Page 52 of The Strongest Wolf

“You got yourself to an easily defendable place of safety.”

“I rammed the door open with my head.” My voice is tight with my humiliation. “In case you forgot.”

“Sierra, this isn’t what—” A hard knock on the front door cuts him off. He turns to it with a snarl. “What the fuck do you want?”

“We have your cell phone,” Luka calls through the door.

Galen lowers his head back to me. “Leave it. I’ll—”

“Can’t. It’s been ringing like crazy. You need to speak to Dom. It sounds like there’s an emergency back home.”

Galen stares down at me, his eyes brimming with frustration.

I can’t help but feel sorry for him. Here I am pulling at his one hand, and Dom is tugging at his other. That can’t be easy.

When he doesn’t move, I push on his chest. “Go.”

I wish I just meant to get the cell phone from Luka on the other side of the door, but I don’t. And from Galen’s arms tightening around me, he knows I mean more than that.

As if Luka can feel the tension through the door, he doesn’t speak again.

“Galen,” I tell him quietly. “Dom needs you. Your pack needs you. Go.”

He doesn’t move. “And where will you be?”

“Here.”

His gaze probes my face. “You could come with me.”

He doesn’t remind me that it was what we’d always intended, for us to leave the smoking ruins of the Stone pack in Dexter, and go to his pack in Upstate New York. But that was before I had time to process all the things that could go wrong.

That was before I had two weeks of him all to myself and realized what I’d be giving up if his pack decides their alpha can do better than a traumatized submissive wolf for a mate. Now the thought of going anywhere near his pack is enough to make me check I haven’t broken out in hives.

I can almost see it now.

We’re climbing out of Galen’s truck as his pack swarms out of the house, excited smiles on their faces, pleased to have their alpha back again. They’d call out greetings, clap him on the back, fill him in on all the things he’d missed.

And then Galen would wrap his arm around my waist and pull me toward him, smiling down at me. “This is Sierra,” he’d say, “my mate, and the woman who will be your new leader.”

I’d smile. Maybe they’d even return it … until they’d catch a glimmer of the submissive wolf in my eyes and then their smiles would fade.

One of them would lead Galen off to the side and speak in a low hush. “Uh, but she’s a submissive wolf,” they’d say, as if Galen needed a warning he’d chosen the wrong woman. “They can’t lead. Only alphas can.”

That’s when everything would start to go wrong.

Galen would snarl, maybe some of them would snarl back, but they’d eventually back down because he is alpha, and alphas lead. But days would pass, maybe weeks, maybe even months, and the tension would grow until Galen would have to choose. Me or them.

He would have bitten me by then. Maybe we’d even be at the sharing each other's thoughts stage Eden told me about, which means he would choose me.

How could he not?

So either we’d spend the next few years looking for a new place to call home—just like my mom and dad—or we’d come back here and live in this cabin until Galen’s tone turned sharper and colder. I’d know why, of course. He’d realize what a mistake he’d made giving up his life in New York for me. And he’d hate me for it.

Then he’d leave and I would be alone. Probably forever, because who else would love me the way Galen has?

Better he goes without me. This way, he’ll have time to tell his pack about me… and they’ll have time to convince him he can do better.

Is it what I want? No. But would it be less painful than going with him now and watching his pack implode right in front of my face? Damn right it would.

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