Page 29 of Tempted By the Alpha Outlaw

With a frustrated growl, I shove the tools aside and lean against the workbench, gripping the edge so hard my knuckles turn white. My wolf is restless, agitated, clawing at me to do something, anything. But what? Run? Stay? Tell Magnolia the truth? Lie to her and everyone else until I’ve gotten what I came for?

None of it feels right. None of it feels like enough.

And if I don’t figure it out soon, it’s all going to come crashing down.

11

MAGNOLIA

My body is still thrumming with electricity as I step through the front door, hoping–despite my better judgment–that I can go straight to bed without any issue. The familiar scent of home surrounds me: cinnamon from my mom’s tea, smoke from a crackling fire. Normally, it would comfort me.

Tonight, it’s suffocating.

Colt…he’s making me question everything I thought I knew. This whole time, I’ve truly believed I was too busy for a relationship, for boys. Even when other women in the pack indulged in the thrill of the full moon, even as I’ve watched other people my age pair up, I’ve held back. When I watched my friend Charlotte marry her mate, I fully believed I would never have that.

It was all a fantasy.

And now Colt is here, and he’s sent my whole world spinning in a different direction.

I shut the door behind me, leaning against it for a moment as I gather myself, my hands over my heart. Even that slight touch sends me reeling, wishing those were Colt’s hands on me, wishing I’d been bold enough to ask him not to take me home.

To take me back to the workshop…do whatever he had planned.

“Well, well–look who finally made it home.”

My eyes snap open and I find my mother standing in the kitchen doorway, her arms crossed and her dark eyes narrowed in a way that tells me she is not happy. My dad is at the table behind her, looking over an ancient pair of reading glasses and ignoring his book. He looks back down at it when my mom glares over her shoulder at him, pretending he wasn’t paying attention to the oncoming storm.

“Hi,” I say, trying to keep my voice level even as my heart continues to race. My skin is so hot that it’s almost unbearable; I want nothing more than to go to my room, throw on something more breathable, and sleep over the covers all night.

Mom says nothing. Dad clears his throat, eyes darting between the two of us. “Thought you’d be home earlier,” he says. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah,” I say, forcing a smile. I’m frozen by the door, unable to walk past my mother to the stairs. “Story night ran a little late.”

Mom snorts, shaking her head. “Story night, huh?” she says. “And you didn’t do anything afterward?”

Heat crawls up my neck–more angry now than the leftovers of desire from Colt’s touch. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She raises an eyebrow. “You think I didn’t see him walking you home? You think the whole pack didn’t see?”

“Mom,” I start, but she holds up a hand.

“Don’t ‘Mom’ me, Magnolia,” she says. “I’ve seen his type before. Charming, rough around the edges…but he’s an alpha, starshine. And you’re an omega. Do you have any idea what kind of danger that puts you in?”

“I’m aware,” I interrupt. “Please…I just want to go to bed.”

“Oh, did taking a long walk with Colt wear you out?”

“Mom!”

“Sarita,” Dad interjects. “Just let her go to bed. We can talk about it in the morning if you still want to.”

Mom spins around to glare at him, her jaw tight. “Bruce, you know as well as I do why this matters. You know what can happen when someone like him gets too close.”

Dad’s expression softens, but there’s a flicker of something guarded in his eyes. “That’s not fair,” he says quietly. “Colt hasn’t done anything to deserve that kind of judgment.”

“Not yet,” Mom mutters. She turns back to me. “You don’t understand, Maggie,” she says, her voice pleading. “There are things…things I haven’t told you. Things you don’t need to know.”

My heart thuds in my chest, an uneasy twist settling in my stomach. “What are you talking about?” I ask. “What things?”

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