Goodbye My Alpha (Taya and Griffon)

"Well, it seems you're not useless after all."

Oh, thank the goddess.

Roman wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me hard on the cheek. "Tell me, baby, what reward do you want?"

I swallowed down the bile rising in my throat.

With a calmness I didn't feel, I said, "Beta Starke, I don't need any reward other than you telling your men to leave Harper and Damian alone." Roman nodded, then immediately made a phone call to ask his men to withdraw.

Only then did I let out a full sigh of relief. I turned, picked up the drugged glass of wine, and handed it to Roman.

"Roman, would you like to have a drink with me?"

"Drink with you?"

***

Roman raised an eyebrow. Now this...this isn't what he had expected from the little spitfire human.

Perhaps she'd come to her sense after all...

He strode back over to her, leaning down to scent her hair above her ear. "Have you changed your mind? Are you willing to let me touch you?" She bristled, and her body stiffened. "Beta Starke, I've already told you I don't want to sleep with you. Our deal was that I would get you the project and you wouldn't have sex with me. Are you going back on your word?"

Ah, it was back to Beta Starke now. This woman was going to give him whiplash, her demeanor shifted so quickly.

"Then why do you want me to drink with you?"

"I wanted to thank you. After all, you let me go twice in a row. Not only did you not touch me, but you also trusted me, a mere human. At the very least, I should offer you a drink as a gesture of my gratitude." She should be grateful, Roman thought, her words having worked to fluff his ego a bit.

"In that case, I'll have a drink with you."

He took the wine she held out to him, noticing that her fingers were trembling. Narrowing his eyes, he took the glass but didn't drink it. Instead, he examined Taya.

Tapping into his wolf's senses, he perused her with his heightened vision. He took in the way her chest was rising and falling just slightly too fast. But what really betrayed her was the stink of fear. She disguised her emotions very well for a human. Not good enough for a wolf, though.

"You can drink it first." Roman handed the wineglass back to Taya.

Roman watched as her pupils dilated ever so little, imperceptible to someone without his enhanced senses.

There was definitely something wrong with the wine.

The little human somehow managed to steady her beating heart and pretended as if nothing had happened. She took the wineglass, raised her head, and took a sip.

"I can't afford expensive wine you're used to, so I asked the hotel to send a bottle within my budget. It doesn't taste good. If you don't like it, I'll ask the receptionist to bring a different one." After saying that, Taya turned around, walked up to the phone, and made a call.

Her action quickly dispelled Roman's doubts. Before the receptionist could answer, he stopped her.