Page 38 of The Alpha's Grave Secrets

Elara

The knock at the door pulls me out of my thoughts, and for a moment, my heart skips. He’s only knocking so he doesn’t startle me, like I can’t feel him. His presence tugs at me, waking my wolfish hunger within.

When I open the door, Kato stands there, a little disheveled but looking like he walked straight out of a dream. His shirt is untucked, he’s wearing different clothes than before, and there’s a smear of dirt along his jaw.

He’s breathtaking, and those eyes—the way they lock onto mine—make it seem like everything else melts away.

“It’s done,” he says, his voice rough, but there’s a softness. “Richard’s dead. We found the last victim. She’s safe.”

A wave of relief crashes over me, and I can’t help letting a breath escape me like I’ve been holding it in for days.Richard’s dead. The words hang in the air between us, and suddenly, that heaviness that had been pressing down on me is gone.

“Why did he do all this? What motivated him?” I want to know.

“We discovered that Richard Brown was once an agent at the FBI. And apparently, he had ambitions of leading the SPIU. But instead of that path, he was discharged after an incident that led to a psych evaluation on him, which basically concluded that his psyche was not in a healthy place where he could do this work without a possible personality split or going psycho mad. Ironically and sadly, I think that FBI rejection was enough to send him over the edge.”

“Why the SPIU?”

“His mother was impregnated by a shifter, a man who ran away the moment he smelled his son as an embryo, a real loser. Child services reports show a long history of child abuse by his mother. We can only assume that the poor kid took the brunt of his mother’s anger and frustration at her situation and rejection by his father.”

My heart aches for the younger version of Richard. The kid who just wanted his parents love but instead was abandoned and abused. A tear wells up in my eye and I let it roll down my cheek.

Not everyone who goes through such horror retaliates against the public or an organization. I remind myself, I can’t let myself get too wrapped up in who hecouldhave been, as tragic as it is.

“So, by choosing the victims he chose, he was vicariously punishing both his mother and father all while trying to prove that he ultimately was smart enough to be in the SPIU.”

“You’d know more about that than I would,” Kato says, “But that sounds like a fair assessment.”

I blink up at him, trying to process everything. “The smell,” I murmur, more to myself than him. “That medicinal smell... what was it?”

Kato’s lips twitch into a half-smile, and that tiny crack in his armor finally lets me breathe easy. “Cough drops,” he says with a low chuckle. “The bastard was popping them like candy.”

I laugh, a genuine laugh, and it feels so good. The tension between us eases, and there’s space for something other than fear or pain for the first time in what feels like forever.

Kato shifts on his feet, and the hesitation in his stance is clear. “I can take you back to your home now,” he says, though his voice betrays that he doesn’t want me to go.

“I don’t want you to,” I say softly, stepping closer, my eyes never leaving his.

He raises an eyebrow, that familiar smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “You sure about that?”

I tilt my head, a smile playing on my lips now. “Come here,” I say, my voice low, inviting.

He doesn’t hesitate. In a few strides, he’s inside, the door shutting behind him, and suddenly, the room feels smaller, the air charged with something electric. But his time is different. There’s no desperation, no fear driving us together. It’s sweeter. More real.

Kato’s hands cup my face gently as his lips find mine, and for the first time in years, I feel safe—really safe. We make love slowly, like we’re rediscovering each other without all the baggage that’s weighed us down for so long. It’s heartfelt, and every touch, every kiss, feels like a promise.

Even still, it’s explosive. Our thoughts combine as one. I feel how he feels when I touch him, and he feels how I feel when he touches me. It’s a blur of ecstasy and desire—a perfect melding of two bodies, two souls, as one.

Afterward, we lie together, tangled in the sheets, the quiet between us comfortable. His hand traces lazy patterns on my skin, and for the first time, I let myself believe that this could work, that we could work.

“We could try again,” I say quietly, my head resting on his chest. He stiffens slightly before his fingers gently brush my hair away from my face.

“Is that what you really want?” His voice is soft, but there’s an intensity there, a need to know that this is real.

I lift my head, meeting his gaze. “I want you, Kato. I want Us.” I say, my voice steady.

“Then that’s what you’ll have,” he says, a broad smile lighting up his face.

It’s a new day,and we’re at the bar with Kato’s team, a group of shifters who have become like family to me. At first, it was through desperation, but now, it is through our shared love for Kato and the job of the S.P.I.U.

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