Page 311 of Alpha Mates

Stilling, Alex parts his lips before blinking quickly and blurting out, “You can go ahead. I’ll go after you.”

“We don’t know what else is in here,” I reason as I try to breathe around the ache spreading within my chest. “It’s better if we stay together.”

“She put us in here,” he retorts, “she wouldn’t leave us with something dangerous.”

“Are you really going to trust a witch?” That does it.

Mumbling under his breath, Alex snatches up his own belongings before we start along a lone path. We don’t speak as we walk, only the rustle of the wind through the trees and the snap of twigs beneath our shoes break the uncomfortable silence. Alex should be telling me some story about him and Julian while laughing too hard to tell it properly, and the woods should be filled with his joy.

We should be happy, not walking in silence, each standing on opposite sides of the wall I forced him to build between us.

Eventually, the stream’s surging waters break the quiet, and a minute longer passes before we come upon it. It sits under the moonlight like a dream, brushed in strokes of silver that make it glow.

I smile as I drop my bag at its banks and strip. I’m not much of a swimmer, but I always enjoyed any chance to be under Goddess’s raw light. Naked, I head towards the water, meaning to dive right in, but the numbing cold that skitters up my spine when the water meets my toes has me jumping back with a yelp.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asks as he stops beside me. The water brushes his feet, but Alex doesn’t flinch. He continues on, striding in without pause, only bothering to stop when the water brushes over his thighs. He looks back at me with a raised brow.

“It’s cold,” I say, but the words are breathless as I struggle to drag my gaze away from his body. Fuck, if he isn’t gorgeous under the moonlight. He looks like he’d just stepped down from the Plains.

Alex rolls his eyes, but walks further until he’s deep enough to dive into the water. I jolt on his behalf, feeling a shiver rush over my body as I watch him swim in the icy water without a care. Not that brave or hostile to my body, I slowly but surely inch into the water.

I’m submerged to my calves when I consider just scrubbing at the banks. It’s also at this point when I notice that the water has gone strangely still, and I can’t see Alex.

“Alex?” I call as I look around, but there’s no sign of him. “Alex!”

I rush forward, trudging through the waters before I dive under. I search, but the murky water is too dark. I come back up, and I can see Alex, only he’s floating with his face down in the water.

Heart-shattering, I swim towards him, not slowing until I’m turning him in my arms. I push the wet hair from his face with shaking fingers and try to calm down enough to listen for his heartbeat.

Blue eyes pop open, and I jolt with a curse while a sly smile spreads across his lips.

“Took you long enough,” he drawls as he slips free to tread the water. “If that was real, I’d be dead-dead.”

“What … you were—”

“Faking it,” he finishes for me. “To get you in the water, and it worked. We would’ve been here all night at the pace you were going.”

“You tricked me,” I breathe as I wade towards him. Alex gulps before he tries to swim away. “You fucking tricked me.”

Alex turns, but I grab his arm before he can escape and pull him close. Then, because I know his greatest weakness, I tickle him. Laughter rumbles from his chest as he splashes in the water, kicking and jerking like a fish out of water. He tries to escape, but with all his squirming, he just flails.

My lips pull into a familiar smile as I target all his weak spots. Alex squeals, and I chuckle. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him this happy, and witnessing it promises to mend my soul.

“Mercy! Have mercy!” he screams just as my fingers slip under his armpit. “Max!”

I stop my attack and draw him against me so that he doesn’t drown for real. Alex’s eyes barely stay open as he pants against my chest with a smile that matches mine.

“You are … such an … asshole,” he rasps, and my smile widens.

“I try my best.”

Alex snorts a laugh as he chuckles in my arms, and my lips threaten to tear as I watch the way his eyes brighten with unfiltered joy. They find mine and stay there until we’re staring at one another.

Our breathing is no longer so strained, tapering off until it’s as calm as the water we soak in, and we just … look at one another. In my chest, my heart beats a longing tune that I hear him mirroring. I feel it too—feel the way the bond burns, and I heed its call. I draw in, and Alex’s eyes grow heavy as he tilts forward, but then—

“No,” he whispers, almost questioningly.

“Alex—” I try, but he’s already slipping from me.