Page 29 of Impregnated By the Alpha

Jonah chose his words carefully. He didn’t want to scare her away. “First, I want to apologize.”

He heard her suck in a breath, saw her step stutter. He caught her arm and pulled her to a stop so he could face her. She dropped her eyes to the sidewalk.

“I was an asshole back in high school. Insecure, cruel, a bully.” It had taken hearing it from others to understand that what he’d done to her had gone far beyond the teasing he’d thought it had been. “I’m so sorry for what I did to you. It had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me."

She lifted her chin with a defiant look in her eye. “You were the reason I left that school and the pack, do you realize that? You ruined my life.”

He winced at the pain in her voice, present despite the time that had passed. “I wish I could go back and change it, but I can’t. I can only beg for your forgiveness now, and I understand that I don’t deserve it, and I don’t expect it.”

It was hard to meet her eyes. They were deep pools of blue, and he had the strange sensation that they were pulling him in, whirlpools with a current all their own.

“Why did you do it?” She asked, searching his eyes for the answer. “Why me? I mean, I know I was pathetic, but—“

“You weren’t pathetic,” Jonah cut in. “Not at all. I was… I was fascinated by you. You always did your own thing, like you didn’t care what anyone else thought. So, unlike me.”

Her frown deepened. “So, you bullied me. Made my life hell because I was some kind of fascination to you?”

He felt two inches tall, cut down by her words, and he deserved it. “Yes. I’m sorry, Moira. I’m sorry I was a bully then, and I’m sorry I barged back into your life and made you relive some of that. I was the worst kind of boy, and you have every right to hate me.”

But he hoped she didn’t, more than he’d ever hoped for anything in his life. Moira was better than he ever could be.

“I don’t forgive you for that,” she said, her fingers digging into her coat. “I can’t forgive you for it.”

Jonah’s stomach sank, even though he’d expected it. He nodded.

“But I’ll give you a chance,” she said. “To prove that you’re not the person you were back then. That you’ve managed to change.”

He looked up, hope blossoming in his chest. “Really? I will, Moira, I’ll prove it every day.”

All he wanted was to hug her, to pull her into his arms and feel her against him. Instead, he smiled and started walking.

“Is that why you wanted to come out here?” She asked, stepping into place beside him.

He felt lighter without that weighing on him. It was only the first step, but it was something. Now, he just had to make good on his promise to prove to her that he was a better man now.

“That was part of it. I figured if you slapped me and told me never to talk to you again, I wouldn’t get to this part. But I wanted to talk to you about what the soothsayer said,” he began, treading carefully.

They crested the top of the dune. Before them, the ocean was a sheet of glass, reflecting the moon. He held out his hand to help her down the steep hill, the cold sand filling his shoes. To his surprise, she took it and held it until they reached the bottom.

“That we’re fated mates.” She dropped his hand.

“And that the pack depends on us. I want to make you a deal,” he said, kicking sand in front of him as he walked.

The waves were lazy, crawling up the shore and tiptoeing back out. He loved the beach at night, loved the grey stretch of it, the quiet whisper of the tide. And he loved the way she looked, with the wind tugging strands of her hair loose and the moon’s glow on her skin.

“A deal?” She prompted.

“I’ll buy the bakery and give it to you, if you’ll pretend to be my true mate for a time.”

She stopped in front of him, and he wondered if that smack he’d expected earlier was about to arrive. “Are you bribing me?”

“Yes, kind of, if you want to think of it like that.” Jonah was not making great progress in proving that he was a better man. “But I was thinking more of a deal, one where we both benefit. You get the bakery; I get the pack in order.”

He didn’t reveal his other reason for it—that he wanted an excuse to spend more time with Moira, a reason to be close to her. Jonah would keep that to himself and just enjoy whatever moment she allowed him in her presence.

“You’ll buy the bakery?” She said it quietly, disbelief in her voice. “For me?”

“It’ll be completely yours, don’t worry about that. It’s what you want, isn’t it?” He knew it was, and he’d do everything he could to make it happen for her.

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