Page 34 of The Alpha's Silent Mate

“Lexa, baby. You have to stop.” A thread of desperation creeps into his voice. “Pup?”

He never speaks to me here. And if he did, he wouldn’t call me pup. Because Shay only ever calls me that when I’m—

My eyes snap open and connect with Shay’s heated gaze as he lays over me, resting his weight on one elbow.

Moonlight streams in through all the windows, and that’s when I know, that’s when it hits me that this was a dream. Another one.

About a second later, I realize where I have my hand.

I yank my hand free as my cheeks burn hotter than they have in my entire life. And when the scent of my arousal fills my nose, I close my eyes because the embarrassment—the shame is too much.

“While I’m relieved it’s not another nightmare,” Shay murmurs in the same husky, need-filled voice. “I’m curious about what you were dreaming about.”

I squeeze my eyes tighter and turn my face away. “Nothing.”

“Lexa…”

Since it’s as impossible to talk about this as it is to look at Shay, I edge to the side of the bed and hope I can find some dark corner where I can hide.

I don’t make it off the mattress because Shay closes his hand around my hip and doesn’t let go. “Lexa. Open your eyes.”

“No.”

“Pup…”

My eyes snap open. “Don’t call me that,” I cry. “It feels wrong when you just—” I stop because it wasn’t him that was touching me. It was me.

All this time, it was me.

His gaze pierces me. “I just, what?”

Swallowing hard, I lower my gaze to his chest. “Nothing.”

He’s silent for so long that I don’t think he’ll speak. “Lexa. I’m going to ask you a question. No matter how embarrassed you are, I need you to answer me. It’s a yes or no question. Can you do that?”

Because his tone is so serious, I lift my head and nod.

“Good,” he murmurs. “Now. These dreams…”

A searing blush prickles my cheeks and I start to look away again, but his hand on my chin turns my face right back to his. “Lexa…”

That’s all he says. Just my name. I let out a slow breath and nod to show him I’m ready for his question.

“In these dreams. Am I there, or is it someone else?”

I blink up at him in confusion. When I see the tension in his jaw, I understand what he’s saying, and what he’s thinking.

Jealous.

Shay thinks I’m dreaming of someone else. And with that one question, the heat of my embarrassment doesn’t burn as hot as it did moments ago.

I lift my hand to touch his jaw. He stills, as he always does when I do. “That wasn’t a yes or no question,” I say with a small smile.

He stares at me without expression, and then he barks out a laugh. “You’ve been hiding a sense of humor from me, haven’t you?”

I shake my head. “Not really. Not like…” My voice trails off. “There were funnier people in my pack.” I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to talk about what happened to my family. “But it’s you,” I say in a quiet voice. “It’s always you in those dreams.”

The tension in his jaw eases. “You can laugh if you want. An alpha jealous of—”

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