Page 24 of The Alpha's Bounty
The cold air hits my face when I step outside.I pull my jacket tighter and keep walking, my boots crunching on the frosted ground.I don’t look back.If I do, I’ll lose my nerve.
The walk into town feels endless.My thoughts circle with every step, tugging at me like barbed wire.Every tree is a reminder of him walking beside me in the woods.Every gust of wind makes me think of the way he tucked me closer to his side, shielding me from the chill.By the time the bus station comes into view, my chest feels hollow, scraped raw.
Inside, the smell of old coffee and too many bodies hits me.The ticket counter is scratched and faded; the woman behind it chews gum as if she couldn’t care less what happens to the people who pass through.
I hand over the last of my cash, my fingers trembling as I slide the bills across the counter.“One to Columbus,” I say, naming the city where the warrant was filed.
She doesn’t even look at me as she prints the stub.“Bus’ll be here in forty-five.”
Forty-five minutes.Not long enough.Too long.
I take the ticket and sit on a hard plastic chair.My backpack rests at my feet, and I clutch the strap like it can hold me together.
The station is noisy, full of lives that don’t touch mine.A mother wrangles two kids who keep running toward the vending machines.A group of college kids laughs too loudly, their voices echoing.An elderly man snores with his hat tilted over his face, his suitcase tucked protectively under his arm.
I sit still, invisible.That’s what I’ve always been best at.
My eyes drift to the schedule board, where the flicker of destinations catches my attention: Denver.Chicago.Nashville.Places I’ve never been, places I’ll probably never see.It makes me wonder what might’ve happened if fate had given me a different kind of mate.Someone ordinary.Someone human.Would I have sat in a bus station like this anyway, clutching a ticket to nowhere, convincing myself I was doing the right thing?
A lump rises in my throat.
I picture Cyrus finding the note.I see his jaw clench, his eyes darken with hurt.He’ll hate that I left.He’ll come after me because that’s who he is.But he shouldn’t.He should let me go, cut his losses before I drag him down with me.
My heart rebels against the thought.It screams at me that I belong with him, that I was never safer than in his arms, and leaving him isn’t strength, it’s cowardice.
But my head argues louder.Cyrus deserves better than a girl who comes with debts she can’t pay and chains she can’t break.
I rest my chin on my knees, hugging them tight to my chest.The chair is hard against my back, and I’ve never felt smaller.The station clock ticks, each second stretching and snapping like elastic.Every time the door opens, I jerk my head up, half-hoping, half-dreading to see him storm in, furious and unyielding, ready to drag me back where I belong.
But the door only opens for strangers.
So I sit.I wait.And I try to convince myself that I’m doing the right thing, even as my chest aches with every beat of his name.
Cyrus.
The man who saw me when no one else did.Who kissed me like I was worth something and told me I wasn’t a burden.The man I’m proving wrong with every second I sit here.
The bus isn’t here yet, but the loss is already pressing in.Every mile it carries me away from him will be one I can’t undo.
And still, I wait.
Because leaving hurts less than staying and letting him pay the price for me.
At least, that’s what I tell myself.
NINE
Cyrus
The smellof pizza fills the cab of my truck, warm and rich, and my bear practically purrs with approval.It’s ridiculous how happy I feel about something so simple, but I can already picture Mina’s smile when I walk through the door with her favorite pizza.She’ll tease me about spoiling her, and I’ll kiss her until she forgets the words.
It’s strange, this sense of peace.For years, my life has been little more than duty and responsibility.Patrols.Court orders.Endless meetings with the other Alphas.But now… now there’s her.
My mate.
Every time I think the word, something inside me settles.My bear sighs, satisfied and proud, stretching in lazy contentment.He’s never been quiet before, but since marking her, he’s calmer.Grounded.Ours,he rumbles, pleased.Safe.Home.
I can’t stop smiling as I turn down the familiar road.The sun is low in the sky, painting the trees gold, and for the first time in years, I’m not restless.I feel… full.I think about the way Mina looked this morning, hair tangled from my hands, cheeks flushed, eyes soft when she curled against me.How she whispered my name like it was a prayer and trembled when I kissed her.
