Her Broken Alpha Prince (Book 18 of The Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 34

Knox had texted back and forth with his mom quite a bit and occasionally his dad. He usually checked in with Charlotte about once a week. Not that he said much and she didn't ask many questions. She just wanted to know that he was okay, and remind him that she loved him.

Knox was glad he was in contact with her. She was his main link back to his previous life at the moment, and he did appreciate it, even if she really didn't tell him anything that was happening back there. He knew if he wanted to find that stuff out, he'd have to call her, and he hadn't been able to bring himself to do so thus far. He didn't want to hear the disappointment in her voice that he'd completely dropped the ball that was his life and spiraled out of control. He'd let a woman do this to him, and that royally pissed him off. 

He was afraid of her disappointment in how badly he'd screwed up. He knew his father and her had been so proud of him when he'd graduated from college, and then pushed to be at the top of his game, so he could take over as CEO. But then, not only had Caelan derailed him, but she'd caused his life to become a train wreck. One that he didn't even know how to go about fixing. A woman had done that to him. A woman he'd known less than twenty-four hours. But she'd done so much damage in such a short amount of time.

A fresh surge of anger had Knox slamming his hand into the punching bag in such a way that his wrist snapped. He gritted his teeth, the pain grounding him. He was completely unfocused today. He paced the small area for a moment, waiting for his wrist to heal before he took a deep breath and began again.

The scent of werewolf flitted under his nose a few moments later, and Knox looked up, his gaze moving around the gym. It finally landed on a man with black hair who had just walked in and was headed towards the locker room. A rogue werewolf. Knox had been coming to this gym for the last few weeks now, and this was the first time he'd seen the rogue, though usually he was in here earlier in the day. Today was one of those days when he'd needed to come twice and work out some of his rage. He probably needed to get a job or something to distract himself.

Knox turned his attention back to the punching bag for the time being. He was aware when the rogue came out of the locker room, and aware of what he was doing. He was also aware of the man's eyes on him and wasn't overly surprised when he approached Knox, though he couldn't really think of a good reason why. The rogue wouldn't be able to tell that he was a werewolf.

"What did that punching bag do to you?" The British accent reminded him of home. Both his mother and father had one, though it wasn't strong. Daniel and Charity both did as well. They'd all been born here before the pack had moved to the states. A wave of nostalgia swept through him.

Knox turned to the rogue, his senses on high alert. The other man was relaxed though. "Just getting a workout in."

The man's eyes flickered, and Knox watched him quietly. "Care to spar?"

Knox eyed him. YES! "Why not?" He couldn't help the excitement that coursed through him. It has been so long since he'd sparred with anything but a punching bag. He just needed to make sure he didn't kill this guy. Or hurt him too badly. Now he could understand the rogue's interest in him. They had similar builds. The other man just didn't know that Knox was a very powerful werewolf, and it needed to remain that way.

"I'm Jerrod," the man said, introducing himself.

"Knox."

The man nodded and led him into a private room down the hall where a boxing ring was set up. Knox spent the next hour sparring with the man. Jerrod was actually quite good, and while Knox held back some, he didn't hold back as much as he would have with a human or a weaker wolf. He found himself wondering if Jerrod was the son of a ranked wolf and breathed in deeply. The man had been a rogue for quite a while, but deep underneath it, he could identify beta blood. Interesting. What the heck had caused Jerrod to go rogue?

After, Jerrod nodded to him. "You're not bad. Are you on vacation? You're an American, aren't you?"

Knox walked next to him back to the locker room. Vacation. He wanted to laugh at that, but laughing wasn't something he'd done in so long, he wasn't even sure what it would sound like. "An extended vacation. Though I haven't been here long."

Jerrod nodded. "Nice meeting you, Knox. See you around." He grabbed his bag and left the gym.

Over the next several months, Knox began to meet Jerrod at the gym almost daily to spar and developed a friendship with the other werewolf. It helped way more than he was willing to admit to, having someone to just talk to. He hadn't realized how lonely he'd been. He debated about telling the rogue that he was a werewolf himself, but he didn't know Jerrod well enough yet.

Admitting he was a wolf would mean questions would follow. While Knox wanted to ask Jerrod questions about himself, like why was he a rogue? Which pack was he from and so on, those questions would invite questions in return, and Knox had no desire to talk about anything personal.

He liked the simple friendship he had with a man who thought he was human, and who Knox realized was just as lonely as he was. Jerrod was unmated too.

***

After that first month, Knox began to look for a place to live, deciding that staying in a hotel was getting to be too much. He contacted a place that specialized in rentals, and then went to see them and see what they had available. 

"You're single?" The agent, whose name was Beverly, asked.

He looked up at her. Why did he feel like every woman he came across was hitting on him? Beverly was pretty, but she was blond. Instant turn off. He also got the impression she was a bit judgemental.

'Paranoid,' Romeo muttered. 

Knox frowned at her. "For the moment." Forever if he has his way. He did not want another mate.

"So, one or two bedrooms?" She seemed unfazed by him, and he began to think he was imagining it. He probably just needed to go get laid. He was practically a monk anymore, it had been so long.

"Two or three," he responded. 

"That will be a price increase." She stared at him. 

Knox looked up, annoyed. "I'm not broke."

"You're not working either," she pointed out. 

"Doesn't mean I don't have money." Knox wanted to roll his eyes at her, but that wouldn't score any brownie points. 

She sighed. "Mr. Remington..."

He wanted to get up and walk out. He really didn't like judgemental blonds. But he needed to keep his temper under control and find a place to live.

His gaze flicked to a paper on her desk, and he frowned as he picked it up, eyeing it quietly. Was that what he thought it was?

He'd done a bit of research after a comment his mother had made when he'd told her where he was staying, mostly out of curiosity. But now he was intrigued.

Beverly sat back in her chair. She was rapidly losing patience with him. He could feel it. But he didn't care.

"Tell me about this property," he said laying the listing down in front of her. 

"It's not a rental, it's for sale," she informed him, barely even looking at it.

"So?" His gaze flicked up to her.

"You won't qualify for a mortgage if you're not working," she said impatiently. 

"Who said anything about a mortgage?" He was losing patience with her too. Damn judgemental blond.

"You'd need a mortgage to buy the property," she said, looking at him like he was an idiot.

He stared back at her. "Not necessarily."

Her mouth dropped open. "You'd pay cash?"

He lifted a brow at her.

"It's expensive, Mr. Remington," she told him. 

Good grief. The woman was stubborn. But he was done. She could kiss his furry ass. "I'm a billionaire Beverly. It's really not."