The Exiled Alpha's Human Male Mate.[BL]

"Sinclairs..."

The name left Vincent’s lips slowly as his eyes moved across the file that had been brought to him moments ago.

He turned another page, absorbing the information with an expression that gave little away.

Leah rose from the couch and crossed the room before settling herself against the edge of his desk, facing him directly.

"Okay, what the hell is wrong with the Sinclairs? They’re a Mafia family, so what? Is this bothering you because that good-for-nothing boy is involved with one of their sons?"

Vincent looked up, a short laugh escaping him, though there was not the slightest trace of amusement in it.

"Your problem is that you’re still so jealous of him that you can’t see beyond your own resentment. Didn’t I already reject him? I have nothing to do with him anymore."

"You rejected him, but you certainly don’t act like it." Leah’s eyes narrowed. "Speaking of that, did you tell him that he needs to reject you too if you want the bond severed completely?"

"Yes."

Vincent answered with unwavering confidence, despite the fact that the answer was a lie.

He had no intention of provoking another argument with Leah over Bryce.

He hadn’t gotten the opportunity to tell Bryce that he needed to reject him as well, and admitting that to Leah would only invite another interpretation he didn’t want to entertain.

She would see it as hesitation, as though some part of him was reluctant to sever what remained between them.

He would tell Bryce the moment he had the opportunity.

Leah seemed satisfied with the answer and shifted her attention back to the file.

"So what exactly is the bigger problem with the Sinclairs?"

"That boy is involved with them." Vincent closed the file halfway, his expression hardening. "If he does something that exposes himself, especially with the full moon approaching, do you honestly think people with that kind of influence are going to stop investigating until they know exactly what he is?"

He leaned back slightly.

"I’m almost certain he’s going to shift fully into his wolf for the first time. How is he supposed to conceal something like that from them?"

"It isn’t our problem, Vincent."

Leah’s response came immediately.

"Even if they investigate him, even if they start tracing his connections or digging into where he came from, what are they going to find? An orphanage. That’s all. The people there found him abandoned outside without knowing where he came from."

She shrugged.

"They would definitely kill him, and that would be the end of it. One less reckless werewolf wandering around in the human world, and our existence remains protected. Besides, we’re leaving soon, aren’t we?"

Vincent’s expression darkened.

"Why are you still so bitter toward him when he has made it perfectly clear that he isn’t your enemy? He doesn’t deserve to die that young."

Vincent continued before Leah could cut in.

"And what if they don’t kill him? What if they realize he’s worth more alive than dead and hand him over to those ever-curious scientists for experimentation?"

Leah stared at him, her expression hardening as suspicion sharpened her features.

"What exactly are you getting at? Because I feel like you’re circling around something you don’t have the guts to say outright."

Her tone grew more pointed.

"Do you want us to take him in? Bring him into our home for his ’protection’?"

She exaggerated the word, stretching it with unmistakable sarcasm, making it clear she didn’t believe that was Vincent’s real motive.

"I’m not doing this with you again."

Vincent placed the file down on his desk.

"Maybe you should go back to work. We can discuss this later, when you’re not letting jealousy and insecurity dictate every conclusion you draw."

"This isn’t ab..."

"Just go to work, please."

Leah didn’t move. She remained exactly where she was, her gaze fixed on Vincent as though she had no intention of letting the conversation end there.

"Since you slept with him, it feels like you have absolutely no interest in me anymore."

Her voice dropped, but the accusation in it was unmistakable.

"That’s what I came here to tell you. I forgave you for sleeping with someone else while we were married, and instead of being grateful that I chose to move past it, you’re still finding ways to show me how much you still want him."

Vincent’s jaw tightened.

"What are you talking about now?"

"Usually, I never had to ask for your attention. I barely had to make an effort before you were all over me, but now even when I make it obvious what I want, you act as though you have no idea."

"I’m getting tired of these accusations."

Vincent rubbed the bridge of his nose, his voice dropping as it hardened into a firm, authoritative tone that left no room for interruption.

"I’ll say this for the last time, because I refuse to keep having the same argument with you. Everything you’ve convinced yourself about me toward Bryce is wrong.

I’m not gay. I’m not interested in becoming gay, and I’m certainly not interested in men simply because some circumstance made me sleep with one. Whatever compelled me to be with him that night is gone. I despise the fact that it happened, and I don’t want to remember any part of it."

His voice became colder.

"But you keep dragging it back into every conversation and I’m sick of it."

He pushed the file aside.

"So now that we’ve made that clear, can we get back to work?"

For several seconds, Leah said nothing. Confusion flickered across her face as though she could no longer determine which parts of his words she believed and which parts she didn’t.

Eventually, she slid off the desk and simply turned and stormed out of his office.

Vincent released a slow breath after she left and crossed the room toward the spot he habitually went to whenever he needed to think.

From there, the skyline stretched beneath the glass, the city unfolding in every direction far below.

His morning had begun well enough, despite the restlessness that had plagued him since the previous day, after what had happened to Bryce when he finally severed his side of the bond.

That semblance of a good morning shattered the moment he stood at that same window earlier that morning and caught sight of Bryce stepping out of an unmistakably luxurious, sleek car, and kissed the man accompanying him.

For a long moment, he neither moved nor thought, barely even breathing as his breath remained trapped in his lungs.

His mind seemed to have stalled completely, refusing to process what his eyes had just witnessed.

When his thoughts finally began to function again, he told himself he needed to know who Bryce was involved with. If the man was influential, their werewolf nature could be exposed far more easily and completely.

People with that kind of power and access would not simply let an unexplained connection go. They would dig until they uncovered everything, and once they did, there would be no containing the consequences.

Vincent immediately demanded information from his men, and within an hour, it was brought to him.

Now the file sat on his desk, filled with information about Bryce and the youngest child of the Sinclair family, the youngest, but also the most brutal.

Vincent stared at it, not entirely certain what he intended to do with the information now that he had it.

_

A sudden commotion outside his office pulled him from his thoughts.

"You don’t have an appointment, and you didn’t come through the secretary. You can’t go in."

He heard his guard’s voice.

"Tell him I want to speak with him, then."

Bryce.

Vincent recognized his voice instantly.

For reasons he couldn’t explain, his heart gave a brief, involuntary skip before settling back into its rhythm.

He remained still for a moment, listening.

Then, without giving himself time to reconsider, he walked toward the door and opened it.

"Let him in."

His voice was calm and quiet.

The guard immediately stepped aside.

Bryce entered with barely concealed anger radiating from him. His expression was tense, his movements rigid, and there was something else in his face that Vincent couldn’t immediately identify.

He didn’t look completely well.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!