"Let’s go," Magnus’s deep voice cut through the silence. I snapped my head up to see him standing by the door, dangling his car keys between his fingers.
"Where?" I asked, hurriedly shoving my phone into my hoodie pocket.
"To the store, for groceries. The personal chef is in the hospital, so we’re on our own," he tossed over his shoulder, walking out without even checking if I was following.
I scrambled after him, pulling on my sneakers on the fly, a subtle anxiety coiling tighter inside me at his harsh, unyielding mood.
We got into his car, and he turned the ignition, pulling out of the parking lot so aggressively that the motion jerked me sideways. He remained dead silent the entire drive, his hard jaw set as he stared down the road. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned stark white. I didn’t dare shatter the heavy quiet—I could feel that his patience was razor-thin.
He pulled up to a massive, high-end shopping mall. I had only stepped foot inside a place like this once or twice in my life, and even then, only to cut through the main hall—the prices here were astronomical.
When we stepped into the gourmet supermarket, Magnus halted right past the entrance and turned back to me with a sharp look.
"Get whatever you want. Make it fast. I don’t have time to wander around here all night."
I nodded, grabbing a cart with trembling hands, and began navigating the wide aisles under his watchful, oppressive gaze. I stuck strictly to the bare essentials. Nothing extra. Only what was absolutely necessary.
Yet, as I passed the shelves of fresh herbs and rich spices, the thought crossed my mind that cooking in a state-of-the-art kitchen like Magnus’s wouldn’t be so terrible. So, I grabbed a few additions.
My schedule wouldn’t allow for extravagant meals, but preparing my own food felt far safer than waiting around for some new chef to take over. At least that way, I could eat without a constant knot of unease in my gut.
"Are you finished?" His voice rumbled right behind me. I jumped, nearly dropping a bag of rice onto the floor.
"Yes, almost," I stammered, turning around to find him scowling down at the meager contents of the cart.
"That’s it?" He pointed a long finger at the items. "This will last three days at most."
"Well... I didn’t know how much we needed..."
"Get more," he commanded bluntly. "Meat, fish, fruit. Real food, not just this basic crap."
He turned on his heel and strode toward the butchery section, leaving me no choice but to push the cart rapidly behind him. Magnus began throwing premium steaks, chicken breasts, and whole fish into the cart without so much as glancing at the price tags. I stood beside him, burning with embarrassment—the total cost of this cart alone was a small fortune.
At the register, he paid for everything before I could utter a single word, hauled the heavy bags into his hands, and headed for the exit. I almost had to run to keep pace with his long, decisive strides.
Once he stowed the groceries into the trunk, I gathered every ounce of courage I had left, clenched my fists, and spoke up,
"I... I still need to buy a winter jacket. Can you wait for me? I’ll be really fast."
Magnus slammed the trunk shut with a heavy thud and turned toward me, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
"A jacket?" he echoed, a dark flicker of mocking amusement gleaming in his silver eyes. "You’re cold?"
"Yes... we don’t handle temperatures the same way, and..." I trailed off, casting my eyes downward.
"Come on," he muttered sharply, turning back toward the grand entrance of the mall. Lost and completely at his mercy, I quietly followed in the Alpha’s towering shadow.
As we walked through the wide, polished corridors connecting the shops, I kept my eyes peeled for an affordable clothing store—something that wouldn’t drain my modest savings, yet wouldn’t fall apart at the first sign of rain or snow. Most importantly, I needed something warm, as the bitter bite of winter was fast approaching.
My funds were dangerously low; the money I had managed to scrape together from part-time shifts was almost entirely depleted. And although Magnus had pressed a credit card into my hands, I still couldn’t bring myself to treat his fortune as my own.
The moment I veered toward a store on the ground floor known for its modest, budget-friendly prices, Magnus’s hand shot out and clamped around my wrist. He squeezed hard enough to draw a sharp gasp of pain from my lips, yanking me around to face him.
"Where do you think you’re going?"
"There... it’s inexpensive down there," I forced out, wriggling my wrist in a desperate attempt to break free, but his grip only locked tighter around my flesh.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" He leaned down, his face hovering so close I could feel the scorching heat of his breath against my cheek. "You have my card in your pocket. There is enough money on it to last you a year, and you’re heading into this miserable bargain shop?"
"But that’s your money, I can’t just—"
"Jane," he rumbled low, the sheer weight of his wolf’s voice freezing the blood in my veins and coiling a tight knot of terror in my chest. "It’s your money now. And you are going to use it. Do you understand me?"
I offered a meek nod, my throat far too constricted to form words. I was still struggling to process the way he just uttered my name like that.
Without letting go of my wrist, he then dragged me in the opposite direction—straight toward the high-end wing lined with opulent, glowing boutique storefronts.
"She needs a good winter coat, comfortable denim, and heavy sweaters," Magnus declared coldly, pulling me across the threshold of a lavish shop. "Quickly."
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