“Leave me alone,” I told her, my voice weak and as pathetic as I felt.
“I’ll see you downstairs,” she said, and I heard her steps as she left.
Slowly, I sat up when I finally inhaled a breath that wasn’t contaminated with Cole.
How had she been able to do that to me?
I’d never been so overwhelmed by any pheromones before. I’d heard how some alphas spoke about us and seen the porn. I always thought it was an exaggeration, a performance to pet an alpha’s ego, which was only confirmed to me when Ashford had tried to bombard me with his pheromones early in his claim.
I had gagged.
But Cole—what she did was unacceptable.
It was so much more powerful than in her office.
I rubbed my palms on my thighs and breathed in more clean air.
If she had wanted to… I couldn’t have stopped her… I wasn’t sure how long I’d have been able to try to resist before I’d give in… did I want to give in?
No.
I stood.
Cole was the same as any other alpha, throwing her weight around, taking whatever she wanted. She was even willing to risk my life by forcing me to shift. For what? She didn’t care about me. She didn’t even know me.
I didn’t know what she wanted from forcing me to shift, but it had nothing to do with my well-being.
I grabbed the makeup bag from on top of the dresser—Chloe really did think of everything—and headed to the bathroom for better light in the mirror.
When I descended the stairs, I was pleased that my efforts had clearly been recognised. Cole was sitting on the stool near the door, pulling on a pair of boots, when she looked up to see me and froze mid-action to watch me.
I smiled. If she wanted to play games, I would play.
“Are you almost ready?” she asked eventually as I reached the bottom of the stairs and she turned away from me, focusing a little too hard on tying her shoelace.
“Yeah,” I answered.
She finished with the shoelace and stood. She was wearing brown boots, dark blue jeans, a grey tee, and an oversized shearling aviator jacket. Her dark curls were free and defined. She was feminine, and yet everything about her was confident, dominant alpha.
I looked away towards the shoe rack.
“Darren is waiting for us,” she said as I forcefully slid my white trainers on without untying, only to retie the laces.
“Okay,” I said and reached for the leather bomber jacket that I shrugged on.
Cole walked to the front door, her hand on the handle.
“Harriet,” she said in such a way that demanded my attention, like a schoolteacher chastising with your name alone.
I met her gaze.
“Tonight, you represent Pack Sandstorm and me in public. Regardless of your current mood, I need you to remember that,” she told me, and I knew it was very much a warning.
“I’m not going to do anything that would harm the reputation of Pack Sandstorm,” I reassured her.
She growled slightly.
“I don’t like the way you said that,” she said.
