Page 102 of Ruthless Alpha Beast
I can’t stand Tara thinking so lowly of herself for a second longer.
“You’re so great, Tara,” I say. “I mean that, truly. You’re brave, smart, and strong. Your humanness is just one part of the many wonderful sides of you.”
Her lips part a little, and I’m desperate to hold her. I step closer, careful not to crowd her—fighting my uncontrollable urges.
“Jasper, you don’t have to say that.”
“I do,” I counter instantly, the words leaving me before I can stop them. “I have to because you clearly can’t see it. And until you do, I’ll keep trying to make you realize how special you are.”
She shakes her head, her hair falling across her face.
“I’m fine,” she says. “I am. I’m used to feeling like I’m on my own. It’s not like I exactly need your support.”
I know what she’s doing.
She’s trying desperately to push me away, for reasons that actually, I understand. There’s a strange understanding between us, one that’s made me feel afraid in the past.
But I’m not afraid anymore.
“I’m sorry about that night, Tara. I regret the way that I treated you after we made love, and I regret the way I’ve been treating you since then.”
An apology that once seemed so hard pours out of me with ease.
Her eyes glisten. “It’s fine.”
“It’snotfine,” I assert. “Not at all. The real reason I rejected you after that night was that it was a time when my pack was extremely prejudiced. They were against witches, humans, heck, even some shifters from foreign packs. It was a dark time for my pack, one that I realize I should have been trying to change.”
She remains quiet, her face trembling.
“At the time, I wanted to support them. I thought being with a human was the absolute worst thing I could do. I wanted to be a good leader, and instead, I did the opposite. I was wrong.”
Her gaze lowers, it’s as though she’s caught between anger and sorrow, between wanting to believe me and wanting to protect herself.
She doesn’t need to protect herself on her own anymore.
“You weren’t wrong for caring about your people,” she whispers. “I understand that it was a tough position; you don’t owe me anything.”
But I do.
“I’ve wanted you for so long, Tara. I knew it from the second I saw you, and it never went away. The reason I was so harsh was that I was trying to fight it. I couldn’t stand feeling so much.”
She takes in a sharp breath, her eyes glassy and soft.
“You’re saying this now,” she murmurs. “But what if you change your mind? What if you decide that humans aren’t worth your time anymore? Jasper, I can’t feel that way again; it was too much.”
I shake my head, the thought alone tightening my chest. I grasp the sides of her arms.
“That won’t happen,” I assert. “I promise you, Tara. I’m not going to pretend that I don’t want you anymore. I’m not just saying this stuff about humans just to say it, I truly believe it.”
Her lashes flutter gently; she looks uncertain, as if she doesn’t believe me, but she doesn’t move away from my touch.
The warmth of her arms beneath my hands feels good. Too good.
I pull away.
“Jasper,” she whispers, her voice strained with unmistakable need. She sounds fragile, her eyes pained.
“I’m done hiding,” I tell her, my voice rough. “I’ll never make you question your worth again. I promise that things will change around here. I promise.”
