Page 16 of Reclaiming His Lost Mate (Secret Legacy #3)

S elina

If Alexis thought that gardening the eight rows of herbs I planted behind my log cabin, forming a fence with strong redwood sticks around my backyard, or staking my climbing Nasturtium plants so that they didn’t crawl over the other herbs—in the dead hours of the night, might I add—was going to undo all his doings from five years ago, he was sorely misinformed.

His actions didn’t put even a dent in my decision, and by the next day, I put on my big girl pants and went back to work because, well, I had a child to support.

Work was slow today. My customers may have thought the herbal shop would still be closed after the impromptu shutdown yesterday, but business was still busy enough that I couldn’t take a seat till way past noon.

When I came up for air, Lyvia’s infused trinkets above the entrance door announced the presence of one more customer, and I turned to him from behind the wooden counter that still served as a display shelf, with a smile, only to find that it wasn’t just any customer.

He spoke before I could, sauntering across the shop to where I stood as he swept a manicured-looking hand over the top of his slicked-back golden hair .

Tom.

“When I came by yesterday and you were closed, by Igaluk, my pretty Selina,” Tom started, his signature panty-dropping smile in place, “I thought the world was ending, thinking that the loves of my life, Selina and Mia, were moving out of Matsuna.” I chuckled as I took in his six feet of height and lean build.

His brown eyes were almost black and scathing to look at, even though they were opposite to his golden retriever energy.

Dramatically fisting a hand to where his heart was under his cashmere turtleneck, he spoke again, emphasizing each syllable of every word. “Do not do that to me again, honey.”

Pairing his turtleneck with ripped jeans and a decent pair of sparkling white sneakers—my herb supplier’s preferred style of dressing—Tom looked and carried himself with as much pride as friendliness.

Something else Tom always carried with him wherever he went was scorching hot gossip, but it was mostly Lyvia and Mia who coddled him, both of whom were not around.

“Whatever, Tom. Why are you here? I do not see you supplying me with any bags of herbs from Silvermoon,” I chipped in playfully, eyes drawn together, watching him settle down on a high stool across the counter. “You know that is the only reason why I entertain you.”

Tom, catching my joke, responded, wriggling his eyebrows. “Even if I have news?”

Expelling a sigh, I answered. “Fine. Indulge me.”

“There’s a new guy in town. His name is Alexis, and the birdies told me that he’s The Alexis,” Tom chirped, excitement sounding in his pitched tone either from the news itself or from me agreeing to hear it from him. “As in, the Alpha Alexis of Shadow Moon Pack.”

I would have been shocked otherwise, but this was old news to me.

“And?”

My disinterest did not dampen Tom’s mood.

He went on, straightening his back out on the stool.

“And my Selina honey, the rumors did not do justice to how fine the man is!” He added, drawing out the word "fine." I wasn’t interested in Alexis, but I had to agree with Tom. On that fibbing thought, my stupid heart bounced against my ribcage, my wolf crooning in attention, and I quickly cautioned her. Tom spoke again, not done with the tea. “And I do not know what his reasons are, but I thank Igaluk that he’s rented an apartment a few streets over. Damn!”

As Tom said that, my blood spiked.

“What?”

“Uh-huh. He’s living here now. Or at least for now.

You know an alpha can never be away from his pack for too long.

Not with Torin's raids. And oh,” Tom chipped in, switching the topic fast, and I was thankful for that because he would have caught on to my reaction like a match to kerosine.

“Two of your front steps are broken,” he said, pointing a long finger toward the entrance of the shop.

I sighed, putting it at the back of my mind to find a carpenter, knowing how hard that would be in a town as small as this.

My mind went back to Tom’s earlier words about Alexis getting a house nearby, and I hoped that it wasn’t true. Why would he do that?

Did it have something to do with him finding out about Mia? What could he possibly want?

Scary memories sprang, and it wasn’t easy to push the thoughts away, but I later did.

Tom hung around while I cleaned the display of herbal potions I kept on the transparent counter in the shop. The top was made of strong wood, and the front part with plexiglass. A few minutes later, Mia skidded into the shop, back from her lessons.

Ignoring me, Mia ran to Tom, who was still seated on the same stool he had been since he arrived, and she threw herself on him. “Tom!”

“Hey, Mia,” Tom drawled, chest rumbling as he patted her head after their hug.

“I’ve missed you, my girl,” he said, and Mia, not old enough to understand that Tom flirted with any creature that walked on Igaluk’s green earth, even though the man only ever took an interest in his gender, twirled on her feet.

“I’ll have to be on my way now, Selina, Mia.

We’ll see soon, though, okay?” Tom announced.

Drying my hand with a rag, I came out from behind the counter to hug Tom goodbye. He did the same for Mia and then turned for the door. Just as I crouched low to Mia’s level, Tom reached the door, but someone else opened it from outside .

Even before he came into the shop, energy leisurely crawled up my back, snaking its fingers around my neck, and held me in a grip.

My heartbeat kicked into another gear, and the instant zing I felt between my thighs told me exactly who the visitor was.

Before I turned, Mia confirmed my suspicion with wide eyes.

“Mommy, your friend who said the bad word is behind you,” she pointed, smiling.

I snapped my head around, and sure enough, the man who’d featured in my dreams, in which he’d uttered more than a few bad words, stood in the entrance.

And I wasn’t the only one, it seemed, who couldn’t resist Alexis’s spell.

Even Tom, who was still present in the shop, was checking him out.

Alexis was in dark gray pants and a two-tone shade-lighter round-neck T-shirt.

His hair had been groomed to the length I recalled him wearing five years ago.

Dark blue eyes held mine for too long, and I felt my resolve being slammed into with a sledgehammer.

In Alexis’s grasp was a large bouquet of blue flowers, causing my throat to close up, and in his left hand, a bag that looked like it just came out packaged from a store.

If I had tried to speak yet, I wouldn’t have been able to, but Tom spoke instead, taking the weight off my hands for a second.

Tom stepped forward. “Ah, you must be Alexis. Welcome to town!” he said, a friendly smile brightening his face.

My stomach plummeted at Tom’s openness. I tensed, stepping back into a protective stance, uncertain of what chaos had just re-entered my life.

“Thank you,” Alexis replied, his expression unreadable as he shifted his gaze from Tom to me. The moment was charged, a ripple of intrigue passing between the two men. Tom’s casual charm filled the air while Alexis’s presence loomed large.

Tom nodded, sidestepping Alexis to now get behind him so he couldn’t see Tom as he palmed the back of one hand to his forehead, mouthing the words, “he’s so hot,” to my face, while I tried hard not to react.

With that, Tom was gone, closing the door behind him, and it seemed like the movement dragged the already limited supply of air right out of the shop with him.

Alexis approached, his alpha stride closing the gap between us, and if I felt small compared to him before, my squatting down to Mia’s level made me even smaller.

“Selina,” Alexis regarded me, then shifting his gaze to Mia now, his eyes lost all the tension. It truly softened, the sag I had noticed before gone, a smile stretching his Cupid lips, making them appear thinner and longer. Kissable.

Again, NO!

“Mia. Hi,” Alexis breathed out, and Mia’s cheeks swelled up in a blush.

Okay, I wasn’t understanding Mia’s reactions to the men today.

“Hi,” she greeted, waving a little and shyly slumping her weight on me like it was too heavy to carry on her own.

“What do you want, Alexis?” I snapped, rising to my feet on remembering my resolution.

Alexis wordlessly dropped the maxi-sized bag he was holding down by his feet, and the free hand now shuffled the flower he was once holding. My jaw slacked when Alexis separated the pile for me to see that there was a smaller wrapped bouquet…for Mia?

“What is this?” I asked, disbelieving that Alexis had brought this for me and Mia.

“It’s yours, Selina,” he said, and my eyelids dropped halfway on hearing my name from his lips.

What was wrong with me? It’s not like I hadn’t heard him say my name before.

He passed me the larger bouquet, and I subconsciously reached out for it, not recalling the last time I received a gesture like this.

Once he had given me mine, Alexis dropped to one knee in front of Mia, a full smile playing on his face now but a hint of skepticism still evident from the lines on his forehead.

“I didn’t know what you both would like, but I got this for you too, Mia,” Alexis said, and Mia’s eyes shot up to her hairline.

“For me?” She repeated in a shrill voice, and Alexis nodded.

“For you.”

Mia’s expectant eyes traveled up, meeting mine, one small hand coming to wrap around my left thigh, and she bounced on her two feet .

“I guess you can have it,” I said reluctantly, and I hadn’t even fully gotten the sentence out before Mia squealed, accepting the flowers from Alexis.

“Oh gosh,” she squeaked out. “Thank you one million times!”

“You like them?” Alexis asked with skeptical eyes yet a proud smile, and Mia nodded vigorously, her excitement unable to be contained.

“I love them. They’re pretty.”

Turning to the stool that Tom had just vacated, I put my flowers down, speaking now. I was genuinely happy to see Mia overly excited for something other than a playground date or an ice cream treat from me, but I was definitely not interested in Alexis sweeping her off her feet.

“They’re pretty, Alexis, Thank you.” Sweeping the hair out of my face and over my shoulder, I went on. “But please, you do not have to get us something like this again,” I said calmly, hoping that he caught the subtle cue from my request.

He could try for all I cared, but I was certain that Alexis would soon be exhausted from playing hero and go back to his pack so we could live out separate lives in peace.

“Oh,” he muttered, but he didn’t sound disappointed. Slanting to the bag he had dropped on the floor, he brought it up, passing it to me. “I also got these. I’m sure you’d like the ones I got for you. Others are for Mia.”

“More gifts?” Mia beamed, gasping in surprise.

I pressed my lips together, expelling a sharp breath as I collected the bag from him.

At that, my memory sparked as our hands connected over the paper bag, a current shooting directly on the contact spot and spreading up my arms immediately.

I snatched the heavy bag, groaning at Alexis’s actions.

“It’s not about liking them,” I bit out through gritted teeth.

Bringing my voice down so Mia couldn’t decipher, I spoke.

“Don’t get us any gifts. At all!” Plastering a sweetly fake smile on my face, I forced myself to pay no mind to how crazily my heart roared to life when Alexis touched me just now—for the first time in five years.

Then, I spoke audibly. “Thanks again, Alexis, but we have homework to do.” I saw the question form in his eyes…

‘can I stay?’… but I shut it down immediately. “So, you can take your leave now.”

Alexis sighed, and I couldn’t even remember the glacial eyes on the stern face of the man who strode into Nightwing Pack that night, distorting my whole world with the words, “I reject the fated bond with you, Selina.” He looked so much different now, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t.

“I’ll see you two around soon,” Alexis said, breathing out in defeat, and I shook my head, chuckling without humor.

“No, you won’t.”

Newsflash? He did.

Alexis did see us around soon because when we exited the shop at seven that evening, coming down the stairs, the broken steps that Tom informed me of earlier had been replaced with new sturdy boards, and Alexis was right outside, offering to walk us home.

As expected, I harshly told him off, and I thought that did it, but two minutes into the walk home, Mia spoke, saying, “Mommy, Alexis is following us home.”

I turned around, shocked, and he was there. Ten feet away, Alexis trailed us home.

Then, he showed up the next day with another bag of gifts and a different type of flower.

Just like the previous day, there was one for me and one for Mia.

Mia had insisted on bringing the pink board game from the last bag of gifts to the shop with her that day, and Alexis must have learned that she preferred the color because for the next three weeks, Alexis came to my herbal shop with a multitude of pink gifts for Mia.

Every other day, when we closed the shop at seven, Alexis would walk us home. I thought he was going to tire at first, but he was relentless. From ten feet away, it reduced to seven, five, and before I knew it, Alexis walked side by side with us home every day.

The thing I feared and tried to avoid was what exactly was happening. Mia was falling in love with Alexis within this short time.

And Tom’s words from his last visit to my shop kept replaying in my head when he said that an alpha couldn’t be away from his pack for too long.

Knowing how possessive alphas were and having experienced it firsthand with Alexis, I knew that it was only a matter of time before Alexis would want his daughter to return home with him.

The thought of going back to Nightwing Pack, or Alexis’s Shadow Moon Pack, a life I had put behind me long ago, was chilling to my bones, to say the least.

I admitted. I was terrified.