415 BONUS

    If I wanted to win her back, I had to be better than I was. I had to convince her that I was worth taking a chance on again, and that things would be different this time.

    That meant I couldn’t drop all kinds of rules on her the moment things started getting tough. bI /bhad to deal with things in a different way, with the push–pull ofpromise.

    “Just keep an eye on him, alright?” I said, even as I wanted to demand she stay away from bhim/b. “He could need your help, sure, but he has a reputation back home. In asking you to dinner, I don’t believe his intentions are genuine or pure…”

    She nodded. “I can assure you that I have no intention of reciprocating his flirtations. I just want to heal him.”

    That should have made me feel better, but I had seen Chase go through the motions before. With a reputation like his, he was used to flirting with women who had their guards up against him. Almost always, he seemed to weasel his way past them.

    I didn’t want to see that happen to Amber. To Alice! Chase would be a lousy father figure, but it would still hurt when he would inevitably leave them both behind.

    Again, I bit down the Alpha impulse to demand she stay away from him.

    To win Amber back, I had to try a different tactic. Something softer…

    Ah

    Stepping closer, I leaned into Amber. Unlike with Chase, where she had been steel–faced and professional, I watched as her eyes went a little wide, her cheeks filling with color.

    “Julian…b” /bshe said, maybe in an effort to warn me, but when the name fell from her mouth, it was more like a sigh, begging me on.

    “Forget dinner with him,” I said. “Come to dinner with me instead.”

    led

    Her blush intensified, and the satisfaction I felt bat /bthat soothed every ruffled part of me. Even my wolf was calmed at the sight of it.

    Chase had not been able to get her to blush like that.

    “Fine,” she said, and quickly nced away. b“/bbIf /byou’ll excuse me, I have other patients to see.”

    “bOf /bcourse,” I said and stepped back from her, allowing her to go on her own way. Watching her, she nearly walked into a wall.

    A feeling of victory swelled inside of me.

    After work for the day, I returned to the hotel, eager to prepare for my dinner with Amber. Yet, as soon as I parked my car and stepped out of it, I saw Chase leaning against a red convertible nearby His arms were crossed and he was frowning at me.

    As I looked at him, he pushed off the side of the ridiculous sports car and walked over to me.

    I closed the door to my own car, then turned to face him. Instinctively, I rose to my bfull /bheight and red. Chase was a rival, I could see that clearly, and I wasn’t going to let him bwin /bthe heart of the woman ! cared so deeply for.

    Chase stopped a few feet from me. “I have something to say to you.”

    “Then say it,” I replied.

    He lifted his chin with some defiance. “I intent to romantically pursue Healer Amber. It’s clear you also have romantic inclinations toward her. As you are Alpha, I thought it fair to tell you that I will not let you stand in my way.”

    b“/bbYou /bbelieve you could win her affections away from me?” I asked, a growl low in my voice.

    To his credit, he did not cow, though he did swallow a bit thicker than before. “Yes,” he said. “I’m not new at romance, Alpha. When I tell you she will be mine, I mean it.”