Rebecca’s POV
The soft morning light filtered through the heavy velvet curtains, waking me from the deepest sleep I had experienced in months.
For a split second, a warm sense of peace washed over me.
I rolled over, my skin brushing against the high-thread-count cotton sheets, and reached out my hand, expecting to feel the solid, burning heat of Enzo’s muscular chest.
My fingers touched nothing but empty fabric.
I opened my eyes quickly, the warm bubble instantly popping.
The other side of the massive king bed was completely empty.
I pressed my palm flat against the mattress where he had been lying, but the sheets were already freezing cold.
He had left long before dawn, sneaking out of his own bedroom like a thief in the night just to make sure no one would see us together.
A heavy, familiar pain settled deep into my chest.
I sat up, pulling the duvet tightly around my bare shoulders.
My stomach twisted with a sickening wave of shame as I pulled the heavy maid dress over my head.
Last night, I had begged him.
I had ridden him, moaned his name, and wept into his neck because of a nightmare.
And he had held me, spanked me, and claimed my mouth with a desperate hunger that felt so real.
But waking up alone in the cold room proved the brutal truth: it was just a moment of drunken pity for him.
A moment of weakness that he was probably already regretting.
By afternoon, the mansion was buzzing with activity, and I was back to being a maid.
My body was completely exhausted, my thighs aching slightly from the friction of the night before, but I forced myself to keep moving, scrubbing the marble floors of the grand entrance hall.
Suddenly, the heavy front doors swung open, and the scent of winter air, cedarwood, and fresh mint flooded the room.
My heart leaped into my throat.
I froze, my hands gripping the wooden handle of my mop as Enzo walked into the hall.
He looked devastatingly handsome, dressed in his dark warrior leathers, his broad shoulders squared and his jaw set in a firm, unbending line.
I couldn’t help it.
I stepped forward slightly, my eyes locking onto his, waiting for some sort of sign.
A flicker in his green eyes, a tightening of his jaw—anything.
But Enzo walked right toward me.
The distance between us closed, and the air turned suffocatingly thick.
I held my breath, my heart hammering against my ribs.
But he didn’t look down.
He didn’t even pause.
Enzo walked right past me as if I were a piece of furniture.
”Enzo!
You’re back!”
A sweet, ringing voice echoed through the hall.
I turned my head sharply and saw Clara rushing down the grand staircase, a bright smile on her face.
The moment Clara reached the bottom of the stairs, the cold mask on Enzo’s face vanished.
He stepped toward her, his hands reaching out to catch her by the waist, pulling her close to himself.
”Did you find what you were looking for in the woods?” Clara asked softly, leaning into his space.
”Yes,” Enzo murmured, his deep voice smooth and attentive as he looked down at her.
“Everything is taken care of.”
Standing there in my stained apron, clutching a dirty mop, I felt a hot, blinding tear slip down my cheek.
I quickly wiped it away with the back of my hand, my chest squeezing so tightly I could barely breathe.
I spun on my heel and walked away, my vision blurred by the fresh wave of hot, angry tears spilling over my lashes.
I couldn’t let them see me break.
I couldn’t let Clara look at my misery and feel like she had won.
Instead of heading back to the bustling kitchen or retreating to my suffocating room in the servants’ quarters, I marched straight toward the back corridors and took the private elevator all the way to the rooftop.
I needed air.
I needed to get away from his scent, away from her voice, and away from the crushing weight of the pack mansion.
When the elevator doors dinged open, the cold wind whipped aggressively against my face.
I walked over to the edge of the rooftop, climbing up onto the stone pavement.
I sat down right on the ledge, letting my legs dangle freely over the massive, dizzying drop.
Looking out at the endless green forests of the territory, I sucked in a deep, shaky breath, trying to steady the frantic beating of my heart.
Crunch.
The sharp sound of boots grinding against the gravel roof made me stiffen.
I didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was—the heavy, intoxicating scent of cedarwood and mint already filled the air.
I turned my head quickly, my eyes locking onto Enzo.
The moment his gaze landed on me sitting on the very edge of the abyss, his face completely drained of color.
His green eyes widened with absolute horror, the pupils shrinking into tiny pricks of panic.
”Becca, don’t do it!” he shouted, his voice cracking with a raw terror I had never heard from him before.
I frowned, staring back at him with deep confusion.
It took my brain a second to realize exactly what he was looking at.
He thought I was going to jump.
He thought I wanted to commit suicide.
When he saw that I wasn’t moving, that I was just staring at him with a numb, empty expression, the fierce Alpha completely crumbled.
He took a hesitant, trembling step forward, his hands held out in front of him as if he were approaching a wild, fragile animal.
”Baby, please,” he begged, his deep voice shaking violently as he looked at my dangling feet.
“Please, just come down.
Walk away from the edge.”
He still thought I wanted to end my life.
I let out a dry, bitter scoff.
“Why do you care, Enzo?
If I jump, your biggest problem is gone.
You should be happy.”
”Rebecca, no—”
He took another step, his face twisted in pure fear.
He genuinely believed that if he made one wrong move, I would throw myself off the building.
In a split second, Enzo moved with blinding, explosive Alpha speed.
He rushed me, his massive arms wrapping around my waist like iron bands before I could even blink.
He violently hauled me backward off the pavement, throwing both of our bodies hard onto the solid, gravel floor of the roof.
We slammed into the ground together, but he took the brunt of the fall, keeping his body beneath mine to protect me.
He locked his thick arms around my back, crushing me against his bare, broad chest.
He was panting like he had just run a marathon, his heart hammering erratically against my ribs.
”I have you,” he choked out against my neck, his entire massive frame shaking under me.
“I have you, Becca.
God, I have you.”
Before I could even process the impact, Enzo pulled his head back.
His eyes were blazing, wild, and completely out of his control.
He cupped my face with his large, trembling hands and slammed his lips directly onto mine.
The kiss was desperate, passionate, and messy.
He devoured my mouth as if he were trying to breathe life back into my lungs, his tongue forcing its way inside, claiming me with a terrifyingly possessive hunger.
I froze, my mind spinning as the taste of him flooded my senses all over again.
Suddenly, he pulled back just an inch, his hot breath fanning across my face as he stared down at me with wide, panicked eyes.
“You scared me to death,” he breathed out.
“Don’t you ever do that again.
Do you hear me?
You almost killed me.”
A sudden, hot fury erupted inside my chest, burning away the shock.
The image of him walking past me like a stranger, the image of his hands on Clara’s waist, and the hypocrisy of his touch right now completely broke me.
Crack!
Before I even realized what I was doing, my hand flew up and I slapped him hard across his handsome cheek.
The loud, sharp sound echoed across the empty rooftop.
Enzo’s head snapped to the side, his jaw tightening instantly.
He froze, completely shocked, a bright red mark blooming across his tan skin.
He stared back at me, his eyes wide with total disbelief.
I pushed against his heavy chest with every ounce of strength I had left, forcing him to let me go.
I scrambled back on the gravel, my breathing heavy, my body trembling with pure rage as I looked down at him.
”Don’t you dare touch me,” I spat, my voice shaking with a cold, hard rage.
I stared straight into his stunned eyes, tearing my own heart out of my chest and throwing it at his feet.
“Alpha Enzo…
I take it back.
I take back every single feeling I have ever had for you.
You mean absolutely nothing to me anymore.”