Page 223 of Kingdoms of Night

“Please stay,” I whispered. “I know I don’t deserve it or you. But… but I need you.” It was a lot for me to admit. Yet not nearly enough. “I’m sorry for insulting you. For everything. I just wanted to irritate you like you irritate me.”

I inhaled deeply, filling myself with his familiar scent. His strength. Hispresence.

Ours, my wolf seemed to hum.This male is ours.

I wish that were true, I thought at her.But he’s not ours.

“I irritate you?” he asked softly.

“Not on purpose,” I muttered against his neck. “You drive me crazy. Because my wolf wants you. More than she’s ever wanted another wolf. That’s why my suppressants are failing again already. I keep having to suppress her urges. And it… it made me so angry… at you.”

“Because your wolf wants me.”

“And me,” I whispered. “I… I don’t want to be owned. I don’t want an Alpha to tell me what to do. I want to be free. But you… you made me consider other paths. I don’t want to consider other paths, Jonas. I want my life. Mychoice.”

“And you think mating an Alpha will change those choices?”

“I don’t want a pup. At least not yet. But Alphas just trap Omegas in nests. They make them breed.”

“Some do,” he agreed, his hand rubbing up and down my back. “But not all Alphas do that, Riley.”

I shook my head. “All the Alphas I know do.”

“I don’t,” he replied. “I don’t do that.”

“You’re not mated yet.”

“By choice,” he said, sounding frustrated. “You’ve never asked me about my past or why I make certain decisions. Like why I’m guarding you instead of taking over a clan.”

I frowned. “Why do you guard me?”

“Because I prefer to be alone,” he told me. “I like protecting others, as it’s in my nature to do so, but I’ve never found a pack I wanted to join. Nor have I ever considered taking an Omega.”

“But you said you were going to knot me.”

“Because it’syou, Riley.”

“Because you realized that I’m an Omega,” I translated.

“No.” He curled his palm around my nape again, this time using his grip to pull me back and stare down at me. “I’ve wanted you for months. Even when I thought you were a Beta.”

“Why?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Your determination. Your intelligence. Your feisty little attitude. Your dedication to a cause. All of the above.”

I stared at him.

“My wolf probably sensed your Omega designation,” he continued. “But the man—me—has always wanted you regardless of your heritage.”

“But an Alpha needs an Omega. It would have been temporary between us if I were a Beta.”

“You make a lot of generalizations about Alphas,” he murmured. “We’re not all cut from the same cloth.”

I narrowed my gaze. “I know there are different types of Alphas, Jonas.”

“I’m not talking abouttypes, Doctor. I’m talking about personalities and desires. Not all Alphas crave the same things in life. Maybe I don’t want children yet, either. Have you even considered that?”

“No,” I admitted. “But…”

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