Page 208 of Kingdoms of Night

He hadn’t said he would makeusa safe place, only me. Because he was accepting my choice? Or because he was too angry with me to fuck me now?

Angry Alphas were typically terrifying, not reasonable. Yet he’d been all quiet fury, leaving me here without a single roar.

I sat up, my palm on my stomach as my insides rioted again. I did not miss this sensation.

Blowing out a breath, I tried to move up to my feet and swayed a little.I’m good. I’ve got this.I took a step, my toe catching on one of the stones.

A yelp left me as I crashed back into the stream, my palms just barely catching me before I fell headfirst into a damn rock.

“Shit!That fucking hurt!” My knee was definitely bleeding. And my toe ached from stumbling into the stone. I’d been much more graceful on four paws. But I couldn’t shift again right now. I was too exhausted. Too hungry. Tooweak.

Which just pissed me off even more.

I hated feeling weak. That was part of why I despised being an Omega. Part of what I couldn’t stand about myheat. It left me vulnerable and needy, two traits forced upon me by birth.

I’d fought hard not to be either of those things.

Yet here I was, practically crawling to the water’s edge because I couldn’t even seem to stand.

My chin wobbled with the urge to cry, which just infuriated me more. And that led to tears blurring my vision.

I. Hate. Everything.

This whole crisis of self-pity wasn’t me. Everything about this situationwasn’t me.

Or maybe it was.

Maybe it was the verymethat I’d been hiding from for over a decade.

I finally reached the water’s edge and crawled up onto the grassy bank.Get it together, Riley. You’re stronger than this. You’re better than this.

But it was hard to feelstrongandbetterwhen my insides were pulsing withneed.

I should have just let Jonas fuck me, not insulted him and chased him off. Although, if I were being honest with myself,chasing him offhadn’t been my intention at all. I’d wanted to infuriate him so that he would fuck me in anger. Which would have allowed me to hate him later.

However, he hadn’t done that at all.

He’d completely left me instead, something no Alpha would ever have done in my former pack.

Jonas isn’t like those Alphas,I reminded myself.

It was something I’d sort of suspected about him, as he’d always been quiet and observant rather than domineering and authoritative. He had his moments with the latter traits, but those only seemed to come out when he was in protective mode.

Never reallypossessiveor cruel. Just a caring guard.

And I’d just insulted him in a way I’d never think to insult any other Alpha.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

I knew the answer to that. It was more rhetorical than anything. I pressed my forehead to the ground and sighed.

Get up, Riley.

Get up.

Walk back to the cabins.

Apologize.

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