Page 39 of The Alpha's Reclaimed Mate

Lucas growled. “I won’t let that happen.”

“There is an alternative… but it would be up to her to make it work.”

Their voices blurred into an inaudible murmur. A small curiosity within me begged to know what they were saying, but my apathy overwhelmed any attempt I might have made to listen. Whatever Esther’s alternative was it was doomed to fail. So why bother?

I should just let my bond with my pack wilt away. They would be happier.

And in the end, it would be easier on Lucas.

I closed my eyes, wishing that I could hurry up and fade away to save everyone the trouble of having to deal with me.

Chapter 17: Aria

Morning sun gleamed through the window and burned into my eyelids. I woke with a gasp, my first instinct to protect myself from the raging teeth of the wilderness haunting my dreams.

Then my body registered the comfort of the couch and blanket around me. The smell of Lucas Black flooded my nose. I looked blearily around the room and remembered that I wasn’t isolated in the wilderness of the forest, waking up in a den and struggling to feed myself. I was back in Lucas’ home for the second time, and he was sitting in a chair nearby, just now realizing that I was awake.

He smiled warmly. “Are you hungry?”

I stared back at him, but even if I’d wanted to decline, my rumbling stomach spoke for me.

Lucas chuckled and stood. “Let me bring you something.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I replied bleakly, slowly moving off the couch, only to falter as pain wracked my body.

Noticing my pain, Lucas stepped closer, guiding me back into my comfortable position on the couch. “You need to rest, Aria,” he said. A hint of sternness made his voice rigid beneath the warmth he reserved for me. “I know you think you have to do everything on your own, but trust me when I say I’m here to help you.”

Heat tickled my cheeks. I struggled to keep Lucas’ gaze, my embarrassment like a sucker punch to the stomach. “You shouldn’t waste your time with me. You’re the Alpha of the Silent Shadows Pack,” I muttered. “You have more important things to do.”

Lucas’ eyebrows rose. “You’re the most important thing to me.”

The impact of his words made me dizzy. I couldn’t help but seek his eyes, losing myself in the tenderness of their honeyed depths.

Realizing the implications of his words, Lucas rubbed the back of his neck and stepped away. “Just sit tight. I’ll bring you some breakfast, okay?”

Then without waiting for my response, Lucas retreated to the kitchen, most likely kicking himself over spilling his thoughts like that. The idea that I could be so important to him left me stunned. I hadn’t done anything to deserve it, and all too quickly, I remembered how little I wanted to be worth to anyone, because I was only going to disappoint them in the end. Lucas included. I wanted to tell him that, and the words were slowly forming in my throat, but when he re-emerged with a tray of food, it suddenly became impossible to break the silence. The overwhelming fear of sounding ungrateful was only bolstered by my desperate hunger, seeing and smelling the breakfast Lucas had prepared.

Before me was a spread of toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam, a bowl of cereal with a small cup of milk to the side, and a plate of bacon and eggs. “I wasn’t sure what you’d prefer, so I just made a bit of everything,” said Lucas.

Honestly, all of it looked delicious. I couldn’t remember the last time I ate a proper meal, except for when I was here. Already salivating, I mowed down everything on the tray. Only after breakfast was devoured did I feel shame for being so gluttonous, but Lucas didn’t seem to mind. “You must have been starving the past few days,” he said. “Do you feel better?”

I nodded slowly.

“Good!” Lucas took the tray back into the kitchen, then reappeared a few seconds later, stopping in front of me to stretch.

I should have looked away, but the narrow strip of skin revealed under Lucas’ shirt as he reached his arms above his head and arched his spine completely enthralled me. The trail of brown hair spanning his belly button and the brim of his pants drove my mind wild with wonder. My heart hastened to imagine what else lay under his clothes.

Then he rolled his shoulders, and his shirt sunk down over his waist again. He glanced at me, realizing I’d been watching, and I fought to regain my composure, my cheeks redder than ever. Lucas chuckled again, the sound taunting me. He sat beside me on the couch, but all I could do was stare in another direction, wanting to drive my head through a wall in humiliation.

Why was I thinking such things about Lucas when I knew I didn’t deserve him like that?

“Aria,” he beckoned for my attention.

I couldn’t look at him. I wished I could crawl into a hole and die.

“It’s okay to loosen up around me, you know.”

“I know.”

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