Page 295 of Alpha Mates

Katerina follows after me, letting me lead her away even though I have no destination in mind. I just know I have to get her away from here, and that, I can do.

It’s not until we’re shrouded within the netted darkness of the surrounding woods that Katerina’s cries crest again. I don’t understand at first—not until I see that lone tree again.

I step in front of her path, meaning to spare her the view, but one glimpse at her shattered brown eyes is enough for me to open my arms.

This time, there is no hesitation.

Katerina crumples in my arms, all the fight in her gone now as she cries.

It’s not for her, not for the girl she’d just killed or her coven. It’s for the one person who isn’t here, the one she seemed to carry with her, the one they took from her. Whoever it was, Katerina had loved them deeply, and that love remained even with them gone. She thought getting rid of their killer would make it better, but it hasn’t.

They’re still gone, and she’s here, alone.

“It’ll be okay,” I whisper so she knows that, for now, she isn’t completely alone. “Eventually. Eventually, all of it will be okay.”

I’d learnt that with Julian, and maybe someday, Katerina would learn that too.

Katerina’s fingers dig into my skin as if she tries to grasp that future with sheer might, and even while the pinch causes my skin to flare, I endure it and hold her the way I’d so often prayed someone else might for me while I’d suffered within the darkness.

Chapter 59

Julian

“Why are you packing three sleeping bags?” Aiden asks while he watches me pack. I glance up and frown at him.

“In case something happens to one of the others,” I explain, though I shouldn’t have to. You’d think Aiden would’ve learnt a thing or two about me after almost six months together, but I guess not. “Have you packed everything on the list?”

“Yes—and yes, I triple-checked,” he finishes when I open my mouth. I smile proudly. Maybe he didlearn something. “Am I free to go now? I’ve got a training session in ten.”

“Yeah, you’re fine,” I say, leaning back over my bag.

Aiden steps forward and brushes a kiss against my lips, then pulls away a second later.

“I’ll see you later,” he whispers against them, stealing one more peck before he steps back.

With a smile and a wave, Aiden heads out the door. I wait until I hear it click shut behind him before I let myself groan out loud.

When I first implemented the sex ban between us, I only meant for it to last a couple of days. I thought Aiden would eventually get frustrated enough to break it and we’d go back to normal. But my lovely mate has been respecting my stupid wishes. Now, I’m wound up, and horny, and we’re running out of time to fix that.

Tomorrow, Aiden and I would be forcing Alex and Max to the forefront to work out their issues. It’s a drastic move—forcing our wolves to interact—but with everything going on with the rogues, we can’t afford to fight anyone without our wolves at their best.

Alex and Max need to make up. And I know, with time, they would. But I don’t want to leave them trapped together while sexually frustrated, and that’s exactly what they’ll be after a week of celibacy between Aiden and me.

We want them to reconcile, not hate us.

Plus … admittedly,Iwant it. Badly.

The only problem? I have absolutely no idea how to tell Aiden I want to fuck without melting through the floorboards.

Aiden normally just did the things I could never admit to liking or wanting—sensing it in our bond or acting on instinct, I don’t know. But maybe that trip to witch land had messed him up, because now, he’s waiting on my signal and I don’t know how to give it.

Sliding my hands over my face, I stifle another groan.

Alex would know what to do, but he’s as silent as ever. He probably doesn’t even know what’s going on. I need to talk through this with someone, and the only other person I ever turned to for advice was Beckett.

I shift uneasily. I’ve never talked to Beckett about sex, or anything close to it. It’s just not the kind of friendship we have. But he’s my best friend, my beta, and talking to him would be ten times less embarrassing than trying to talk to Aiden, so …

Leaving the duffels where they are on the bed, I grab my keys and rush out the door.