Page 176 of Alpha Mates

I watch him, waiting for when he’ll look at me. Nothing. No, Jewels is only concerned with some article he’s settled on. I frown. I’m used to him having his nose stuck between two pages, but still. Unreasonably ticked, I shove out of my chair and stalk over.

I stand there like an idiot, but when Jewels still won’t look up, I push his chest back so that I can slide myself onto his lap. He shifts the magazine to make room for me, but keeps reading.

“Eighty dollars for a hat,” he mutters and when I glance down, he’s looking at some model instead of me. I hum a little before I dip low to kiss his jaw. “It’s not even a good one, and it’s chequered. There’s a chessboard on his head.”

Tilting his head up, I shove the magazine away and kiss him properly. Thatfinallygets him. He tosses it to the side to kiss me back. He purrs lowly as his fingers dig into my hip and thigh to drag me closer.

“We have to go soon,” he whispers when we break for air. I fake a sob, making him chuckle. “I know.”

“Back to pack life. Back to work. Back to school,” I list, shuddering at that last one, and his smile widens.

“It won’t all be bad. We’re lab partners, remember?” He gives my side a poke. “We still have that bio project to do.”

“It’s like you’re trying to kill me.”

“A few weeks ago, you were volunteering to do the entire thing by yourself,” Julian reminds me with a pointed look.

“A few weeks ago, I was trying to piss you off, I didn’t actually plan to do it,” I say, and that stupidly perfect smile of his widens. “You’re laughing, but this is inflicted mental torture. We don’t have to go back. In fact, we shouldn’t.” Julian raises a brow. “You said it yourself, our pack will need us more now. Shouldn’t we be spending our time there?”

Julian parts his lips, a retort at the ready, but he hesitates. Not because he doubts himself, but for some reason I can’t pinpoint. His eyes flick to me, and the mood changes from something light to something more hesitant.

“Don’t laugh,” he says, and I feel myself frown.

“I won’t,” I promise. He wavers again, on the fence, then finally nods.

“I don’t go just for the sake of it. I go because I want to make the pack better, and knowledge can help me do that,” he explains slowly. “Human high school isn’t much, but it’s the first step to pursue a college diploma, which I intend to do.”

He takes a breath as his fingers tighten on me. “I can’t do it in person; I know where my place is. The pack comes first, and I’m content with that. But that doesn’t mean I’ll let us fall behind while the world changes around us.”

His voice firms as he adds, “I want our pack to keep growing, and as much as everyone teases me for it, the humans know more than we do where technology is concerned. That’s why I go.”

“To learn,” I echo, and he nods.

A huff escapes me. That had never even crossed my mind. It was close to why our parents made us go in the first place, but that had always felt like a surface-level motion. A box to tick for the Council to make us seem like we actually want to progress with the rest of the world before we go back to life behind our borders.

It’s not that for Jewels. He actually wants to do better, for all of us to be better, because that’s just the type of alpha Julian is.

“Alright,” I reply as I rub my thumb over his nape. “I get it.”

“Yeah?” he asks, hopeful, and I wonder if I’m the only one he’s shared this with.

Lips twitching up, I nod. “Yeah. We’re riding this shit out to the end, and we’re getting anA on that stupid project.” He laughs, and my heart swells. “I have no idea how, but we’ll figure it out.”

“I was thinking we could carve the time out around our schedules and do a little every day,” he suggests, and this time I swallow my groan. “We’ll make it work.”

“I know.” Somehow, we always did.

“Ready to go?” he asks, and I nod.

Reluctantly, I slide off him, and shoulder both our bags. He gives me a look for carrying his, but grabs my keys and lets it go. I take one last look at the view. It’s still as gorgeous as the first day and one I’ll never forget.

When I turn, Julian waits for me with his hand out, and I take it without hesitation.

“Let’s go home.”

“Congratulations!”

I almost stumble back as a resounding roar explodes from what feels like the entirety of both our packs the moment we step out of our car.