Page 15 of The Alpha's Mates

She gave a haughty sniff. “Don’t put it down until you try it.”

I chuckled. “Alright. I’ll give it a try.”

She nibbled her full bottom lip as though she was trying to gather the courage to ask a question. This was the softest I’d seen her. She’d fought like a ferocious beast to protect her pack of females. At the time it irritated me. Now I was impressed by her. It couldn’t have been easy for her to keep everyone safe. All the responsibility fell to her and she looked so young. I knew from talking with her family that she was nineteen. They refused to tell me what happened, but claimed she was dead. They scoffed at the rumors of a pack of female shifters living on their own. Men like that would never believe women could be resilient enough to survive by themselves.

“Could I see your village before I go?”

“Yes.” I didn’t need to check with Soren. We’d do anything to keep her from leaving. After seeing where she grew up, I knew our home was going to leave her shell-shocked.

“I know first-hand what it’s like to walk into this village after being on your own for so long.”

She gave me a curious look, but didn’t comment. Only my cadre mates knew my story—and likely they’d told their parents—but this was my mate. If it would help her connect to me I didn’t mind sharing. “When I was a kid, my parents took me and left our pack before they destroyed themselves. They tried to talk sense into our head alphas, but no one would listen.”

“The war?” she asked, face a mask of shame and guilt.

I shook my head. “I’m older than you, Reese. I was seventeen when the war happened.”

I had to fight the urge to run my gaze over her body. She was standing near me voluntarily and I didn’t want to scare her off. Building trust was going to be paramount in getting her to take her place as our mate. It was the only reason we were letting her go.

“We’re seeing the effects of everyone turning away from the Goddess’s teachings, but it started back then. I was ten, and even I knew something was different.”

Her gray eyes were focused on me as she listened. Her scent curled around me, causing my stomach to knot up in lust. I didn’t have the self-control that Atlas did, but I did my best to keep my wolf under control. He was fighting to be let out so he could convince our mate that she belonged to us. None of our wolves were pleased with our decision regarding her. That was why it wasn’t smart to let our animal halves have much control. We let them out long enough to blow off steam while in wolf form, but most of the time, our human halves kept a close hold of the reins.

“We were doing fine, carving out a new life for ourselves, when a roving band of alphas came across our home. Mom told me to hide. At ten, I was a stubborn pup, but the fear in her eyes convinced me to listen.” I swallowed hard, pain flickering through me at the memories. The sounds of their death cries still woke me most nights.

“You were a kid,” Reese said, tone soft. “I know what it’s like to lose family. Only…I wasn’t a child.”

The shame had deepened in her expression. The grief in her eyes told me her pain was still fresh.

“What happened?”

Something flickered there in the gray depths and she averted her gaze. She turned away from me and whatever was building between us broke down. “I need to get some sleep if I’m going to travel tonight.”

I wanted to push. To force her to open up to me. That would do more harm than good, so I left it alone. “I’ll be back to get you in an hour.” Turning, I left the room. Leaving her presence allowed my muscles to loosen, but still I wanted to go right back into that room. To hell with the uncomfortable emotions that were overwhelming me. I just wanted to be near her.

“Letting her go is going to be fucking painful,” I said as I walked back into Soren’s office.

My best friends—the men I considered brothers—both looked up at me with grins. They’d both been sitting, deep in thought. Now their gazes were focused on me.

“That didn’t take long,” Atlas replied with a chuckle.

Frowning, I sat next to him. “I was gone for at least thirty minutes,” I responded, unsure of what he was talking about.

“He means it didn’t take long for you to realize she’s our mate,” Soren said. He raked a hand through his black hair, making it stand up in sharp spikes. It wasn’t the first time he’d run his fingers through it today.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not an idiot. I knew she was ours at the same time you did.”

Atlas’s brows pulled low over his eyes. “Then why were you denying it before?”

“Just wanted to watch you freak out and try to convince me.” I gave him a wicked grin.

It was Atlas’s turn to roll his eyes. “You always have to cause trouble-”

“It’s my job. Soren is the responsible leader. You’re the peacekeeper-” I said, cutting him off.

“And you’re the trouble maker,” Atlas finished. We grinned at each other.

“You’re both pains in my ass,” Soren announced, looking over whatever document he was holding.

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