Page 87 of The CEO Alpha’s Substitute Mate

“Yes.” I look down at her. “You are a strong-willed woman, Ariela. You will make it happen.”

She presses her lips together. “You have a lot of faith in me. I wonder why.”

I chuckle lightly. “Because you’re special.”

Her head bows lightly, and then she asks quietly, “Am I really special to you or are you just saying that because you like having me in your bed? Or is it because I’m Luca’s mother?”

Her question doesn’t surprise me, Salar’s words ringing in my ears. “In the ten years my mate has been gone, you are the only woman who has entered my bed, the only one I will keep there from now on.”

She doesn’t say anything, and I wait. What I have said to her is nothing short of a confession from my kind, but she’s human. I don’t know if my words hold the same meaning to her as they do to me.

“That sounds like a proposal.” Her laughter is nervous, and I tighten my arms around her waist.

“Does it?” I ask calmly. My wolf is pacing inside me, rolling over, excited about how her scent is mingling with mine.

She looks up at me over her shoulder, her expression conflicted. “I can’t understand you.”

I lift my hand, ghosting my fingers over her neck. “I’m not an easy man, Ariela. Nor a particularly kind one. But I will never hurt you. You have…” I pause, trying to find the words. “You make me see things differently.”

I can hear how clunky the words sound, rough and emotionless, but to my surprise, she leans back against me. “Differently, huh?” She looks up at me and murmurs, “You’re not very good with the emotional stuff, are you?”

“Does that bother you?” I ask seriously.

She presses her lips together. “Not really. Different worlds, right?” Her head tilts back against my shoulder, and as I look at the sincerity in her eyes, my chest fills with an emotion that makes me feel helpless.

Her gaze flits ahead at the tree line. “I don’t mind.”

As I look at the top of her head, I realize I do. I do mind. I might have to change to form a place in this woman’s heart. For a man who has been so rigid for years, to ask him to change is no small feat. But for this tiny slip of a woman, I will do my best.

Chapter 17

Ariela

The clinic smells of disinfectant with rubber matting underneath it, and I hate every minute of it.

“Was that better than last time?” I ask slowly, trying to breathe through the discomfort.

“It was fine.”

“Better, though.” I’m on my back with my heel hooked over Nadia’s forearm while she walks my leg up toward my chest. “It went farther. I felt it go farther.”

“It was two degrees, maybe.” The physical therapist that Callum handpicked last week looks down at me, her brows furrowed.

“Nadia, that’s progress, right?” I give her a hard stare. “Tell me it’s progress.”

She sets the leg down and runs her thumbs along the outside of my thigh, six inches under the stitch line. “Breathe out for me.”

I breathe out and then lift my head off the table.

“What about strength? It felt stronger on the last set. Maybe we should try that one agai—”

“Ariela, stop.” Nadia looks like she wants to bash somebody’s head in, and I have a feeling it might be mine.

“I’m only asking,” I mutter guiltily. “I thought I was being helpful.”

“I know.” Nadia sits back on her stool with her hands on her knees, her expression long-suffering. “But recovery isn’t an audition. If you keep testing this leg every thirty seconds to see whether it’s ready, you’re going to put yourself back three weeks. You have to take this one day at a time and trust the process.”

I lower my head and look at the ceiling tiles, feeling both guilty and impatient. “Fine. I’ll stop.”