Page 76 of A Chance at Redemption for the Alpha

The young woman approaches us, introducing herself as Sheila. She instantly starts to attend to Percy, and I can almost see the tension leaving his body. “I will take Percy with me,” she says, “and show him his new home.”

“Great, Sheila, thank you,” Marcellus says. “Benj, can you show Lori to her place?”

“Of course,” he says, surprisingly eager. He grabs my bags before I can even lift a finger, and smiles at me. “I hope it’s okay if I show you around?”

“Of course,” I affirm anxiously.

I wait for him to say something, to reject me on the spot or to voice his disgust. Benjamin stays quiet, though, just looking at me with fearful eyes. Why does he look so scared? Neither of us says anything until the alpha eyes us curiously. “Something wrong?” he asks.

“Not at all,” Benjamin hurries to say. “Come, Lori, I will show you the way.”

He straightens his shoulders, looking more confident all of a sudden, while he gestures for me to follow him. We walk the path to my cottage in silence. Here and there, Benjamin points something out to me, or explains about one of the buildings and just how the pack runs in general.

“This seems to be such a relaxed place,” I say, more to myself than to him.

“It is.” He beams at me. “This pack has healed me so much. Just give it a chance and you will see how much of a great place this is.”

Once we reach my cottage, I notice it’s actually well-maintained. “I thought there would be a lot more work to do,” I say.

“Oh, no one here is going to live in a run-down place,” he explains. “I know you like to craft and restore things to your liking, but I made sure that the basics were done.”

I get a cozy feeling when I step inside my new home. It’s small and tidy, with a layout that was clearly well thought through. I can feel my fingers itch slightly when I begin to think of the many possibilities and how I could give this place my own touch. There is a small shed next to the cottage, which seems is not being used, and I think I could turn it into a small garden house.

“Marcellus said you are great with handiwork,” Benjamin asks.

“It’s my passion,” I admit.

“That’s so cool,” he says. “And it’s definitely a skill we lack here. I think he is secretly hoping you will take on a lot of the projects here, once you know what you want to do.”

“Wait… I have a choice?”

“Of course.”

I turn to look at him, feeling how my stomach makes backflips when I look into his deep, brown eyes. There is a longing in me that I know all too well. The deep-rooted wish to be loved. “When are you going to do it?” I utter, not able to stop myself from sounding sad.

“Do what?” he asks, confused.

“Reject me.”

“I… I… am actually waiting for you to reject me,” he blurts out.

“Why would I do that?” I ask.

“Because I suck, and because of my terrible past,” he says.

“The same goes for me,” I say. “I made so many mistakes. My last mate rejected me.”

“The same happened to me,” he says quietly, a hint of pain in his voice. I am shocked. Who’d reject this sweet guy?

“I was the pack whore,” I hear myself say. I want him to know my whole past, so we can get it over with. Rip off the Band-Aid.

He looks at me, instead of judgmental, he looks worried. “You were a sex worker?” he asks. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“No… I wasn’t,” I pause. “I wasn’t forced into anything. I was…“ My voice trails off.

“I don’t mind,” he says. “You have a past, and I have a past.”

“They keep telling me I’m a victim, but I don’t feel like one.”