Alpha's Private Plaything (Elsa and Drake Stone) novel Chapter 189

Chapter 189

Elsa

“Nonsense,” Aiden interrupted, his tone making my wolf bristle. “A

proper toast requires everyone to participate.” He signaled a server,

who promptly brought me a fresh glass of wine. “This will be better

than water anyway.”

Trapped, I accepted the wine, my fingers gripping the stem so tightly

I was surprised it didn’t snap. I raised it with everyonse while

giving Drake a questioning look. His expression remained unreadable,

but something in his eyes seemed to say Don’t drink it.

“To our partnership,” Aiden repeated, and everyone drank.

I took the smallest sip possible, barely letting the liquid touch my

lips, but Aiden noticed. “Come now, Elsa. That’s hardly in the spirit of

celebration. In fact, I think you should compensate for the spilled

toast with a proper drink.”

“I don’t think-” I began, alarm bells screaming in my head.

“Three full sips,” Aiden insisted, his tone making it clear this wasn’t a

request. “It’s tradition in my family.”

1/7

Chapter 189

I felt all eyes on me, the pressure of the room closing in. Refusing

would create a scene and potentially damage business relations. Fuck

this power play bullshit. With a forced smile that felt like it might

crack my face, I raised the glass again and took three deliberate

swallows, the wine burning down my throat like acid.

Almost immediately, my stomach began to churn violently. I managed

to maintain my composure through the next fifteen minutes of

conversation, but the room started to spin slightly, my forehead

breaking out in a cold sweat. My hands trembled under the table

where I’d clenched them into fists.

“Excuse me,” I murmured, rising unsteadily from my chair, gripping

the edge of the table to stay upright. “I need to use the restroom.”

I barely made it to the toilet before emptying the contents of my

stomach, my body shaking with the effort. “Motherfucker,” I gasped

between heaves, tears streaming down my face. When I emerged from

the stall, I caught my reflection in the mirror–pale face, dilated

pupils, a thin sheen of sweat on my forehead.

“Shit,” I whispered, gripping the counter for support.

Two hours later, I lay on the bed in my resort suite, a cold washcloth

217

Chapter 189

over my forehead. The nausea had subsided somewhat, but my head

still pounded like someone was taking a jackhammer to my skull, and

my limbs felt like they were filled with concrete.

A soft knock at the door made me groan. “Who the fuck is it?” I called

out, immediately regretting the volume of my own voice.

“It’s Luke,” came the reply. “I brought you something for your

stomach.”

I dragged myself to the door, stumbling twice on the wa nd yanked

it open to find Luke holding a small pharmacy bag.

“Ginger tea and stomach settlers,” he said, handing me the bag. “The

same brand Drake always kept on hand when he drank too much at

business functions. I figured it might help.”

I blinked in surprise, taking the bag with shaking hands. “Thanks. I

feel like absolute shit.”

“No problem. Everyone’s concerned. You looked pretty rough when

you left lunch.”

“Food poisoning, maybe,” I lied, leaning heavily against the

doorframe.

317

Chapter 189

Luke’s expression suggested he didn’t believe me for a second. “Sure.

Well, get some rest. We have that meeting with the site engineers

tomorrow at ten.”

As he turned to leave, I caught a glimpse of a tall figure at the end of

the hallway. Drake, standing motionless, watching. When ou

r eyes

met, he quickly turned and disappeared around the corner. Coward, I

thought bitterly.

“Drake brought the medicine, didn’t he?” I asked softly.

Luke hesitated, then nodded. “He remembered the br

know how to use it.”

Said you’d

After Luke left, I examined the package, sinking onto the edge of the

bed. It was indeed the exact stomach medicine I used to carry in my

emergency kit for Drake–for those nights when he’d drink too much

entertaining clients and need relief without anyone knowing the

mighty Alpha had a weakness.

“You fucking hypocrite,” I whispered, swallowing the pills with a

bitter smile, wondering why he still bothered to care when he’d

already destroyed everything between us.

417

Chapter 189

The next morning, my head was clearer as I stood at the edge of the

mining site, reviewing the modified plans Mina had sent. The wind

whipped my hair around my face, and I tucked it behind my ears

impatiently as I pointed to a section of the blueprint. The engineer

beside me whistled low as he examined the schematics.

“This is impressive work,” he said, tracing the revised extraction

patterns. “Whoever designed this really knows their stuff. It could

definitely reduce our costs by at least five percent, maybe more.”

“That’s what we were hoping for,” I replied, relief washing over me as

I shifted my weight to ease my still–aching body. “Bo .ompanies

benefit if we can keep costs down.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify