Page 18 of The Alpha's Temptation
I nod eagerly.“That would be great.Thanks.”
I head to the back of the bookstore, waiting until the door swings shut behind me before I lean against the cool cement wall and take a deep breath.I’m not sure I’ll be able to survive tonight without searching out Foster.
Penny’s face flashes behind my eyes, and I flinch.
I can’t.I made a promise to her, and I would never betray or do anything to hurt her.
I take a few deep breaths, push away from the wall, and get back to work.
As the day progresses, things don’t improve.I stock shelves and try not to notice how my hands shake when I reach for the next book.Every time Penny laughs with a customer, it feels like glass lodging in my chest.I miss her and the easy relationship we had before I turned eighteen.I miss Foster.The bond makes both losses burn hotter.
I last until four before I cave.My excuses sound thin even to me, but Penny doesn’t argue.Maybe she’s relieved I’m leaving.Maybe she doesn’t want to see me unravel.
I hurry home, ignoring the people who try to greet me.I’m stretched too thin.I need the safety of my house, of my bed.
By the time I get home, the heat inside me has sharpened into something almost unbearable.I lock the door behind me, as if that will keep me safe from Foster, from myself, from the part of me that wants to run straight into his arms and never let go.
The house is quiet, but my thoughts aren’t.All I can think about is Foster: his body, his hands, his lips.I need him.
Ineedhim.
I press my forehead to the cool wood of my bedroom door, then stumble onto the bed, curling up tight.My pulse beats like a drum in my ears, a steady chant of his name.
Does he feel this too?The restless hunger, the way every second without him stretches too long, too sharp.Is he fighting it as hard as I am?Or is he losing the battle?
The moon will rise soon, and when it does, I don’t know if either of us will be strong enough to resist.
EIGHT
Foster
Dinner is quiet.Too quiet.The clink of forks against plates is jarring, and every nerve inside me is strung tight, humming with the pull of the moon and the ache of my mate just across town.
“How was work?”Penny asks cautiously.
“Fine.”
I shove another bite of chicken into my mouth, ignoring the way my wolf whines and claws at me.
“I saw Selena today at the bookstore.”
Every fiber of my being goes on high alert.My wolf stops scratching at me and goes still, dying for any word about our mate.
“She wasn’t doing too well.She had to leave work early,” Penny adds.
I feel like I’ve been stabbed in the chest.
“She was sick?”I ask, wanting to go to my mate and check on her.
“Kind of…It was the mating heat,” my sister explains.
I let out a harsh breath, screwing my eyes shut tight.“Fuck, Pen, don’t tell me that.I’m barely hanging on here,” I warn her.
“I know, and I wanted to talk to you about all of this,” she says.
Mate, mate, mate,my wolf chants, like it’s the only word he knows.She needs us.
I dig my nails into the edge of the table, holding on for dear life.
