I consider commanding him to remove the sheet, just so I can keep looking at him, but I have to admit, I like that he’s shy. It’s sweet.
“I brought you breakfast,” I say, offering him the plate.
Jude looks surprised, his eyes widening. “You…you cooked? For me?”
“Yes.” I smile as he takes the plate. “I’m not a very good cook,” I admit. “But I can make a few things. Eggs, grilled cheese, steaks.”
A drift of surprised happiness filters through our bond, so pure it makes my chest ache.
“I didn’t know alphas cooked.” He picks up his fork, piercing a fluffy piece of egg. “This looks good.” He takes a bite, then pauses. His eyes float closed as he begins to chew. “This is amazing.” He lets out a low hum of pleasure before taking another, bigger bite.
Listening to him eat drives me fucking wild, and it takes everything in me not to push him onto his back and fuck him senseless, but he needs food first.
I watch him clean his plate, his movements still alittle hesitant. “Drink all your juice,” I encourage gently. “You need it.” He does as he’s told, draining the glass in a few long sips. I take the empty dishes from him and set them on the bedside table.
Jude looks a little uncomfortable, his hands twisting together as he watches me carefully. I can feel through our bond that he’s gathering the courage to ask something. His anxiety spikes, a sour, nervous taste in the back of my mind.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, my voice soft. “Talk to me, omega.”
He chews his bottom lip, his gaze dropping to the sheet in his lap. “What…what are you going to do with me?” The question is so quiet I almost miss it.
I frown. “What do you mean? You’re staying here. With me.”
His shoulders hunch. “But…do you…do you regret it? Mating me?”
His question hits me like a slap.
“Regret it?” I repeat, my voice low and rougher than I mean it to be.
I catch his chin, my thumb pressing just enough to make him look at me. Not to hurt. Just to hold him steady. I need his eyes on mine.
The bond between us flutters, warm and bright, reacting to my attention. There’s a soft pulse of happiness from him when I touch him. It hits me square in the chest.
But underneath it, I still feel it.
Doubt.
Thin. Persistent. Like a bruise that hasn’t faded.
It makes something ugly rise in me.
“Omega,” I say, holding his gaze. “I don’t do anything by accident.” I stare deep into his uncertain blue eyes. “Ichoseyou. You’remine.”
Jude’s happiness stirs again at that, and our bond blooms, quick and hopeful. But his doubt doesn’t fully disappear.
Deep lines settle between his brows. “But you can’t know that. We’re…we’re basically strangers. You only wanted me…” He trails off, but he doesn’t have to finish. I already know what he’s trying to say.
He’s thinking that the only reason I want him is because we bonded while he was in heat.
Anger flashes hot in my chest. Not at him. But at the fucker who made him believe he’s only worth wanting for one thing.
I slide my hand from his chin to his throat, cradling the side of his neck. My thumb brushes over the edge of my mating bite. It’s dark and deep, already healing into something permanent.
It looks right on him.
“Alphas always know when they’ve met their mates,” I say, my voice leaving no room for argument. “I knew you belonged to me the second I smelled your sweet honey scent in that alley. It wasn’t a choice, little omega. It was fate. Finding you was the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I will spend the rest of my life making sure you know it.”
Our bond flutters with his happiness, a sweet, warm wave, but I can still feel the doubt underneath. It makes me angry that an omega is so damaged he can’t even trust the words his mate says to him.
