Page 76 of Alpha-Ex Wedding Ruse
His grin widened. “I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”
He turned his back, and only then did I exhale a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding.
“Relax, Leila. I didn’t even know you were in Manhattan. I usually come here once in a while to…clear my head.”
He still came here?
Luca trudged toward where I was sitting, and without so much as a word, dropped to sit and reached into the bag for a chip.
“Hey! Get away from my food!”
I moved back to my seat, beside him, snatching the bag away.
Luca chuckled. “Come on, Leila. I’ve always known you to love sharing.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve changed. Go get your own. Besides, you could buy the entire Popeyes franchise if you wanted.”
He laughed, light and easy. And somehow, I found myself laughing too.
The sound surprised me—us, even. I quickly caught myself, and stopped laughing. I couldn’t let my guard down around him.
I slid the bag back between us, almost without thinking, and after a quick, appreciative glance, Luca dipped his hand in for another chip.
We ate in a quiet kind of comfort, eyes on the city. But inside, there was nothing quiet about the way I felt.
His scent surrounded me, familiar and maddening. My wolf whimpered, restless, clinging to the nearness of our Mate. But I couldn’t afford to fall into that trap again. Not with everything he still didn’t and shouldn’t know. Not with his wedding weeks away. There was too much at stake this time.
“So, what are you doing in Manhattan?” Luca’s voice broke the silence as he reached for another chip.
“I came by my father’s house,” I said, keeping it simple at first. But something loosened in me, and before I could stop it, I was saying more than I planned to. “My father’s realtor called to say the rent’s overdue. Said I either come pack up or they’ll box everything and send it to lost and found. So…I came to clear out the house.”
“I was sorry to hear about your father,” he said quietly.
I turned to him with a small smile. “Thank you.”
I stared ahead at the sky. It wasn’t a starry night. But my eyes counted and traced the stars as the wind stirred gently around us, tugging at a loose strand of hair across my cheek. From up here, the city felt far away, everything felt distant. There was something steadying about it, something that made it easier to breathe. Easier to talk.
“I wish I could keep the house,” I murmured, almost to myself.
My gaze drifted past the edge of the rooftop. “It’s old. Falling apart. No one’s lived in it for over a year. Keeping it would mean repairs, rent, and other costs I probably shouldn’t be worrying about right now.” I shook my head lightly. “It’s not practical.”
I gave a quiet chuckle, tucking the loose strand of hair behind my ear. “I don’t expect you to understand.”
Silence settled in.
Luca didn’t speak right away. When he finally did, his voice was quiet. “You’re wrong. I know what it’s like to want to hold on to something…even when you think you shouldn’t.”
I looked at him. I could sense it—the Fated Mate bond—like a thread stitching itself back together, tighter. Every time he was near, every moment we spent together, the bond grew stronger. And it terrified me.
His eyes were still fixed on the city below, but they’d dimmed, clouded with something I couldn’t quite name.
“I get it. Some things…they carry too much emotional weight to throw away. Even if we don’t need them anymore. Even if keeping them doesn’t make sense.”
He was quiet for a moment, his fingers brushing the edge of the chip bag, like he was considering whether to keep talking. After a moment, he continued.
“I still have this silver locket my mother gave me on my ninth birthday. I had my first shift that same day. I was terrified…in pain. It felt like every single bone in my body had shattered. But my father didn’t care. He was only concerned about the kind of wolf I’d become. That’s all he saw. Not the boy who was hurting. Not the fact that it was my birthday.” He paused, his jaw tightening. “That night, my mother came into my room and gave me the locket. She said she’d been saving it for my first shift, and since it came early, she gave it to me then. Said it would help me feel less alone during the change. Honestly…I think it was more psychological than anything. It didn’t stop the pain. But every time I shifted, I held onto it. And when I did, I always felt her with me.”
He exhaled. “The locket doesn’t work anymore, the compass part broke a long time ago, but I’ve still kept it.”
