Page 41 of The Alpha's Reclaimed Mate

The feeling of her fingers in my hair nearly put me to sleep, and I was so tired. “I rarely get a few consecutive hours of sleep,” I told her. “I’m used to being half awake all night in the wilderness. Sometimes it makes me imagine things. I’m living… constant nightmares… even here,” I admitted with rare vulnerability. But the gentleness with which Esther handled me made me trust her more than anyone in a long time.

Esther frowned. “I’m sorry. I’ll let you a lavender-scented pillow and some oils. They should help you sleep better. You’ll need to get a lot of sleep if you want to heal from these wounds.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Well, I do. It’s my job,” Esther smiled. “But I also want to do it because I want to see you feel better. Alpha Lucas likes you a lot, and so do I. You have a lot of potential. I’d hate to see someone with your talents wasted.”

“You sound like him,” I observed.

Esther laughed this time. “We’ve spent a lot of time together.”

My thoughts ran amok, trying to imagine the relationship between them. Esther must have sensed my uncertainty because she added a moment later, “Don’t worry, it was never romantic. We’re childhood friends. That’s how he is with all the wolf shifters he grew up with in the pack.”

So she was Lucas’ peer. Esther seemed a lot older than him—she had more of a motherly air about her—and that reassured me that there was nothing between them. I trusted Esther easily.

It choked me up when Esther took advantage of that to later tell Lucas, while I was alone drying myself off with a towel, that I was suffering nightmares and should spend the night with someone instead of alone.

“I did sleep in the chair beside her all night,” he pointed out.

“Her body is still recovering. As her fated bond disintegrates, she continues to grow weaker, and any more stress could halt her recovery and kill her. Even seven or eight hours of no contact could tip the scale. Lucas, maybe you should keep her in your room. I think the physical contact you’ve been giving her would aid in her recovery and help her heal faster.”

My heart slammed. Their voices were obscured behind the door, but all the same, I could fill in the missing pieces by tone alone. Swallowing hard, I quickly got dressed, hiding myself while Lucas became amenable to the idea of moving me to his bedroom.

Minutes later, he knocked on the door. “Aria, are you dressed?”

“Yes.” My tongue felt heavy.

Lucas walked into the humid bathroom, mist parting around him like he was an ethereal deity. “Did you hear us talking outside?”

“…Yes.”

A faint smile tickled the corner of his lips. “I think it would be helpful. What do you think?”

“I… I don’t know. It feels like it could be too close.” Familiar heat rushed into my cheeks.

“That’s the point,” said Lucas.

“I can regulate myself,” I protested feebly.

“But what if something happens when I’m not around? I need to help you grow stronger any way I can. It’s my duty as an Alpha,” Lucas said firmly.

I had the feeling that no matter how hard I argued, Lucas would simply assert some excuse and smile at me, determined to care for me.

It was… nice.

“Okay,” I muttered.

His smile grew brighter, and I was reluctant to admit I was enamored with it. He genuinely wanted to repair me, and I wanted to trust that he could.

Chapter 18: Aria

There wasn’t much I could do that day besides rest. While Lucas tended to pack matters, I was made cozy in his bed, bundled up in the blankets saturated with his smell and sinking into his pillows, closing my eyes to sleep that took me all too quickly. The next time I woke, it was dark out, and Lucas was carefully climbing into the bed beside me. My body jolted with surprise at the thought of another person’s body heat against me.

“Go back to sleep,” he said softly behind my ear. “I won’t touch you or anything during the night. I’m only here to make sure you’re okay.”

Still hazy with sleep, I hummed and immediately drifted back into unconsciousness.

My first night sharing a bed with Lucas wasn’t thrilling or sexy or anything like that. It was exactly as he promised: a reassuring, quiet night in which I felt safer than I ever had sleeping alone.

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