Page 329 of Alpha Mates

I nod once. “Good.”

Chapter 65

Aiden

My thumb rubs slow circles over my index finger, focusing on the joint that’s so deceptively solid. Smothering the phantom ache won’t help me sleep, but it’ll make me feel better. For a while. But it’ll scare him, and I promised never to do it again. So I numb the urge and trace my fingers over his warm skin instead.

Neither of us would be sleeping tonight. We knew that when we turned off the lights and climbed into bed to pretend.

The rest of the pack seems to be doing the same, because it’s eerily quiet out there. The usually busy roads are dead silent, and no wolf chooses to run tonight. It’s the kind of calm that only comes before the world tears itself open. They’re all taking what little peace they can, the last night before some of them don’t come back.

The strongest warriors would be with us, while a select few would stay to protect the pack. The wards will hold, but in a world where witches had more than one source of power and rogues weren’t feral, certainty becomes a luxury.

I envy the ones staying. Not because I want to, but because I wishhewould.

“No,” he whispers into the silence.

“Julian.” I sigh. I didn’t mean to let that slip through, but my mind’s an open book where Julian’s concerned.

“No,” he repeats, burrowing into the crook of my neck. “I’m not staying behind like some fragile luna that needs to be protected.”

“That’s not it,” I say, tightening my hold on his shoulder. “I know you can fight. I just don’t want to risk anything happening to you.”

“And you think I wantyouout there?” he replies with a shuddered breath. “You think I want to leave your side with what’s waiting for us? I don’t. I want you to be free of any and all danger, but I also know that we’re alphas before anything else.”

“I know,” I mumble with a sigh that he mirrors. His locked limbs slowly loosen. “I know.” I wish it were different, but—“I know.”

In an ideal world, I’d lock Julian in this room so no one could get to him. Not the rogues, not Reon. And not his brother. But there’s a chance—a real solid chance—Oliver might not be there by choice. If they’ve twisted him somehow, if he’s being used, we could still fix it. Probably.

I hope that’s what this is. Because if it isn’t, and he’s anything other than the brother Julian idolised, Julian would never be the same.

“It’ll be okay,” he says, even though it won’t be, even if everything goes according to plan. “You’llbe okay … when you see him, I mean.”

That, I do know.

Seeing Reon surprised me enough to drag something vulnerable to the surface, but behind the fear and anger was the peace of knowing that I wasn’t that little kid anymore. Even when I thought he was dead, I’d made sure I was strong enough to never be prey again, and it’d paid off.

Reon’s not a threat to me, because when I get my hands on him, I’d become his nightmare.

“I’ll be fine to kill him,” I say. Anything else, well, I’ll deal with that after.

Weighted silence blankets us again as the night crawls on, dragging us closer to the hour we’d need to leave. Julian’s arms tighten around me, and mine do the same.

“Aiden,” he starts, voice catching. His heart’s racing. I can feel it, souring our bond with fear. “If it comes down to it and he’s actually …” he can’t say it. “Then—”

“Then we’ll face it together,” I say with a kiss to his forehead. “You’ve had me for every step of this twisted shit we call life, and you’ll have me for the rest of it.”

Exhaling slowly, he relaxes against me as our bond fills with my devotion. It’s all I have to offer him tonight.

“We’ll have to leave soon,” he whispers, shifting, getting comfortable. “Let’s at least try to get some sleep.”

“Alright,” I reply with another kiss to the top his head before we sink into stillness, breathing each other in.

We don’t sleep a wink.

“You reach for me if anything, and I meananything, feels off,” I say, eyes locked on my mate, even though wolves gather all around us.

I’m leading the charge. Julian’s positioned on the outer edge of our formation—his speed making him and his team ideal for quieter kills. They’ll take out any scouts or stragglers trying to slip through or get ahead of us.