Page 21 of The Careless Alpha

She nodded, but her green eyes were knowing. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm a good listener. Luna Etta says it's one of the most important skills for leadership."

For a moment, I almost said yes. Almost told her about the pressure I was feeling, the expectations weighing on me, the confusion about our future. But then I remembered she was seventeen years old and four months away from being bound to me for life, whether she wanted it or not.

"I should let you get back to dinner," I said instead.

Her face fell slightly, but she smiled anyway. "Of course. Have a good evening, Marshall."

I watched her walk back to the head table, her spine straight and her head held high despite my obvious dismissal. She rejoined the conversation with the Elders as if nothing had happened, but I caught the way Luna Etta's eyes followed me with disapproval.

Outside, the air was sharp and clean, carrying the scent of snow and pine. I walked the territory boundaries until my restless energy was spent, trying to sort through the tangle of expectations and desires, and obligations that defined my life.

Four months. In four months, Annalise would turn eighteen, and everything would change. The pack expected us to completethe mating bond, to start building the future that had been planned since she was thirteen years old.

But did she want that? In all the years since her claiming, I'd never bothered to ask.

The timeline that had once stretched endlessly ahead of me was now racing toward a conclusion I wasn't sure I was ready for. Years had become months, and months would soon become weeks, then days.

Maybe it was time I found out what kind of man I wanted to be when that day arrived.

Or maybe,a voice in the back of my mind whispered,it's time to figure out if the Moon Goddess made a mistake.

I pushed the thought away and headed back to the Alpha house, but it followed me like a shadow, growing larger with each step.

Four months to decide the rest of my life. Four months to figure out if I could love a girl I'd never really tried to know.

Four months until everything changed forever.

I thought back to the look on Annalise's face when she'd asked if I was alright. There was no agenda there, no angle. Just... care. The kind of quiet, steady care I hadn't realized I was starving for. And I had pushed it away. Because accepting it meant accepting everything else that came with her—the bond, the future, the end of the life I knew and enjoyed.

Chapter 9

Annalise - Age 17

Four months before my eighteenth birthday, Marshall finally looked at me like I was a woman. I should have known it wouldn't last.

The pack celebration was in full swing downstairs, filling the Alpha house with laughter and music that drifted up through the floorboards. It was the winter solstice festival, our pack marking the longest night and celebrating the promise of spring's return. Luna Etta had outdone herself with the decorations, transforming the main hall into a winter wonderland of ice sculptures and twinkling lights.

I should have been down there with everyone else, fulfilling my duties as future Luna by mingling with pack members and showing my face at important gatherings. But I'd retreated to my room an hour ago, claiming a headache that wasn't entirely a lie. Watching Marshall charm every unmated she-wolf at the party while barely acknowledging my existence had become more painful than I could bear in public.

You should have stayed,Sapphire said in my mind, her mental voice carrying the frustration I was trying to suppress.You should have reminded them all that you are his mate.

"What's the point?" I whispered to my empty room. "He doesn't want to be reminded."

I'd changed out of my party dress into comfortable pajamas—soft cotton pants and a loose t-shirt that had seen better days. If I wasn't going to be seen, I might as well be comfortable. Through my window, I could see snow falling steadily, blanketing the pack territory in pristine white.

The celebration below grew louder as the night wore on. I could hear Marshall's laugh rising above the other voices, rich and warm and directed at someone who wasn't me. Probably Scarlett, or Veronica, or any of the other she-wolves who'd been competing for his attention lately.

He is making a mistake,Sapphire growled.He does not see what is right in front of him.

"Maybe what's in front of him isn't what he wants," I said sadly.

I was settling into bed with a book when I heard footsteps in the hallway outside my room. Heavy, unsteady footsteps that paused right outside my door. My heart skipped as I recognized Marshall's familiar gait, though something seemed off about it.

A soft knock made me freeze. Marshall never came to my room, especially not this late at night.

"Annalise?" His voice was rougher than usual, heavily slurred. "Are you awake?"

I set down my book with trembling hands. "Yes. Come in."