Page 94 of In Control

“We had an argument yesterday.”

There was something buzzing about in Esra’s bond that had my spidey-senses tingling. He may try to keep his feelings on lockdown, but his emotions have always been most clear to me.

I lean my hip against his dresser and fold my arms over my chest. His scent is all tense and so is his bond.

“So, you going to tell me what it was about?”

He suddenly looks sheepish, like a dog who just got caught with a stolen bone.

“Sit down, Gabe,” he says.

And even though he doesn’t bark the command, my legs take me to the edge of the bed and deposit me there. His tone wasn’t authoritarian, but it was serious. My skin turns cold.

“Has something happened to her, Esra?” I say, those omega stupid hormones making my bottom lip threaten to tremble. Goddamn.

“No.” Esra comes to sit on the bed next to me and I realise it’s the closest we’ve been to one another in weeks. And God I’ve missed his touch. You’d think an omega could make do with two. But, no, I’m always aware, aware of the mate who is missing.

He takes my hand in his and I’m reminded of the time Nial O’Hern broke up with me in school.

I snatch my hand away from Esra, bringing it to hover at my throat.

“Are you leaving us, Esra?”

“What?” He stares at me, wounded. “No, I’d never leave our pack. I’d never leave you, Gabe.”

“Then what is it?”

“She isn’t who you think she is.”

“Sophia?” I laugh, suddenly relieved. “She’s exactly who I think she is. Smart, sassy and sexy.”

“She’s using this pack to get to me.”

I rest my hands on his chest. “Alpha, this isn’t the same situation.”

He frowns. “I know you want to believe it’s not, but she has a stalker and–”

“Esra,” I say, this time taking his hand in mine and scooching closer to him on the mattress until our thighs are touching. “Sophia isn’t Andrew. And I’m older and wiser. Nothing bad’s going to happen to me.”

He squeezes my hand back. “Because this time, I won’t fail you. This time I won’t let anything bad happen to you. This woman, she’s–”

“Like hot chocolate sauce on an ice cream, like a cherry on an iced bun, like ketchup on a hot dog.”

“What, Gabe?” he says, looking frustrated.

“She makes everything taste so much better.” I smile at him wickedly. “And Roman will find this stalker and sort things out. It isn’t going to affect us.”

“I don’t want her hurting this pack.”

I rest my palm against his smooth cheek. What I’m about to say will gut him, I know. But it’s about time one of us said it.

“You’re the one hurting this pack, Esra.”

He screws up his eyes. “Gabriel.”

“I know you’re trying to protect us. But sometimes you go about it the wrong way. What happened was horrible,” I shudder, “and I know I went crazy there for a bit. I know I pushed you away. But it wasn’t because I blamed you. It’s not because I thought for one minute you failed me. It was because I was trying to sort out my own feelings. I needed time and space. But I’m OK now, mostly,” I smile, “I was probably never right in the head in the first place.”

“You’re perfect, Gabe. And I’m sorry. I just …” He exhales. “I can’t lose you.”

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