Kiss Of The Alpha : A YA Paranormal Romance

Chapter 102: Chapter 102

Heather

Brent’s laughter echoed through the woods. He was hiccupping he was laughing so hard.

Dude better watch himself. I had some nasty teeth in this form.

His laughter died. I heard the sound of the plastic bin opening and something being unzipped. "You’re not stuck," he said. "Just picture yourself in human form, and you’ll change."

Oh crap. Could he hear what I was thinking now?

"Yeah."

Not cool.

"Come on. It’s kind of cool."

Stalker. Creepo.

"I’m not a creepo. I’m your mate. It’s like the visions though. You can block it whenever you want. You’re just shouting your thoughts really loudly right now."

He squatted beside me, now wearing a pair of gray sweatpants, and took my face in his hands. "Do it, Heather. Picture yourself on two feet and you will be." He ran his hands through the fur along my sides and I pretty much started purring. "You pulled so much power, you’ve got to be starving. We could’ve hunted and stayed to play as wolves, but you didn’t want any of the rabbits."

I growled. I was really hungry, but biting into a bloody, furry bunny didn’t sound the least bit appealing.

"Right. Let’s not forget where the meat you eat comes from."

He had a point, but I didn’t want to kill it myself. And bunnies were too cute to eat.

He patted my side. "Come on. I’ll give you some space." He put a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt on the ground beside me. "Do what I said. Don’t freak out. Don’t pick it apart. Do it." He walked away to give me privacy.

Fine. I was going to do it.

I closed my eyes and pictured my hands. Five fingers. My arms. My legs. My feet. And suddenly I was me again.

It went so fast, it didn’t even hurt. I patted my body to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. No more fur. No more paws. Two arms, two legs. No tail. I really was me again.

"Thank God." I relaxed against the ground.

"Are you dressed?"

"No!" No, I wasn’t. "No peeking!"

I pulled on the T-shirt and sweatpants. They were way too big. I was smaller than everyone at the school by at least half a foot. Even the girls. I rolled up the bottoms of the pants and tightened the drawstring.

Before I could do anything, Brent pressed me against the tree. "I’m so proud of you."

"I didn’t do it by myself."

"No. But you did it. And I’m glad you changed."

"Eh. It wasn’t so bad."

His answering grin made my legs weak. His dimples appeared, like magic, showing me how happy he was. He leaned in, brushing my lips softly with his before pulling away. "Je t’aime, cherie," he said before kissing me deeply.

We slid to the ground. I couldn’t take my eyes from him as I tried to catch my breath. I licked my lips and stared at him.

God. He was way too hot. His abs. His long, muscular legs. His arms. Holy shit, his arms.

I was addicted to him. Totally and completely.

It occurred to me that he took great care of me, minus the whole biting thing, but what did I do for him? He balanced me. Brought me back whenever I was losing control.

He was fun. He made me laugh and relax. He didn’t take anything too seriously, except for the Cazadores and the pack. And me.

Brent sat up on his elbows. "What is it?"

I raised an eyebrow in question.

"You blocked me when you changed forms, so I can’t read you. But I can still feel your emotions and you’re full of doubts. What are you thinking?"

"Don’t make me say it. Just let me have a little privacy." Man, he always wanted to talk about it. I could already tell he wasn’t going to let this one go.

"No way. Not when you’re feeling like that." He pulled me closer. "That’s why I like the walls down. So you don’t hide things from me."

My cheeks were on fire. "It’s nothing." I hopped up, but he snatched my foot and I fell to the ground a few feet from him.

I screeched—a very uncool sound—and tried to stop myself as he dragged me back to him. It was a lost cause, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to win anyhow.

When I was close, he pounced on me, pinning me to the ground. "You sure you don’t want to tell me?"

I nodded.

His eyes flashed amber and he dug his fingers into my side, tickling me. I started convulsing with laughter.

He stopped. "And now?"

"No way. I’m not—"

I was laughing again. Gasping for air. I threw my weight around, trying to get out from under him, but I was fully pinned. There would be no breaking free.

"Now?"

"No way."

He found the right spot, along my second rib. I don’t know why it was so damned ticklish there, but I couldn’t breathe I was laughing so hard. Tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Uncle. Uncle!" I shouted when I thought I might pee my pants if he didn’t stop.

He sat back on his heels and pulled me to sit. "And?"

It took me a second to catch my breath. "I was just..." Damn it. I wiped my hands down my face, and tried to untangle my hair but it was a lost cause and I had no hair tie.

Crap. This was beyond embarrassing. "I was wondering what our relationship did for you?"

The surprised laugh that came from Brent made me want to crawl in a deep dark hole. "You what?" He yell-laughed.

I mumbled something incoherent and he laughed harder. It echoed through the woods and he fell on his back.

Screw this. I was being serious and he was laughing at me. "You’re an ass." I got up and kicked his side.

Before I could turn to walk away, he snagged my foot again, and pulled me down on him. "You’re everything to me."

I tried to sit back, but he wouldn’t let me.

"Please. Just listen. Don’t think too much about it or worry or pick it apart like I know you do."

"I don’t do that." It was a total lie.

He brushed the hair back from my face as I stared down at him. "Yes, you do. I can feel your worry. I might not know exactly what you’re thinking right now, but I can feel you go into yourself and dissect everything."

Crap. This was only going to get worse when we finished the bond in two freaking days. I blew out a breath. "So why are you with me? Why did you pick me? You’re handsome and kind and thoughtful and giving and patient. And I’m just...I’m me."

He muttered something in French, but I poked him.

"That sure sounds pretty, but I don’t understand a word of it."

"We’ll have to get you speaking French. It’s much easier to romance someone in a love language." He pinched my nose. "You think I was like this with everyone?"

"You were. When I first got here, everyone, especially the girls, thought I’d ruined their perfect Brent."

"I’m not perfect." He sighed. "I think you’ve built this up in your head and you’re not seeing yourself clearly. Or us clearly."

I rested my cheek on his chest. "I think it’s hard because I didn’t know you before. I only know you now."

"Hmm," he said. His chest rumbled under me, and I relaxed.

"I’ve said it before, that I was restless, but I guess no one else saw that. I wasn’t happy. I felt alone, and it put me on edge. Not because I was alone, I had friends, but because I had too much power. I didn’t have to listen to what Michael said. I didn’t have to obey anyone—except maybe Donovan and Sebastian."

He ran his hand lazily up and down my spine as he spoke. It made me want to purr with contentment. "For some, it might’ve been fun, but for me, that meant that I had to watch myself. I had to control my emotions. Everyone is responsible for their own actions, but as werewolves, there’s a bit of comfort knowing that while you’re trying to settle into your wolf, that someone is always above you and can keep you in check or help you when you feel out of control. I didn’t have that safety net."

I sat up to look him in the eyes. "But that’s not anything I can do for you."

"Yes, you can. You don’t realize the strength within you. Now that you’ve shifted, you’ll feel it more."

I rolled my eyes at that bit of nonsense. "I’m not stronger than you."

"I think you might be. Not everyone would handle the change so well. Not just anyone could even survive it. And no one—no one—could’ve done what you did today. You saved her, cherie."

Brent ran his hand up and down my spine, and I wanted to lay there with him forever.

"Everything happened fast with us and it’s been an exceptionally rough couple of days. We haven’t spent enough time talking about what’s going to happen this weekend, and that’s my fault. I’d give you more time, but we need to formally finish the bonding before the Tribunal."

"I know. This thing with Serena was scary, but it also was a distraction. Now I’m going back to being worried about what’s going to happen."

"We’re mates. Two halves. They can’t separate us. I won’t let them." He paused. "You asked me what you do for me. Well, you balance me. I never laughed this much before you came into my life. Sure, you get into crazy situations, but I like being there for you. It makes me happy and keeps things interesting. I like that I can do things for you. Sharing my life with you is like the best Christmas present ever. Don’t doubt what we have."

I squeezed my eyes shut. "You wouldn’t rather be with someone who was a super awesome fighter?"

"Do you want to be a super awesome fighter?"

"No." He knew I didn’t. We’d been practicing, and I was getting decent, but it wasn’t a passion of mine. "I don’t want to get bitten by a vamp again, but I don’t want to be a Cazador."

"I’ve done enough fighting for the both of us, and I’ll continue

do it because I like it. But that doesn’t mean you have to. We might be mates, but we don’t have to do everything the same. That would be boring."

I snorted. "Thanks."

"De rien. Are you feeling better about us now?"

I took a second to listen to his calm, steady heartbeat. "I think so. Yeah."

"In two nights we’re having the ceremony. It’s not a wedding, but it’s as good as one in the pack."

I narrowed my gaze. "Don’t you think you should’ve asked me something first?"