Ditched Cheating Alpha, I Led My Daughter to Life's Peak novel Chapter 286

He nuzzles his face into my hands, gently, pushing them away from him. Is that a good sign or a bad one? Our eyes connect. I raise an eyebrow. He gets up, circling behind me.

I follow him with my eyes, but he growls.

I jump.

He brushes against me quickly, burying his cold nose in the crook of my neck. I shiver against him, and then he's gone.

"Are you leaving me here?" I ask. Is he going to go "deal with" Shen alone?

No response.

I look behind me. "Axel-"

My face heats up. I snap my head forward, staring at my hands.

He chuckles, reaching over my shoulder to grab his clothes from my arms. "I tried to warn you."

"I didn't know what you were saying," I mutter.

"Sorry," he says, still behind me.

I furrow my brow. "Sorry? I'm the one who looked at you."

"You're the one that minds," he says.

I nearly choke. All I hear is the rustling of clothes. I brush my pants off, face still burning. "I..." I clear my throat. "I never said that."

"Oh, okay. So can I shift in front of you now?" He rests his chin on my shoulder from behind, pressing his body against me.

I stammer, looking for words, until I realize he's fully clothed.

He traces his fingers against mine, holding my hand. When I look into his eyes, I realize he's joking. I glare at him. He chuckles and tugs me against him. He rests his head on my shoulder again, peeking at me with amber eyes.

My heart races. I look away.

He chuckles again, leading me in a random direction. "Come on. We're here."

Axel and Onai switch places, Axel guarding me and Shen and Onai changing back into his clothes, before we approach Onai's dad's home.

If Onai and Axel were subtle about their distrust, Onai's dad is blaring loud. He stares at Shen like she's got ten heads or something while she balances a fussy Fei, but he doesn't say anything.

He just steps aside, letting us into his cottage. It's in the center of the deep forest. I stopped hearing the sounds of the outside world a while ago. I can see why Axel and Onai picked this place. There aren't any roads here. No sidewalks. No driveways. No chance of anyone just stumbling upon us.

It's just the earth floor and the wooden steps I climb up one at a time. Shen goes first. Then Onai. Then me. Then Axel. Onai's dad closes the door behind us, and the chaos starts.

The cottage is absolutely silent, except for two sounds:

One, Fei grabbing at Shen's hair and laughing her head off whenever the older girl winces.