Alpha King’s Wolfless Mate by Scarlett Higgins

Chapter 77

**Nora POV

The rhythmic pounding in my temple was the first thing I became aware of as I woke. I groaned and pulled the blanket tighter around me. I didn’t want to get up yet.

I overdid it at the festival last night and I was a little embarrassed about it. Being hungover was only the beginning of my problems. I couldn’t hide in bed all day, which meant that eventually I was going to have to face Graham.

I could feel his eyes on me all night, even when I couldn’t actually see him.

Blake had been kept busy all night as well, so we hadn’t gotten a chance to talk before we collapsed into bed together and passed out. I reached to his side of the bed and found it cold.

I cracked one bleary eye open and looked at the empty pillow beside me. I was surprised to find a note placed neatly in the center of the pillow.

I grabbed the note and read it over:“Working on the clean up. Take the day off, you deserve it. Love you.”

I blinked at the note. It had to be from Blake, but something about it was off. I sat up and read it over again. That casual “love you”at the end wasn’t like him. I frowned.

Did I make him angry? Was he upset about me spending the festival with so many other people and not spending enough time with him?

I shook my head. No, I was being silly. He probably

12.47just left in a hurry and jotted the note down without really thinking about it.

I stood up and walked across the room to the window. It was bright, which did not help my headache. I could see Blake out in the yard with a number of other people, all working to clean up the remnants of the festival.

Blake wasn’t wearing a shirt as he hauled large wooden boards to a waiting truck. He was breaking down the stage that was erected for the musicians who played last night. Near him, there was a wolf with burnt orange fur. I assumed it was Maisie.

I leaned against the window and watched Blake. His skin glistened in the sunlight and, even from so far away, I could see the movement of his muscles as he lifted another heavy board.

The butterflies in my stomach quickly dissipated when I saw a short brunette approaching Blake. It was Margot. I glared at her as she approached him.

What was this girl playing at? Was she really trying to make a move on Blake?

I didn’t see Graham or Kelly anywhere. Could it be that Margot was supposed to make sure Blake stayed busy while they got up to something shady? She didn’t seem the sort, but I wouldn’t put anything past them.

The thought made my puls e jump. I quickly got dressed and made my way downstairs. Letting Kelly and Graham out of our sight was a mistake. I had to make sure they weren’t up to anything.

My hand was on the door when I heard Graham’s voice just behind me.“Good morning, Nora.”

Relief and distress hit me with equal strength. I turned and managed a weak smile as I looked at him.“Good morning.”He was dressed and appeared to be freshly showered.“Not helping with the cleanup?”

He scoffed, but tried to cover it with a cough.“I’m far too tired,”he replied.“Anyone would be exhausted after a day of travel followed by a long night of revelry.”

“Margot isn’t,”I muttered bitterly.

Graham clearly heard me, if the smirk tugging at his l*ps was any indication.“She does seem to have taken an interest in my cousin, hasn’t she?” he asked with a glimmer in his eye.“She’s harmless, though. You really shouldn’t worry about her.”

I wasn’t sure if he was trying to comfort me, but the jealousy coursing through me isn’t letting up. I glanced back at the door. Maybe I should go out there just to check on how the clean up was going?

“You haven’t eaten yet,”Graham remarked.“Come,get coffee with me.”

That was the last thing I wanted to do, but I didn’t have a good enough excuse to get out of it. Blake told me to take the day off. He might be annoyed if I tried to help with the cleanup. Plus my head was still pounding and caffeine might help.

I sighed.“Alright.”

Graham smiled victoriously and waited for me to lead the way to the kitchen. I could feel him following far too close behind me and it annoyed me. I was too tired and hungover for his games thismorning.

“How long are you going to be staying?”I asked. Itsounded sharper than I meant it to be, but Graham didn’t seem bothered.

“We’re not sure yet,”he said.“I’ve sent word to uncleabout our extended stay and I’m waiting on his response before I make a final decision about the duration of our visit.”

When we got to the kitchen, I immediately went to pour myself a cup of coffee. The staff had prepared a continental breakfast and I could smell that it was still fresh. I grabbed a muffin and took a large bite, hoping that filling my stomach will help ease the hangover faster.

Graham watched me with amusement clear in his eyes. I took a deep drink from my cup and avoided looking at him. Why did being close to him make me so uncomfortable? I had a hard time believing that it was just because he made his attraction for me known. It wasn’t as though Graham was the first man to be forward with me.

Something else was rubbing me the wrong way about him. The image of a crimson wolf flashed through my mind, but I forced it aside.

“Blake got an early start today,” Grahamcommented.“It seems he got a good night’s rest.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. It was an obvious jab, meant to imply that Blake and I weren’t intimate after the festival.

“He has impressive stamina,”I replied coldly.

Graham raised his eyebrows at me.“Is that right?”

He stood and walked around the island and towardme. I stood my ground, and met his eyes directly. If he was trying to intimidate me, he had another thing coming. I took a sip of my coffee.

“So, I was imagining the tension between the two ofyou yesterday when he invited us to stay?” he asked. “I’m relieved to hear that. It would be unfortunate ifhe had made such a major decision without discussing it with his Luna first. After all, it is your responsibility to attend to guests, isn’t it?”

There was an undertone to his words that made my skin crawl.

I could feel my jaw tightening at his words. I thought I’d done a good job hiding my surprise and anger, but Graham could read me so easily.

“Considering your history with Kelly, it would beterribly thoughtless for him to impose that responsibility on you without talking to you about it first,” he added.

Graham stopped just a few steps from me and watched my face closely. I exhaled slowly, trying to calm the thundering of my heart.

“Let bygones be bygones,”I said dismissively.“Iwould rather move past the bad blood with Kelly and focus on the pack.”

My g rip had tightened on my mug as he continued to stare openly at me.

“How noble,” he said softly.“You are an incredibleLuna.” He took another step closer to me, leaving almost no space between us. My coffee cup was touching his chest he was so close.“Any man would be blessed to have a wife like you.”

Before I could push him away, the door to thekitchen swung open.

Kelly walked in and paused as her eyes landed on us. Ice flooded through my veins as my adrenaline spiked. I braced myself for her to scream or attack me, but all she did was stare—like she had just walked in on two friends.

Not her betrothed with another woman. And somehow, that was so much worse.

Graham smirked at me, but didn’t turn to acknowledge his fiance. He looked amused, as if he thought this whole situation were funny.

What the hell were these two playing at?