Page 44 of The Alpha's Forced Bullied Mate

“I don't think you understand the things that I've done for you.”

“Oh, so this is about the things thatyou'vedone for me. Well, let's start at the beginning, shall we?”

He slammed the wheel twice with his palms. “Here we go again. I'm never gonna outlive this, am I? You're always going to just hold it right over my head.”

Thunder clapped agaisnt the roof of the car. I gritted my teeth as I zoned all my attention in on the shadowy jerk trying to rip through the hood of the car. “Leave my family alone!”

The world went white as lightning struck the hood of the car. Hector swerved around it, landing part-way in a shallow ditch where he shut off the engine. I held my hands to my chest, feeling the terrifying beat of my heart against my sternum. I gulped air into my lungs, searching the hood, searching the curtain of rain, trying to find the danger.

And not finding it at all.

I leaned forward. “Is it gone?"

He flipped around to face me, waving his hands erratically. “Nothing was even there. You need tocut it out. You're gonna kill us both, Faye Lynne Spears. You’re too much!”

That little comment sent me back in time. I was a ten-year-old girl again sitting in the front seat of my mama’s car with the radio playing her favorite Beatles album that was drowned out by a tsunami.

“Faye Lynne Spears, you’re too much. You’ll always be too much. Nobody wants you like this!”

Goddess, I just wanted it all to stop. I wanted the earth to spin into a new solar system with just me on the giant space rock. I wanted to go where nobody knew me, where no one could blame me for the weather.

Especially when it wasn’t my fault.

There were times when my emotions were fine and I was even keel and nothing was wrong. The sky would darken with a mighty vengeance that threatened to eat up the sun, and during those times, my parents blamed me for it. My own brother would come to my bedroom door and beg me to quit. I hatedthat they blamed me for all those torrential things. I hated that they worsened my feelings. Even though they had just recently accepted me back into the Silverfang Creek, I felt like I was still an outcast.

No one was going to accept me with these kinds of powers, especially if I couldn't control them. Not even Hector could get me to calm down. There was only one time he was able to do that, about a week ago, but now it seemed that his concern was more about how I perceived him than what happened between us. My anger grew in intensity.I can’t believe I gave my v-card to you.

I shivered as the cold penetrated the car. Ice cracked the windows with spider webs, and an icy chill that felt otherworldly invaded the space. Hector shivered, his breath steaming the air in front of him. His expression shifted to concern. He looked out at the hood of the car, at the dent I put there with lightning.

To save us.

To savehim.

When he reached for me, I flinched. “You think I’m crazy, huh?”

He shook his head. “No, Faye Lynne. I didn’t mean what I said.”

“But you did. You couldn’t see that demon, but I could. I saw how it was trying to claw away your damn engine, Hector.”

He rested his hand on my upper back. “I’m so sorry, Faye. Just breathe.”

I snapped my shoulder away from him. “Don’t.”

But he kept his hand on my back despite my biting warning. “Or what? You’ll make it rain again?” He huffed. “Idon’t care about that. What I care about is how that demon thing affected you.”

The warmth that radiated from his palm loosened my muscles, made my arms slump, and made my entire body seem like it was hanging by threads commanded by a puppeteer. I slouched into my seat, trying to hold my head up, feeling heavier than anything that was happening outside.

The storm died down. The rain lightened. The lightning went away. A bit of thunder rumbled in the distance, but it wasn't as intense as it had been about forty seconds ago. Hector continued to rub my back. He didn't say anything, and he didn't judge me. I tried not to beat myself up, but the truth was that I couldn't control these powers, and I wasn't sure why.They'll never understand, came a voice unbidden inside of my mind. Was I just thinking that?They'll never understand because they don't want to understand.

Hector's fingers rose to the base of my skull, just at the hairline, rubbing repeatedly. He brought my head up and cupped my face. He looked at me with the most tired expression, one that was full of defeat. And I thought maybe there was a bit of regret there as well.

“Can you still see it?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“I’m sorry, Faye.”

“No, I'm sorry,” I whispered weakly. “I'm not going to run, I swear.”

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