Page 39 of The Alpha's Runaway Mate
I tuck the phone into my pocket. “Thank you.”
His gaze softens. “You’re welcome.”
We sit in the hum of crickets and unsaid things until I take a breath that feels heavier than the air around us. “There’s something I need to tell you too.”
His expression shifts instantly, alert, gentle, ready. “All right.”
“You know I’ve been running from someone, it’s my ex-fiancé.”
He goes very still.
“His name’s Ethan.” The word tastes like rust. “At first he was perfect, kind, funny, protective, until he wasn’t. It started small, what I wore, who I talked to, and then it wasn’t small. He checked my phone, controlled my money. Then came the yelling. The shoving. By the time I understood what he was, it was too late. He had everything, my passwords, my accounts, my car. Every exit, he’d already mapped out.”
Nolan says nothing. His fist tightens on his knee, his knuckles go white.
“When I finally got out, I took what fit in a backpack and my purse. I ditched my phone and anything he could use to track me. Bought an old beater truck with cash, no GPS, no paper trail. I’ve been moving from small town to small town ever since, never staying long enough to make a pattern.” I swallow. “He still found me. Twice. Once in Georgia and once in Tennessee. I don’t even know how. I changed my name at one job, stayed off social media, paid cash for everything… and he still found me.”
Silence settles, heavy as the dark.
“He hasn’t found me here,” I whisper. “Not yet anyway. It’s only been seven months since I left, and if he does…come for me,” My throat tightens. “I’ll have to leave. I can’t drag that danger toyou, or your pack. I couldn’t live with myself if anyone got hurt because of me.”
“Stop.” The word lands low and sharp, more command than sound.
When I look up, his eyes are darker than I’ve ever seen them, edges lit faintly gold. Something wild and powerful looks out through the calm.
“You’re not leaving,” he says.
“Nolan.”
“No.” His palm cups my cheek, rough hand unbearably gentle. “You’re not running anymore. If he comes here, he deals with me. With us.”
Tears threaten, but I force a weak laugh. “You don’t know what he’s like. He’s smart. He plans everything. He’ll…”
“He’ll plan his own damn funeral is what’ll happen,” he says, a growl wrapped in tenderness. “Because if he shows his face anywhere near you, I’ll end him.”
I stare, caught between awe, fear, and a deep, bone-level sense of safe.
He exhales, softening the edges. “You’re safe here, Jess. I won’t let anything touch you.”
“You can’t promise that,” I whisper.
“I can.” His thumb traces my jaw. “And I just did.”
My chest tightens. “Why would you do all this for me?”
“Because my bear’s already in love with you.”
The breath catches in my throat.
“You’re ours,” he says, voice low and sure. “Every second I spend with you, it pulls me in deeper. It’s not just instinct anymore, it’s you. All of you. And I’m not letting anything take that away.”
“You barely know me,” I whisper.
“I know enough.” He leans forward, resting his forehead against mine. “You’re strong. You survived hell and kept going. Every time you smile, it feels like sunlight after a storm. That’s enough for me to know I’ll spend the rest of my long life loving you.”
I breathe him in, soap, cedar, warmth. “I don’t want to run anymore.”
“Good.” His thumb brushes my lower lip. “Because you’re not going to.”
