...“Oh, please. Just admit it. You’re pissed that your wife is actually interested in me.”

As soon as Frazier said the words, he regretted them. His mouth got away from him. He believed completely that he was right, but that didn’t mean he had the right to say it. That was always his problem. He never knew when to keep his stupid mouth shut. One glance at the alpha’s face told him he had crossed the line. In fact, he had sprinted past the line so fast, he hadn’t even seen it.

“Get him out of my sight.”

Two lackeys stepped up to grab Frazier’s arms. He hadn’t been there long, but he still knew what came next. He had a stupid mouth, but he wasn’t a fool.

“No. Please. I’m sorry.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe your sincerity.”

“I am. I’ll do anything to prove it. Please.”

“You can start by keeping your mouth shut.”

“Yes, sir. I can do that. Anything you say.”

“I mean, starting now.”

Frazier pressed his lips together and nodded. He didn’t mind the order to shut up. If he wasn’t talking, he wasn’t digging his hole any deeper. He glanced at Rose, trying to read her, searching for any clue, but the encouraging smile was gone from her face. A quick scan around the room revealed nobody was smiling encouragingly. Was he really going to get tossed out on his ass because he flirted with a beautiful woman? Or was it because she flirted back? Or was there something else going on that he just didn’t understand? Was it some weird pack thing?

“You’re problem, boy, is that you refuse to submit. You don’t understand there is a hierarchy in this pack, and that you are at the bottom. I don’t mind that you flirted with Rose. She’s an adult, after all. It’s a matter of respect.”

Frazier opened his mouth to apologize, but Chris held up his hand, stopping him before he made a sound.

“Do you see? I tell you to be silent, and you immediately want to speak. Everything you’ve done since you’ve become a member of his pack comes back to your basic lack of respect. Do you have something to say for yourself?”

Frazier waited, wondering if this was some sort of trap, but Chris looked at him expectantly. “I’m sorry. I want to prove myself. I want to learn respect.”

Chris regarded him for several long beats, and Frazier couldn’t help but squirm under the weight of his stare. It was difficult to look Chris directly in the face at the best of times. He was one of those men who seemed to glow, he was so handsome. His face was all sharp, angular planes, and his mouth was succulent but still masculine. Frazier would never forget the first time he saw his new alpha. Stunned would have been putting it too mildly. He had no idea how Chris had managed to rise to such prominence in the pack at such a young age—he couldn’t have been more than thirty-five—but he suspected it had something to do with the fact that he was like a Roman statue come to life.

“Sir?” Terry stepped forward, still looking contrite. He was technically above Frazier in the hierarchy—everybody was—but Frazier thought he still might kick Terry’s ass at the first opportunity. “I’ve known Frazier for a long time, and I do think he’d be a good fit for the pack.”

“I should kick you out with him.”

Terry immediately shrank back. “I’m sorry. When I…when I bit him, I never thought…I never suspected he would be so…difficult.”

It was all Frazier could do to keep from rolling his eyes. When Terry bit him, he wasn’t thinking about anything except getting his dick wet. Though, to be fair, Frazier hadn’t been thinking about much more than that, either.

“I don’t think I can teach you respect, boy. I don’t think you want to learn.”

“I want to learn,” Frazier answered quickly. “I do.”