Page 42 of The Alpha's Forced Bullied Mate

“I don't see how you could ruin anything.”

She shrugged. “I didn't really have very much control over my powers when I was younger. I kind of—” Her eyes searched the horizon outside the window. “No, I don't want to tell you that.” She bit her cookie harder this time.

I leaned forward. “You can't say something like that and then not tell me.”

“No, it's embarrassing. You'll make fun of me for it.”

“I think we're past the point of making fun of each other, aren't we?”

She stared at me over her cup of hot chocolate, the steam wisping into her face and enhancing the magical attributes of her eyes. “Are we?”

I felt a bead of anger. And then, after that, a pang of guilt, and then shortly after that, I felt like I was exhausted. I felt like I had been spinning around in my head about this whole topic ever since I grabbed her.

The morality of the situation mixed with my feelings of knowing what was right, and then when I added a dash of admiration and affection to that, it was just one giant stew of confusion. I could feel myself boiling up, but I wasn't sure how to control it or what to do.

I tapped my fingers on the side of my cup. “If you're not over me bullying you, then I don't see how this is going to work.”

Both of her eyebrows rose. “That came out of nowhere.”

I scratched the back of my head. “I'm sorry. I guess I'm just mixed up here.”

She nodded slowly and then set her cup down. “What are you mixed up about?”

“The car engine died. You brought it to life, but you didn’t need to do that. We must be past the bully stuff, right? I mean, a half-witchdoescome in handy for car troubles—from what I saw.”

She laughed bitterly. “I'm glad to see I have some use for you other than being in your bed.”

I leaned forward another inch. “You know as well as I that it's been more than just the bed.”

Her entire face flushed with a crimson tide. I had won for the moment, but we still had to be serious about our relationship. And if she had any hang-ups about me making fun of her as a kid, then we needed to hash them out right now. I held my hand out for her, resting it on the table between us withmy palm up. She reached for it and rested her hand gently on my fingers.

A television in the background played the news. A couple of people wandered in from the chilly street. Some of them tourists, some of them shifter locals that I knew, but not once did I break away my gaze from Faye. I needed her to know that she was in my full view.

I held her hand up between us. “I know it's not going to be easy to get over the things that happened between us when we were kids.”

She snorted. “You mean the thing thatyoudid to me?”

“If you're going to hold it against me the whole time, then we're not going to have a very honest relationship.”

“I think it's honest to acknowledge my feelings.”

I considered her statement with a quiet ferocity that made her flinch. Unblinking, no smile, no expression at all—that meant she was considering it as well. Perhaps she was trying to determine whether she was right to hold a grudge at all after my public apology.

However, shedidhave a point. Acknowledging true feelings was honest.

I nodded in agreement. “I guess you're right about that. Can we still just say that it's water under the bridge, though?”

She hummed and then turned to the window, staring out at the ever-changing sky, the threat of rain coming along in the form of thick gray clouds. “I don't know.”

I didn't like the sound of that, her uncertainty. It just seemed to come out of nowhere. Everything was fine on Friday. Everything was fine yesterday, too. Why couldn't things be fine today? Just as I was about to give her a piece of my mind,the television in the background caught my ear, boasting about sandy beaches and beautiful townhouses.

I noticed Faye staring at the screen over my shoulder. The way her features turned white made me think she was looking at something ghastly. She was so pale and so horrified at the same time, and it was almost like she was completely drained of blood.

“Beaufort Creek, gorgeous Beaufort Creek.You’ll never want to leave!” The speakers crackled as the sound slowed down, changing to creepy carousel music. “Especially after wekill them all…”

Her wide eyes were glossy like wet marbles. “Hector?”

I squeezed her hand. “Look away.”

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