Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother

I didn’t know what to do with myself after María José smiled at me like I was her entire morning.

I mean, what does a man do when the love of his life watches him sleep and smiles like that? Do I just... go and make cereal? Take a walk? Shave my chest?

The answer was none of the above, because my heart was still doing backflips and my brain had not quite rebooted yet.

So I did what any sane man in my position would do.

I got up. Brushed my teeth while cursing Álvaro under my breath. And decided to go cause a ruckus somewhere else.

Specifically, at Luis’s place.

Yes, more than anything—I needed to talk. No, rant. Preferably to someone who wouldn’t look at me like I’d lost it. Which left me with exactly one option. Him.

Good ol’ Luis, my cousin. The silent, immobile enigma. The man had the patience of a saint and the judgmental capacity of a rock—which made him the perfect person to dump my swirling chaos onto.

Because if there was one thing that calmed my nerves, it was ranting in front of my cousin. He couldn’t respond, poor guy, but man, could he listen. Best therapist I’d ever had. Free too. The only downside was the occasional creepy stare.

I threw on a jacket, ran a hand through my mess of curls, and made my way across the estate to Luis’s quieter part of the estate.

It was raining again. Of course, it was. Because nothing says "brooding pack politics and unsolved murder" like constant dramatic drizzle. The sky had the color of wet cement, and my breath fogged in the air, which reminded me I’d forgotten to eat. Again.