Page 34 of Drew

“You sound disappointed. I suppose finding out you won’t live forever is a buzzkill.”

“It’s not that. Well, I guess it kind of is.” It was difficult to explain. While she wasn’t sure if she was immortal or not, she hadn’t been willing to put it to the test. She just assumed she’d live forever. “But not for the reason you’re thinking. I figured I would live a lonely, long life forever, being the only one of my kind. Now that you’re telling me I have a chance to be part of a family, eternity doesn’t seem that long if you have someone to share it with.” She glanced over at him, taking in that strong jaw and the dark hair she’d run her fingers through.

“In the past, whenever I dated, it was for a little companionship, but I always knew it wouldn’t last. I was always super careful with birth control because I had no idea what I was, and I knew I couldn’t tell another human I was a were—er, I mean shifter, so having a child with someone was always out of the question. Hell, having a relationship that lasted more than a few months was out of the question. And forget living with someone. They’d think I was cheating because I would sneak out at night.” That one she’d learned from experience.

He looked over at her. “Do you want to have children?”

Did she?

“I—honestly, I’ve never given it any thought. I always thought I’d live my life alone.” Do I want to be a mother? It had never been possible before. “Do you want kids?”

His gaze darted back to the road. She wasn’t sure if the traffic demanded his attention or if he wasn’t comfortable with the question. “I always thought I would like to have kids. My dad is a retired alpha who lives in Florida. He gave up the pack to me when my mom and dad decided they didn’t want the stress anymore. I know they’d love grandkids. A sibling would have been nice. Callum’s been a great friend all my life, but he doesn’t completely understand the pressures involved with being alpha. I always imagined I’d had more than one kid.” His gaze swung back. “If my mate was agreeable, that is.”

Clearly, he wasn’t distracted by the traffic. She should have known. Nothing about Drew screamed conflict and commitment-phobe. He’d handled Mitch head-on and likely did the same with any problem. He was an alpha, after all.

“You’re an alpha,” she said, tactfully changing the subject. “So you’re the top of the food chain, so to speak?”

She watched his lips curl up as he focused his attention back on the road. “Yes, I am. In our pack, I’m the only alpha. We have a small pack, but in larger packs, there can be multiple alpha and beta wolves. One alpha leads the pack, but as long as the other alphas get along and follow his rules, packs can have more than one alpha. They can also have multiple betas. I have a few betas in my pack, but Callum, whom you met at the gallery, is my actual second in command. He’s also the VP of Master’s Grilling. He helped me build the company.”

“Okay.” It was a lot to absorb. As she opened her mouth to ask her next question, Drew interrupted.

“Actually, legend has it there’s a shifter even more powerful than an alpha.”

This gave her pause. At least most of what he’d told her so far had roots in the research she’d done, but this piece of information was new. “Really?”

“Yeah.” He chuckled. “But it’s just legend. They don’t really exist. At least, I don’t think they do. My grandfather used to tell stories about the Sovereigns, about an alpha so powerful he could control anyone, human, shifter, alphas included. He could render them immobile with a single word, and anyone would have no choice but to follow his orders. His eyes would glow red as they uttered commands.” He laughed, lines appearing at the corners of his eyes. “He was just telling tales, though. No such creature exists.”

Alyssa settled in her seat. “Be pretty dangerous if they did.”

“Well, the way my grandfather told it, a Sovereign was only the most righteous of shifters. They were pure, good, and always made the right decisions.”

“Righteous or not, I think history has shown us time and time again that absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Alyssa grabbed at her seatbelt as Drew took a corner a little faster than she would have liked. “Right, that’s the saying? I never finished school. Sometimes I mess those things up.”

“Yeah, I think that’s it.” He reached over and placed his hand on her knee. “Seems pretty accurate, too. I can be pretty corrupt.” He sent her a saucy grin before his palm slid up her thigh and cupped her between the legs.

Laughing, she pushed his hand away. “Tell me about the women. What kind of power do they have?”

Drew made a thoughtful noise. “Depends on the pack. Each pack has the alpha and the alpha’s mate. Like I said, our pack values women. We’re only as strong as our weakest member, so why leave women at a disadvantage? They need to be successful, contributing members too.”

He’d touched briefly on what her position would entail. She supposed it would be a role she’d grow into. As long as she didn’t have to sacrifice her art, it wouldn't matter what her title was, especially if she had a family.

Family.

She’d never had that before. A life partner, friends that lasted longer than a season, and maybe even children. “What’s involved in— What did you call it? Imprinting?”

Drew slowed the car for a stoplight. He cleared his throat. “It’s the most intense sex you’ll ever have.” He chuckled. “At least that’s how it was always explained to me. That’s the simplified version. Do you remember the first time we touched?”

“Yes.” She’d run cold and then immediately too hot. Her nervous system had felt like it was in overdrive. “You felt that too?”

“Oh yeah. Big time.” He eased off the brake and pressed the gas while turning the steering wheel to follow the row of cars ahead of them as they used the advanced green. “Imprinting will be like that. Intense. Powerful. Undeniable. From that moment on, we’ll be even more connected, and unless one of us dissolves the mating, we would belong to each other from that moment on.”

“It sounds nice.” She’d wondered why Mount Woodridge had felt so different. Maybe it had always been because it was Drew’s home. She belonged here too.

He reached over and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “It will be.”

They drove on for a few moments, quietly enjoying the ride out of town. Alyssa’s skin buzzed where he touched her. He turned down the road that would take them to Wildlings. “Any more questions?”

Taking a deep breath, she thought about it. “Not that I can think of right now.”

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