Page 11 of The Alpha's Silent Mate

I nod.

“Then we’ll spend the day at the lake. I’ll have Ana pack us a picnic and a blanket. We’ll swim, eat too much food, and nap for a couple of hours.”

It sounds perfect. But then I remember.

My anxiety returns because we won’t be here in the courtyard. We won’t be in the heart of the pack. It could be dangerous.

As if he can feel my unease, he crosses over to me and kisses my brow. “It’s not far from here, and you’ll be safe.”

Because the question is so important, I slip out of his grasp and pick up my pad from the bed. It’s rare that I need to use it when I’m with Shay. He always seems to know what I want to say, or what I need.

I scrawl my question and hand the pad to him, watching as he reads it. After a couple of seconds, he lifts his head and tosses the pad on the bed before he closes his arms around me. “How do I know you’ll be safe?”

I nod.

“Because I’ll be with you,” he murmurs. “And with me, you will always be safe.”

There’s no room for doubt in his voice, just utter belief that what he says is true. He says it in a way that makes it impossible for me not to believe him, so I step into his body and wrap my arms around his hips.

Lowering his face to my hair, he squeezes me just a little tighter.

But first, we have to get through this gathering.

A second later, he sighs. “But first, this gathering.”

I release him so I can finish dressing—only instead of letting me go, he spins me in a small circle.

I grin up at him.

“First dance is mine,” he murmurs.

Even if I was still the girl who spoke, I wouldn’t remind him that the gathering was in the hall and not my bedroom. Or that there’s no music. I wouldn’t mention that his beta is waiting for him in his room, and that he has to finish getting ready, or that I’m still wearing a silk robe over my slip and bare feet.

I would rest my head against his shoulder and let him dance me across my room, and hope this moment never ended.

Just like now.

4

Idip my toes at the very edge of the lake.

Cold.

But that’s not a bad thing on a hot day.

“He’s on his way,” Ewan murmurs from behind me, though he needn’t have bothered. The howl that rang out moments before let both of us know Shay was coming.

After he gets here from the dispute that meant he sent me and Ewan ahead with the basket of food and blanket that Ana packed for us, we’ll swim first.

Which means I’ll have to strip out of my white knee-length cotton dress, and he will watch me do it.

Anxiety flutters in my belly, enough that I rise from where I’m sitting near the water’s edge and turn to Ewan, who stands a few feet away.

As usual, Shay’s beta stands with his arms crossed, a frown of concentration creasing his brow, and his eyes always watchful, never still.

At my attention, his gaze settles on my face. “Lexa?”

I pull my pad and pen from the small pouch around my neck and scrawl a message that I show him.

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