My Ex Husband The Alpha His Brother The Rogue novel Chapter 69

-Kael

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The silence stretches. It must have been just a few minutes but it feels much longer than that.

The sounds of the storm fades around us. The world beyond the cabin, muted.

All that’s left is us. Me, Laila…our heated breaths, and the sound of our respective heartbeats.

The words hang between us, like a looming shadow, heavier than either of us can bear.

I let it.

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For long enough to feel the weight pressing down on my shoulders. If I wasn’t already crouching to be on level with her, I might have dropped to my knees.

I’m not sure when, or how it happened without me noticing it, but this is how much influence Laila has over

1. me.

This is how much she affects me.

The realization is even heavier than my words.

If I’d been told this would be the result of signing those papers. That I’d be dooming myself as surely as I trapped her, maybe I would have chosen differently.

Maybe I would have let her go.

But I didn’t. I didn’t let go when I had the chance to.

And now, I’m not sure I still have that choice. I’m not sure I want to have that choice.

I can still feel the lingering traces of that cold, chilling terror…

I haven’t felt this way since the night the rogues attacked. And I never thought I would ever have to again.

I’m a man who fears nothing. Or so I thought, until today. Until now, staring into her eyes, as she stares back at me in quiet surprise,

I think I now know what I fear.

The panic that clawed at my veins the moment the storm was announced and I realised it was right where I’d sent Laila to.

My hands clench tightly.

My palms are still raw from how tightly I gripped the steering wheel on my way to the woods.

Meanwhile, Laila’s eyes widen slightly, and then her pupils darken by a measure. It’s subtle, easy to miss…but I

18:56 Mon, Oct 13

Chapter 69

see it.

Desire…

Reluctant, but it’s there.

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She’s aroused by my words. And the way she tries to hide it draws a smirk to my lips.

She can’t seem to come up with a response.

Good. Because I’m not expecting one.

Her body tells me what her lips can’t say.

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She hasn’t pulled away from me. Not yet. But her fingers tremble visibly, betraying everything she’s trying to hide.

“Kael…” she breathes my name again. Her voice is softer this time, like a song she hates herself for singing.

It rips at me. The sharp sting of it is addicting.

I lean in closer until my nose almost brushes her forehead. She smells of the storm still lingering on her skin.

The wet wool of the blanket, the soft sweetness beneath, her own scent I know so well.

My chest presses against the edge of the blanket, my hands still braced on either side of her head. My wolf growls inside me, low and hungry, urging me to close the rest of the distance between us.

But I can’t. I won’t. Not until she asks me to.

She leans back into the sofa, but she doesn’t say stop. She doesn’t shove me away either.

This silence is worse than a no. Because it means she’s still fighting herself.

“Say it,” I whisper, my voice raw and rough. “Tell me you don’t want me to touch you. Tell me you hate me.”

Her lips part but no sound comes out. Her throat moves in a slow gulp. Her pulse is racing so fast, I can feel it under my thumb.

My restraint is long gone, but I’m hanging onto it with every ounce of will.

Laila shakes her head slightly, her eyes going closed. Like if she doesn’t see me, she can pretend this isn’t happening.

But it is happening. And there’s no stopping it unless she does.

“Say the words, Laila.” I insist firmly, “Turn me down. Tell me who you want to be with… instead of me,”

I think I’m losing my mind. Deep down, a part of me hopes she will. Maybe that’s what I need to get back to

my senses.

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Chapter 69

But another part of me….

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“You can’t do this,” she says finally, in a whisper. “Not after everything. Not after Julie. Not after what you…”

I draw in a sharp breath. “I know what I did.” My jaw hurts from gritting my teeth to hold myself back. “But you don’t get it, Laila. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m not pretending I deserve it.”

“And being with me is probably the worst decision you’ll ever make. But I’m telling you, I still want you. More now than ever. And it’s killing me.”

She exhales sharply, her eyes snapping open. “Then let it kill you quietly,” her voice trembles. “Don’t drag me down with you.”

Her words hurt. More than I anticipate. The sting is much sharper this time.

I grin in response. Her body betrays her. She’s still trembling, her lips parted, and her heart thudding so fast I can feel it through my palm.

I rest my forehead against hers, my voice low and guttural. “But you’re already down here with me.”

She whimpers, a tiny sound, light and broken. It shoots straight down my spine.

The fire behind us still crackles. The cabin smells like smoke and storm and her. My hand slides down to the curve of her neck before I can stop it.

“Tell me to stop,” I rasp in a heavy breath. “Tell me, Laila, and I swear I will. But don’t sit there pretending you don’t feel this too.”

Her brows twitch. Her nails dig into the blanket.

I wait for the words to come.

It doesn’t.

And silence has never been more dangerous than it is in this moment.

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