I gnced at Jiggs and the Beta males, who were now huddled together, excitedly whispering battle strategies like we were going to war tomorrow.

  Inside, I wondered—do we really have a chance?

  Can we actually stand against other Alpha Cns?

  This was going to take serious preparation.

  But no matter what—we'd find a way.

  I took a deep breath, downed the rest of my drink, and let the challenge settle in my bones.

  ...

  ...

  ...

  By the time the night ended, Jiggs and the Beta males had already left.

  Which meant it was finally time to kick Deux out.

  Or so I thought.

  Because when I turned around...

  There. He. Was.

  Sleeping.

  "Are you kidding me?" I muttered, standing over him, arms crossed.

  Deux was slumped against the sofa, head tilted back, lips slightly parted, breathing softly like he had no cares in the world.

  I narrowed my eyes.

  "You said you'd leave immediately," I grumbled, poking his shoulder. "And yet, here you are—drunk and dead asleep on my couch."

  I stared at his face.

  And, well.

  I hated to admit it, but he actually looked... peaceful?

  Not the usual arrogant, smug, pain-in-the-ass Deux. But... softer. Almost—almost—nice.

  Ugh. Whatever.

  I nudged him again. "Deux. Wake up."

  Nothing.

  "Deux! If you don't leave now, your dad's gonna think you ran away," I tried again. "Imagine—'The Alpha Prince Has Fled the Kingdom'—it'd be huge news."

  Still nothing.

  I clenched my jaw. "You're seriously ciming my house as your territory, aren't you?"

  He didn't respond.

  I sighed and rubbed my face.

  Fine. If he wasn't gonna wake up, I'd clean up first. Maybe by the time I was done, he'd finally wake up and go home.

  After washing the dishes, tidying up the living room, and even showering to get rid of the sticky alcohol feeling...

  I returned to the living room.

  And what did I find?

  An empty couch.

  I blinked.

  "Did he finally leave?" I muttered, gncing around. "Wow. He didn't even say goodbye—"

  (Sniff.)

  Wait.

  Why did it still smell like Deux in here?

  Was it just because he'd been here too long, or—

  Oh no.

  I froze.

  A sense of dread crept over me.

  And with a sinking feeling in my chest, I turned toward my bedroom.

  I pushed the door open—

  And nearly screamed.

  "WHAT THE HELL?!"

  There he was.

  Deux.

  Sprawled out on MY BED.

  And not just lying there.

  Oh, no.

  He had the audacity—the nerve—to y on his stomach, arms and legs stretched out like he owned the damn thing.

  He was dead asleep, absolutely comfortable, like this was his room, his bed, his everything!

  "You have got to be kidding me," I hissed.

  I stomped over and grabbed his arm, attempting to drag him off.

  I failed.

  Miserably.

  The guy weighed a damn ton.

  I tugged harder. Nothing.

  "Get off my bed!" I growled, yanking at his shoulder. "Deux, you're not a boulder, move!"

  Still.

  Nothing.

  The absolute audacity of this man.

  I shouted at the ceiling. "YOU CAN HAVE MY HOUSE! CAN I AT LEAST HAVE MY BED?!"

  But Deux? Deux just breathed peacefully, completely unaware of my suffering.

  I had two choices.

  Continue fighting a losing battle OR admit defeat.

  I sighed, grabbed a pillow and bnket, and marched back to the living room.

  "Unbelievable," I muttered, flopping onto the couch. "Next time? I'm locking my damn door."

  I curled up under my bnket, gring at the ceiling.

  ...

  ...

  ...

  (Kling!)

  (Kng!)

  It's still midnight but I woke up to the sound of something rattling in the kitchen.

  I peeked out from under my bnket.

  It was Deux.

  Drinking water.

  "HMPH," I huffed dramatically, rolling over.

  First my house. Then my bed. And now? My kitchen?

  If he raided my fridge, I swear—

  I shut my eyes, determined to ignore him and just go back to sleep.

  And then—

  The couch shifted.

  It got tighter.

  I froze.

  Slowly, I turned my head—

  To find Deux.

  Squeezing onto the couch with me.

  I blinked.

  "Deux," I said, voice dangerously low. "The couch is small."

  He didn't respond.

  Instead, he forcefully wedged himself in next to me.

  I let out a strangled noise of frustration. "I said it's small!"

  Still nothing.

  I turned to gre at him—

  And he was already asleep.

  My eye twitched.

  I had to do it.

  I was about to shove him off—

  When I suddenly realized...

  He was clinging to me.

  Not just beside me.

  Not just pressed against me.

  Actually, physically, completely clinging to me.

  His arms wrapped around me. His leg thrown over mine.

  I stiffened.

  "HOLY—"

  My face burned.

  "Deux!" I whisper-yelled, squirming. "You're—literally—using me as a pillow!"

  Still no response.

  Still dead asleep.

  I huffed.

  Oh, so he gets to be a clingy koa in his sleep, but if I bring this up in the morning, he'll deny everything?

  I sighed.

  "Champ, just endure it," I muttered to myself. "Just one night. Just this once."

  I shut my eyes.

  Trying. Trying to ignore the warmth.

  The weight of his arm around me.

  The way his breathing tickled my neck.

  That was so unfair.

  I groaned into my pillow.

  "I am never inviting him over again."

  ...

  ...

  ...

  Deux's (The Paranoid Alpha) POV

  I was warm.

  Too warm.

  And comfortable.

  Suspiciously comfortable.

  This was not normal.

  As an Alpha, I should not feel this... cozy.

  I should be waking up on high alert, ready to assert dominance, prepared to conquer territories before breakfast!

  But instead...

  I was...

  Snuggling?!

  I hummed, shifting slightly.

  The warmth pressed closer. Solid. Steady.

  Nice.

  I nuzzled against it, sighing.

  "Mmm... warm... comfy..."

  Wait.

  ...Comfy?

  ALPHAS DO NOT FIND THINGS COMFY.

  My brain malfunctioned.

  WARNING! WARNING! CRITICAL SYSTEM FAILURE!

  I snapped my eyes open.

  And came face to face with Champ.

  INCHES. AWAY.

  I stopped breathing.

  I was—

  I was hugging him.

  No.

  No, no, no, NO.

  I was—dear god, I was wrapped around him like a territorial wolf clinging to its mate!

  This was not Alpha behavior.

  This was weakness.

  TREASON.

  My entire Alpha existence was at stake.

  I had to fix this.

  I had to regain my honor.

  I had to—

  OH SWEET MOON, WAS I CUDDLING HIM?!

  I froze.

  So did Champ.

  We locked eyes.

  Neither of us moved.

  Neither of us spoke.

  The room was silent.

  But the air?

  THE AIR WAS DOING THINGS.

  I was panicking.

  My Alpha brain was melting.

  My instincts were shouting at me.

  ? Option 1: Py it cool. Pretend this never happened. Maintain Alpha superiority.

  ? Option 2: Casually roll off and pretend I died in my sleep.

  ? Option 3: ABSOLUTE CHAOS.

  Guess which one I picked?

  I SCREAMED.

  Champ SCREAMED BACK.

  ALPHAS DO NOT SCREAM.

  And yet, here I was—

  SCREAMING LIKE A DAMN OMEGA IN DISTRESS.

  And in the chaos of filing limbs and sheer panic—

  WE BOTH FELL OFF THE DAMN COUCH.

  — THUD!

  Pain. Regret. Shame.

  I scrambled away, pointing at him like he was some kind of unholy entity.

  "WHAT THE HELL, CHAMP?!"

  He sat up, gring at me like I was the problem. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CLUNG TO ME LAST NIGHT! DON'T YOU REMEMBER!"

  "I DID NOT—"

  "YOU CALLED ME WARM AND COMFY!"

  I choked.

  I short-circuited.

  I malfunctioned.

  ALPHAS DO NOT CALL OTHER ALPHAS WARM AND COMFY.

  This was a disaster.

  My entire bloodline was dishonored.

  If word of this spread, I would never be able to show my face in the Alpha community again, especially to my father.

  Champ's lips curled into the smuggest, most evil grin I had ever seen.

  "Oh?" he mused. "You don't remember? That's too bad. I guess I'll just have to remind you what you did to my poor body st night—"

  NO.

  "You kissed me all over st night, hugged me tight, and took advantage of me!" Champ decred with a smug grin.

  "Stop! I don't remember any of that!"

  "Because you were ridiculously drunk!"

  I had to stop this immediately.

  I grabbed the nearest pillow and unched it at his face.

  It hit him square in the forehead.

  Victory.

  Or so I thought.

  Because then—

  Champ burst out ughing.

  ALPHAS DO NOT GET LAUGHED AT.

  And yet, here I was.

  The proud, powerful Alpha Prince.

  Being ughed at by this menace of a man.

  I gred at him. "This never happened."

  "Oh, it definitely did."

  "It didn't."

  "I think I should tell the others. Jiggs would LOVE to hear about this."

  "IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE, YOU WILL KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT."

  "Oh, but what happens when everyone finds out? Especially the Alpha King? Oh no! Just imagine the scandal! A mighty, fearless, unbelievably handsome Alpha—caught kissing another Alpha!" Champ teased, grinning like a mischievous imp. "Not that I care, of course. I'm just a nobody. Unlike a certain someone here... who just so happens to be an Alpha Prince."

  And it looked like he had no pns of stopping anytime soon!

  Champ smirked. Smirked.

  Like he had won some kind of battle.

  Like I wasn't the stronger Alpha here.

  Like he had some kind of power over me.

  I grabbed another pillow.

  He dodged.

  THIS IS WAR.

  End of Chapter 14