Healing The Alpha Collection by Jessica Ryan Page A

she fooled us…" Eva said.
    Everyone returned to silence, looking at the floor. They knew the implications of what she had said—Aster was as good as dead.
    "Would they let him live?" Ciara asked. "Hawk's filled me in on some details about what happened to you guys in the past."
    "No," Rowan said firmly. "There is no way in hell they would let Aster live."
    "You wolves live a pretty fucked-up life," Ciara said. Everyone turned to her. Rowan cocked one eyebrow and Hawk's eyes widened in shock. "I'm just saying. I did some crazy shit in my past."
    "I'll say," Hawk mumbled.
    Ciara slugged him on the shoulder. "But I've never encountered a demon that's trying to kill all of us."
    "Until now," Eva said, trying to smile and lighten the mood.
    "Yeah, until now," Ciara said, rolling her eyes. "This is insane."
    "We wolves live a brutish life," Rowan said, turning back to the window. "And somehow we've decided to try to become human. It all comes back full circle, though. Life finds a way of letting us know we aren't human and we have no business playing at it."
    Eva looked at Rowan a little bit longer; he wouldn't make eye contact with her, though. Finally she got up and crossed the small cell they were locked in and put a hand on his shoulder. His nerves had caused all his muscles to tense, and she felt like she was grabbing a rock.
    Rowan looked down at her with sadness in his eyes. "I haven't been fair to you."
    "What do you mean, you haven't been fair to me?" she asked.
    "You're a human and you have a human life. I've selfishly pulled you away from all of that. You lost your job, you lost your apartment and you lost your parents all because of me."
    Eva took a deep breath and put a hand on Rowan's scruffy cheek, turning his face towards hers. "Let's get a few things straight, mister. I love you and I want to be with you. The job and the apartment aren't important. My parents lost me, I didn't lose them. They didn't care about me or love me enough to fight for me when I was missing; my dad only cared about his reputation. You're the only man 'who's ever cared about me, and I'd go to the ends of the Earth for you."
    "Would you even give all of this up?"
    Eva looked around at the tiny jail cell. "Give what up? There's nothing here."
    "I mean this," he said, pointing out the window towards the city of Bucklin. "I'm not meant for this. I'm a werewolf. I'm not meant to live in a city with humans. I'm supposed to run a pack in the wilderness."
    "What are you saying?" Eva asked.
    "If I get out of this alive, I'm giving it all up, Eva," he said. "I'm returning to the wilderness and I'm going to live as I was intended to. I'm not human, Eva, and I'm not supposed to be here."
    Eva sucked in a deep breath, turning everything her perfect man had just said over in her head. This was a lot to ask. She had enjoyed modern conveniences forever, and now he was asking her to give it all up so that he could live in a cave and hunt wild animals.
    "So we wouldn't have any shelter?" she asked.
    "We'd find a den somewhere," he said. "We can carve it out and make it our own and start building a pack life. You can have our pups and we can build something wonderful. Why not?"
    "This is a lot to ask," Eva said, feeling her chest get heavy. "You're asking me to give up everything I've ever known. I'm not a wolf; I'm not built to live in nature. I need a bathroom, cooked food, running water and air conditioning!"
    "We'll figure all that out," Rowan said, taking her face in his hands. "What's important is that we'll have each other."
    "I have to think about this, Rowan," she said, unable to meet his gaze. "It's asking a lot."
    "I realize that," he said. "If you can't go through with it, then I understand. But I wasn't built to live in this city and I'm not going to do it anymore. I hope you understand."
    "I understand perfectly," she said, fighting back tears.
    "I love you," Rowan said.
    "I love you too," she said as she felt his wonderful lips touch her