Too Late Alpha The Mate He Never Wanted (Iris and Eric) novel Chapter 60

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His eyes wrinkled at the corners. They looked so warm and joyful. Rowan looked so relaxed and easygoing, and it caught me off guard. I felt my chest clench as an unfamiliar warmth rushed through me. For that moment, he looked nothing like the rumoured Rowan Bane, the ruthless Alpha everyone feared.

“I am serious,” he said through his laughter. “She annoys you, and pushes you, but deep inside, she cares about you.”

I couldn’t help it. At his words, I burst into laughter, causing him to laugh even harder. It felt strange to laugh, because I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed this hard. At that moment, the weight in my chest faded

away.

When the laughter finally died down, Rowan was still smiling at me. His eyes were soft and filled with an emotion that made my heart stumble inside my chest.

“You look beautiful when you laugh.” He murmured softly. “You should do it more.”

My breath caught as I was suddenly very aware of how close we were. The air between us shifted. My heart pounded as suddenly, a tense silence fell between us.

His eyes stayed on mine, and found myself unable to look away from those captivating brown eyes.

My lips parted slightly, but no sound came out.

Rowan’s smile faded, and his gaze dropped to my mouth for a split second, before he looked back up again to meet my eyes. Slowly, he leaned in, closing the space between us.

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Chapter 60

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Chapter 60

Iris’s POV

I froze, and my breath hitched as I found myself leaning too.

We got closer.

Closer.

Rowan’s eyes stayed locked on mine. My heart pounded so hard I was sure he could hear it. My lips parted, and it got hard to breathe for a minute. He leaned closer, he glanced down at my lips once more for a second, before looking back up at me.

Every muscle in my body wanted me to close the gap. But panic rushed in. I shouldn’t be doing this. I had sworn to myself that I wasn’t going to entertain things like this again. I was not that girl anymore.

Besides, this was Rowan Bane. The ruthless Alpha everyone feared. Even Jasmine, his sister, had warned me about him.

And here I was, about to kiss him.

No. Absolutely not.

Before his lips could meet mine, the words burst out of me quickly and awkwardly.

“Can you can you teach me how to defend myself?”

Rowan blinked, looking confused. For a second, his face was so close I could still feel the warmth of his breath against my cheek. I could still lean in and kiss him. But he furrowed his eyebrows, and he pulled back slightly, searching my face like I had just spoken in another language.

“What?” He sounded so confused that it made me want to curl under the blankets.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I said… teach me how to defend myself.” I cleared my throat, trying to sound firm, even though my voice cracked.

An uncomfortable silence stretched between us. Rowan leaned back slightly with an unreadable expression on his face. He studied me for a long moment, as though he was deciding whether I was joking. I almost fidgeted from the intensity of his stare, but I didn’t look away.

Finally, he spoke. His voice was softer than I expected. “You mean that?”

I nodded faintly, unable to trust my voice.

Something in his expression shifted. His expression hardened with determination.

“Good,” Rowan said finally, leaning back in his chair. “Because if you’re going to stay alive, you’re going to need to learn how to fight and kill your enemies.”

I blinked. “Kill?”

“Yes.” He gave a single nod. “Kill.”

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Chapter 60

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I stared at him like he had just grown two heads. “Rowan, I just want to defend myself, not kill. I’m not-”

“No, no. You have to learn how to go for the kill.” he interrupted, his voice was sharp, but not cruel. “Most times, the best form of defense is to attack.”

He sighed. “Look, Iris. You are tough. The first time I saw you, you were able to survive rogues for a while without your wolf, but that won’t be enough. Rogues can’t be subdued easily, except when they are killed.”

The memory of snarling jaws and glowing red eyes flashed through my mind, and my stomach twisted. I shivered.

Rowan stood up from his chair. “Out here, no one’s going to go easy on you. So I won’t either.”

“Comforting,” I muttered sarcastically, crossing my arms even though my voice shook.

His lips twitched, like he was about to smile, but he didn’t. Instead, he turned toward the window, clenching his jaw.

Silence filled the room, and the awkwardness from before returned. My cheeks still burned, and I couldn’t erase the image of how close we had been to kissing some moments ago.

I glanced at the clock on the wall, and I lifted an eyebrow in surprise. “Wait. It’s 8am?”

Rowan turned his head slightly, following my gaze to the clock on the wall. “Yeah.”

I frowned. “How long was I unconscious?”

“A couple of hours,” he said flatly. “You weren’t injured. Just… exhausted. From running off into the woods like an idiot.”

I winced at his bluntness but stayed quiet. He wasn’t wrong. My body still ached, but I wasn’t bleeding, no broken bones, nothing major. I was just drained.

Thanks to my inactive wolf, I was almost as weak as humans. Little exertion exhausted me quickly.

I shifted on the bed, staring down at my hands before I finally asked the question that had been nagging at me since I woke up. “Rowan…” I said hesitantly, not sure if I wanted to ask the question.

He glanced at me with one eyebrow raised.

I licked my lips, tilting my head curiously. “How did you get there so fast?”

Rowan froze for a second, but I caught it. His shoulders stiffened, his jaw clenched.

There was silence for a moment, and I instantly became suspicious.

I narrowed my eyes. “Hold on.” I asked slowly. “Did you… follow me?”

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