Page 53 of Brutal Alpha

“It’s not a burden,” I insisted. She needed to know that. “Caring about you, it’s not a weight on my shoulders. I want you with me.” I placed a hand on her still-flat belly. “I want them with me, too.”

Julia’s hand came up to cover mine, interlocking our fingers.

“You know you don’t have to do everything alone, right?” she said. “I want to be there to support you, too. This is a two-way street, okay? You love me, I love you. We look after each other.”

“Did you just say you love me?” I said. I knew there was a wide, stupid grin on my face, but I could do nothing to make it stop, nor did I care to.

“Did I not tell you already?” she asked, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“No.”

“Well then, I love you, you asshole.” She dipped her head, planting a sweet kiss on the tip of my nose, and I tilted my head up to kiss her properly. Julia smiled against my lips, and I realized that I would get to do this every day for the rest of our lives.

“So you’re coming home with me?” I asked between kisses. Julia pulled away,

“The thing is, all my stuff’s on Lapine,” she pointed out, “and they’re still expecting me back sometime today. We should probably, you know, catch everyone up as well.”

She was right, of course. Caleb and Alyssa were expecting us this morning, and if Julia was going to make the move to Ferris permanently, she’d need at least a few of her things. It wasthe catching everyone up part of the plan that had my stomach churning.

“I see how it is,” I joked, trying to distract myself from the anxiety growing in my gut. “This was all a clever ploy to get me murdered by your brother.”

I’d really been hoping to ease Caleb into the idea of Julia and me being mates. Turning up with fresh claiming marks, not to mention Julia’s pregnancy, was more like throwing him in at the deep end.

“You caught me,” Julia said, smiling. Then, gently, “It’ll be fine. He’s your best friend; he’ll come around.”

“Yeah,” I said, though I wasn’t sure how much I believed it. Julia, however, seemed to have no such doubts.

“And if he’s a dick about it, then he’ll have me to deal with,” she declared. Her confidence was infectious, and I stroked her bare thighs as I said,

“You are very scary.”

“You’re damn right.”

It took another hour before we had collected ourselves enough to leave that spot. Talking turned to kisses, which turned to another round, and still, it was excruciating to separate enough to shift and make the run over to Lapine.

The morning was sunny and clear and warm, and it was so easy to let my wolf tumble and play with his mate as we moved onto Julia’s home territory. There was no one to meet us at the bridge—my plan to radio Caleb and let him know when we were leaving had gone out the window that morning—so we had a few more hours to ourselves on the run to town.

Once we drew close, though, even my wolf grew hesitant. He only knew that I was fearful, without understanding thatthere was no real danger. Realistically, I knew that Caleb couldn’t really have objections to our being mated; fate was fate, after all. Still, anxiety thrummed beneath my skin as we entered the town proper. In an instant, Julia was at my side, nuzzling against me in silent support. Her calm washed over me, and each step became easier.

We stopped first at Julia’s house, where we shifted back to human form to shower and get dressed. Julia vetoed sharing the shower, since we were purposely trying not to turn up at Caleb and Alyssa’s house reeking of each other. Once clean, Julia tossed me a pair of Caleb’s old sweatpants that she’d purloined, while she pulled a sundress over her own head. The mark I’d left on her shoulder was proudly displayed, and while it made my wolf give a pleased, possessive purr, it also brought a fresh wave of nerves rolling over me.

“Having regrets?” Julia asked. Her tone was teasing, but I could see the brief flash of insecurity behind her eyes, so I pulled her close, kissing her.

“Never,” I said. “Just nervous.”

“It’ll be fine,” she reassured me for the hundredth time. She was probably right, but I couldn’t shake the stomach-churning anxiety that was constantly threatening to overwhelm me.

“Let’s get this over with,” I said, and Julia punched my arm playfully.

“That’s the spirit.”

The walk over to the Alpha’s residence felt like it took an age and a millisecond. When we arrived, the door was open, and Julia hesitated only long enough to squeeze my hand and press a kiss to my cheek before she strode in, calling out,

“I’m home!”

The sound of tiny feet hitting the wooden floors echoed through the house, and a pair of excited screams filled the air.

“Auntie Julia!” The twins were way ahead of their parents, barreling down the hallway and attaching themselves to Julia’s shins.

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