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Pain bloomed in my chest from the impact of his words. "This is common knowledge in all the pack-houses?" My voice was weak, choked on my emotional pain.
Bob's eyes filled with sympathy. "Yes."
The only reason I didn't collapse in a heap on the deck was that Bob caught my shoulders. "So, every time they beat me telling me I was a failure, they knew that it was never going to happen?"
Voice tight as if he felt my pain, Bob held me to his chest. "Yes. It was just an excuse."
For a minute, I sobbed in his arms. Then trying to regain my composure, I squeezed my eyes to hold the tears and moved him away. Giving me space, Bob looked severe; caught between rage and overwhelming sadness.
"So, Howard is the one at the gate?"
"Yes."
"And alpha is Dale?"
"Yes."
Cringing on that one, I closed my eyes. I'd opened up to Alpha thinking he was a dog. Voice weak, I struggled to ask the next question. "Who did the stag hurt?"
Bob exhaled hard. "Jeremy. He and Howard are cousins, it's why Howard went for you."
Shaking my head, I refused to accept anyone defending Howard's hatred towards me. "No, it was just an excuse. You see, I know Howard's type, I lived in a house full of them."
"No one will harm you here, Vera. Dale won't allow it, and as his mate, he'd never harm you."
My eyes swelled with fresh tears. "I don't even know what that means."
"It means the goddess matched the two of you from your birth. Before your conception, fate designed you for each other. It means he will protect you and love you and never let anyone hurt you like Malcolm did again."
There was too much passion in his voice. His utter belief that his words were valid broke my heart because I couldn't believe them. Looking up into Bob's eyes, I needed a way to make him doubt as much as I did, or he'd convince me he was right. Then if I dared to hope and Bob was wrong, Dale would break my soul. I couldn't go through that again. "Are you neutered like you claimed?"
Bob's blue eyes lit up. "When it comes to you, yes. For every other woman, no.” Sweeping my hair away from my face, Bob smiled down at me. “I said that, so you'd let me take care of you."
"I don't believe you." Going on tiptoe, I kissed him.
Bob froze for a second, then he pulled away. "That's not a good idea, Vera." Bob's eyes wide with surprise. "I'll finish my job."
Lunging forward, I kissed Bob again. Wrapping his hands around my waist, Bob groaned. Pressing against him, I rubbed my body all over his. Neutered my ass. Pushing me up against the door frame, Bob used his knee to spread my thighs and grind against me. His mouth hungry against mine, Bob growled and gripped me harder.
Smiling when his mouth nibbled down my throat, I knew I had him. Dale would come tonight, either as himself or Alpha, and he'd be able to smell Bob all over me.
Shoving away from me, Bob all but ran down the steps before he looked at me again. His face a mask of guilt and regret. "I'm sorry, Vera, you're not for me."
"Who says? Shouldn't it be my say who I have sex with?"
Mouth hanging open, Bob looked me over, his pupils dilating. "You want to have sex with me?"
"Did I not make that obvious?"
Jaw working as if he chewed gum, Bob's brows lifted. "But Dale is your mate, and he's the Alpha. With him interested in you, you shouldn't even notice another man."
"Maybe we aren't mates then?"
Bob was five seconds away from climbing back up those steps and screwing me here on the back patio. It was clearer than the sky on a cloudless day. When a mobile phone started ringing, we both kind of jumped. Tensing, Bob took his phone out of his pocket, staring at it as if Dale could reach through the screen and punch him. When he exhaled in relief and put it to his ear, I frowned.
"Good, no I'm fine. Can you bring them down? I've got to run into town." Putting more distance between us, Bob hung up and avoided looking at me. "The glaziers are here. Jeremy will bring them down. I need to go." He walked away before I could protest.
Kicking the door with the back of my heel, I forgot I was barefoot. Cursing when it stung, I limped back inside. I was so damn close. An alpha male would hate for a female he wanted to choose a lesser man. It was the perfect way to piss Dale off enough that he might let me leave. So damn close.
