Avoiding Alpha Page 16

  I rolled my eyes at that bit of nonsense. “I’m not stronger than you.”

  “I think you might be. Not everyone would handle the change so well. Not just anyone could even survive it. And no one—no one—could’ve done what you did today. You saved her, cherie.”

  Dastien ran his hand up and down my spine, and I wanted to lay there with him forever.

  “Everything happened fast with us and it’s been an exceptionally rough couple of days. We haven’t spent enough time talking about what’s going to happen this weekend, and that’s my fault. I’d give you more time, but we need to formally finish the bonding before the Tribunal.”

  “I know. This thing with Meredith was scary, but it also was a distraction. Now I’m going back to being worried about what’s going to happen.”

  “We’re mates. Two halves. They can’t separate us. I won’t let them.” He paused. “You asked me what you do for me. Well, you balance me. I never laughed this much before you came into my life. Sure, you get into crazy situations, but I like being there for you. It makes me happy and keeps things interesting. I like that I can do things for you. Sharing my life with you is like the best Christmas present ever. Don’t doubt what we have.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut. “You wouldn’t rather be with someone who was a super awesome fighter?”

  “Do you want to be a super awesome fighter?”

  “No.” He knew I didn’t. We’d been practicing, and I was getting decent, but it wasn’t a passion of mine. “I don’t want to get bitten by a vamp again, but I don’t want to be a Cazador.”

  “I’ve done enough fighting for the both of us, and I’ll continue to do it because I like it. But that doesn’t mean you have to. We might be mates, but we don’t have to do everything the same. That would be boring.”

  I snorted. “Thanks.”

  “De rien. Are you feeling better about us now?”

  I took a second to listen to his calm, steady heartbeat. “I think so. Yeah.”

  “In two nights we’re having the ceremony. It’s not a wedding, but it’s as good as one in the pack.”

  I narrowed my gaze. “Don’t you think you should’ve asked me something first?”

  His nose scrunched for a second. “I kind of skipped that part when I bit you.”

  I poked his stomach. “Well, I’m still a traditional, ex-human girl.”

  “I’m aware. When the Tribunal is done, we’ll do things the way a traditional, ex-human girl would want. Even the ring part.”

  I was liking the sound of this. “The ring part?”

  He grinned. “I have one for you.”

  “Can I have it now?” I held out my hand with a grin.

  “I don’t have it on me,” he said with a laugh, and I shoved him into the ground.

  Dastien shook his head.

  “Fine. But you need a ring too. It’s more than a piece of jewelry. It’s a sign to everyone else that you’re off the market.”

  “Don’t worry. Everyone will know you’re taken.” He pulled me down to him.

  I nipped his neck. “That wasn’t what I was worried about.”

  He was smiling when he said, “They’ll know that I’m taken too.” I melted into him. His tongue brushed against my lips, and I opened. Heat swamped me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and ran my fingers through his hair. My hips rocked, and he groaned. I couldn’t stop the motion. My need for him was so strong, I couldn’t breathe.

  He rolled until I was on the ground. His weight was on his forearms, but every bit of his body was against mine. He reached up, palming my breast, and my own moan slipped free, causing me to break the kiss. He licked my neck before placing a soft kiss just below my ear.

  “We have to stop this,” he said.

  “No,” I said, trying to pull his face back to mine.

  He sat up after a second. “Yup. We have to stop.” He rolled back on his heels when I tried to reach for him. “Or else we’re going to go too far and we’re outside in the open.”

  He stood and held a hand out for me. “Come on. Let’s go get some food.”

  “Why aren’t I as weak or starving as I was yesterday?”

  “Yesterday you nearly fully drained yourself before you started pulling from me and the pack. This time, you pulled equally. Plus, you weren’t trying to talk to someone so far away through a mate bond. You had a physical grip on Meredith. It made things easier.”

  “I guess that makes sense.”

  “But I’m still hungry, which means you are, too. Come on, cherie.”

  I took in the sight of him as he held out his hand. He was over a foot taller than my five feet plus a few and ripped. Without his shirt on, I had a delicious view of his sculpted abs. His arms were thick and chorded with muscle. I loved how his hair had grown out in the past few weeks, long enough for him to tuck it behind his ears.

  He was everything I wanted. “You sure you want me forever?” I asked. I opened myself to the bond so I could feel what he was feeling.

  “Absolutely.” No hesitation or question.

  My heart stuttered at how happy he made me. “Okay.” I breathed deep. “Okay.”

  I took his hand, but he didn’t pull me up. “What?”

  “And you? Are you sure you want me?”

  I bit my lip to try and stop the smile that spread across my face. “For as long as you want me.”

  “Forever then,” he said as he pulled me to my feet.

  “Okay. Forever.” I stood on my tip-toes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

  He said something in French.

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  He laughed again, not telling me.

  Damn it. That meant I was going to have to learn the language.

  “Now, let’s really go get some food.”

  “Okay.” I would’ve agreed to anything he said in that moment, with those dimples in his cheeks and love in his eyes.

  He pressed his forehead against mine. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For being you.” He sighed in a huge dramatic way as he stared down at me. “This is good. We’re good.”

  I cupped his cheek with my hand. “Are you okay?”

  “I am now.”

  “And before?”

  “I was worried. We had the full moon coming in a couple of days and the Tribunal after that. We didn’t have time to get you used to the idea of being a wolf and you were so scared. I didn’t want to push you.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “No. Don’t be. This is a good day. For the first time since I bit you, I feel like we’re going to be okay.”

  I thought about it for a second. It was like a huge weight had been lifted that I didn’t even know I was carrying. “Me, too.”

  I ran my fingers through his hair. My heart was full. So full, I didn’t know it was possible to be so happy. So in love.

  He pressed one more kiss to my lips, and then to my forehead, before grabbing my hand in his. “Ready?”

  “Yeah.” And I was. For anything. With him.

  Chapter Sixteen

  By the time we got back to the cafeteria, I was dying with hunger. The witchy-wolfy stuff had used up a ton of energy. Add in the wolf playtime and the long walk back, and I was a million calories into the red. For once, everyone was busy when I stepped through the doors. There were no more stares, mean looks or questioning glances.

  Saving one of our own had drained everyone, but the pack felt whole. Healed. And I finally felt like a member of it.

  The people who weren’t in our pack only added to the feeling. It was nice being around so many wolves. I wouldn’t want it every day, but for now, it felt good. Happy.

  Everyone was chowing down. The cooks were even grabbing bites in between filling orders. I’d wiped everyone out, but all-in-all it had turned out well. Almost everyone wore some sort of sweatpants or hoodie. Some guys opted for no shirt, but the girls didn’t seem to be complaining.

  I’d
asked Dastien on our walk back how the stashes of clothes got replenished, and he grabbed the backpack. Apparently there were bins filled with backpacks of clothing, water, protein bars, and first aid kits stashed around the woods. Everyone had to replace what they took. Not a bad system. We’d go back tomorrow and return the cleaned sweats.

  “I’m going to grab us some food,” Dastien said.

  “Cool,” I said, and continued to our usual table.

  Someone shrieked in my ear just before arms squeezed all the breath from my lungs. I laughed and leaned into Meredith.

  “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she said.

  I spun. “You scared the crap out of me.” I shook her a few times. “I was about to promise to join the coven to save you!”

  She pulled back, eyes wide. “You didn’t. You didn’t do that, did you?”

  “Chill, chica. No, I didn’t. But I was seriously considering doing it, until Luciana gave away what would break the curse.” I shook my head. “You’re looking much better.” And she was. Her skin was nearly back to its normal color. Her eyes were still a little sunken and she was too thin, but that would change.

  “I’m feeling much better. I’ve been eating nonstop since you took off.”

  “How long were we gone?”

  “Three hours.”

  “Holy shit. No wonder I’m starving. I’m pretty sure my stomach has already eaten itself.”

  Donovan and Dastien came back with two trays each. I rubbed my hands together as we sat down. “Let’s do this whole werewolf eating thing.”

  Meredith laughed. “I told you you’d like it.”

  When I first got to St. Ailbe’s, keeping up with the werewolf metabolism had been a real pain in my butt. I could never seem to eat enough, which I’d found endlessly irritating. I still wasn’t eating enough, but I was getting better at it. Slowly, but surely.

  Chris and Adrian sat at our usual table. So did Shannon. I gave her a nod, and she nodded back. We weren’t best friends, and I wasn’t holding my breath for it either, but maybe one day…stranger things had happened.

  Donovan put his trays on the table, and pulled me to my feet for a tight hug. “Thank you. I know you didn’t understand what I was trying to tell you about the curse, but you tried. And you did well.”

  “Not at first.”

  “You didn’t give up. And that’s what’s important.” He paused. “You’ve found yourself a good mate.”

  I blushed. “Um, thanks?” I said when he didn’t release me.

  Donovan laughed, squeezing me tighter. “I was sayin’ that to Dastien.”

  I laughed. “Right.”

  “Get your own mate, Dono,” Dastien said.

  “I did.” Donovan shot Meredith a look that was so strong, it made me blush. I couldn’t stop the stupid grin that spread across my face even if I tried.

  I spotted Meredith’s family at the next table. Meredith’s mom was gushing to her dad about what a powerful mate their daughter had.

  I raised an eyebrow at Donovan and he winked back.

  Good thing he was taking that in stride.

  I waved at Meredith’s family.

  “Thank you,” Max said.

  “This time, I’ll accept it.”

  As I turned back to my ginormous mountain of food, I couldn’t help but think of my first meals at St. Ailbe’s and how much had changed over past two months. It wasn’t always easy, but it was good. Especially Dastien. I peeked at him. How could he be so appealing just sitting there?

  Dastien leaned over, brushing my hair away from my face. The look in his eyes told me he knew what I was thinking. “Eat, cherie. Then we can be alone again.”

  The way he said “alone” sent shivers down my spine.

  “So, girly,” Meredith said. “You’ve got the full moon and your birthday in two days. How are we celebrating?”

  Everyone at the table stopped eating to look at me. Great. Just when I was done with the staring.

  “Um, actually, Dastien accidentally spilled the beans about going to see Paul van Dyk next Saturday.”

  “I don’t know that trance is their kind of music,” Dastien said.

  “Hey. I love dancing,” Meredith said. “I don’t really care what kind of music it is.”

  “Well, that’s what we’re doing. And I was hoping to go shopping before.”

  Meredith clapped her hands. “And I love shopping.”

  I laughed. “So we’ve got a plan?”

  “Only totally.”

  “Good. Can I eat now?”

  “I guess. It’s just I’ve been out of it for days, and I feel like I’ve missed so much.” She continued to talk. It was good to see her back to her usual self.

  “A ghrá, let the lass eat,” Donovan said with a laugh.

  Meredith poked Donovan with her fork. “Shut it, you. I accepted you a few hours ago and you’re already trying to boss me around.” She poked him again.

  “Enough with the fork, you crazy girl.”

  I grinned at them. “They’re kind of adorable, right?”

  Dastien raised an eyebrow. “You want me to agree that Donovan is adorable?”

  I pressed a kiss to his cheek.

  He placed his hand on my knee and squeezed it gently. I do think they’re pretty cute.

  I jerked away from him for a second. “Did you just talk? In my head?” I whispered.

  He grinned, showing his dimples. I love you, cherie.

  “Say it again.”

  He pressed his mouth by my ear. “I love you.” He kissed my cheek. “Now eat. I can feel your hunger, and it’s making me even more hungry.”

  I laughed. “Okay.” I took a bite of pot roast and moaned.

  This got me a double eyebrow raise from Dastien. Now, if only I could get you to make that noise when we’re alone.

  My face couldn’t have burned brighter.

  “Why’s your face so red?” Meredith asked.

  I pushed my tray away and thumped my head on the table. “No reason.” My voice was muffled but I knew she’d hear it.

  “You’re doing that thing, aren’t you?” Chris said.

  “What thing?” Adrian asked.

  “The talk in each other’s head thing.”

  I sat up to see him shaking his head.

  “You’re going to be even more impossible to watch now, aren’t you?” Shannon said.

  I shot her a look and she had the grace to say a quick apology.

  “I told you you’d be able to do it,” Meredith said. “Hey, why can’t we do that?”

  Donovan muttered something in a language I’d never heard before. Probably Irish. He looked up at the ceiling and laughed.

  Meredith elbowed him and he laughed harder. When she went to elbow him again, he caught it. “No. You’re misunderstanding me. I’m not laughing at you. I’m happy.” He pulled her in for a quick kiss, and Meredith’s milky skin turned bright red. “We’ll get there when we get there.”

  This was good. This was the way friends were supposed to be. The way love was supposed to be. Happy.

  I sighed. I hoped it stayed this way.

  Dastien grasped my free hand. What’s wrong?

  “The Tribunal. Do you think it’s going to be okay?”

  “I know it will be. I won’t stand for it to be any other way, okay?”

  “You can’t promise that.”

  “No. And it might be hard. But we’ll get through it, like we’ve gotten through the rest of it.”

  I nodded.

  “Eat. Enjoy being with our friends. We’ve got a big couple of days coming up. Filled with fun things. I can’t wait.” He ran his finger down my cheek.

  “Me too.”

  “I love you,” he said through our bond.

  “I love you, too.”

  Dastien’s eyes widened for a second before his dimples showed up. He pressed a kiss to my forehead.

  The future was never certain. I knew how quickly life could change, but w
ith Dastien by my side, I somehow believed that everything would be okay. I couldn’t predict what was going to happen at the Tribunal, but for the first time, I felt secure in who I was. Not only in who I was, but in who I was with Dastien.

  Maybe it was just as easy as Rosa said. If you believed it to be true, it would be.

  I grasped Dastien’s hand in mine, and felt the love through our bond. All in all, it was a pretty great day.

  The story continues in Alpha Divided. Out October 14, 2014.

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  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to all my readers! I’m so happy with the love for Becoming Alpha. I hope you liked Avoiding Alpha just as much.

  No writer can survive without amazing critique partners. They’re the ones who keep you honest, push you to do your best, and encourage you through all the many drafts. It’s my firm belief that a good critique partner is worth their weight in gold.

  Thank you, Lauren Stone. You’re my rock. I got lucky when I was assigned to you as a One. You’re officially stuck with me. FOREVER.

  Christina Bauer, my partner in crime, thank you for everything you do. We’re killing it, girlfriend. So lucky to have found you, and so excited about what’s to come.

  To Kelly Peterson and Guillian Helm at INscribe Digital—You ladies rock! Thank you for all of your hard work and patience. Ink Monster wouldn’t be where it is today without you!

  Thank you, Kime Heller-Neal. Your daily emails and encouragement keep me going. Thank you for keeping me honest.

  To Mary Karlik—You’re encouragement and feedback is priceless. I guess I’ll forgive the whole being an Aggie thing. ;)

  To my Halcyon Bastards—You each inspire me. Counting down the days till we meet again.

  To everyone at Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction program who read my work, gave me feedback, or sat with me in the Marriott lobby and laughed into the wee hours—I wouldn’t be writing without you all. I feel lucky and blessed to know each and every one of you. The WPF is a second family that I treasure greatly.

  Kristi Latcham—You’re an amazing woman. Thank you for catching all of my little errors. I’d be lost without you! Hopefully I didn’t make any typos in this acknowledgement section, but I’m not holding my breath!