Page 9 of Unknowingly Adopting the Alpha
With my mood now soured, I took a shower, dressed, and somehow made it outside to talk to people.
I hated every minute of it.
To make my mood worse, Darius was the first person I saw on my walk over to our community center. (It was the one place we all gathered for meetings, meals, and get-togethers.).
“Hey there, Alpha,” he greeted with a wink, something that once would’ve made my stomach flutter, but now made me feel sick.
I frowned his way. “Don’t flirt with me!” I snapped.
He stepped back, his eyes widening. “Wow, who bit your tail this morning?”
Shaking my head, I finally admitted, “I saw you with Milo yesterday.”
Realization dawned on him, then he seemed to shut down. “Yeah, don’t worry about that part. We aren’t together.”
“What?” The big brother in me was mad on Milo’s behalf, but the man in me was elated. Damn my confused heart. Now I felt guilty for being happy they weren’t together. I was a horrible person. I had Cass. Milo deserved someone amazing, someone like Darius.
“He’s not ready for something serious,” Darius explained. “I guess I should’ve realized that, with his age and all.”
Frowning yet again, I asked, “But why did you kiss then?”
He shrugged. “He kissed me, took me by surprise.”
Damn, it hurt hearing that. Now I knew Milo had been the one to take the first step. Although a part of me was sure he knew of my feelings, I just couldn’t believe Milo would do something so cruel to me.
“And?” I prodded.
“And we found out we’re fated mates.”
I blinked. “That’s a bad thing?!” My voice was way too high this early in the morning, but damn. My little brother had found his fated mate at only eighteen? On the same day I’d met Cass?
He quickly shook his head. “No, not that part. His um,” he sighed. “His reasoning for kissing me led me to believe he isn’t ready for something as serious as a mating bond. Not yet at least.”
“Oh,” I said, not truly knowing how to take the news. “Are you okay with that?”
“I will be. I told him I would wait until he got mature enough for something serious.”
I winced. “You didn’t.”
“Oh,” he mirrored my wince. “I did indeed.”
“I suddenly get why you aren’t together,” I offered with a tense smile.
“Yeah,” his own smile was forced. “’Don’t call Milo immature’ is hereby noted for the future.”
I didn’t ask what Milo’s reason for kissing him was. I truly didn’t want to know. Instead I walked with Darius inside our community center, hoping the hours would blur by until I could get back to Cass. I also had to avoid my brother at all costs. I was not ready to deal with his drama.
I was finally free!
The day was done. I’d helped out the pack members I could, making conversation and having fun with a few of them. Then I dealt with issues that needed fixing. Now, several hours later, I was frantically packing some clothes in a bag and leaving my house to shift.
Running in my wolf form was always freeing, even more so in the fall. The fallen leaves matched my fur and I felt invisible as I dashed through the woods to Cass’s house. Weird that even after a few hours I missed that old house.
Approaching the house, I scented it, or rather, them. I froze, my bag falling from my mouth.
No…. no…. no…
I ran faster, not caring about my damn clothes anymore. Jumping in front of his broken off front door, reality hit.
