MATED TO THE SECRET ALPHA
Chapter 198: Something We Agree On

"You were lost again," he murmured, voice softer than ever, his breath warm against her skin.

Reana stared at him, torn between biting his head off and melting into him. Her lips parted, but no retort came.

"You’re carrying too much," he said, his gaze earnest now. Gone was the smirking fox –this was the wolf beneath. "Let me share the weight, even if you wish to kill me."

"I do," she said bluntly.

"I know." He nodded. "But I still came."

Reana sighed, yanking her hand away but not moving farther. "You think this is easy? If I expose your men, I risk setting you on fire. If I don’t, and the truth is ever revealed, that I harbored strangers in the pack and even gave them titles...including my body and the Alpha position, what do you think my pack members would think?"

Ryder sighed, "That... you don’t think I have a solution to all your worries? Besides, we already talked about this..."

"We didn’t." She shook her head. "A Luna loving an Alpha from another pack is different from Mirian loving Detroit. She is not obligated to serve the pack all her life, but I am."

She sighed again. "You’re trouble. You make my head ache."

Ryder chuckled low, leaning in until his breath brushed her cheek. "Then let me be your cure, too."

Reana shot him a glare, but it was half-hearted at best. "Stop flirting."

"I’m not." His voice dropped, sincere. "I’m trying to understand how I can be what you need."

To him, this was not trouble. He could solve this matter in a heartbeat. But he didn’t want to undermine her pack laws, otherwise he would lose her.

She looked at him, long enough to be lost in his dashing face... this new Ryder, this new face—was too perfect to be real. And she still hasn’t gotten used to it, even after days.

His skin was smooth, sun-kissed bronze, a sharp contrast to the fall of silky long red hair, rich as embers, cascading down his like a waterfall. Each strand shimmered like fire caught in moonlight. And there were those tiny gold strands that appeared at the side.

His features were sculpted with maddening precision—a strong, aristocratic nose, high cheekbones carved as if by a god’s hand, and lips full and wickedly curved, the kind that smiled rarely but devastatingly when they did. A single dimple ghosted his left cheek when he was amused—a rarity she secretly craved to see.

But it was his eyes that stole the world.

Dark blue, like the ocean under midnight—deep, stormy, and endless. There was mystery in them, but also power, like a predator that knew exactly when to pounce and when to soothe. They gleamed with intelligence, mischief, and something far more dangerous—devotion.

He wasn’t just the most handsome man alive.

He was the kind of beautiful that made time pause... and hearts forget to beat.

And right now, Reana didn’t realize she’d leaned forward until her lips brushed against his. Her eyes widened in realization but she didn’t pull away. She kissed him and pulled back slightly.

"Stop seducing me when I’m angry." She growled against his lips.

"But I didn’t," he smirked, voice low and sinful. "You kissed me, remember?"

Reana scowled and pulled back, but her cheeks betrayed her with a traitorous flush. "You exist seductively. That’s not fair." She huffed.

He chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest as he scooped her off her seat and placed her on his thigh, making her straddle him. "Then I guess I’ll just keep existing... right here."

She tried to glare, but her resolve crumbled as he tilted his head, eyes locked on hers like she was the only thing worth looking at.

"One of these days," she muttered, breath hitching, "I’ll actually stay mad."

"I won’t let you," he whispered, brushing his lips over hers again, softly.

She hissed and grazed his lip with her teeth. "When are you going to return to being Ryder?"

"Why?" she asked against her lips while his hands rested on her waist, gently guiding her to move back and forth. "You don’t like this face?"

"That’s not it." She couldn’t tell him that she was not used to this face. She wanted his previous face ...the one she could stay mad at, the one she could strike without feeling remorse tearing through her.

The other day, she’d slapped this face and her conscience almost ate her raw. Even her traitor wolf didn’t let her hear the last of it.

"It makes me forget," she whispered, pressing her forehead to his as she took the initiative to grind against him. "That I’m supposed to be furious with you. That you lied."

He didn’t respond immediately, instead, he kissed her... slow and coaxing, like he had all the time in the world to undo her. Reana’s fingers clutched his thick cloak, curling into the fabric as heat coiled low in her belly. Every brush of his lips stole more of her anger, leaving only want behind.

He pulled back slightly, just enough to speak against her mouth. "Still angry?"

"Furious," she lied, but her hips betrayed her, shifting against him. The friction made her gasp, and his hands tightened on her waist.

"Liar." His voice was dark velvet, smooth and wicked, and the way he said it made her shiver.

She ripped the cloak out of her way and her fingers slid up his chest, tracing the hard planes beneath his shirt until they reached his jaw. "You’re insufferable," she murmured.

He smirked, leaning in to trail kisses along neck, her jaw, down to the sensitive spot beneath her ear. "I know."

Reana let her head fall back, a soft moan escaping as he nipped at her skin.

"And you’re addictive," he breathed, his hands gliding under her shirt, palms hot against her bare skin. "Every time I touch you, I want more."

She arched into him, her breath catching. "Unfortunately, something we agree on."