Page 7 of His Temporary Alpha Mate
Though they weren’t terribly close, he and his cousins, Cadence and Melody, were friendly. They clearly adored Dalton, maybe it was him who had been burned and kept them at arm’s length. Melody was one of those people who everyone gravitated towards. When you were in with her, everyone liked you. She was fiercely protective of Dalton, even while being younger than him by about a decade. Cadence had her own thing going on as a single parent, though she still cared about his life. She and her son, Riff, an alpha, had looked after Spice and Priscilla some while Dalton was sick.
Things with Roan didn’t exactly suffer with me spending more time with someone else. They had been weird with us since Kade had returned to the pack so heavily pregnant. Roan wanted that. Something I couldn’t give him, even if he entertained the thought of us being together.
I’d just finished telling Dalton something about Roan when he interrupted with a question.
“Does he know you’re in love with him?” Dalton regarded me thoughtfully, his bright hazel eyes trained on me as he chewed on a carrot stick.
The swallow of juice I’d just taken nearly went down the wrong pipe. I coughed before answering. “Who?”
“Come on now. You like Roan just like I’m stuck on Axel. Aren’t we a tragic pair?” he mocked in a self-deprecating way.
I sighed. “Do as many people know about my thing for Roan as they do about you and Axel?” It was such a poorly kept secret. I was pretty sure Chase knew, but either Axel didn’t or he was pretending to be oblivious to save Dalton’s feelings. He clearly didn’t feel the same if the rumor about his thing with the elf was true.
“Ouch! Hopefully not.” He let out a gusty sigh. “It’s so embarrassing that everyone knows about it. Do you know how many people have told me he’s been seen with the elf?” He stared at me, waiting for his answer. “Too damn many. I’m not his keeper! I never tried for anything more. They act like I should be walking about with a broken heart, but here’s the thing, Lark. He doesn’t owe me a thing just because I have feelings.”
“Right?”
“If you truly love someone, you want them to be happy.”
“Exactly.”
“Still fucking hurts to see him with someone else.”
“Yeah.” I knocked my shoulder into his. “I’ve got that to look forward to. Some day soon, some omega is going to come along and catch Roan’s eye.”
“And you’ll be happy for him just as much as you are sad for yourself.” Dalton leaned into me. The casual affection warmed me. “Love sucks.”
“You know it.”
“We should make this a regular thing. Invite other people, maybe.” Dalton set the popcorn bowl on the coffee table and settled next to me on the couch. We always sat so we were touching somehow.
“Weekly movie nights with the pack? Aren’t you worried some of the alphas might take over?” I liked the idea of getting to know some of the pack better, just not a handful of the alphas. Working with them was enough. I didn’t want to socialize with them as well.
“Nah, most of those meatheads spend all their time downstairs in the gym or atHeatwave trying to knot omegas.” Dalton reached for the remote. “What are you in the mood for?”
“Nothing romantic.” I shuddered dramatically, eliciting a chortle from Dalton. Being around him was so easy.
His mere presence provided me with a comforting feeling. More and more, I was seeking him out instead of dealing with the tension with Roan. I loved my roommate, but his longing for an omega, his own family, was getting hard to bear, especially since I could never give him what he wanted.
“I hear that. A comedy or action? I don’t feel like a horror right now. Things are scary enough with the people threatening literal babies!”
“Right? Sickos. I can’t imagine being that intimidated by a baby girl.” Kade’s newborn daughter was going to change the world for the better. Far from being scared of a female alpha, I was overjoyed. If the rumors were true, this was a return to how things used to be. Hopefully a better way.
“So, you think it’s a good thing?” Dalton asked warily.
His question might have stung a lesser alpha, I liked to think I’d learned from the best people how to truly be an alpha and a good person. But I understood where he wascoming from, so many alphas had demonstrated the worst side of themselves since Elliotte was born.
“Studies have shown that matriarchal societies are fairer and less prone to war. I really think having female alphas to lead packs would be in our best interests as a species,” I answered honestly.
He looked dumbfounded. “Just when I think I know you, you shock me. I’m impressed.”
I puffed up with pride. “Thanks. I was raised by my beta aunt. I bet she’s watching this from the afterlife and crowing!”
Goddess, Karina would have been insufferable to live with. I missed her something fierce.
“Yeah?” Dalton smiled affectionately.
I liked this softer side of him. More and more he was letting his guard down around me, letting me see the inner Dalton. I liked that guy just as much as the prickly, take no prisoners one who kept Chase and Axel in line.
