Alpha King’s Wolfless Mate by Scarlett Higgins

Chapter 116

**Margot POV

“What cause, exactly, have youbeen discussing with my dear cousin?”Graham asked.

I felt like I couldn’t breathe. He knew that I’d betrayed him, but how?

I did my best to keep my face neutral. I couldn’t show any sign of guilt. Maybe I was wrong. It was possible he was talking about something else. If I jumped to conclusions, I would only get myself into more trouble.

“Our cause,”I answered.“Thealliance between Lanecreek and the king’s pack.”

Graham looked thoughtful, but it was exaggerated, like he was playacting.

“Right, the orchards,”he mused.“That’s what you suggested to him,wasn’t it? That we sell fruit to the

other packs?”

“That’s right,”I stated.“Ourorchards are so prosperous now that we can’t consume everything they produce on our own. It only makes sense to bring the excess to market.”

“It’s a logical argument,”he said.“You’re a great spokesperson for thepack, aren’t you?”

“I try to be, Alpha,”I answered. Iwas sweating. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Graham.

“Stand up, Margot,”he ordered.

I shakily got to my feet and stood at my full height in front of him. He was much taller than me, and I had to tilt my head to look at him. Graham grabbed my jaw and pulled my face closer to his. I fought the urge to pull away.

“What the hell are you doing?”Kelly asked angrily. I heard the chair move as she stood, but I didn’t look away from Graham.

“Your friend here has become sucha regular in the packhouse that she’s practically family,” Graham stated calmly.“Sometimes,I even forget that she’s here. Sneaking around like a meek little mouse and eavesdropping. Just how much have you overheard?”

“If this is your idea of a joke, I don’tget it,”Kelly scoffed.“Let her go and stop being weird.”

“I’ve gotten so used to your smellbeing around that I don’t notice it, even when it’s in a part of the house where you definitely shouldn’t be.”Graham released me and turned to Kelly.“You know, I was suspicious of the way you insisted on keeping her around.”

Kelly scoffed again and crossed her arms.“It’s not like you were giving me any attention,” she snarled.“I’m allowed to have friends.”

“Of course, you are,”Grahamlaughed.“I just wish that you had better taste.”

“Obviously,I have bad taste,”shequipped.“I’m marrying you.” Kelly tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Now will you stop acting sostrange and tell me what the hell is going on?”

Graham turned from me and approached Kelly.

“You’re too full of yourself to beinvolved in this mess though, aren’t you? You’d never give up the opportunity to elevate yourself.”Graham grabbed Kelly by the hair and pulled her close to his face. “Not for something like the good ofthe pack.” He k*ssed her, but Kelly pulled back forcefully.“You don’t even have a pack. You’re my rogue Luna.”

Graham laughed, and there was a harsh, cold edge to it.

Kelly shoved him away and cursed. “What the hell is wrong with you?”she demanded.

Graham placed his hand on his belly and bent over with his

17:18

laughter. Kelly looked over his shoulder at me and I could see the fear in her eyes. She didn’t know what was going on with Graham at all.

But I did.

He had caught me. He knew that I had been helping King Blake. It was pointless for me to run. I wouldn’t be able to escape him. I was frozen to the spot. I had no idea what to do. I was doomed.

“How?”I asked weakly.

Graham’s laughter died immediately and he stood straight up. He turned to me and smirked.

“I’m glad you at least have enoughintegrity not to deny it.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled something out.

I felt myself pale as he held a charred paper out in front of me.

It was a letter from Blake. I had been burning our letters in the

fireplace of my home to make sure that there was no evidence. How had Graham gotten a hold of it?

“What?”Kelly asked.“What is ad*rty piece of paper supposed to prove?”

Graham turned and tossed the paper at her. It fluttered for a mo ment before Kelly snatched it from the air.

I stood helpless as she glanced over it and her jaw fell open in shock. She lowered the page and looked at me. She looked hurt. I never would have expected that.

Graham put his hand on his hip. “To answer your vague question,”he started.“It wasn’t easy. You very nearly got away with it. The only thing that tipped me off was the frequency of the letters coming to you from the university. That and how nervous you’ve been lately were the only things that gave you away.”

“You’re monitoring the mail?”I

asked in shock. It was such a bizarre and paranoid thing to do.

But maybe it wasn’t paranoid, since he did actually catch me conspiring against him.

“It’s a good thing too,”hecontinued.“Or we wouldn’t have learned of your betrayal until it was too late.”

Graham lurched forward suddenly and grabbed my throat. I yelped in fear, expecting him to snap my n*eck or choke me, but all he did was hold on.

“Tell me everything you told mybastard cousin,” he ordered.

I stared at him mutely. The letter that he found only discussed arranging a meeting. He had no idea how much I knew. If I could stay quiet, then King Blake might still have a chance of defeating Graham.

Graham tightened his g rip on my throat and growled.“Answer me!”

My mouth felt incredibly dry as I stared up at his face. Graham was handsome, I had always thought so, but right now, he looked terrible. His face was twisted into a mask of rage. His gums were exposed as he growled at me and his eyes were wide and bulging from his head. His expression was so intense that it was almost funny.

The thundering of my heartbeat in my ears was oddly calming as I stared up at him. I doubted that he would be so angry just because I betrayed his trust.

Graham was used to not being able to trust anyone. He didn’t care about me. Where was this rage coming from?

He shook me hard, trying to prompt me to answer. I clamped my dry mouth shut and swallowed hard.

“Well?”he demanded.

It hit me then, the reason that he was so angry. It wasn’t because he

was hurt by what I had done. It was because I had put him in a powerless situation. He couldn’t prevent whatever plan Blake had come up with to deal with him, because he didn’t know what that plan was.

He was filled with rage because I had taken some small bit of power away from him and he couldn’t stand it.

I lifted my chin up high and stared at Graham as steadily as I could. His grip on my ne ck was painful, but I knew it was nothing compared to the pain that was going to come soon.

It was oddly satisfying to know that I had managed to hurt Graham’s pride, if nothing else. He wasn’t as powerful as he thought that he was. Even a meek little mouse like me could defy him. If I was going to die, at least I had the satisfaction of knowing that what I had done had pissed Graham off.

“I’ll swallow my own tongue beforeI tell you anything,”I stated calmly.

Graham grinned.“We’ll see about that.”He released my throat and took a step back.“Guards!”

The door burst open and Graham’s personal guards flooded in. Before I could move, one of them had grabbed me and painfully twisted my arms behind my back.

I didn’t resist. It would be pointless and only hurt more.

“Take this traitor to the dungeon,”Graham ordered.“And see to it that she talks. I want to know exactly how much she’s blabbed.”

“Yes, Alpha!”the men chanted inunison.

“And once she has talked, let meknow.” He grinned cruelly at me.“I have plans for whatever is left of her.”