Page 104 of Step Alpha

“Okay.” I tuck her back into her seat and fasten the seatbelt.

“You know what this means.” My wolf is full-on gloating now.

“What?”

“I get to take you to the Homecoming dance.”

“Oh. Um. I don’t know.”

I pull back, laughing. “You don’t know? I don’t get to publicly show you off to the entire fucking school as my mate?”

She blushes.

“Hmm?”

“Well…okay.” Her smile is warm enough to light the night sky. “That does sound nice.”

My wolf spikes the ball in a touchdown celebration.

Suddenly, everything in my life feels right. All the broken parts, the missing pieces, the dissociations are gone. Everything has aligned. The pieces fit together–not in the old configuration but in something beautiful and new.

I search my phone map for the closest, fanciest hotel and drive Rayne there. I have the cash Greg paid me from working at the auto shop, and I’m happy to blow the entire wad on making tonight perfect for Rayne.

Tonight, I will make her mine.

* * *

Rayne

Wilde checks us into a luxury hotel in downtown Phoenix and draws me a bath while he orders room service.

“They think I’m having a party up here with the seventeen burgers I just ordered.” He grins.

I smile back. The giddiness that’s taken over me is completely foreign. I’m trembly and light.

Wilde called my mom on the way to the hotel to let her know I was safe but he had to claim his mate, and we wouldn’t be back until morning. I heard her laugh-crying as he ended the call.

He strips my clothes off and lifts me into the full bathtub. Using a washcloth, he cleans every inch of me.

The food comes, and he brings it into the bathroom, crouching beside the tub to feed me from his own hand, his watchful gaze never leaving my face.

He strokes my hair back. “I wish I’d seen your wolf. I’ll bet she’s magnificent.”

This time, it doesn’t hurt to hear he’s interested in my wolf. He’s also told me he doesn’t care if I never shift again.

“You’re going back to Duke,” I tell him. I don’t want him to throw away his future to stay here while I finish high school. It doesn’t make sense.

He hesitates. “I’ll finish football season. Then I’m transferring to ASU. That’s where you’re going, right?”

I melt a little more. “Yes.” I finish the last burger and stand from the tub. “That sounds like a good plan.”

Wilde wraps a towel around me and dries me off. In the bedroom, a champagne bucket stands beside the bed.

“Ooh. Fancy. How did you manage? You’re not even twenty-one.”

“Fake I.D., baby.” He winks and crooks a finger at me. “Come here.” He pours the champagne and hands me one glass, wrapping an arm behind my back. “I love you, Rayne Lansing.” He tugs the towel wrapped under my armpits open and kisses between my breasts. “I love how small you are.”

I brace for it, but his mention of my size doesn’t hurt. I feel only love from him and for him. I sense his adoration of my body. I do believe that he finds me perfect, just as I am.

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