Page 15 of Broken Alpha

She automatically curls up, her cheek resting against my shoulder as I wrap an arm around her back to keep her close.

“First, I guess I should tell you that I just turned eighteen,” she whispers.

I fucking knew it.I wouldn’t have passed her by so quickly that first day had I known she was my mate. The mating heatdoesn’t kick in until the eighteenth birthday, and I guess that’s true for humans, too. Or, at least this human.Myhuman.

“Happy birthday,” I murmur.

“My gift to myself was running away from home. I couldn’t stay there any longer. It was always the plan to leave as soon as I was eighteen, but then my dad…”

Phoenix trembles in my arms, and I hold her close, silently encouraging her to continue.

"I have trouble even saying it out loud," she admits softly. "I still can't believe it. I mean, I guess I can, but…" Phoenix sighs and then sits up a little more in my lap, looking me in the eye. "My dad was a gambler. He spent every paycheck at the slot machines, picking his favorite horse at the races, or betting on sports he knows nothing about. I spent as much time babysitting and walking dogs as I could to try to keep the bills paid and the power on in our trailer. It was exhausting."

“I’m so sorry you grew up like that,” I tell her, keeping my anger to a minimum. That’s not what she needs to see from me right now. I vow to be nothing like her old man. I’ll provide for my family every damn day and make sure they always have plenty to eat, a place to sleep, and a safe space to come home to. Anything less is unacceptable.

“I thought he was getting better,” Phoenix continues. “At least, he started having some cash flow again so rent was being paid. I should have known something was up, but I was so thankful to not be responsible for everything, I just chose to live in blissful ignorance, I guess. Until it came time to settle the debt.”

I brace myself for what she’s going to say next. I already know I’m going to hate it.

“My father… he sold me,” she finally whispers.

I blink a few times, not sure I heard her correctly.

“Sold you? As in…?” I can’t even finish the thought without seeing red.

“I was apparently promised to one of hisbusiness colleagues,Frank, in exchange for buying my father out of his debts.”

“Promised to…?” I still can’t quite wrap my mind around what she’s saying. Surely, she doesn't mean her father…

“I was supposed to marry Frank on my eighteenth birthday. I think my father was planning on surprising me with a wedding on my birthday, but I overheard him talking to Frank one night, and I knew I had to leave. I didn’t know where I was going or how I was going to survive, only that I couldn’t stay there anymore.”

I grit my teeth and take steady, measured breaths through my nostrils. What I really want to do is shift into my wolf and run all the fucking way to Kansas so I can rip her father’s throat out, but my mate needs to see a gentler side of me right now. A protective side, yes, but not a deranged one. I’ll have to save that for later.

“Phoenix,” I whisper, resting my forehead on hers. “I’m so sorry you went through that. I can’t imagine a parent choosing money or gambling over their own child.” She shrugs, but I know my words hit deep. “Thank you for telling me. For trusting me. You know I’ll keep you safe, right?”

My mate stiffens in my arms, and I wonder what I said wrong. “That’s exactly why I didn’t want to tell you,” she says. “I knew you’d want to defend me, but you can’t. No one can,” she insists, panic lacing her words.

“I can handle myself and anyone who comes looking for you,” I tell her more sternly this time. I can’t have my mate doubting how well I can protect her. I may still have my demons from my days in the military, and I’ll probably always carry around guilt for the lives I failed to save on that last mission, but this isdifferent. This is my mate. I refuse to let anyone or anything hurt her ever again.

“Frank is a very wealthy man,” Phoenix says. “He has resources and connections and honestly, might be working for the mafia or something. You can’t protect me against that, and you shouldn’t have to.”

Phoenix scrambles out of my lap, and I follow her into a standing position. She tugs at the strands of her bright red hair, looking exasperated and on the verge of hyperventilating. I hold both of my hands out, palms up, for her to take. She stops her frantic breathing and rests her hands in mine, recognizing me as a safe person. Fuck if that doesn’t make me feel like the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

“Look at me, little flame,” I tell her, capturing her pale green eyes. “Remember how you said my eyes glow sometimes?” I let the smallest spark from my wolf shine through, and I know she sees it when her eyebrows fly up to her forehead. “Don’t be afraid. I would never hurt you. Ever. Just hear me out.

“Okay…” she whispers, her voice tentative.

“I’m a wolf shifter. I can shift from my human form to my wolf form whenever I want.”

Phoenix gives me a blank look, and I guess I’m not sure what else I was expecting.

“I can show you,” I rush to say, nearly tearing my shirt off my chest in my eagerness to prove to her I’m not crazy. Granted, probably not the best move, but I have no idea what I’m doing here.

“Um, okay, hold up,” she blurts out, holding her hand in front of her eyes. I see her peeking through her fingers though, so that’s interesting. Maybe she can feel the mating moon after all. It’s coming up tomorrow and my wolf has been hounding me all day.

“My clothes will rip if I shift with them on,” I explain.

“Your clothes will rip if you rip them off,” she says under her breath. I smile, knowing she must still feel somewhat comfortable with me if she can joke.

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