Page 81 of Tempted By the Alpha Outlaw

His smile softens, his thumb brushing over my knuckles in that way that makes me melt. “Me too,” he murmurs, and the way he says it makes me believe it’s true.

As the pack begins to drift out of the community center, Lucy bounces back over, her arms clutching a battered, well-loved book to her chest. “Colt,” she says, her tone expectant, “it’s time to read now!”

He chuckles, standing and ruffling her hair again. “Alright, little one. Lead the way.”

Lucy grabs his hand, her tiny fingers wrapping around his much larger ones, and my heart clenches at the sight. Colt glances back at me as she pulls him toward the couches, grinning.

A promise: I’ll make sure you have this too. Just ask.

I watch them go, my chest full to bursting with a warmth I can’t contain. My mate. My fated mate.

And maybe, if I’m lucky, the father of my children one day, too.

28

COLT

Ihave to tell her tonight.

Magnolia’s hand is warm in mine as we slip out of the dining hall, stepping into the cool night air. The hum of conversation lingers behind us, the sounds of pack life carrying on, but I barely notice. My world narrows to her—the way she moves beside me, the way her fingers stay laced with mine, like she doesn’t want to let go.

I don’t either.

“That was…a lot,” Magnolia says, breaking the easy silence between us.

I huff a quiet laugh, tilting my head toward her. “Peaches acting like we just announced our engagement?”

Magnolia groans. “She almost cried, Colt. Twice.”

“She’s emotionally invested. Can’t blame her.”

Magnolia shakes her head, but her lips are twitching, fighting a smile. “Lucy, on the other hand, is very not interested in romance.”

“Oh yeah?”

“She’s decided she’s going to be a knight.”

I raise a brow. “A knight, huh?”

“Oh, she’s serious about it,” Magnolia says, her voice full of amusement. “She spent all of dinner lecturing Dad about why the den needs a round table and why she should be allowed to carry a sword.”

I grin. “What’d your dad say?”

“That she can have a wooden sword and a chair at the kitchen table, but that’s as far as he’s willing to go.”

I huff a laugh, already picturing the tiny ball of determination that is Lucy Jones, gearing up for battle. “And what’s she defending the den against?”

“Dragons.”

“Of course.”

“She’s obsessed,” Magnolia continues. “She keeps asking Mom to braid her hair like a ‘warrior maiden’ and told me I need a ‘proper lady gown’ so I can be rescued from a tower.”

I smirk. “And you told her?”

“That if anyone’s getting rescued around here, it’s you.”

A chuckle rumbles in my chest, warm and easy. “You’re not wrong.”

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