Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother
Chapter 144: _ Meeting Her Again

Chapter 144: _ Meeting Her Again

The fact that Axel even thought about using María José at all makes me want to smash his head into multiple pieces.

I should have killed him earlier... the jerk!

I needed to do something. I must ensure that scum doesn’t use María José. She needed me now more than ever to protect her from other men.

What could I do?

Hold up...

A dark amusement curled in my chest.

Oh.

Oh.

This changed things.

I hadn’t planned on interfering in Axel’s life more than necessary, but if Rosa was in the equation...

Well.

It would be fun to play with that.

An idea took root in my mind, blooming with dangerous possibilities.

I will act on it tomorrow.

For now...

I had a girl to see.

I turned and slipped away from the door, heading up the stairs, following the pull of María José’s presence like a wolf drawn to the scent of prey.

The hallway was quiet, lined with doors that led to rooms belonging to people who didn’t matter.

But hers...

Fifth door down.

I stopped in front of it, inhaling deeply.

Her scent was there, so warm, so delicate, and tinged with something soft—lavender, perhaps, or vanilla. Sometimes, she smelled of honeysuckle too.

My honey bunny.

I raised my hand, letting my knuckles brush against the wood.

And then, gently...

Knock. Knock.

I waited for her to get to the door, but there was silence.

I frowned. I knew she was in there. I could hear her. I could feel her.

My fingers flexed at my sides as I stared at the wooden door, wishing for her to move. My heart couldn’t take the wait anymore.

I had been away from her for so long. I needed her. Any moment away from her and I might forget how to breathe.

Oh, what do I do? What do I do? I want my innocent flower.

She had to be awake—I had just listened to the steady rhythm of her breath and the soft flutter of her exhale.

And yet... no response.

Fine.

I raised my knuckles and knocked again, this time with a little more insistence. But still careful—oh-so-careful—not to be too loud.

The last thing I needed was one of her annoying sisters poking their ugly heads out of their rooms and ruining my perfect noon.

There was another silence and I was about to damn all consequences and knock as loudly as I could when her voice came...

"I swear to God, Camila, if you don’t leave me alone, I will cut you open with my hairpin!"

...

I blinked.

Well.

That was unexpected.

I wasn’t sure what was more shocking: María José threatening actual violence, or the fact that she was using a hairpin of all things as her weapon of choice.

My María José.

My gentle, delicate, innocent María José.

Since when had she grown such sharp edges?

I clenched my jaw, annoyance curling in my gut. There was only one person to blame for this: Axel. That bastard.

He had clearly been a bad influence on her. He had probably pushed her so much, made her pressurized to the point that she had no choice but to grow claws and bare her teeth.

I hated it.

I wanted the real María José back—the soft one, the timid one, the one who had laughed shyly when I had first spoken to her.

The one who needed me. I needed her to NEED me.

To be dependent on me. I wanted to solve all of her problems until she saw that she couldn’t live or do without me.

Without Big Bad Daddy Luis. That’s how it should be. Why was Axel ruining things for me? Ugh, that bastard.

If he wasn’t still valuable to me, I would have killed him without batting an eyelid.

I exhaled and leaned in closer to the door, pressing my lips near its frame. My voice dropped into a low and coaxing whisper.

"It’s not Camila, angel. It’s Mateo."

First, there was silence. Next, a sharp intake of breath like she had gasped with all of her mouth.

The sound of rushed footsteps followed.

And then—thump!

Something slammed against the door, as if she had thrown herself at it in her rush.

"Mateo?" she whispered from the other side, her voice filled with disbelief.

"Sí, cariño," I murmured as a smirk tugged at my lips.

I could hear her hesitate, her breath coming fast now as if she was battling both excitement and uncertainty.

And then, finally... click.

The door cracked open.

The moment her eyes met mine, she gasped. "Mateo!"

She didn’t hesitate.

Her small hands darted out, grabbing my wrist, and before I could even smirk in satisfaction, she dragged me inside with surprising strength.

The door shut behind me, the lock clicking back into place.

"Did anyone see you?" she demanded in a rushed whisper, her wide eyes darting toward the door.

Oh, look who was before me. My María José. The one I’d give the whole world to. The only one to whom I could lay down my miserable life for.

My own innocent flower. Oh, my angel.

My gaze traveled over her face, drinking her in like a man dying of thirst. Her hair was loose, cascading over her shoulders like the afternoon sun trapped in a balloon.

There was a faint crease between her brows and her lips were parted slightly from her hurried breath.

She smelled like honey and lavender. Warm. Sweet.

Mine.

But instead of answering her question, I just stared.

Because now that I was this close—so close that I could count the faint freckles dusting her nose, I found that my mind was slipping away from all logical thought.

She was so beautiful.

So perfect.

I wanted to touch her. To wrap my arms around her, bury my face in her neck, and breathe her in.

"Mateo?"

I barely heard her voice.

Dios.

I wanted to kiss her.

Would she let me? If I leaned in... just a little...