The warm breeze carried away the intoxicating scent of strawberries Tatiana left behind, and rage bubbled inside Maddox as he slowly processed what just happened.

How can Tatiana disregard him? They are mates! She should worship the ground he is walking on and not dismiss him like some nobody!

And even without the mate bond, he is an Alpha! This was blatant disrespect.

Part of him was angry because he was the one allowing Tatiana this freedom, and she was abusing it!

No matter if it's in terms of physical strength or his Alpha aura, he could suppress Tatiana easily but he didn't want to play that way. He never forced a woman to obey him, and he had no intention to do so now.

But it hurt to be this humiliated by a woman who should be his other half.

Maddox wanted to snatch that enchantress, put her over his knee, and give her a good spanking.

Maddox was about to throw flowers on the ground when Damon grabbed his raised arm.

"You know she is testing you. Right?", Damon said. "Whatever attraction you feel toward Tatiana, she feels the same."

"What attraction?", Maddox squeezed through his teeth.

"Calm down.", Damon tried to reason with him. "By giving in to your rage, she won."

"What do you suggest, wise guy?", Maddox asked Damon sarcastically.

"Tatiana said that you can carry her bags. Use that to get access to her room. Do what's necessary for her to forgive you and don't lose your temper. Discuss things in private. Apologize."

Maddox sneered. "Apologize? For what?"

"Apologize for whatever she thinks you did. Right now, you are at disadvantage, and you need to be careful. The more time you spend with her, the more your bond will strengthen, and things will get easier. Trust me on this one. You won't regret it."

Maddox wanted to argue, but Damon was looking at him seriously and Maddox ended up nodding even though he didn't understand what Damon was saying.

Kalina was already in front of Maddox with several shopping bags in her hands. She wanted to argue for her sister and to tell Maddox to tone down that attitude, but now that she was standing close to Maddox, she realized how big he is. His hostile expression made him look like a ferocious ogre that could make her fly away with a flick of his finger.

She couldn't help but wonder, are all Alphas so scary?

Alpha Damon was not so big physically compared to Alpha Maddox, but Kalina clearly remembers how his Alpha aura immobilized her when he angrily carried Talia from Alpha Maddox's room at the Lighclaw pack.

Compared to Alpha Maddox and Alpha Damon, her Tony was like a tame puppy.

Kalina swallowed a mouthful of air before extending her arms toward Maddox. "These are Tanya's."

Maddox violently snatched bags from Kalina's hands before going into the packhouse. His feisty movements made some of the flowers fall out of the bouquet, leaving a flowery trail behind him.

Maddox didn't know which room was Tatiana's, but the scent of strawberries showed him the way.

"Hi, Axel! It's nice to have you here.", Talia said, and Axel responded with a reserved wave.

Axel was planning to greet her enthusiastically, but the fact that Talia walked straight to Damon while talking to Axel, made Axel pause to observe the situation.

"Will things be OK? Max won't do something unforgivable, right?", Talia asked while snuggling into Damon's embrace.

Talia's arms wrapped around Damon's firm torso naturally and she took in a deep breath of his intoxicating scent. Forest and the dark chocolate. Her favorites.

Damon pressed his lips on Talia's forehead briefly before responding, "It will be fine."

"How do you know?"

Damon looked at the little woman who was leaning on him completely. "Because the Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes. She paired them up for a reason." Just how she paired the two of us.

He didn't say this last part aloud, but Talia knew what he wanted to say.

Kalina nodded at Damon's words. Tony was exactly what Kalina needed and maybe this ogre-like Alpha (aka Maddox) is what her prideful sister needs.

Seeing that Damon and Talia were serving copious amounts of dog food, Kalina went to get her bags.

"Did you miss me?", Damon asked Talia while gazing at her lovingly.

"Do you need to ask?", she responded with a question.

Damon pouted. "I want to hear you say it."

Talia smiled at the silly Alpha. "I missed you."

Damon hummed in approval and leaned to kiss her again, this time on the lips.

Axel stood on the side and watched Damon and Talia who were lovey-dovey, and even though there were other people present, he felt like a peeper.

Damon's and Talia's smiles matched as they exchanged a few soft kisses before Damon said, "I hope you didn't hold back on shopping. Let me carry your bags upstairs. Will you show me what you bought?"

"Don't you have work to do?"

"I always have time for you, kitten."

Talia wanted to reprimand him because he can't neglect his duties, but his words made her mushy on the inside and she ended up smiling foolishly.

As Damon moved to get shopping bags with Talia's things, Talia turned to Axel.

"How was your trip?"

"It was fine. Thank you for asking Miss Talia. Are you doing well since we met the last time?"

Talia always liked how polite Axel was. He was addressing her like she was someone important even before people started guessing that she was in a relationship with Damon.

"Yes. I am doing well. Are you hungry? If you are, we can get you some food because we will have lunch on the beach and that will be at least one hour from now, probably more."

Axel wanted to accept and to ask if Talia will join him for a snack, but he saw Damon glowering at him, so Axel was quick to reject. "No need to bother with me, Miss Talia." He will find his chance to approach Talia, later.

…

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...

"That doesn't sound good."

Maddox paused when he heard Tatiana's voice from her room.

He wanted to knock, but the door was open ajar, so he stood there silently with an intention to hear with whom Tatiana was talking.

Yes, he was eavesdropping, and he was not ashamed of it.

"I'm sure you can handle it, Mario."

Maddox's expression darkened. Mario sounded like a guy's name. Did Tatiana have a man inside?

His hands were full of shopping bags and there was also a ruffled bouquet of flowers, so he used his shoulder to push the door open, ready to punch the daylights out of Mario.

Maddox paused at the sight of Tatiana's back. She was standing in front of the window, facing outside, and the exquisite curves of her body made Maddox drool a little. He really wanted to fondle her all over.

"Come on, it can't be that bad…", Tatiana said, and Maddox realized that she was talking on the phone.

OK. There was no man but still… who the hell was Mario?

Tatiana exhaled and her voice became impatient. "I am visiting my sister and I told you that I expect you to deal with emergencies in my absence. Is it too much to ask for a few days?… Fine, fine. I know it's not your fault. Send me pictures of the fabric with details. I will see who dares to send me Charmeuse when I requested Crepe de Chine…"

Maddox stood at the door of Tatiana's room and stared at her as possessed.

Her delicious scent of strawberries was hard to resist, and he wondered if she could feel his scent.

Damon said that they feel the same. That means she also feels the attraction and the sparks and the only thing preventing her from ripping his clothes off and pushing him on the bed is that she saw those two women in his room.

Was Tatiana really controlling her urges to that extent?

Just thinking about her softness and the mind-spinning kisses made Maddox hard. He was never so easily aroused and to think that Tatiana was immune to his charms was impossible to accept.

Maybe if he gets closer and touches her and she feels the sparks, she will remember how good it feels when they embrace each other. Or she might slap him again.

Ah! If those two wenches left how Maddox told them, Maddox and Tatiana would be entangled with each other, and he wouldn't stand there like an idiot with shopping bags and flowers in his hands while Tatiana pretended that he doesn't exist.

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