Page 289 of Alpha Mates

Why do you sound so scared?

Because I am,I admit, taking a steadying breath.Because you’re barely here anymore.

Julian …he sighs, sounding so tired that I almost let it go. But I can’t.

You need to talk to Max, I blurt, praying he won’t fade away like he always does when I bring him up. He doesn’t. Instead, he growls.

Just drop it, Julian.

I can’t—not when I know you’re hurting.My fingers curl at my side.And don’t say you’re not. I hear it in your voice. I may have you back, but it’s not really you.

I’m fine,he says, even as his sadness settles in my heart.

No, you’re not!I snap, frustration rising.You only talk when I force you to, and even then, you sound like you’re drowning. You don’t laugh. You don’t make jokes. You’re so sad, and I can’t help you because you won’t even tell me what happened.

Drop it!he snarls, anger flaring hot between us, scalding our bond.That’s the last time I’m telling you this.

Alex fades away before I can respond, practically slamming the door in my mind, and ignores all my attempts to reach him again. I stifle a groan, sinking my face into my hands. This isn’t working.

“Aiden,” I call, turning just as he pops his head out, eyes glimmering with hope.

“It’s not about that, you perv.” He deflates like a balloon. “Can you block out Max?”

He frowns as he steps into the hall, but doesn’t question me. He just nods before asking, “What’s up?”

“We need to fix whatever happened between Alex and Max.”

To my surprise, Aiden doesn’t miss a beat. “Agreed. But how, when they won’t even tell us what happened?”

“We’ve tried letting them do it their way, but Alex isn’t even trying anymore,” I say, pushing past the hurt. “I don’t want to force them, but I think we might have to.”

“Julian …” he begins in warning.

“We have to get them to talk,” I say before he can stop me. “Even if it takes trapping them together.”

“That’s the worst plan ever,” he deadpans, holding up a finger. “For one, the second they realise what we’re doing, they’ll be pissed at us—and right now, the only thing we have is that they’re at least still good with each of us.”

He adds another finger as he steps towards me. “Two, even if we push them to the forefront, they’ll just shove us right back.” A third. “Three, say we do it, and they’re stuck together—if it doesn’t work out between them and things get even worse, we could lose them.”

“We won’t,” I insist. “They just need time together. Doing nothing isn’t helping. We can figure out a way to make sure they stay in control, and once they do, they’ll make up. I know they will.”

Aiden folds his arms over his chest, visibly uncomfortable.

“I got Alex back, but he’s not the same,” I whisper. “He’s sad, Aiden. I can feel it, like this weight on my chest, and it’s eating away at him—at us. And he won’t talk about it. I know you’ve tried with Max and it’s the same. We have to do something, Aiden.”

Aiden studies me in silence, trying to find a solution to this that doesn’t exist without doing something our wolves won’t like. But it’s for their own good, and he knows it.

“I do notsupport this,” he states with a heavy sigh.

“Do you have a better plan?”

He scowls. “No.”

“Then this is what we’re doing,” I state.

“I really don’t think th—”

“It’s decided,” I say, cutting him off before he can backpedal. Unimpressed, Aiden glowers at me, but we both know I’ve got him in a corner.