Page 41 of The Alpha's Forced Bullied Mate

I laughed. “Yes, of course we can! You just need to finish your breakfast so we can, uh…”

Like a ravenous wolf, she devoured the rest of her plate and then held out the empty plate to me with beaming pride. “Done!”

I cackled while grabbing the plate. This was too sweet. It was different from the way she had been raised. It was different from the way that we had acted with each other before. Something about the way her parents spoke to her on Friday night had changed a great part of her. And in fact, it changed a great part of me, too. I thought it would take much longer for her parents to accept her. It seemed the ritual had done something to the entire pack, had imbued them with a feeling of hope for the future.

Already, there were less demons tapping at our gates. It was working just as intended.

I nodded to the door. “Want to help me clean up?”

“Sure thing, Cowboy.”

I eyed her carefully. “Did you just…?”

She waved me off. “Don’t overthink it. Just roll with it before I change my mind.”

Laughter followed us down the stairs and into the kitchen. Once we got the plates and food cleaned up, we got dressed and went out to the car. After ensuring the place was locked like the Bastille, we hopped into the car where I kept my eyes on the dash. Even clad in leggings, Faye’s thighs were distracting.

When I tried to start my car, the engine clicked. I tried again to find the same repeated clicking sound. A third attempt made me agitated.

I sighed with defeat as I slumped in my seat. “Great. Now, we have to take this to Mortimer.”

“Are you sure about that?” She jumped out of the car, clapped shut the door, and popped open the hood.

When I stepped out to join her, I studied the way she bent over the engine, noticing how her leggings outlined her curves. The loose-fitting long-sleeved shirt she wore revealed her cleavage from her push-up bra. She hadn't been particularly shy about changing in front of me or stealing my clothes in the process. I appreciated that, considering we had seen each other naked several times by now. It was nice to see her being so confident and comfortable with me.

It meant she trusted me.

She hummed as she looked over the engine.

“Call me old-fashioned, but are you supposed to know how cars work?” I teased.

She smirked without looking at me and then reached out to tap one of the pipes. The engine jumped to life from the tinyspark of her fingers. Once she closed the hood, she clapped her hands together proudly and said, “Let's go, Cowboy. We're losing daylight. You wouldn’t want your Cherry Pie to rot, would you?”

I stared at her with a half-smile, thinking,Wow, I guess I really underestimated her abilities.

She nipped her lower lip, popping her right hip out while avoiding my gaze and twirling a lock of hair around her delicate finger. “What?”

I hummed with approval, cleared my throat, gestured to the car. “Your chariot awaits.”

***

It was a twenty-minute ride into Point Pleasant. We had plenty to talk about, enough excited chatter that I got lost in the ebb and flow of it. I barely noticed the drive or the fact that her hand had been resting on my knuckles while I held the gear shift.

Once we pulled up to a café, I noticed the tourists. I saw the line of cars, and the line of people, and the way everything was smashed together. Faye hopped out of the car like she was a tourist herself, even though she was raised here—or close to here, anyway.

Suddenly, the graceful doe-dressed woman who I had chased in the woods was hopping around and peeking into windows, pointing at things that were new and enticing. She grabbed the sleeve of my sweater and pulled me toward the café.

“Oh, my sweet fields of corn, they haveMothmancookies.”

I didn't have a chance to react as she yanked me inside and pulled me to the counter. She ordered us both hotchocolates and Mothman cookies, along with a bag of chocolate spheres that were reportedly Mothman droppings. As soon as we sat in the front window nook that looked over the street, she tapped the window, pointing at the famous Mothman statue. “That’s next.”

“You bet.”

She held up her cookie. “I've never been able to do something like this.”

I gave her a funny look, sipped my hot chocolate, and set it down pensively. “Didn’t your parents take you into town or anything?”

She chewed thoughtfully, her eyes downcast with a sunken expression. When she was done chewing, she whispered. “No. They took Cliff a lot, but they always left me behind. They didn't want me to ruin anything.”

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