Page 45 of Cruel Alpha Bully

“Oh, there’s a bag just over there. It’s got some candy bars and soda in it.”

I hurry over to where she’s pointing and bring back a Scooby Doo backpack stocked with goodies.

“Wait,” I say, stilling. “I recognize this bag. It was yours, at school.”

“Yeah,” she says, digging around to find a candy bar. “I used to come here a lot back then.”

“Where is ‘here?’”

“It’s neutral territory. Still a decent distance from any official camping grounds, but not owned by any particular pack.”

“Okay,” I mumble, chewing down candy bars and washing them down with lemonade. “How did we get here?”

“Well, we walked, crawled. Swam. I’m not even sure.”

She pauses and takes another bite of chocolate, smearing some on her lip. Without thinking, I reach over and brush it away, then put my finger in my mouth. Gina looks at me in surprise, and I see her eyes flick across my body.

“You do look good,” she whispers. “Healed.”

I grin, barely resisting the urge to pose and flex. “I told you, you better be sure. Check me out. Get close.”

She giggles, shaking her head. I reach over and stroke her hair gently. Even though I’m not kidding about the physical exam I’m sure I desperately need, my stomach is still growling, so I want to inhale a few more candy bars before I tease her more.

“Bae,” she says.

I look up in surprise, licking chocolate off my lip. “Yes?”

“I need to say something.”

The mood in the room has changed dramatically. It feels like she’s going to drop something extremely serious on me, and I’m not going to like it.

Does she want to go back to Denver? Is it the pack? Or me?

“I—” Her voice gets caught in her throat, and she shakes her head before trying again. “I realized something when you were knocked out.”

She sighs, putting aside her candy and taking my hand. When she looks at me, her blue eyes are deep and serious, full of emotions I can’t possibly fathom.

“I realized that I… I love you. I always have. This isn’t a crush or an infatuation… it’s like I knew it, even back in high school. That we were fated.”

“I knew it, too,” I admit, the memories as clear to me as the glaring summer sun. The kind that burns you and leaves no shadows to hide in. “I wanted you, every single day. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I only pushed you away because I was trying to deny it. God!”

I stand up and turn away from her, running my hands through my hair. When I turn back to the bed, I kneel down beside it so I’m at her eye level.

“I’m so, so sorry,” I whisper, shaking my head. “Please forgive me. And don’t do it for me—I deserve anything you want to throw at me. Just, please, forgive me for yourself, and know that you never did anything wrong. You always were beautiful, strong, smart, and just… magical. And you still are.”

There is a huge smile growing on her face, a kind I’ve never seen before. It’s like I can see confidence glowing in her heart. Wounds being healed before my very eyes.

“I appreciate that, Bae,” she says. “So much, but I have something to say, too.” She looks down and takes a deep breath before meeting my eyes again. “I really did leave town because of you. I’m sorry, I made that fight far worse than it had to be. I was just so scared… scared to expose myself to you again. Afraid to be hurt. Now I know it just doesn’t matter.”

“Why?” I ask, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Gina leans forward and puts her hands on my cheeks, smiling. “Because any pain that could come from being close to you is nothing compared to the pain of losing you. I have to be with you. All in, for as long as the fates will let us be.”

I kiss her tenderly, and she kisses me back.

“I thought you might want to go back to Denver,” I mutter with a grin.

She laughs. “Really? I had friends there, and I was on stage, but it wasn’t an easy life.”

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