Page 50 of Alpha’s Conquest

“Josh told me it didn’t matter, that he loved me no matter what. But… When we went to his family’s house for Christmas, I could see the disappointment in their eyes. His family blamed me for everything. I was the reason their son would never have children of his own. It didn’t take long before their resentment spread to him. He stayed late at work. He stopped touching me. We never had sex. I spent my heats alone. He was seeing someone else for his ruts. When he served me divorce papers, he said he wanted a partner who could give him children.”

My throat was raw, and each word was agony, but I was in too deep to stop now.

“I took time to recover, and then I started dating again. I figured it would be better to tell my boyfriends the truth early on, but… it kept happening. They ghosted me. Dumped me. The few who said it didn’t matter would fold as soon as their families found out. For a casual fling, it doesn’t really matter, but when you’re searching for someone to spend your life with, there are things you can’t compromise, I guess. Two years went by, and then I met Marshall. He was the first person to think I still had value. He accepted my faults and still wanted me.”

Adam sharply spun me towards him, sloshing water all over the floor. His green eyes were filled with pain. “Casey. Don’t ever, ever, think that about yourself.” I tried to look away, anything to hold back my tears, but he refused to let me move. “You have value, no matter what anyone says. There’s no ‘accepting faults.’ That’s not what real love is, Casey. There is nothing wrong with you. They’re the ones with the problem.” He pulled me into his arms, and we clung to each other as my tears spilled over. “My baby,” he whispered, his large hand petting my wet hair. “It’s okay.”

Years of suppressed pain burst out, and I wept in his arms, finally feeling safe enough to let it all go. He was right. I believed everything people said about me. Their words took root inside me, so much so that I accepted them as the truth. I truly believed that I didn’t deserve real happiness. But being in his arms and feeling his warmth as his pheromones surrounded me like a gentle embrace, I knew I was wrong.

His body trembled beneath me, both with rage and sorrow. “No one should ever make you feel unworthy for any reason.”

Words I had never heard after all these years. Words I’d never even told myself.

I deserved more than what I settled for.

“H-he,” I said, my voice wobbly with tears. “He was a liar. He was wrong to treat me that way.”

“That’s right, baby. No one will ever hurt you like that again. Not while I’m around.”

What would my life have been like if I hadn’t met Adam? Would I have faced my pain like this and discovered all I’d been denying myself? Would I have ever felt worthy of the life I wanted?

“I…” I stopped myself before the words came out, the words that would change our relationship forever.

I loved him.

He was here with me, holding me as I cried, ignoring his own needs and focusing only on me. How could I not love him?

Sobs shook my jaw, and I burrowed into his arms while Adam soothed my pain away.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Casey

Casey

After finally opening up about Josh, my failed marriage, and all the things that I’d been through, Adam cradled me in his arms until the bathwater was cold. When he lifted me from the tub, dried us off, and helped me get dressed, I realized my pain had eased, just a little. I had been nursing my wounds for so long, I thought I would never stop hurting. But Adam was a balm, one that soothed every ache and heartbreak. He didn’t just make me feel happy. He made me feel whole, something I never thought I would feel again.

I almost told him I loved him. I’d said ‘I love you’ many times in my life, but in that moment, I knew I had never truly loved anyone before, not like this. Those three words lingered in my thoughts and in my heart, unwilling to be suppressed or ignored. I had to keep it to myself. This situation was already beyond complicated. I would tell him, but not yet. First, I had to break up with Marshall. It was inevitable, and I’d known it for weeks. I just didn’t want to face the truth. Once I rang that bell, there was no going back.

After a week of trying to avoid my apartment and the inevitable conversation I needed to have with Marshall, I’d gone to work early, pretending I had to re-organize the office inventory. It wasn’t a total lie. The place was a pigsty, but no one had told me to do it. Rolling my sleeves up and scrubbing every surface was just what I needed to distract myself. With my head buried in a box of half-empty paint cans, I almost dropped a bundle of brushes when there was a knock at the door.

Adam stood in the open doorway, a hesitant smile on his sun-kissed face. The rush of seeing him when I wasn’t expecting to had me sprinting across the room and straight into his arms. God, he smelled so good. His earthy scent was better than any cologne. A shiver went up my spine when he pressed his hand to the back of my head. He gently stroked my hair, neither of us willing to end the hug.

“How are you? Still feeling okay after your heat?”

I felt so relaxed in his arms that I almost forgot to answer. “Yes. It’s ridiculous how calm I feel. I’m never like this after a heat. Usually I stay wound up for a week. It’s nice.”

“I’m glad.” He tipped my head back, studying my features with his green eyes as if he could peer inside me. Maybe he could. Adam always seemed to know me better than I knew myself. “Are you okay besides that? You’ve been quieter than normal. We unearthed some painful memories last week. It’s okay if you’re still upset.”

“I’m not upset anymore. I thought I would be, but telling you everything really helped. I’ve never told anyone about what Josh did. Not even my parents know the full story.”

It passed between us, a silent revelation, one that had us moving closer until our lips met in a passionate kiss. I trusted Adam. I trusted him more than anyone else, more than I’d ever trusted someone before. I knew before I said a single word that he wouldn’t judge me or blame me for a single thing that happened in my marriage, or everything that came after.

I paused, almost forgetting about everything else as I stared into his eyes. “Adam, I…” I pulled up on my toes and gave him a deep kiss.

A second knock at the door made me jump, and only Adam’s arm around my waist kept me from falling.

My parents stood in the doorway. My parents. Oh fuck. The one moment I never wanted to happen was here, and the man standing next to me wasn’t even my boyfriend.