Page 3 of Alpha’s Conquest

Chuckling, he found my hand and walked us down a crosswalk. “I didn’t think you’d say yes so quickly. You’ve been against it since we first met.”

I clutched my bag tighter, my grip on his hand slowly loosening. “Family stuff just… never goes well. At first I seem fine, and parents love me. But the more they find out, the less they like.”

As soon as we were on the other side of the street, he pulled me away from the crowd, his arm tucked around my waist. His faint scent had disappeared with so many competing smells, but having him close comforted me all the same. Those beautiful green eyes stared down at me, watching every flicker on my face.

“Your past doesn’t matter to me. And if my family has a problem with that, then we’ll deal with it.”

He said the words with absolute conviction. My past made me less certain. A failed marriage. An empty womb. Time after time, men deciding they were done with me after only a few weeks. The past two years with Marshall had been my longest relationship, apart from my marriage. That was a painful time I tried to forget. I was barely twenty-six, and I already had baggage. No one wants that for their son.

Despite everything, Marshall made me feel valued. He knew about my past, and he still stayed with me. I could deal with almost anything as long as I had him.

I smiled back, and slowly slid my hands up his chest, clasping them behind his neck. “I’ll do my best to charm them.”

“Don’t try too hard. Just be yourself. Dad may take a bit to warm up to you, but he’ll come around. My brother will follow his lead.” I wanted to throw up just thinking about meeting Marshall’s family, but it meant something to Marshall, and I would do anything for him. “You don’t have to look like you’re being tortured,” he reminded me. “Save that for when we’re actually there.”

“Ha. Funny.”

Throwing his arm across my shoulder, we walked to the end of the sidewalk. A cluster of Alphas were clustered around an ATM, just close enough that my arm brushed one of them when we walked by. Marshall kept going, not even noticing the way those Alphas looked at me. It was a brief glance, but they clocked me up and down before we passed them. That slow smirk of approval on their faces made me want to hide in a hole. I was with an Alpha. They wouldn’t try anything.

“Here we are,” Marshall announced as we stopped outside my building. He gently tilted my head towards him, stealing my attention away from the Alphas. “You have a good day at work, babe. I’ll gas up the car, and we’ll head out to my dad’s place after you get off. You have enough vacation days for us to stay for a while.”

He really planned all of this ahead of time. This had gone from a tiny request to a full blown trip in just a few hours. I still didn’t want to go, but I would do anything for Marshall.

“Got it. I love you.”

“You too.”

THREE

Casey

Casey

After a long day at work, Marshall picked me up in his car, and we left the city behind. The towering skyscrapers soon gave way to a quiet highway surrounded by forest.

“How’s your project going?” he asked, almost startling me after our prolonged silence.

“Oh, uhh…” With the remnants of my heat still coursing through me, not to mention feeling nauseous over where we were headed, I could only focus on the passing trees. “We got our permits finished. We’ll be doing a mural for the old bakery on twelfth street next week.”

As he drove, Marshall’s hand slipped around the back of my neck and he gently massaged my pheromone center. The slight touch of his fingers pressing against the most sensitive part of my body eased my tense limbs. An Alpha’s scent would’ve had the same effect on me, but Marshall’s woodsy pheromones weren’t strong enough to help.

“What are you doing?” I asked, giving him a slight smile when he glanced at me. He wasn’t usually this touchy feely, not even when we were in bed.

“Just trying to make sure you’re relaxed. I don’t want you to feel any anxiety over this trip. You took your inhibitors this morning, right?”

It was such a mundane thing we did every day, I wasn’t surprised he didn’t notice when I took them. “Yes. I never go without my pills.”

“Good. My dad has a powerful scent. It’s difficult for him to suppress it, and I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed when you meet him.” Our eyes met across the car for a moment before Marshall turned back to the road, a smile spreading between us. He was so kind and attentive.

“You always take care of me,” I praised.

He gave my neck a little squeeze. “And I always will.”

It helped to hear how much he cared. No matter what his family thought of me, I had to believe that wouldn’t change. They’d probably have something to say about an omega who couldn’t have children, but we would get through it. Together.

I held onto that thought as we drove, when we stopped to re-fuel, and when I saw the sign as we reached the city limits.

Welcome to Oakridge.