Page 55 of Possessive Alpha

I still haven’t decided what I’m doing. Clara has yet to tell me she wants to leave, and she will. And Ty? I have no idea how to approach that conversation with him. Or even if I will.

He pats the top step. “Join me. You’re mates right? How complicated can things be?”

I hesitate. I should focus on looking for my sister, but I probably spend too much time looking for her. Instead, I cross over to the porch and take a seat beside Shawn. I leave a good amount of space between us. Just in case. “I didn’t want anyone to know.”

His slow blink reveals his confusion. “That you were mates?”

I nod. “That’s the complication. Are you going to stay?”

After giving me a confused smile, he shrugs. “Haven’t made up my mind yet. Seems like a nice place.”

“It is.”

“And it’s full of beautiful women.” He winks at me and points his chin at Layla pulling a couple of bags out of her car. Looks like she hadn’t been sure about staying, but Jackson convinced her.

I’m glad. She seems nice, and I think Jackson will give her the freedom she needs and the space to be what she wants.

I shake my head. “Careful. Ty would break you in half if he heard you flirting with me. Layla was an enforcer in her old pack. She’d be the one doing the breaking.”

Interest stirs in his eyes. “A female enforcer?”

“Yep.” We didn’t have female enforcers in my old pack. Our alpha was a traditionalist, and I was too until we lost everything and had to leave.

Clara and I encountered so many women, few female shifters, but plenty of human, and they were tough. I have no doubt that Layla can more than handle herself in a fight.

I push myself to my feet. “Maybe you should go help her with her bags?” I suggest.

“And get myself snapped in half for my trouble?” He grins at me as he rises. “Sounds like fun. Wish me luck.”

Smiling, I watch him go before I return to my task. Clara will prod me until I reveal every second of how I spent my night with Ty. I won’t tell her everything, but it won’t stop her from pressing for details.

Ty’s muffled voice drifting from under a closed door tells me that he’s still deep in his meeting with Jackson.

I greet a few of my packmates, who invite me on a run, which I refuse before I continue my hunt for my elusive sister.

I’m not sure what I’d tell her. Mainly because I don’t know what to do.

Ty is settling here. Clara is getting itchy feet to leave. I’m caught in the middle of my two wants and needs. My mate or my sister.

After I nearly walk into a wall, I start paying more attention to my surroundings.

“You okay, Martha?” Riley calls out.

I turn to greet the fifteen-year-old shifter, who is sweet enough to pretend he didn’t just see me humiliate myself. Teens can be brutal, so I appreciate him for not laughing. “Good. Have you seen Clara?”

His cheeks turn adorably pink as he shuffles from foot to foot. I guess he’s one of many guys to have fallen for my beautiful sister. “Uh, not for a while. She said she was going for a run after lunch.”

“Did she say anything about me?” I ask, holding my breath as I wait for his response.

He flashes me a grin. “Nope.”

When Regan calls Riley into the kitchen, I head out the back door, not exactly thrilled at the thought of talking to Clara. But I’ve dodged this conversation for two weeks. It’s time I told Clara that Ty is my mate—if she hasn’t already worked it out.

What happens after that, I don’t know.

I jog down the porch, using my nose to sniff out Clara. Her footsteps lead east, into the forest. A handful of other scents lead south, probably my packmates taking advantage of a beautiful and crisp early afternoon to go for a run.

Their clothes sit in neat piles beside trees just inside the forest.

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