Hiding the Alpha’s Baby (Layla and Alexander’s)
Chapter 16

LAYLA

I am sitting in the passenger seat of Alpha Alexander's Bentley as he drives us back to the packhouse. He has been silent throughout the way.

I glance at him. His right hand is holding the steering wheel. The veins on the back of it are thick and visible. I gulp, noticing his other hand, which is spread over his thigh, rubbing up and down slowly. An image of his hand over my thigh, repeating this motion, flashes before my eyes. My cheeks flush.

"Like what you see?" The corner of his lips twitches.

I cough slightly and look out my side of the window. On the way to the border, I didn't notice any of the housing arrangements, but I can see them all clearly right now.

There are similar double-storey houses built around two opposite lanes and the car moves on the road in the middle of them. I can tell there are many houses like these behind these lanes.

"Is this warrior's residency?" I ask out of curiosity.

"Why do you think I will answer that?" He retorts.

I turn to glare at him. He is so annoying. If I ever get the power to match his, I will punch him at least once in my life. That is my ultimate fantasy from now on.

"Look." I start.

"I don't want to." He shrugs.

My mouth which was open to give him a peace talk he desperately needs closes at the audacity. My cheeks burn harder as I drill holes in the side of his face. The smugness is reeking off him and it's so infuriating.

"Alpha Alexander." I start again, with gritted teeth this time. "You need to understand that if I am going to stay here, I want to know what goes around. I also need you to stop with your stupid remarks. I know you hate me. Okay. I get it, fine! But, we have to find a common ground."

He steals a glance at me from the corner of his eyes. I let out a breath of relief when he didn't object to this idea.

"It's the residence for patrol guards." He says.

I nod. This is progress.

"It's nice," I mumble.

"This sucks. I don't want to make peace with you." Alpha Alexander grumbles, drowning the good thoughts going through my head.

"Don't worry. I am going to reject you so you can choose a mate and become less cranky." I huff.

"Excuse me. I am the one who will be rejecting you." He scoffs.

"Do it then." I glare at him.

The car comes to a halt abruptly. I am thrown forward into the dashboard. Before my side hits it, his arm shoots out and cushions the impact. My jaw slacks as I glance at his arm around my chest.

He is palming my left boob. All my nerves heat up as I continue to stare at his hand around my flesh.

My breath stutters as I slowly turn to look at his face. His dark eyes are eyeing his hand around my boob.

"Take... Take your hand off." I whisper, sensing liquid heat pooling in my panties.

Alpha Alexander doesn't take his hand off like I expected. He squeezes my flesh roughly and runs his thumb around my erected nipple. A moan slips past my lips, leaving me embarrassed in front of him. Gently, he removes his hand from my boob. My skin burns with his lingering touch and the sparks.

I place my palm over it unconsciously and look at Alpha Alexander. His Adam's apple bobs down as he swallows.

"Why am I the only one who remembers-" He mutters under his breath.

His eyes leave my face and shift to the road ahead. He starts driving the car again, and I am left trying to regain my lost breath.

"I don't get you," I utter.

"You don't need to." His cold voice falls on my ears.

I keep my gaze focused ahead. I don't want to see his face right now. The heat of his palm is still searing through my skin, making me tomato-red. I am so turned on, and I am sure he can tell.

"You need to reject me." I decided to move back to the previous topic and forget what had just happened between us. It was an accident anyway.

"So you can run off to your fling?" His voice turns colder, if possible.

"It shouldn't matter to you." My stomach flips at the thought of his jealousy.

I know it's all wrong, and it's because of the pull of the bond, but his jealousy still manages to evoke some strange emotions inside me.

"Well, it does. You stole some precious time from me, so I am going to do the same to you. Just like you didn't let me stay by my daughter's side when she needed me the most, I won't let you go by his side when you want it." He says cooly. "That's petty." I snort.

"You can live with that thought." He throws me a killer smirk, and I commit the mistake of looking at him at the same moment.

My heart skips a beat oddly, and it continues to beat in an unknown rhythm after that. I suppress a loud breath and sink into the plush seat of his Bentley. My back is hurting. I sigh when I feel the burning pain.

I should stop talking to him now. He is poison to me.

We spend the rest of the time in silence. He doesn't bother me, and I don't poke him again. Strangely, the silence is thick and tense, but it's not uncomfortable.

My eyes take in the veins on his hands, silently admiring the pattern and the thickness. I wonder what he can do with those hands and how these will look.

No. Nope. I shouldn't think about him either.

I am losing it.

"So you met Ayla before running after me." It's not a question but a stern statement.

"You did a good job at manipulating my daughter. She thinks she wants to stay here forever. She doesn't know what kind of a man you are, Alpha Alexander. And I hope-she never finds out." Tears spring in my eyes when I think about how he tried to buy me like I was a thing and not a living, breathing girl.

My pity party is cut short when his hand snakes around my nape and pulls my head in abruptly. My lips part as a gasp slips through. His gaze burns into my eyes firmly.

"Let's get one thing straight, Layla. I love Ayla. She is my blood, my daughter, and the next time you talk about my relationship with her like this, I will forget you are her mother." His voice drops a few octaves, turning deadly and hitting some nerves deep in my lower abdomen.

My core quivers. The intensity of his gaze and the rough touch of his fingers on my nape drive me absolutely crazy.

"We will not fight in front of her. When we go inside now, you will behave like a sane woman and not some f*****g banshee." His breaths caress my lips, making them tingle. "You-"

"Do you understand?" His fingers dig in my nape. Unconsciously, my lips part wider, and my head rolls back.

I shudder before nodding reluctantly.

"Words, Layla." He squeezes my nape again.

"Yes, Alpha Alexander." I hiss.

His thumb rubs the side of my throat for a moment longer. I struggle to remain still as his gaze drops to my lips. The message behind that lingering gaze is not lost on me. "Decide what you want. Don't play me, Alpha Alexander. "I whisper to him.

He releases me instantly as if I have burned him. The next moment, he opens the door and steps out.

"There is nothing to decide when it comes to you. I can't have someone weak like you as my Luna." He doesn't forget to hiss before leaving me alone in the car.

My heart hurts in my chest. I am unwanted, and it feels like I will always remain this way. First, it was Josh. Now, it's Alpha Alexander. They will always hate me. No one will ever love me. My eyes glaze over as I stare at his empty spot. 'You have Theo and Ayla and the whole Lotus Pack. The female voice whispers in my head.

Surprisingly, I don't jump in fright this time. I think it's just my subconscious mind. It feels like it.