Page 2 of Possessive Alpha

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my twenty-five years, it’s that alphas are determined when they find a thing they want.

I don’t stop dragging her until we’ve passed several of our packmates hanging out on the back porch on this lazy Sunday late afternoon. They wave and smile, and I return both, never slowing as I continue down the steps and round the three-story home sitting feet from the vast forest that makes up the Dawley-Stone Pack’s territory.

“Ideas like what?” Clara bats big baby blues at me, far too innocent for me to buy her act.

I double-check to confirm Ty has stayed away. When he doesn’t pop up into sight, I let myself relax against the sun-warmed wood.

“Ideas like clubbing me over the head all caveman-like. You know alphas.” I give her a probing look. “And we agreed we’d only stay somewhere if we were both happy, so if your intention is to push us together...”

Her gaze turns evasive. “I’m happy to stay here.”

No. You’re not.

Because I know my little sister better than anyone, I hear what she isn’t saying.

For now.

It’s always for now with Clara.

“Clara…”

She flashes me a grin, tossing her blonde braid over her shoulder. “It’s not that bad here, and you like it. I heard you chatting with Regan about taking over the kitchen garden.”

I do like it here.

And I like Jackson, but his mate, Regan, is becoming a real friend to me. Even though people often come and go, something that used to bother me a lot at first, I’ve found my rhythm here.

For someone who’s spent years moving from place to place, change has never been easy or appreciated. I feel that more keenly here and now more than any other time.

The important things stay the same: the feeling of belonging, the safety, and the lack of urgency to leave. But Clara isn’t happy here, and if my little sister needs to be somewhere else to be happy, then this isn’t the place for me.

I cross my arms and focus on the trees shedding reddish-brown leaves over the grass. We’re both in shorts and cotton tees, but soon, fall will give way to winter. I have to think about getting us warmer clothes, and coats are always expensive.

“What do you think about going into town this weekend?” I ask.

Regan and Jackson have made it clear to any who stay that, as a pack, they take care of our needs. Food, clothes, a roof over our heads. I earn my keep, always have, so I help Regan out with anything she needs. Jackson too.

If we’re leaving soon, there’s no way I can accept any more of their help. I’d be taking advantage when they’ve already been more than generous with all they’ve given to Clara and me.

Clara nudges my shoulder with hers, giving me a surprisingly thoughtful look. “You can tell me, you know? If you wanted to stay because of a guy…”

“Clara. I am n?—”

Ty’s scent hits me, obliterating my ability to focus.

I turn, my gaze clashing with Ty as he appears at the side of the house, still clutching his beer. And like always, for the briefest of moments, it’s just us. Until I shake my head and make myself look away.

Gripping Clara’s arm, I drag her in the opposite direction, speaking in a whisper. “I do not want to stay because of a guy.”

Lie.

Clara could hardly miss my increasingly strange behavior, so I start talking, and I talk fast, about literally everything that comes to mind. The cute red squirrel in the tree, the skirt I saw in town I want to buy, and the fact I think we’re running low on gas.

Anything to avoid giving her a chance to ask me why Ty spends most of his time watching me, and why I spend most of mine running away from him.

I can’t stop myself from peering over my shoulder.

As expected, he’s there, the faintest trace of amusement on his handsome face as he lifts his bottle in a silent salute.

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