Page 100 of Alpha Mates

It’s the first word either of us has spoken since we left that dingy gas station, and I’m grateful for it. The silence was getting awkward.

“Uh, no,” I reply while he shifts in his seat.

“Well, they are,” Aiden states and when he looks at me, he’s blinking just a bit too much.

“That’s … interesting,” I manage. “Thanks for telling me?”

He nods, and the car falls silent again.

“Um,” I start, and Aiden’s head immediately snaps my way. “Did you know most people can’t hum while holding their noses?”

A frown furrows his features before he squeezes the bridge of his nose and blows so hard a vein appears in his forehead. I laugh as he blows and blows, each valiant attempt making his eyes grow wider.

“Damn!” he huffs as he gives up with a ragged breath. “It’s true.”

“I wouldn’t have said it if it wasn’t true,” I reply around my chuckles. He’s breathless, but he still manages to grin at me, and I feel the tension give slightly.

The drive-in is nearly empty tonight, only a few cars littering the old, dilapidated lot. We’re all pretty spaced out, with most attendees remaining with their cars, which makes Emitt, Isabel, and Beckett stand out like a witches’ nest.

They’d set themselves up near the front, where a sizeable stretch of grass waits for people like them—the ones who thought sitting outside at a drive-in was a good idea. But they’re happy there, for the most part.

They’d probably be much happier if we had shown up with their snacks. We’d barely found a space before they’d surrounded the car like starving pups. But that excitement had speedily turned to foul disappointment when Aiden told them we got “caught up” and didn’t have their treats.

They’d sulked off, Emitt muttering not-so-quiet curses, and now here we are, watching trailers for movies I don’t care about, while the elephant gets comfortable in the back seat.

“Alright, I’m just going to start this time,” Aiden says, twisting to face me. Without his shades, his dark eyes are open to me and they’re wide as he says, “I’m sorry.”

I blow out a breath of relief. “Sorry for what?” I ask.

“For freaking out back there,” he says, dragging his hand down his face. My skin heats, but I force myself not to look away. “I know you can take care of yourself, so I didn’t need to get all weird back there. I guess I’ve just been all over the place today.”

I bite my tongue to stop myself from asking why. He’d already said he didn’t want to talk about it.

“It’s okay,” I say instead, because it is. I hadn’t enjoyed the berating in the slightest, but Ihadliked having someone worry about me and wanting to protect me. “I’ve been all over the place too.” I tack on, spurring Aiden to peek at me.

Peering through his fingers, he eyes me with clear doubt, and my lips curl upwards. “I’ve spent the last two days running away from you, Aiden. I’m a mess.”

“You? Neverrr,” he teases, making me laugh. He stops hiding and lets his hand fall. “I guess we’re both a mess.”

“Yeah,” I agree, relaxing into my own seat.

For a while, the only sound is the tinny movie trailer audio, until he hesitantly asks, “Whywereyou avoiding me? Really?”

I sigh, resenting having to admit the truth, but I’d run from it long enough. “I wasn’t avoiding you because I didn’t like … what we did,” I clarify, wanting to be absolutely clear about that. “I did. A lot. I liked what we … did—and how we did it. I shouldn’t, but I do.”

He props himself up and frowns at me. “Why shouldn’t you like it?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” I reply. When he just looks at me, waiting, I snap. “Because I’m an alpha, Aiden. Because as an alpha, I shouldn’t be submitting to anyone else. Do I need to spell it out?”

“Yeah, actually, you do, ’cause those all sound like bullshit reasons to me,” he snaps, and I recognise the scent of his anger as our bond warms. “Julian,being an alpha has nothing to do with what you like in bed.”

I scoff, looking away. “Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who-” I cut myself off before I have to voice it. We both know what I’d done.

“Who what?” Aiden prods anyway. “I need you to be specific, because I can’t think of a single thing that we did that you shouldn’t like, just because you’re an alpha.”

Looking at my fingers, I try not to chip my teeth as I grind out, “I was on my back, Aiden.”

I don’t mean to make it sound like that, as if it were a dirty thing when it doesn’t feel that way; even now, when maybe it should. It never felt like something to be ashamed of. And that’s precisely the problem—I’m not ashamed.