Divorcing My Alpha King
Chapter 74
Gemma
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Cassian freezes, then immediately pulls back from me.
I fall against the seat, and my body is so cold without his to
warm me.
He laughs and shakes his head, and there’s no humor in his face at all. “Goddess damn it. I almost fell for it again.”
I sit up and scoot against the door on my side of the car, then shoot a glance at him. It’s dark, and the streetlights slide across his face in pools of cool white light as we drive.
His wolf is in his eyes. Not much, just enough of a dim blue glow for me to see them.
He’s so terribly beautiful.
“Fell for what?” I ask.
“Thinking you were a decent person,” he
says.
Anger flashes through me at his words. “Don’t feel too bad. I fell for the same thing when I married you three years ago.”
He scoffs and gives me an imperious look. “You have no idea what kind of person I am.”
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“Bullshit,” I say quietly. “At least I’ve been paying attention to my spouse. That’s more than anyone can say about you.”
Cassian’s eyes stay on me for a long time, but he says nothing.
“From now on, Cassian, if your family invites me to a party, I’m there. If they want to embarrass me? I embarrass them back. If that bothers you, you know how to make it all go away.”
*****
Cassian
look at the woman huddled against the far door. She’s mysterious in the shadows between passing lights.
For years, I kept her away from my world because it was convenient for the other pack leaders to think I was single.
A single Alpha is someone you can parade your daughter in front of. Being available for marriage means I have a tempting carrot to dangle when it comes to creating alliances.
But now…now I have a different reason for wanting to keep Gemma away from my world.
She tries to hide it, she tries to be tough, but I know that it’s not easy being the target of people like my aunt and cousin.
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For Sibille to invite her out and then turn on her in public is unacceptable.
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Now that word about my marriage is out–even though it wasn’t widespread yet—my aunt knows that when she makes Gemma look bad, she makes me look bad.
She makes the Smokewind Pack and the Blackwell family look bad, too.
Sibille and I are going to have to have a conversation. And Claire, too.
I used to want to keep Gemma away from these events because I didn’t think she belonged. Now I can see that she does. She could be the queen of this world.
But to do it, I have to subject her to the feeding frenzy that is the underworld social scene.
I don’t want that. I don’t want her to have to go through it.
The thought shocks me. Since when do I care about the gold–digging social climber getting her feelings hurt?
But if that isn’t who she is…
Then maybe she does need protecting.
“You didn’t embarrass me tonight,” I say at last.
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Gemma finally pries her gaze from the window. She looks at me with a stunned expression on her gorgeous face, her full, red lips parted in surprise.
“I didn’t?”
“No. You did a good job standing up to them. You’re my wife. That means you rank higher than them. Put them in their places. in public whenever they deserve it. Be as ruthless as you want.”
I lean over. Earlier, I saw that she was about to cry. She never did, but a single tear clings to her bottom lashes, sparkling in the moving lights of the car.
I wipe it away with one finger. “As long as you don’t get hurt.”
She stares at me, then at the tear I’ve caught on my thumb. Her brows draw together in confusion. “Who are you? Are you sure you’re Cassian Blackwell?”
I laugh dryly. “Yeah. If I’m ever sure of one thing, it’s that.”
*****
Gemma
I can’t help but be captivated by the sight of Cassian like this. Gentle and quiet, despite the fact that I know I did plenty to annoy him tonight.
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I even confessed to doing it on purpose. But here he is, wiping tears from my eyes like he actually cares about me.
It’s a lie, and the lie hurts.
To Cassian, I’m nothing more than an inconvenience. A stain on his perfect life.
There’s no way that would change all of a sudden after three years. And no way it would happen right when I start misbehaving and telling him I want a divorce.
I look back out the window and my eyes go wide.
I didn’t even think to ask him where we were headed, and I don’t realize that he’s tricked me until it’s far too late.
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