Page 69 of The Weakest Wolf

“I don’t think so,” I say, trying to sound meek.

When he places a hand on my shoulder, I startle. “So jumpy,” he breathes, with a smile that tells me he doesn’t mind it one bit. Likes it, even.

I close my eyes. “I’m sorry, I just—”

“Have been manhandled by our previous alpha, it seems.” He skims his fingers over my hips. This time I control my need to jump and lower my gaze to take in the small, fading bruises on my breasts and hips.

Every single one is in the shape of Galen’s fingers and his hands, and they tell me that he did want me, despite what he might have said after.

“It was scary,” I lie.

I loved every minute of it.

Bowen’s fingers drift down, and panic makes my stomach clench. “I heard you scream.”

Just before he can touch me between my legs, I grip his wrist and stop him. “Wait, I don’t—”

“Yes,” he murmurs, drawing my eyes to his smiling face. “I haven’t even kissed you yet. I’m sure a girl like you prefers to be kissed first.”

A girl like me wants to bite his fucking tongue off.

I smile demurely and lower my head. “I don’t know.”

“Do you know how to touch a man?” Bowen asks, filling me with terror. “Would you like me to show you how?”

I could tell him that every time I took Galen’s cock in my hands and stroked, his eyes rolled to the back of his head or he stared at me as if willing me never to stop.

But then I remember all the things Galen said to me. I remember how tight his grip was around my neck and I let the memory go. Or I try to. It lingers, and I worry those thoughts and those feelings will live in my head forever.

“I guess,” I murmur.

“We’ll get to that later, but first, I’d like to know how you were able to hide what you were for so long.”

I split my wolf from my human side is how I did it. If I hadn’t, one look in my eyes and you’d have known what I was.

And this is what makes Bowen so dangerous. His focus. He may want my body, but he’s still thinking, and thinking is what I need him to stop doing.

Vague answers will make him suspicious, so I have to give him enough of the truth that he believes me.

I meet his eyes. “Fear, mostly.” Inching closer, I slide my hand around his shoulder. He stills, but when I do nothing more than play with the ends of his hair, his tension falls away.

His hands settle on my hip, a weight I’m desperate to peel away. “Tell me more.”

“Before my first shift, I saw the way the pack treated those who weren’t dominant. It helped that you all knew what my parents were, so no one would have thought I’d end up being a submissive wolf. I guess that’s how Galen saw it and none of you did, he didn’t look at me and expect to see an alpha or beta.”

He nods. “So you decided then that you wouldn’t let anyone see?”

“Yes. I didn’t want anyone to hurt me, so I hid what I was.” As I talk, I play with the ends of his hair, gentling my touch so when I eventually stop, he won’t find it suspicious.

“Well,” he says with a smile, “I’d say you did an excellent job of it.”

All of my smiles are false. All but the real one that Galen surprised out of me when reminded me of a memory I thought I’d forgotten.

The one I give Bowen is as false as all the rest. “You can achieve a lot with fear and desperation,” I say, perhaps the most truthful I’ve ever been to anyone.

“I’ll bet you can.”

When I stop playing with the ends of his hair, I wait for a few seconds to see if he will notice. “Anyway,” I say, when his expression doesn’t change, “it isn’t very interesting. You’re going to be alpha, I guess?”

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