Alpha by Charlene Hartnady Page B

thought.” Ash grabbed the cue from Jack, sank the last three solid balls
on the table followed by the black and all in less than a minute. Taking the
beer bottle to her lips, she downed its entire contents before slamming the
bottle onto the counter and turned to Gray. “Let’s go.”
    They
exited the pool hall. His bike was parked next to her corvette.
    “I’ll
follow you,” was all she said as she headed around to the driver’s side.
    “Where
are we going?” Gray folded his arms across his massive chest.
    “Back
to Wilderness. Back into the forest and we’ll try again.”
    ****
    They
hiked out in companionable silence. Once they were surrounded by thick trees on
all sides, with the smell of the earth in her nose and the trickle of a stream
in the distance, Ash felt ready to stop.
    “So,
you’ve never had a relationship,” she had to try and not smile because she knew
it would look smug.
    “I’ve
never met anyone that I wanted to be with for more than just sex.” Gray slid
his hands around her upper arms and squeezed lightly. “Until I met you. Ash
you’re mine.”
    “I
told you I’m not a possession. You can’t order me around and take me as a mate just
because you need to become a full demon.”
    Gray
took his hands back and placed them on his hips instead. “I don’t need to do
anything. I defeated Rage, the strongest wolf in the pack, there will be no
more challenges. I’ve always been happy as an Omega. Ash…,” Gray seemed to
struggle with finding the right words. “I need you in my life. We’ve already
partially bonded because we are meant to be together. Hell, I couldn’t be with
another woman even if I tried. You are mine. The sooner you come to
terms with that the better.”
    Ash
knew that, to some degree, she was being unreasonable. She wanted Gray, had
developed some serious feelings for him in a short time. One of the things she
loved about him was his strength, that no nonsense Alpha vibe he projected. It
turned her on how fiercely possessive of her he was, but it also scared the
hell out of her. It wouldn’t work between them if he viewed her as a possession
that he could order around whenever he felt like it. Maybe that was how it
worked in the demon wolf world once a pair became mated. Something else was worrying
her even more.
    “So,
you accidentally partially mated with me. I’m so sorry to have inconvenienced
you. We can undo the whole thing and you’ll be free to do whatever you want or
whoever you want.” Ash’s own words were like a knife to her heart.
    His
eyes narrowed dangerously, “You’re so busy trying to be the badass Demon Chaser
that you’re not listening to what it is that I am saying.”
    Damn,
her eyes were filling with tears. She did not cry. Ever. “I hear you Gray. I’m
your possession right? Half mated so you can’t fuck anyone else so may as well
take me right? Oh and the only reason I’m rejecting you is because I’m a
commitment phobe. That just about sums it up.”
    Gray
closed the distance between them and she had to force herself to stand her
ground. There was murder in his eyes and every one of his plentiful muscles was
tensed and bulging. Ash fought down a scream when he picked her up pulling her
against the hard plains of his body.
    “Understand
this you foolish woman”—his voice had dropped to a low rumble—“I love you. I am
yours just as much as you are mine. Maybe even more so.” He dropped his head to
her neck and nuzzled the skin there before pulling back to stare into her eyes
which were filling up with more of those damned tears. “I want to be mated to
you for always. Being mated to you would be out of choice not necessity.”
    “Gray
I—”
    “Let
me finish,” he pulled her tighter against himself. “The last Lore spoke of
finding true love. You are my true love. Understand that, Ash.”
    A
hot tear slid down her cheek. Damnit how could she not blub like an idiot with
him saying things like that to