Page 37 of Alpha Fate

I nod, keeping my expression stony. It’s a training session in which I’m going to kick his ass so hard he won’t be bothering her again for a month. He may be my patrol partner, but he obviously has no qualms about stepping on my turf.

My. Turf. Dammit.

“Well, that was awkward.” Savannah is watching me as she pours half a jug of syrup over her pancakes. Tarkin has sauntered away, purposely not looking back at me, though I’m sure he can feel my eyes burning between his shoulder blades.

“He got in my face,” I mutter.

“Seems nice enough. And he did help save me, after all.”

“Yeah.” I can’t deny that. “Barrett did, too. And Jagger and the others. A group effort.” I realize I was an ass for saying it was me.

“And Edirn,” she adds, which makes me pause. The male had come out of nowhere to help us. And we left him behind.

Fuck.

I shouldn’t feel so bad about that, but I do. We couldn’t have gotten out without him.

“You okay?” Savannah is watching me, and I realize that my fork is hanging in midair as I stare down at my plate.

We left him for dead.

“I’m fine.” I can’t dwell on it. He knew what he was getting into – not just by helping us, but by being in that pack in the first place. He was one of them.

“I’m glad you brought me out here.” Her eyes meet mine. “It’s nice to see the place during the day. I’d like to explore it some more.”

“I’ll take you around.” I know I volunteer too quickly, but I don’t care. If anyone’s going to chaperone Savannah around this place, it’s going to be me.

“I’d like that.” Our eyes lock for a second, and something passes between us. I know I’m not imagining it. Impulsively, I reach for her hand. She doesn’t pull away. In fact, her fingers thread through mine.

“I hated leaving you behind the first time I left there.” I have to admit it. It gnawed at me for the entire time I was away.

“It’s okay. I knew you were coming back.” She says it with such certainty that my heart swells. “You promised me.”

“I did.” I tighten my hold on her hand.

“Is that the only reason you came back yourself? Because you promised? I mean, the others could have done it. And those rogues really laid into you. You could have stayed here to recover.”

“No. That’s not the only reason.” My voice is level as I say it because I know it’s true. I went back for her…and this… This connection I’m feeling. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. She’s chewing on her lower lip, and fuck me if I don’t want to kiss that mouth. “Let’s get out of here,” I blurt.

“What?” She blinks in surprise. “But our food…”

“We’ll take it to go.” I raise a hand, drawing the attention of the cook, who’s loitering nearby, wiping down a surface that’s already squeaky clean. “Bert. Pack this up for us. I’ll pick it up later.”

He frowns at me in confusion but gives me a thumbs up.

Still holding Savannah’s hand, I rise and tug her behind me, moving swiftly through the tables. I don’t care about the curious stares now. Let them think what they like.

The urge that drives me doesn’t let up until we’re out of the canteen and on the paving outside. A quick look in both directions has me picking a route. “Come,” I tell her, drawing her along. She’s clearly perplexed but not fighting me. When we step into a dimly lit narrow alley running alongside the canteen, I stop so abruptly that she bumps into me.

“Gage, what’s going—?”

She stops short as I swing her to face me without warning, staring down into her eyes. I gaze into their green depths, lost for a while. Her lips part slightly as she gazes back at me, confusion and curiosity mingling in her expression.

I know I should explain myself, but the words catch in my throat. Ever since I first saw her in that dank cell at Leadmills, I’ve been consumed by her. I tried to chalk it up to the heat of the moment and the harrowing circumstances we found ourselves in. But now, standing here alone with her, only inches between us in the dim alley, there’s no mistaking the magnetic pull I feel.

“I should have done this yesterday,” I murmur. Before I can overthink it, I cup her face in my hands, my thumbs lightly tracing over her soft skin. Her eyes widen in surprise, but she doesn’t pull away. Heart pounding, I slowly lean in. Our breaths mingle and her eyelids flutter closed. Then I press my lips to hers in the softest, most tender kiss I’ve ever given.

The world melts away as a sensation rushes through me like an electric shock.

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