," she confesses sadly.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm down. I need to make her trust me. How do I do this when everything I do makes her do the opposite?

"Katie," I start saying as I take two steps forward, only a few steps separating us now. I realize that she hasn't taken as many steps back as I have taken forward. "I've been waiting for you for 13 years. Do you know how long that is? I thought you were dead or would never find you." I swallow the lump in my throat. "But now you're here in front of me, and all I want is to mark you. I want to accept our mate bond. Tell me you're mine," I ask as I take another step forward, now So close to her that our feet are almost touching, and I try to control myself.

She looks at me with an apprehensive face.

She didn't speak immediately; she took a deliberate pause, drawing out the moment and amplifying my growing unease.

Nervousness wasn't something I often experienced, but here I was, on the edge of it.