Page 16 of The Alpha King’s Rejected Mate

“It is.”

“Do you want to get in the water with me?”

I wanted to say yes. Something inside me felt like this was the moment I’d been waiting for. Why couldn’t I move forward and get in with her, see what happened next? If it was anything like my dreams, I knew it was going to be fantastic.

But I was too in my own head to do it. Too many questions of what if, what was to be, what were we to each other? So instead of taking a chance, I walked away. It felt like I was making the biggest mistake of my life, but even then, I couldn’t turn back around and do what I wanted to do so badly I could taste it. I didn’t understand why this was happening, why I couldn’t push through it and why it was messing with my head so damn much. I needed Snow, was dying for her, but something was holding me back.

* * *

I wentto bed that night hating myself for so many things, but mainly for not spending more time with Snow. I honestly didn’t know what I was thinking. I had probably ruined the best opportunity I would ever have with her. I deserved whatever bad thing came next, I fully believed of that.

I woke up in the middle of the night and could have sworn I heard Snow calling out. My dreams were full of eagles circling overhead, dark shadows I couldn’t see clearly. Something bad was about to happen, and it was a feeling I couldn’t shake. The eagles were my sign, and if I didn’t listen, whatever it was that was supposed to happen would be worse.

That was why I left the house. I didn’t even know where I was going, but I knew I needed to get to Snow. Something had happened to her, and I needed to make sure she was alright.

I got to the bunkhouse and heard her yelling. I walked into her bedroom and knew she wasn’t in any real, corporeal danger. She was dreaming, and by the sound of it, it was pretty horrific. I could hear the distress in her voice and it killed me. Her whimpers were so sad, I didn’t think I’d ever get that sound out of my mind. I wished I could take this dream and these thoughts from her and make her feel better.

“Snow, it is alright. Whatever you are dreaming about, it isn’t real,” I consoled her, and touched her arm gently, hoping the sound of my voice and touch of my hand would be enough to pull her from her dark thoughts.

Snow startled awake and smiled sheepishly when she saw me there next to her bed. “What are you doing here? Are you here to save me again?”

I nodded. “I’m here for anything you need.”

“Will you kiss me again?” Snow asked.

I couldn’t believe she would ask me for something like that, but I didn’t want to give her a chance to change her mind. I leaned down and pressed my lips softly against hers. She came alive and kissed me passionately. It brought back the last time we kissed and how it felt to have her in my arms.

I kissed her harder and deeper, and it felt impossible to disentangle myself from her. I finally got ahold of myself when I heard that soft sound of submission that was quickly going to make me do something that I knew I shouldn’t. Snow was half asleep, and I didn’t want her to look back and think I’d taken advantage of her, so I pulled away, even though it was possibly one of the hardest things I had ever done. I wanted her so badly it hurt, but I wanted her in the right way. This did not feel like the right way.

“Do you feel better?” I asked

Snow nodded. “Yeah, I’m feeling much better.”

“Good. Try to get some sleep.”

“Are you really leaving?”

“I am.” When I said that, her eyes filled with tears. That grabbed at my heart in a way that was practically painful.

“You need to get some sleep, Snow. We’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow,” I reminded her reluctantly.

“Stay here with me? Please?” She looked so hopeful, her eyes all big and wide. Too damn innocent.

What was it about men and innocence? We wanted it, even though the only thing we knew to do with it was crush it. As much as I wanted to believe that I was wrong, I knew it was true. I wanted to do that very thing to her so badly I could taste it.

“Okay, Snow, I’ll stay.” I couldn’t refuse her. I just wanted to help her feel better.

As soon as she started to pull me into the bed, I knew I was in trouble. I hadn’t lay beside her since she first came to ranch and had problems settling in. She used to have really bad nightmares then, but after a while, they lessened, and I thought she had turned a corner.

“What do you think is making your nightmares come back?” I asked Snow once I was settled behind her.

“Not sure what’s been triggering them.”

“Can you describe what you see?”

“Eyes. They stare into me and I can’t look away,” she said, and trembled in my arms.

I wanted to figure it all out for her, but I had no idea how to go about getting her the answers she needed.

---