Page 17 of Rejected By the Alpha

“I never intended to hurt you—or even make you wonder whether I might hurt you,” Killian said, looking shocked by my revelation. “I thought you were going to say that you were frightened by my facial expression because you’d never seen me angry before, or that you thought I was going to hurt Andy. Not that I would hurtyou.”

“It wasn’t necessarily… you that I was afraid of,” I said.

“I’m confused.”

I felt like I was too close to disclosing uncomfortable truths about my family, but I didn’t want him to walk on eggshells around me for the rest of my life, either, thinking that I was constantly afraid of his presence.

“It was the motion of you raising your hand and stepping toward me,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. “Just some sort of trauma response or something.”

Oops. I hadn’t meant to use the word “trauma.”

A crease appeared between his eyebrows, and I saw the wheels start turning in his head as he started to figure out what I meant.

“You had a trauma response,” he repeated.

There was no question, just a statement that I had no response to.

“Atraumaresponse. To someone raising their hand in the air?” Killian asked, his voice escalating in anger.

He sprang up and began pacing next to the bed as he took deep breaths. I didn’t want to upset him further, so I remained silent as he attempted to get his feelings under control.

“Who?” he asked, stopping near the door.

“Who, what?”

“Who was the scum that hit you?”

“It really doesn’t matter, does it?” I asked. “I don’t live in Sparkle Hollow anymore.”

Killian closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Muscles tensed and flexed in his jaw, and I could see that he was struggling not to explode in rage. I had no idea he would be so affected by finding out such a small part of my past, but it was too late for me to take back what I told him.

He took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully before opening his eyes. Slowly, carefully, he walked back towards the bed and sat down gently next to me.

“Leah,” he began, moderating his tone as he took my hand in both of his. “I promise, on everything I have ever loved, that I will never raise a hand against you. I will never hurt you.”

I was shocked by the honesty in his voice, and although I nodded my head in understanding, I wasn’t sure if I believed his words. He had hurt me before. Not physically, of course, but through his actions, my heart had been broken. There was nothing to keep him from hurting me again.

Nothing but his promise.

***

The following day began quietly, with no rush of movement or thoughts as my eyelids flickered open. The onlychange I felt was an uneasiness in my stomach as I remembered Killian’s promise to protect me from himself.

I looked to my left, peeking over the pillow wall to see that he was already awake and had left the room. His side of the bed was made up with the quilt tucked into the corners and his pillow lying neatly on top.

I climbed out of bed and put on my slippers before heading toward the kitchen. I expected to find him waiting in the kitchen or living room, but they were empty. Instead, I saw a piece of paper on the kitchen island next to an empty bowl, a spoon, and a box of chocolate cereal.

I don’t remember buying that at the store,I thought.

I picked up the note from Killian and read:

Leah, I hope you don’t mind that I snuck out early. I had some pack business to discuss with Alpha Jasper, but I needed to go to the store and grab this cereal for you first. I remember that it used to be your favorite.

I’ll be back later today. Help yourself to whatever you need around the house. I left a credit card in case you want to go out anywhere.

Have a great day,

Killian

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