Page 7 of Broken Alpha

“In the beginning, I really was trying to check on her,” I tell him. I see Ryker nod out of the corner of my eye.

“And then you smelled her.”

“Yeah. She must have just turned eighteen tonight because I ran into her this morning and there was no hint that she was meant to be mine.”

Well, besides the fact that I kept thinking of her.

“Well, you certainly made an impression,” he grumbles.

“She was scared before I grabbed her,” I spit at him and he rounds on me.

“Yeah? Do you think that could have been because a strange man was following her home at night?” he asks sarcastically and I roll my eyes.

“I don’t think she saw me following her.”

“Maybe she sensed it.”

“No, she was scared. That’s why I was following her in the first place. She’s afraid of someone, or something. It’s like she’s running from them. I’m going to find out what,” I vow. “I’m going to keep her safe.”

I see Ryker flinch at my words, his eyes going to my shoulder, to where I was shot.

“It wasn’t your fault that I got shot,” I remind him. My best friend looks away from me.

I wait for him to say something, wondering if this is finally the time he’ll hear me and understand that he couldn't have stopped me from being hurt.

He grabs my good shoulder again and I sigh. Guess tonight isn’t that night after all.

“Come on. Let’s get you home,” he says, dragging me away.

My wolf howls and I growl at him, but he continues to pull me along.

“I don’t want to leave her,” I snarl at him.

“If you don’t leave now, she’s going to spot you and then you’ll never stand a chance with her. In case you didn’t notice, your mate is human. She’s not bound by shifter laws or feelings.You might have to date her. You might have to date her for years before she’s truly yours,” he warns me and my stomach drops.

“Years?” I choke and my wolf whines.

“She’shuman,” he stresses and I stop fighting him.

Could he be right? Maybe she won’t be able to feel the mating heat between us. Maybe I will have to win her over and pretend that what I feel for her is like what some human man would feel for her.

I’m not sure I can do that though. Already, she’s the center of my universe. Already, she’s all I think about. Her happiness, her safety, her light green eyes and wild red curls. She’s all I want. How could I pretend I merelylikeher, when what I really feel is straight-upobsession?

“Cliff, Rule, Wells, and Burke are all mated to humans,” I say, trying to latch onto some hope that I can be with my mate now.

“Yeah, but how did they get together with them?” Ryker asks and I pause.

“I don’t know,” I admit.

I never bothered or even thought to ask them about that. I was just happy my friends found their mates.

“I’ll have to call them tomorrow,” I mumble.

Ryker pulls me up the driveway and into my house. It feels wrong to be here without my mate, but I know he probably has a point. I should give her some room.

It’s obvious that I freaked her out tonight, but she was scared before I grabbed her.What was she so frightened of? Who hurt our mate?My wolf starts to pace inside of me. He wants me to go back and ask her, but she doesn’t trust us right now. There’s no way she would tell us. We’ll have to win her over first, then she’ll open up to us. In the meantime, my wolf and I will keep an eye out for any threat. We’ll protect her from everything.

The sun is starting to rise as we both collapse on the couches in my living room. Time got away from me. I didn’t realize how long I had been standing and staring at Phoenix’s windows.

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