Page 58 of Stalked By the Alphas

57

CARTER

My heart explodes with pain as she holds out the bear to me. She is rejecting me, and while I should’ve known, I was hoping she would see how much I love her and need her. I didn’t say that. I should’ve. I was so nervous that all my planned mental notes went out of my head the second I looked at her.

I stare at the bear, not wanting to take it, but then I have to respect what Hazel wants. With a shaky hand, I reach out to grasp its arm, but she doesn’t let go. Instead, she drops to her knees in front of me and guides the bear to the hem of my tee. She lifts it up and shoves the bear underneath it, against my skin.

“So it can have your scent on it,” she murmurs, eyes lowered.

I let out a whimper of excruciating relief and joy. My arms ache to pull Hazel close, but I resist, not wanting to push too far too fast. Instead, I hold perfectly still as she presses the bear against my chest .

“Hazel,” I breathe, her name a prayer on my lips.

She looks up at me then, her green eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “I’m not saying anything yet,” she says softly. “But I’m tired of being alone. I’m tired of being afraid, and as much as I hate to admit it, as fucked up as it is with everything I’ve learned lately, I feel safe with you. I always have.”

Her words elate but humble me into complete penance. She is willing to try, and that is more than I could’ve hoped. I know how much it must have cost her to admit this. “I swear to you, Hazel, I will spend every day of the rest of my life earning your trust back. I will never take you for granted again. None of us will.” The question hangs there, and she sighs softly. I don’t know what that means. Is she denying Noah and Zach or accepting them into her life?

“Noah…” she starts but trails off. “He…”

“He will.”

She nods and I slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull away, reach out and cup her cheek in my hand. When she leans into my touch, I sob from the gift she has given me.

“Can I... can I hold you?” I ask hesitantly.

In response, Hazel leans forward, pressing herself against my chest. I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close, inhaling her sweet jasmine scent. The bear is squashed between us, and it feels like coming home after being lost for so long.

“I love you, Hazel. I need you.” The words finally tumble from my mouth and I’m glad I said them, even if it doesn’t make a difference to her, it does to me.

We stay like that for several long moments, neither of us speaking. I’m afraid to break the spell, to say or do anything that might make her pull away. But eventually, Hazel shifts slightly in my arms.

“Carter,” she murmurs, her voice muffled against my shirt. “There’s still so much we need to work through.”

“I know,” I say softly, running a hand gently down her back. “I don’t expect everything to be fixed overnight. We have a lot to make up for, a lot to prove to you. But I promise you, Hazel, we will do whatever it takes. Are you giving us the chance?” I need to hear it, and I know she needs to say it, to consent, to have that control over her own life and her choices.

She pulls back slightly, looking up at me with those beautiful green eyes. A small smile curves her lips, and she giggles softly. “That depends on how well Noah does.”

I snort in surprise and amusement. “I take it Zach made the cut?”

She presses her lips together. “He needs me.”

Those three simple words flood my heart with love for her. She will face down her own demons to fight his. But it’s nothing I didn’t know about her already.

“Come back to the village,” she whispers. “I need you here.”

“I’ll move back immediately.”

She nods and pulls the bear out of my t-shirt. Her fingers brush my skin, and it sends goosebumps up my arms. “Please don’t hurt me, Carter. I just can’t?—”

“I know. We won’t, Hazel. I promise.”

She stands up and steps back, and that is it for now. But it’s more than I expected and hoped for. She clutches the bear to her and buries her nose into it, inhaling my scent, which forces me to my feet.

“Noah had planned to come to you tomorrow to say his piece,” I say awkwardly.

“I’ll be here.”

I nod and then walk. I leave her, wanting to stay but knowing she won’t accept that. Not yet. She needs to hear from all of us, and I swear to god, if Noah fucks this up in any way whatsoever, I will tear his head off and shove it up his arse.

This all rests on him now, and I wonder if I should’ve gone last. But what’s done is done.

Now, we just have to wait.