I climb up on the fence and sit there, watching as the last dregs of light turn the sky orange and then disappear. The alpha doesn’t say anything; he just leans against the fence close enough for me to feel his body heat and watches the light go. And for one wild moment, I could see us doing this every day for the rest of my life.
And then I remember that he’s here to ruin everything I’ve worked towards.
Chapter 7
Cordelia
Sunshine Cove at night is a very beautiful place. The sky gets inky, and the stars appear in their millions to light up the world. We’re far enough away from the cities that the night sky is never dimmed. The lights from the town sheds only a faint glow, outlining the few streets we do have.
But the world seems both so much bigger and smaller, like we’re enclosed in this blanket of dark safety. Maybe it’s why I spend so much time awake at night. Maybe that’s why my muse is triggered when the world gets dark.
Maybe it’s because it’s the only time I allow myself to pretend I even have a chance with him.
“Do you want to come inside?” I ask stiffly, refusing to look at Fox.
“Yes, I would.”
I quickly put Gale away and fill his water and feed for the night before tucking him inside out of the wind.
“Gale is a big baby; he’s always been like this. He doesn’t like getting his hooves muddy or the cold. The heat is offensive to him. But he’s got the biggest, best heart.”
“Why was he stopping you from going with Gwen?”
I jolt, remembering he saw that, squirming because I really don’t want to explain that.
Resignation makes my chest feel heavy. I bite my lip, but I guess I should explain, I mean, he did get to see that whole embarrassing episode. It’s not as if I can look any worse in his eyes.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Silly, really. I almost drowned three years ago. I’m not a strong swimmer. Of course, I can. I live in a seaside town; I just prefer to walk. Sebastian got me out, gave me CPR, and I was okay. But, uh, Gale can sense when I start getting upset, and the thought of being near the pool freaks me out.”
Sebastian’s frantic molten stare hits me again, rising from my memory. He held me until the ambulance arrived. He came with me, and he stayed with me. I remember waking up to him lying beside me in the bed, and that’s when I saw him look at me with soft eyes, like I was important, like I was someone he was never going to lose.
I thought everything had changed, but when I got home, it all went back to how it was.
I’m so turned around in that memory of fear and loss that I miss Fox moving until it’s too late.
Fox does the unthinkable.
He hugs me.
“I am so sorry that happened to you, Cordelia. It must have been so frightening and scary. You are incredibly brave to keep going back, and I am going to get Gale a bag of carrots for being the most amazing horse in the world.”
He doesn’t let go, and I’m too shocked to even try to get away. Except, a flare of yearning and want hits me, and I realise I don’t want him to ever let me go. I slide my arms up and hug him back, burying my face in his clothes and the scent of him.
Not many people hug me. It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s just I don’t look approachable. Or so Asher told me one day when I asked her.
But this alpha, he doesn’t just hug, he envelopes, he pulls you into his arms, his chest, until I don’t know where I end and he begins. I’m lost in his scent, stunned by the warmth and strength of the muscles holding me close. I feel safe and small and cared for. If only it would never end.
“I would not have you be so sad again,” he murmurs.
“Shall we go in?” I ask in a stutter.
He humphs and sets me down, but he doesn’t relinquish my hand; he just holds me tight and lets me lead him in through the back door.
“Mum?” I shout.
There’s no answer.
She must be with her boyfriend, an alpha by the name of Randall. They have a long time on-again, off-again relationship that is messy and chaotic and suits them both.
