Page 17 of Possessive Alpha

I relax against him, letting all the tension leave my body as the sun continues its ascent, warming us as much as it does the crisp air.

Before I fall asleep, or worse, convince myself to stay here forever, I untangle myself from Ty, who reluctantly releases me.

On my feet, I turn back to the house.

“Because I know responsibility.” Ty’s soft words make me grind to a halt. “I know how easy it can be to forget to take a second to breathe. If you ever need someone to lean on, Martha, you can lean on me.”

I turn to look at him then.

This man is my mate, and I have literally spent the last two weeks running away from him. He’s an alpha, not known for their patience, yet he’s being patient with me.

“Thanks for the run,” I say quietly.

“You’re mine.” He’s still staring at the sky, his profile as strong, as perfect, and so hypnotic to me that I can’t make myself look away, let alone walk away.

He peers over his shoulder. “That also means I’m yours. If there’s anything you need, tell me. It’s yours.”

For the first time, I consider asking him if he’s happy here. If I were to tell him about Clara wanting to leave, would he come with us?

And then I remember how our life has been.

Always moving on. Sometimes having enough to eat. Sometimes not.

Often choosing to sleep in our car because we chose to eat instead.

If I asked, I think Ty would say yes.

He studies me through the most beautiful forest-green eyes I’ve ever seen in my life, with an intensity that promises there isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for me. And I know as assuredly as I need air to breathe that he would say yes.

I can’t make him live a life full of constant struggles if he doesn’t have to.

When our car broke down last year, I nearly fell apart. I thought we would die. For the first time since I told Clara I would always keep her safe, I didn’t know what to do. We had nowhere to sleep, no way to leave, and I panicked.

We spent a couple of nights in a women’s homeless shelter, ate from a soup kitchen, and I walked the length and breadth of the town looking for a job. I found one in a bar and I begged the owner for any shift he could give us. Clara worked some, I worked most, and over a couple of days, we earned enough to repair the car and move on again.

I can’t ask Ty to go through that for me. It wouldn’t be fair, and it wouldn’t be right.

So I don’t ask.

I leave him sitting on the grass and head back to the house.

As I walk away from him, a tiny, niggling voice wonders if maybe I spend too much time thinking about Clara instead of myself, and that maybe it’s okay to be a little selfish and put myself first, just this once.

Clara is still sleeping as I creep back into our room so I can shower and start my day.

Regan has a kitchen garden, and I think I’d like to make it bigger, grow more than the herbs and the few vegetables she started. A small greenhouse would be nice, so we could always have fresh strawberries or tomatoes, even in winter.

Then I ask myself what I’m doing entrenching myself in a place I won’t be staying by planning out a kitchen garden I won’t be here to grow.

CHAPTER 7

After our early morning run together, I’m feeling awkward and unsure. Of myself, about what this mission to scope out cabin locations will be like after I humiliated myself so badly the first time, and mostly, about what Ty will say.

Will we talk about the run, about how we watched the sunrise together, or will we pretend nothing happened?

I take extra care with my appearance, foregoing my usual pair of shorts and T-shirt in favor of a knee-length, pale blue cotton dress and white sneakers.

Clara gave me ‘the look’ before I left our room. The equivalent of her saying she noticed how I took a little longer to get dressed than I usually do and will demand answers soon.

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