Page 20 of Alpha's Forbidden Bond

“Me neither. Honestly, I would be shocked if you told me he had.” Sammy was a sweet kid, but he wasn’t known for being the most responsible shifter in the pack.

“You know something else,” Mikeal went on, pushing his bowl away from him and sitting back in his seat. “I saw Sarafina while I was working in the garage.”

“Hmm,” I said. “I wonder what she was doing up that early.”

“She looked like she had just come back from a morning run around the property, all sweaty but her clothes were totally dry.”

“She must’ve shifted.”

“Right,” Mikeal agreed. “Nothing weird about that.”

I laughed. “No, I wouldn’t say so. Why?”

“Er—Well…What was a little strange was that she was making a phone call on her way back to the guest house,” my brother said. She didn’t even notice me. She was so engrossed in the conversation she was having, and I had the garage door wide open. Whoever she was talking to had her full attention, not to mention had her giggling and blushing.”

“I’m sure it was just a friend.”

“A friend she’s calling at 5 a.m.?” my brother clicked his tongue. “I don’t think so. And it’s got to be someone back on the East Coast, right? At least there, it would be a much more reasonable hour to be on the phone with someone.”

“Her whole pack is here. But I suppose she could have some friends who aren’t Morenos.”

He raised an eyebrow at me. “You sure about that? That her whole pack is here, I mean.”

“Of course, I’m sure. I’ve been researching the Moreno pack for months, paying specific attention to the number of shifters they have. We did a count that first night at the feast, and everyone came along for the journey.”

“Then maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s not someone from the pack.” He shrugged. “All I’m saying is that I haven’t seen Sarafina laugh like that since she arrived at the compound. You might want to look into it and make sure she’s truly as loyal to you as you think she is.”

I clenched my jaw and stared down at my own mushy breakfast. A memory of the day before, of Sarafina, joking about me having a crush on that woman—Diana—flashed in my mind. That wasn’t the only odd thing my betrothed had said. In the short time we’d spent together, she’d made a few comments that led me to question exactly what she thought of our marriage arrangement. I’d ignored the other comments, thinking her duty to her pack was more than enough incentive for her to make this marriage work. But perhaps I was wrong.

Not that I could let anyone, including my brother, see me wavering. I had to appear fully confident in my decision, regardless of the doubts I felt inside.

“Sarafina is allowed to have friends,” I said eventually, trying to sound casual. “She lived a full life before coming here to Silverleaf, and I have no interest in trying to take any of that away from her. In fact, I’m glad she’s got people she can talk to, people she trusts. That bodes well for us being able to bring outside shifters into the pack even after we merge.”

“Wow,” Mikeal smirked. “I don’t think I fully believed it until just this moment, but now I see that you truly are not attracted to that woman in the slightest.”

I balked. “What the hell are you talking about? Sarafina is stunning!”

“I know she is, which is why a controlling, jealousy-prone man like you should be totally freaking out about her liking someone else. I thought for sure your eyes were going to light up with rage when I said she was giggling and blushing while on the phone. Instead, I can tell that all you care about is how this might affect the packs merging.” He shook his head and got up out of his seat. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I don’t like it when you turn into a jealous monster. I’m still not over that time in middle school when you pulled my pants down in front of Jennifer because you wanted her to like you instead of me.”

I looked away, still ashamed of that particularly low moment in my childhood.

“But here you are, acting like you couldn’t care less about your soon-to-be wife making secret, early morning phone calls to someone else. It’s wild.”

“It’s called growing up,” I argued. “Jealousy isn’t a mature emotion and it’s not a good color on anyone. I’m glad that I grew out of it. What kind of leader would I be if I still behaved like the kid who pulled your pants down? That’s not what this pack needs. They need someone with a clear head and complete control over their emotions, which is who I now am.”

“Well—I wouldn’t go that far.” Mikeal took his bowl to the sink but left it there without even rinsing it out. He knew this drove me nuts, but I had just said I was in complete control of my emotions. I couldn’t let him know how angry I was. “But you have matured in some ways. I’ll give you that much. I still think you should ask Sarafina who she was on the phone with. Just in case she’s keeping secrets.”

I didn’t respond. He headed for the door.

“Where are you off to?”

“Gonna finish working on Sammy’s car,” he said. “The truck keys are hanging on the hook, so feel free to take it whenever you go pick up the mattresses. Do you need any help getting them into the bed?”

“No, I don’t think so. They shouldn't be too heavy, just a little awkward.”

“Sounds good.” He nodded goodbye and then headed out the backdoor. I waited until I knew he was out of eyesight of the window, then got up and immediately washed his bowl before the oatmeal could stick to the bottom.

“We do have someone who can get the mattress out of the warehouse, yes,” said the man working at the customer help desk. “But he’s on break right now. Let me go around back and see if I can find him. If you wouldn’t mind just waiting right here, I won’t be long.”

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