“No,” I reply. “I hoped that I’d just run missions between the packs and it wouldn’t be too different from the army days, but I never thought Rex would make me an alpha.”
“Do you know why he did?” she asks. “He would know the strengths and weaknesses of all of you. Surely, he had a good reason for this, and the creation of the Riverside pack is a delicate job.”
I sigh, shaking my head. “I think he wanted me to have a home. A family. He knows all our secrets, it’s true, and I think he was trying to do me a favor by giving me a place to belong. It feels completely wrong, to me, though. Almost like a trap. And there’s no way out, because I’ll never let Rex down.”
“Wow,” she says, her eyes shimmering. “I had no idea.”
Please don’t cry. I’m not worth it.
“Well, at least I wasn’t chosen to lead out of a lottery,” I say, trying to change the subject. “That must really suck.”
“Yeah,” she chuckles. “I’m pretty out of place here myself. I never thought I’d end up as a luna.”
“Well, that’s where you are now,” I say, sitting up and squeezing her hand. “Maybe you should embrace it.”
“I’m trying,” she says. “But it’s hard to trust. I really have been an outcast my whole life. I truly didn’t have a single friend until I met Alisha.”
“Really?” I ask, curious about her magic, but deciding to stay away from the subject. “You never had… someone special?”
“Oh!” she says, grinning. “You mean, did I ever have a serious relationship? No. Once or twice, I thought I fell in love, but it really wasn’t.”
Even though she’s smiling, I can see something raw in her expression, and it activates my protective urges.
“Did someone hurt you?” I ask carefully.
She goes to make a flippant remark, but the words get caught in her throat. She looks away, her hand suddenly gripping mine very tightly.
“A lot of people hurt me,” she mutters.
“Never again,” I say.
She keeps her eyes down, and I squeeze her hand. “Hey, look at me,” I say, and she does, her big gray eyes even more beautiful as tears gather under her lashes, sparkling like diamonds.
“No one is ever going to hurt you again,” I say. “I mean it. Not while I’m here.”
“What about you?” she whispers.
At first, her words don’t make sense, and I shake my head a little.
“I mean, willyouhurt me?” she asks, her voice barely audible. The words sink into me, and slowly, I realize what she means.
“I—” I stutter hopelessly, wanting to reassure her, but not knowing what to say. “I’m sorry, Grace, I—”
“It’s okay,” she says, shaking her head as she wipes tears from her cheek. “I know that we are both doing our best.”
I squeeze her hand again, and she squeezes back. We look into each other’s eyes, and something passes between us, a shared emotion I don’t have words for. I rub her hand with my thumb and feel the faint tingle of electricity that happens so often when we touch.
She smiles, and I see her chest rise and fall as her breath speeds up. A faint sheen of sweat appears across her shoulders, and I can feel her blood running hot. The thick, sweet scent floods my nostrils, intoxicating me.
Is she turned on?
A combination of exhaustion, emotional exposure, and beer has affected my judgment, and suddenly, all I can think about is touching her.
It’s been a while for me. Physical encounters always leave me so empty… but Grace is my wife.
The arousal I’ve been trying to suppress ignites inside me, and suddenly my eyes are devouring her—the long, lithe lines of her body; the firm, high breasts and lush red lips. I’m mesmerized as she leans in closer to me, smiling as she links her fingers through mine.
Slowly, as if I might startle her, I brush her hair back from her cheek. She leans into my hand and bats her lashes at me, her eyes deep and serious beneath them, but with a hint of mischief in her smile.
