Page 84 of Fated to the Alpha

“I’m all right, Kim.”

She nodded and sniffled. “I know … I just hate that any of this happened.”

“It’s not your fault.”

She gripped his hand tighter. “Everyone keeps saying that, but I don’t believe it. I killed a man. He was a hunter, but—”

“You defended yourself. You defended me. You might have protected Tolstone itself by taking the bastard out.”

She squeezed out a second tear. “It doesn’t feel like that when you’re lying here, in so much pain, and Dominic and Cole are having to talk about moving a body and making this … elaborate scheme to throw off suspicion. It’s such a mess, and if I hadn’t been so silly to think I could surprise you with a shift, then I wouldn’t have been there, and none of this would have happened.”

He smirked. “You still surprised me, if that counts for anything.”

She looked like she would have smacked his shoulder if he wasn’t already in such a state, and the chuckle made his ribs ache.

“It doesn’t erase what I’ve done,” Kimberly whispered.

“What you did was incredibly brave. You know what I felt when you shifted and attacked him? Nothing but pride. My girl shifted and didn’t shrink away from what needed to be done. You did what you had to. And don’t think I didn’t hear your smart-ass comments when he had a gun pointed at you. That was brave too. You couldn’t have known for sure if there was silver in that gun. He could have killed you, and you stood there, sassing him.” Shane grinned. “It was like when you stood up for yourself to me. You’ve got guts and a spine of steel. You always have. I don’t care what you feel right now. You proved that a shifter doesn’t need dominance to defend themselves. Just courage.”

Unshed tears glistened in Kimberly’s eyes, and Shane reached up to trail his thumb over the partially dried tears.

She suddenly cracked a tiny smile.

“What’s that smile for?” he asked.

Kimberly composed herself and rubbed her palm into her eyes. “I was thinking about how you look just like you did that one time we went to the fair. We were fifteen, I think. You ate six hotdogs and then we went on one of those spinning rides. You puked everything back up. You looked so pale and sweaty, just like you do now.”

She reached up and brushed her hand over his damp brow, touch so light and tender that he wanted nothing more than to drag her down to the mattress and seize the kiss he’d missed all week. In his condition, he didn’t think it wise.

Yet, the change in her eyes told him that she understood that need through their bond. Kimberly bent down and planted a long, meaningful, but horribly tame kiss on his lips. They were still healing, body and heart, but they could share some intimacy until they were ready again.

When she pulled away, she playfully grazed her nose against his. “You know what else happened at that fair?”

“Before or after I barfed my brains out?”

She giggled. “Before.” She sat back and resumed her hold on his hand. “You teased me that we would go off together one day. My dad had lectured me the night before, and you took me to the fair to get my mind off it. We hadn’t turned yet. We were still human, but you told me that an inevitable part of our future would never change. How you felt for me. You promised we would always be together, as friends or as more.”

Shane’s chest suddenly felt hollow. “And I broke that promise. Ten years ago, when I didn’t try to find you.”

Kimberly shook her head. “No. I don’t think you did. It sounds like a line from a cheesy after-school cartoon, but I think you were always with me in spirit. Maybe, in a weird way, we already had something of a mating bond, but not as strong. I didn’t really notice it until tonight.”

“What did you mean?”

Kimberly glanced away while she tried to find the words. “When I dated other shifters and they never called me back for a second date, I assumed it was because of my lack of dominance and that no shifter wanted anything to do with me. Maybe it wasn’t that obvious. Maybe they could all sense that my heart was already taken. They didn’t have to know you or hear me talk about you to know that you exist, and I would always be yours. Same for you. Those other girls you dated, who you didn’t feel a connection with, maybe they knew it, too, and your wolf wouldn’t let you get close to anyone, not when it still wanted me.”

Shane blinked with sudden understanding. “Then there was that night in Oakfield. I felt the pull to go back to the hotel.”

Kimberly’s nod said she thought about that, too. “We had something, Shane. We always have. The mating bond might as well have been a formality.”

“Fated mates since childhood,” Shane said thoughtfully. “I like it. Checks out.”

Kimberly moved to sit on the edge of the bed, her warmth easing some of his aches. “In a way, you kept your promise, Shane. Despite all the shit we’ve been through, you kept your promise.”

He tightened his hand on hers. “I almost didn’t expect you to accept the bond this time, regardless of the circumstances.”

“I love you. Why wouldn’t I?”

The words swelled and exploded like fireworks between them, the sparks skittering through him to the point he felt no pain anymore. Not a single bit.