Chapter 31: Wants to be Chased

Michael’s POV

My thumb hovered over the send button.

For the first time in a long while, sending a simple text message seemed unnecessarily difficult.

I looked at Emerald’s messages again. She had been polite and respectful. She had even apologised for disturbing me.

Most importantly, she hadn’t tried to make excuses for herself. She simply wanted to return my money.

In the end, I admitted there was nothing else I could do. Ignoring her messages would only make matters worse, so I finally typed my reply.

Good evening, Miss Hugo. 013*****. Bank of America. Michael King.

After reading it once, I hit the send button. The message left my phone. Then I lowered the device onto the armrest beside me and leaned back against the sofa.

So much for making her wait.

I had underestimated her.

Earlier this morning, I already knew she intended to catch up with me after my lecture. The moment class ended, I could sense her attention fixed on me. And that was why I deliberately left ahead of her.

By the time she reached the corridor, I had already disappeared from her sight.

I hadn’t expected her to give up so easily. Apparently, she hadn’t.

Instead, she had gone through the administrative office and somehow convinced one of the staff members to hand over my personal number.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of my lips. Persistent. That was the right word to describe her.

I had wanted to keep her anticipation alive for a little while longer. I thought she would eventually give up and wait until our next lecture. But she found another way.

It wasn’t until I read her messages tonight that I realised something else. Emerald Hugo truly disliked owing people.

She had spent the entire weekend trying to return a sum of money that, to me, was insignificant. But to her, it clearly wasn’t.

I rested my head against the back of the sofa. For reasons I couldn’t quite explain, another thought surfaced.

It almost felt as though she wanted nothing to do with me. Not because she disliked me, but rather because she was determined to keep a proper distance.

That conclusion left me unexpectedly dissatisfied.

"Our mate is trying very hard to stay away from us." Draxen’s calm voice echoed through my mind.

I frowned. "Her name is Emerald."

The silence that followed surprised me. Normally, Draxen would have corrected me immediately. But this time, he didn’t.

The absence of an argument brought an unexpected sense of relief. At least for tonight.

Several moments later, he spoke again. "What do you intend to do now?"

Instead of answering his question, I retorted, "What do you think I intend to do?"

He considered the question for a second before replying, "You’re going to stop the transaction."

"That’s right." A faint smile appeared on my face. "I will manipulate the system before she completes the transfer. Then she will assume the problem is with the bank."

Draxen let out a quiet breath. "I thought you weren’t interested in her."

"I wasn’t."

"Weren’t?"

I looked down at the phone resting beside me. "Emerald Hugo is... interesting." That was probably the simplest way to describe her.

Most people accepted kindness without much thought. But her? She seemed determined to repay every favour before moving on.

She kept people at arm’s length. Even me.

"I’ve decided she’s a difficult course." My smile deepened ever so slightly. "I intend to know her better."

"For what purpose?" Draxen probed.

"The greater good."

Draxen’s silence told me exactly what he thought of that answer.

Just then, the doorbell rang. My brows drew together as I turned towards the entrance. "Why is he here?"

It took a moment, but I already knew who stood outside my front door. I recognised his presence before he even pressed the bell. Still, I made no effort to open the door.

Preferably, I remained exactly where I was standing, slipping both hands into my trouser pockets.

A second later, the electronic lock clicked, and the front door slowly swung open.

Alaric leaned his head through the doorway first, a broad grin spread across his face. He lifted one hand lazily.

"Hello, Alpha."

I scoffed. Without moving an inch, my gaze shifted towards the ceramic coffee cup resting on the centre table. The next instant, an invisible force lifted it into the air and shot it across the room.

Alaric reacted almost immediately. He ducked behind the door.

The cup smashed against the solid wood with a loud crack before shattering across the marble floor.

Silence returned. Then... Alaric slowly leaned his head around the doorway again. "Are you done?"

I narrowed my eyes. He chuckled before stepping fully into the apartment, the door clicking shut behind him.

For several moments, neither of us spoke. I remained rooted to the spot while he remained where he was—close to the door.

One of us wore a frown. The other... sported a thoroughly irritating smirk.

"Sure have a temper." Alaric folded his arms with a grin. "Is this how you welcome your bosom friend?"

I stared at him without the slightest change in expression. "Is this how other people’s bosom friends behave?"

He blinked innocently.

"Putting the security personnel in my residential area to sleep," I continued. "Manipulating every CCTV camera on your way in."

Alaric spread both hands. "How else was I supposed to announce my arrival?" Then he started walking towards me with the same shameless smile. "These pretty little humans have to know Alpha Alaric is in the building."

As the words left his mouth, his eyes briefly glowed.

I narrowed mine. "You’re far too proud for someone who just invaded my territory."

He shrugged as though none of it mattered. "I didn’t sense your territorial barrier, so I decided to have a little fun." He clicked his tongue. "Not my fault."

Then his grin widened. "I missed you far more than you can imagine. You refused to come back to Los Angeles, so..."

He spread his arms again. "I came to Boston instead."

I released a quiet breath. For Alaric to travel all the way here... whatever peace I had been enjoying was officially over.

Just then, a notification sounded from my phone. My gaze shifted towards the armrest where I had left it. I barely leaned forward before the phone lifted into the air and flew straight past me.

By the time I reacted, it had already landed neatly in Alaric’s hand.

He glanced at the screen, but I didn’t. I already knew who had sent the message.

A vein pulsed faintly at my temple. Slowly, I extended one hand towards him. "Give my phone back."

Alaric looked from the screen to my face. The smile on his lips became even more suspicious.

"If you want it..." He curled his fingers around the phone. "...come and get it."

The next instant, he vanished. The front door flew open almost simultaneously.

A powerful gust swept through the apartment, sending the curtains billowing into the air before the door slammed shut again.

A long silence followed. I looked at the empty doorway for a brief moment. Then I withdrew my hand from my pocket and calmly began rolling up the sleeves of my shirt.

You want to be chased? A faint smirk finally appeared on my face. I finished rolling the second sleeve and lifted my gaze.

"Get ready to eat a lot of sand tonight."