Page 32 of Alpha's Runaway Mate

I stared at him, stunned into silence. Except for the sound of our breathing, the room was quiet. Kaine was unraveling right in front of me, and I couldn’t help the tingle that formed in my stomach listening to him confess how much I consumed his thoughts.

“You can’t keep getting close to Dominic and throwing it in my face.”

“Throwing it in your face?’ I scoffed. “What’s it to you if I hang out with Dominic? Why does it have to bother you so much?”

His jaw clenched, eyes flashing with something primal. “Because it’s clear he likes you. He wants you. And you keep getting closer to him, making him believe that he stands a chance with you, and giving him the audacity to even say it to my face.”

“You’re jealous? Of Dominic?”

“Of course, I’m jealous, Lyra!” His words exploded out of him. “Because I can’t share you with anyone. I won’t.”

Oh, God.My defenses crumbled.Literally.My arms fell to my sides. Where the hell was my resolve now?

The moment his hands slid around my waist, pulling me against him, the last of my resolve crumbled. The person who had opened the door barely fifteen minutes ago, too exhausted to argue, ready to send Kaine on his way, had completely melted like ice in his arms. How was it that his touch always seemed to strip away whatever bit of sense there was in me?

He sucked in a sharp breath, staring deep into my eyes with a kind of intensity that had me frozen against him. “I long for you, Lyra. Every morning, I wake up with a fucking hard-on because I cannot escape the dreams, the provocative thoughts that consume me. I’m not going to stand and watch Dominic flirt with you.”

My heart slammed against my chest as he leaned in, using his other hand to brush the hair away from my face. His heat overwhelmed me, his gaze burning into mine. I knew what he was going to do, and I shouldn’t let him—not after what Dominic told me today, not after knowing that he may never choose me.

“Kaine, stop—” I started, but the words died on my lips as his mouth crashed onto mine in a hungry, desperate kiss.

And God help me, I kissed him back like an addict unable to stay away. I was hooked on this man. Even when I knew I shouldn’t be.

Kaine cupped my face as his tongue slid between my parted lips, sending me over the edge. I responded by throwing my arms around his neck while his hand moved further down my waist. When I lightly sucked his tongue, he let out that guttural groan that always ignited something primal in me. I hadn’t even noticed we’d moved until we tumbled onto the couch, his lips finally parting from mine long enough for me to draw in a couple of breaths before I climbed on top of him, straddling him and claiming his lips again.

Oh, the kiss was wild. I didn’t think about anything—I couldn’t think about anything except how I wanted him to take me, right here, right now. The pressure of his bulge against my bare thigh was all the confirmation that he wanted me just as badly.

Kaine slipped the strap of my nightdress off my shoulder, his lips leaving mine to trail heated kisses down to my collarbone. He tugged the dress lower, revealing my breasts, and without hesitation, he latched onto my right nipple. I moaned out loud, forgetting for a moment that we weren’t alone in the house. The way he sucked on me while his other hand teased my left nipple, sent waves of pleasure coursing through me. I threw my head back, moving my hips slowly against him, a motion that seemed to take the last restraint out of Kaine. He hiked my dress up, grabbing my bare ass in his hands. When he realized I wasn’t wearing anything underneath, I could feel his smirk against my skin.

“You better remember how good I make you feel the next time you think about letting Dominic lay his finger on you,” he growled.

“Kaine…” I gasped, unable to finish my sentence as his finger grazed my clit, sending a jolt of sensation through me.

But then Leo’s cry pierced the air, sharp and insistent. We froze, the haze of desire crashing down around us. Kaine’s breathing was ragged, his forehead resting against my shoulder, both of us caught between frustration and reality.

“I’ll get him,” I muttered, slipping off Kaine and adjusting my nightdress.

When I opened the door to Leo’s room, the light was flickering wildly, casting strange shadows on the walls. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Leo’s toys, his clothes, and building blocks were floating. Just…hanging in the air as if suspended by some invisible force.

“Oh my…” I gasped, my heart racing with a new kind of fear.

I turned around to see Kaine behind me, his eyes wide as he took in the scene. “What the…”

Chapter Fourteen — Lyra’s POV

I paced the length of the entire living room thinking about what had just occurred—both tonight and the previous night, and wondering what in the world was going on. The first sign Leo showed was just a few days ago when he scraped his knee. Werewolves heal fast, but Leo had healed faster. Too fast. He had been playing in the living room with his favorite toy when he tripped over the rug and fell, scraping his knee. I’d been alerted to this by the sound of his cry. I rushed into the living room just in time to see the wound cover up and his skin go back to normal like nothing had just happened—all within seconds.

At first, I brushed it off, telling myself that Leo was finally getting his wolf. But the convulsing the other day told me that this was something different, and the events of tonight confirmed my thoughts. I’d tried to ignore it, pretend that nothing was wrong and that everything was normal, but I couldn’t keep lying to myself. Something was happening to him, and it terrified me.

Kaine emerged from Leo’s room, closing the door quietly behind him. “He’s asleep now,” he said softly, moving toward me and wrapping me in his arms.

“I’m worried, Kaine.” My voice came out in a crack. “What if something is seriously wrong with him? I couldn’t handle it if anything bad—”

“Shh…” he cut me off before I completed the words, pressing a kiss to my hair and stroking my back. “Let’s not begin to thinklike that, Lyra. Everything is going to be fine, and whatever it is, we’re going to get through it. Together.”

I remained in his embrace, trying to bask in the comfort he was offering. As soon as I began to feel some level of calm seep in, a knock echoed from the front door.

I looked as Kaine pulled out of my arms. “I sent for Salome,” he explained.

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