Page 18 of Alpha's Hated Mate

I groan into my pillow in response.

“Saffron?”

I turn my head to her and say, “I heard you. What’s a healer supposed to do? Scarlets have visions. I had a vision. My body is doing what it’s supposed to.”

“But the vision doesn’t sound like the kind you usually have. Aren’t they supposed to . . . predict the future? Plus, the sleepwalking lately? I think something’s wrong, Saffron.”

I don’t want her to worry, but she’s got a point. More than she knows, actually. I sit up, swinging my legs over the side of my bed. “I’ve got something to tell you about the night of the party.”

She freezes, her worried glare intensifies as her brows crease. “Oh, God. What did you do?”

“Hey. Why does it have to be somethingIdid?”

“Well, is it something you did?”

I pause. Goddess, why is she making this harder than it has to be? She leans in and asks, “What happened?”

“I just . . . slept with Aydan Vaultmore.”

Her jaw drops. “You havegotto be kidding me. I thought you hated him?”

“I thought I did, too. I was pretty sure he didn’t care for me, either, but that didn’t stop us from fucking each other.”

She slides down into the chair next to my desk, her hand on her cheek and her eyes wide with shock. “Oh, my God. You know, Nadia’s going to lose her mind if she finds out.”

“I’m not worried about Nadia. I’m more worried about . . .” I stop myself, closing my eyes as I think back to that night. His hands on my skin, his mouth on mine, the sound of his voice in my ear as I imploded in his arms . . .

Yarra tilts her head and says, “Wait a second. I thought Scarlets could only have sex with Neutrals? Does that mean that he’s—?”

“I don’t know. It’s . . . it’s weird. I didn’t think Alphas couldbeNeutrals, but given that he’s walking around with his head still attached . . .” We both go quiet for a minute as I realize I now have to explain the finer points of this whole problem with Aydan.

“And for the record, it’s not that I can’t have sex with non-Neutrals. I just can’t . . . well, we’re not supposed to reach completion, if you know what I mean.”

She blinks, and I watch as the implications run through her mind. “For males, too?”

I nod. “You’d be surprised how many male Scarlets just stay virgins because of that little detail.”

She still looks confused, but she doesn’t press it. So I move on.

“The point is that I’m wondering if being in close proximity to Aydan is . . . messing me up somehow. Like, I’ve been running hot since we slept together. I can smell him so much more clearly now—”

“You think it means that he’s your fated?” she asks in a small voice.

“Please.”

“I’m just saying, I said the same thing about Chad when we first met. Remember? I kept going on about how good he smells?”

I roll my eyes. This isnotthe same thing as them. They were meant to be together. The dynamics were entirely different.“Hecan’tbe my fated,” I explain. “Whatever he is, he’s still an Alpha, and Scarlets don’t become Lunas.Ever. Not in our whole history. It was . . . a fluke. A fluke that might’ve made my whole condition worse somehow.”

“Well, I don’t know, Saffron.” She crosses her arms, her brow furrowing as she thinks it over. “You were sleepwalking before he even got here. Maybe it’s all just coincidence.”

I scoff. “That might fly in the Outer Lands, but not here. Usually, odd things mean something.”

Her frown deepens. “So what are you saying? You want to talk to him about it?”

I think about how easily he subdued me in class. Just a whisper in the right tone in my ear and I melt in his arms. It’s never happened before with anyone. I don’t understand why it happened at all. He may or may not be a Neutral, and the sleepwalking might be totally unrelated, but I am changing, and being around him seems to be making it worse.

“I think,” I say finally, “I sort of have to at some point.”

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