You're fucked, pussy cat.

“Excuse me?” He raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk appearing on his lips. He didn’t have that usual dominant aura that most men around the territory had, so Seth assumed that the stranger wasn’t an Alpha.

Plus, most Alphas changed into something more comfortable only when they joined the competition; usually, they wore suits or a rather classic style of clothing.

“You’re excused. May I help you before I slam the door shut right in front of your face?” Seth smiled, mimicking the same smirk that he was showing off.

She wasn’t in a mood to deal with anyone today, and if he wasn’t an Alpha, she didn’t have to fake being polite. He chuckled, opening his mouth to speak up again, but someone cleared their throat right behind him, ruining any chance he had to talk to Seth.

Both of them stared at each other for a while, a bit confused and lost in their thoughts. If there was one thing she knew for sure, the person that decided to pay her a surprise visit was someone she didn’t expect to see ever again. Perhaps, she hoped so.

Luciano.

In all his glory, the Alpha stood behind them, casually leaning against his pitch-black sports car. If looks could kill, the stranger wouldn’t stand there dumbfounded and shaking his skin off.

The smug look on Luciano’s face nearly twisted into an evil grin as soon as he noticed how much his presence intimidated the man. “Aye, boy, trying to play around my kitty, I see. Bad choice, very, very bad choice,” the Alpha’s growl was low as he pushed himself away from the car and slowly approached Seth’s cabin’s porch.

She rolled her eyes at his actions, well aware of the consequences to come, yet not a single bone in her body cared. It was too tempting to act like she didn’t care or wasn’t affected by his presence.

She was. More than ever before, and now, Seth slowly started to realize how hard it might be to erase Luciano out of her life.

For a while, when he was away, holding the distance, it was alright. Yet, when Luciano stood in front of her, in all his glory, Seth felt like jumping on him and melting in his arms.

“I-I, I didn’t, sir, I promise. I just came by to give Miss a letter from the Council, that is it. No funny business, I swear, I didn't even look at her,” the stranger tried to justify himself, raising his hands in defense.

It was understandable that lower ranks would always feel the superiority of those who stood higher, but this was ridiculous.

Appearing in front of her door, acting like the cockiest bastard Seth had ever met and turned into a complete coward as soon as a more prominent opponent arrived. Seth would fake a gag, if not for Luciano’s eyes on her. Perhaps any other thing she did would be used against her later on, so she had to be careful.

“Are you trying to tell me that my kitty isn’t pretty enough to look at? Tell me, boy, what is wrong with her? You’re trying to imply that you’ve seen a prettier face or sexier body than hers? I find your confession very disrespectful towards myself and hurtful towards the hot flame standing in front of you. What is it about her that doesn’t make you salivate over that drop dread gorgeous woman as if you were a fucking schoolboy?” Luciano had to push everyone’s buttons; apparently, it didn’t matter what someone did, for as long as he could attack.

The Alpha didn’t like the stranger looking at her, and now, he suddenly didn’t like his answer about avoiding gazing at her either.

Seth knew that Luciano’s main intention was to challenge the sudden guest, the sparks that danced in his eyes were the only proof she needed.

While both men stood quiet for a while, Seth wondered how she managed to notice the little things about the Alpha. She swore to avoid them, yet the first one that she met and actually gave in took her breath away nearly immediately.

She didn’t spend much time around Luciano, but there were a couple of things he knew.

Pissing off Luciano was a bad idea, same as challenging him, but for some reason, that was the first thing she wanted to do whenever he was close. He had different types of sparks appearing in his eyes, depending on his mood and things Luciano was about to do.

He was caring enough, yet extremely demanding and dominant.

Since Seth slept with Dominic, she could compare both men a little more. Both of them were the dominant type. Luciano obviously had a lot of knowledge about BDSM topics since he tried to turn every sexual encounter into a whole adventure.

Yet, every time he did, Luciano made sure to get Seth to submit to him, somehow earning his role as a dominant instead of taking it.

On the other hand, Dominic was dominant in bed, but he didn’t seem to care about any roles too much. He liked raw, rough sex, and that was about it.

“N-no sir, Alpha. I didn’t mean it that way, I swear. She is beyond stunning; I didn’t know that you had claimed anyone from the servants, that’s all. I would never try to approach someone of your claim, Alpha Vincent.” The stranger tried to step back as if he was about to take his chance and run before anything happened.

He didn’t have a lot of experience around Alphas, which was easily noticeable, if there is one thing you don’t do… It was running away from Alphas or turning your back to them.

Luciano grinned, his eyes focused on annoyed-looking, half-naked Seth. If the Alpha had known that she would open the door wrapped in a towel alone, he wouldn’t waste time with his friends and drive straight to the cabin.

He threw his arm around the trembling stranger’s shoulder, pulled him closer to his side, grabbed his chin, and turned his face to look at Seth.

Luciano leaned closer to his ear and growled. “Now, boy, since this pretty lady is here, I will try to be as respectful as I can be. No promises, though. We don’t want to upset ladies, do we?” Of course, as he spoke, Luciano’s grin widened, perhaps thinking about the sick things he would do to the stranger.

Seth had no idea what he was capable of doing, primarily because of her. Luciano beat up one of his fellow Alphas, which might end badly for the competition results, but he didn’t care.

He couldn’t care less about becoming the King if he had even a little chance of taking Seth home as soon as the games end. The stranger nodded his head violently, agreeing with every word leaving the powerful Alpha’s lips.

He would easily go against any man to get a taste of the new servant, but going against Alpha Vincent would be the same thing as signing his own death penalty.

“You look at the pretty lady and apologize for being the petty, little, horny fuck you were earlier. We do not approach women to act like idiots. If you don’t carry an Alpha bloodline, don’t try to act like one; it won’t help you. Women appreciate big dicks, but not when ninety-five percent of your dick is your fucking personality. Give her the goddamn letter, apologize and fuck out of here before I lose whatever self-control I have in me.” With each word, Luciano’s voice grew louder.

The stranger wasn’t a fool, he knew that he had hit the nerve of an Alpha without realizing it. The most stupid thing he had done in his entire lifetime.

“I am so sorry for the disrespect I have shown towards you, Miss; it was not my intention. I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable by any means, and if I did, I apologize. You are the most breathtakingly beautiful woman I’ve ever had the honor to meet, and I didn’t think of you as anything less than that, even for a second. I am sorry for being rude and not making sure if there was any claim. I truly am sorry. The Council sent a letter; they wanted me to thank you for the wonderful job you’ve done so far and gave out the first paycheck. The Council members hope that you would decide to stay for the next two or three weeks as well; everyone around here appreciates the work and effort you put into everything you do. And again, I am sorry for coming across as anything other than a respectful man.”

Seth felt as if he was ready to drop to his knees in front of her if that would get the angry Alpha off of his back. She took the envelope and gently nodded at him, accepting the apology she never expected or wanted.

His face lit up; perhaps he had decided to celebrate the victory a little too early since Luciano didn’t seem any near as happy as he should be.

“You’re pretty damn lucky my lady has a heart of a fucking gold, boy. You’re off the hook, for now, but remember this,” Luciano grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it.

From Seth’s point of view, the action didn’t seem forced, but the crack of bones made her feel otherwise. She gasped, staring at him in terror as hot tears streamed down his face.

“If I ever, and I mean fucking ever catch you as much as staring at her, I won’t hold back. Pretty sure you’ve heard the story about the headless horsemen, right? Well, that’s about to be you, minus the fucking horse. Unless you want me to stick the poor animal up your ass. I get it; everyone has their weird and twisted kinks. You can be a fucking headless Centaur for all I care. Got it?”

The grin on Luciano’s face grew again; Seth knew that the line between Luciano letting go of the stranger and killing him right in front of her eyes was too thin.

The stranger kept nodding his head, somehow trying to get out of the grip but making the whole situation worse. Luciano’s hold became tighter the more he struggled against Alpha. Seth knew that she had to do something if she didn’t want to watch another death happen right in front of her eyes.

Back then, she was too young to protect anyone, but today she could do as much as try. She leaned forward and grabbed Luciano’s free hand, instantly gaining his attention. The Alpha’s body visibly relaxed, his facial features softening.

“Let the boy go, he had enough, and he learned his lesson. Why don’t you…” Seth bit her lower lip, unable to believe the words about to leave her lips.

She let out a shaky breath and looked into Luciano’s eyes, trying to fake being in a mood to mess around with him. “Why don’t you come inside? For a coffee, perhaps?” She winked at him, hoping that the action didn’t seem as awkward as she felt.

In such a situation, she couldn’t be plain flirty and all into the dominant him; if anything, she wanted Luciano to leave. And Seth would make him do just that as soon as the stranger was out of his grip, safe.

The corner of the Alphas lip twitched, and it was all Seth needed to feel the tingling sensation in her lower abdomen. Luciano had hundreds of smiles, each for any situation, yet this one was deadly.

This was the type of barely noticeable smile that made her insides twist in knots and want him. More than just want - need, her body desired his closeness, and at this point, so did her heart and mind.

She watched how Luciano let go of the stranger and growled at him, making him step back slowly and finally run away. His action made Seth realize the biggest mistake she, more precisely, her body could make.

She was aroused, and Luciano knew that better than anyone else.

For fuck’s sake, he already admitted that he was addicted to the scent of her arousal, an Alpha would kill anyone that got a little taste of what was his.

Speaking of which, if Luciano ever found out that Seth hung out with Vlad and slept with Dominic, one of them would probably die. It might as well be her who dies, or even maybe all of them for good measure.

Seth knew that the Alpha was more than capable of doing it, and at this point, she felt how the fear crept on her. She overheard many rumors surrounding Alpha Vincent, the same man who stared down at her like a primal predator.

If any of those rumors were true, for her safety, Seth should run.

She wasn’t ready to die, especially from the hand of a man that she slept with. Seth awkwardly stepped backward, trying to increase the distance between their bodies.

Luciano raised an eyebrow in confusion but didn’t say a thing. The Alpha invited himself inside, closed the door behind him, and locked it using the key left in it. He scanned the surroundings until his eyes fell on the terrified woman.

That was when Luciano understood what was happening - Seth was cornering herself to get further away from him; the only woman he cared for was afraid of him.

Luciano tried to figure out what happened if he scared her while standing next to the guy.

Was his possessiveness over her so evident that she would be that scared? It couldn’t be; Seth seemed to be more than okay until she went back inside the cabin.

It didn’t matter, Luciano would find out what scared her and why she changed her behavior as quickly.

“Kitten?” Luciano tried to talk as quietly and calmly as he could. He wouldn’t scream at her, risking to scare Seth even more.

He tried to approach Seth, but all she did was try to avoid his attempts to touch her. “Kitten, what’s wrong? I won’t hurt you.” Despite the irritation growing in him, he still attempted to be as calm as he could be.

“Luciano, I need you to leave. We spoke about this in the car, and I’m sure both of us understood everything that would happen next. Whatever you call the things that did happen, I call it the past. I don’t want anything to do with you, and you should try to stay in the same lane as me. We are not fit for each other, and we shouldn’t keep trying to make something unreal happen. Cats and dogs don’t fuck; they are not friends or lovers. Just stop this and leave.” Seth averted her gaze; if their eyes met, she couldn’t say no to him anymore.

As much as he wanted to touch her or just pull her into a hug, Luciano decided to back off. This time only. Something had happened, and he felt like it wasn’t his place to question Seth about such things.

He stormed towards the door, unlocked it, and was about to pull it open when a pile of clothing caught his attention. No wonder something made him so pissed off earlier, it wasn’t the annoying fuckhead that brought Seth the envelope.

It was the clothing of another Alpha that she was trying to hide.

Luciano didn’t feel familiar with the scent, but he would find out who his opponent was sooner than she thought. He threw the last glance at Seth, pointing finger at the clothing, and growled: “You’re fucked, pussy cat!” With that being said, Luciano stormed out, slamming the door shut.