Claimed by the Alpha I Hate – Episode 23
By evening, Daisy had explored every corner of Nolan’s bedroom twice. The mansion offered comfort without freedom, and guards appeared whenever she approached an exterior door. She finally left the room to confront the Alpha responsible for her elegant prison.
Nolan was in the adjoining office, bent over patrol reports. He had removed his jacket and rolled his sleeves, revealing the tense line of his forearms. Daisy disliked noticing such details when she meant to be angry.
“Your guards won’t let me outside,” she said. “I agreed to stay here, not disappear from the world.” Her old life had already been reduced to rumors about what happened in the gym.
Nolan set down his pen. “Until we know whether your awakening was sensed beyond the territory, you don’t leave without protection.” The order carried the same finality as his curfew.
“There it is again.” Daisy entered the office. “Alpha Nolan deciding what everyone else is allowed to do.” She wanted him to understand that safety imposed without choice could feel like another kind of captivity.
“And there you are, treating every precaution as proof that I’m your enemy.” He rose, fatigue sharpening his reply. He had spent the day defending her to pack elders while investigating threats she refused to believe were real.
The argument drew them close to one another across the desk. Daisy could feel the mate bond beneath every angry word, turning conflict into a different kind of heat. “You haven’t given me much proof otherwise.”
Nolan moved around the desk. “I protected you at the solstice before I knew your name. I carried you out of the gym when my own warriors feared you. What proof would be enough?”
Daisy’s answer failed. He stopped in front of her, close enough that she could hear his heartbeat without the frightening hunger that accompanied her awakening. Instead, the rhythm steadied her.
“Tell me to step back,” Nolan said. He remembered the accusation that he had taken away her choice before their first kiss. This time, he would leave the decision entirely with her.
Daisy should have ordered him away. She placed a hand against his chest instead, feeling the same heartbeat that had guided her through the shared dream. Nolan covered her hand with his.
The office, the guards, and the questions surrounding her blood receded. Nolan lowered his head slowly, watching for any sign of refusal. Daisy lifted her face, caught between mistrust and a desire that had survived every reason to resist him.
His breath touched her lips. The bond tightened, flooding her with an echo of his restraint. One more inch would turn tension into a kiss neither could dismiss as instinct.
A phone rang on the desk. The sound was abrupt enough to separate them. Nolan swore under his breath and looked at the caller’s name.
“Gemma,” he answered. His tone changed from desire to command, though his eyes remained on Daisy. The assistant spoke rapidly about a security matter at the school and arrangements for Daisy’s return.
The interruption gave Daisy’s caution time to recover. She withdrew her hand and stepped backward, ashamed of how readily she had forgotten every unresolved accusation.
Nolan ended the call as she reached the door. “Daisy.” The roughness in his voice nearly stopped her. “Running doesn’t make what happened disappear.”
“Nothing happened,” she replied. It was technically true, but the denial felt as dishonest as claiming she hated him without qualification.
She hurried into the corridor before he could challenge the lie. Behind her, Nolan remained alone beside the desk, still feeling the warmth of her palm through his shirt.
The next morning would return Daisy to classes and the public life she feared she had lost. Yet escape from the mansion would not mean escape from Nolan. The unfinished kiss followed her into his bedroom, more persistent than any guard.