Page 52 of Alpha’s Conquest

I knew this was coming. I’d been dreading it, hoping we could stay in this bubble just a little longer.

It was my turn to say those two words. “I know.”

Could I survive without him by my side?

Tipping my chin, he caressed my lips, my cheek, his fingertips gliding across my face until my shoulders eased and the tension left my body. With a simple touch of his hand, he made all my worries seem distant. He always knew what I needed.

“I need you,” he whispered, his husky voice betraying the emotion in his heart. He said, ‘I need you.’ What I heard was, ‘I love you.’

With one last kiss and a lingering touch on my face, he left the studio, and the air felt colder with him gone.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Adam

Adam

Over a month had passed since I returned home. Leaving Casey behind was the hardest thing I had ever done. Every day, he lingered in my thoughts, in my body, inside my very soul. I ached for him, for my omega. I’d replayed every moment we shared just to keep myself sane. Every gasp from his lips, every shudder from his body. The memories kept me warm as I lay awake at night.

I spent five weeks in his arms, finally living for the first time in twenty years. At first, it was easy to pretend this wasn’t serious, that I could go back home and never think about Casey again. It was a lie I told myself, anything to not feel guilty for taking what I wanted. Slowly, over every day that passed, it became clear that letting Casey go wasn’t an option. He crept inside my heart like a string of ivy.

When I left Hanford, I didn’t think it would be for this long. I could’ve used work as an excuse, and did, but the real reason was Casey. He wanted to end things with Marshall first. The more time that passed, the more I knew his hesitation had nothing to do with hurting my son, and everything to do with him.

The only step forward was together, and I knew with Casey’s past that this wasn’t an easy choice for him to make. He could take all the time he needed.

We texted every day. The messages betrayed his loneliness, an ache I shared. It took all my strength and willpower not to drive all the way to Hanford and bring him back with me before he was ready. He had to be ready, because when I saw him again, I was never letting him go, damn the consequences.

I would risk everything for another moment with Casey.

My phone lit up my dark bedroom, buzzing twice with a notification. It was nine in the morning, at least three hours after I usually woke up. It was difficult to get out of bed now. The pillow beside me felt empty. It had always been empty, but I’d never noticed before now. Now all I could picture was Casey lying there, his eyes still closed in sleep, with a soft smile on his face as he dreamed. Wanting him was selfish. But that didn’t stop me from needing Casey in my arms.

I took my phone from the nightstand. A new text from Casey. He always texted first thing in the morning.

Casey

Good morning. <3 :)

I chuckled at the emojis after his greeting. He always used them when he was feeling sad, as if a smiley face could convince both of us that he was fine. The effort was cute, even if I knew he was suffering.

Adam

I miss you.

It was the same every day. I miss you. I need you. Have you eaten? Did you sleep well? The longer I said those things to him through my phone, the more I wanted to say them in person.

Casey

I can’t smell you anymore.

He missed me too.

Your scent was all over my sweater.

It’s gone now.

Fuck. He was going to make me cry before I even got out of bed. This was agony. And yet, it felt familiar. It felt like all those years alone with no one by my side. A familiar, yet aching pain.

My eyes closed, and I didn’t realize I’d drifted off again until there was a sharp knock at the door. Fuck, I’d slept for hours. It was past noon. The knock was probably Lane, ready to pepper me with questions about being late. I got up and found a pair of pants so I wasn’t fully naked when I answered the door. He knocked again before I made it down the stairs.