Alphas of Red Moon Ranch(33)

Holly glanced up and saw Jacob’s figure lumbering towards the truck. “Right…I’ve got to go, Jacob’s here.”

“Alright. Keep me updated. Love you, Holly.”

“Love you too. Tell Brad I said hi.”

Jacob was already inside and gunning up the engine by the time Holly ended the call. “Who was that?” he asked.

“Alice,” Holly said. “You remember, from the wedding?”

“I remember.” Without Alice, the truck somehow felt colder, the air between them stale. “How’s she doing?” he asked.

“Fine,” Holly said.

From the corner of her eyes, she could see Jacob glance over at her and knit his eyebrows. “How’re you doing?”

Holly’s back stiffened at that question. She smiled, because she didn’t want to lie to him, not this early in the marriage, and asked, “Can we go home?”

He nodded. “What princess wants, princess gets.”





Chapter 24


Jacob’s truck began its grinding climb up the hill to his house. They sat the rest of the ride in silence, save the murmuring twang from his radio. By time they got inside, the air still felt charged with dangerous, negative electricity. Holly’s jacket rustled as Jacob rolled it off her shoulders and she offered a small, “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” He hung up her jacket in the foyer closet as Holly made a beeline for the kitchen. She didn’t get far, however, before his strong voice stopped her short, like a barbed arrow. “Holly. You wanna tell me what’s bothering you, or you just gonna pout about it?”

Holly felt her shoulders square off. “I’m fine,” she said stiffly.

“Hey.” She felt his hand on her arm, pulling her around to face him. And here, in the soft, amber lights of their house, he seemed gentler. The strict edges around his eyes faded and the growl in his tone muted; he was back to being hers. No distractions. He looked genuinely concerned when he said, “Fine doesn’t work in this house.”

It does when you say it, she wanted to say. She’d seen the way his hands shook from time to time. She knew his bear or…whatever…was gnawing at him. And still, he bared his teeth and smiled through it. Instead of opening her mouth, Holly buttoned her lower lip with her teeth.

“Tell me,” he said, his thumb coaxing as it rubbed over her bare arm. “Is it something I did?”

“No…” Holly sighed and rested her hand on his chest. “It’s…not you. You’re great. I’m just, um…”

There was his stare. Penetrating. She couldn’t escape it. It made her self-conscious, so she swallowed and averted her eyes, staring at the rug on the floor.

“I feel like a fish out of water,” she confessed.

“You’re just getting your feet wet,” he said. “It happens.”

“No, it’s…” Holly twisted away from him. Being too close to him made her antsy. It was too tempting to avoid this conversation with a kiss, then a deeper kiss, and then a couple hours of sex bent over the arm of the couch. She paced around the den and dragged her fingers through her ginger hair. “It’s more than that. This isn’t just a…family I’ve married into. It’s like a…whole other species. There are rules and traditions and…I don’t think I’m what you want. At all.”

“Holly—” he started, but she lifted her finger. Teacher mode.

“Please let me finish. I know you like me because we’re…different…because I help ground you in…humanity, or however you would like to phrase it, but maybe we’re too different. You don’t read Jane Austen and I don’t drink beer and I don’t know when to bring you your drink or not bring you your drink or when I’m humiliating you in front of your entire clan.”

Jacob’s eyebrows knit together at that, but he kept silent, so she kept going. “And…and then there’s all these women around the ranch,” she said, making a sweeping gesture with her hand. “You know you have the pick of the litter.”

“You’re right,” he said, finally breaking in. His voice was low and he said with deep authority, “I do have the pick of the litter. And I chose you.”

Holly went silent at that. Jacob picked up the slack and continued.

“If I don’t make you my mate soon,” he said plainly, “any one of my transformations could be my last. But I’m willing to wait. For you. I’m not forcing anything on you until you’re ready. I know it’s a lot, trust me, and there are a lot of good women who would’ve gone running for the hills long before now. You? You’re stronger than that.” He paused, let that sink in, and then added, “But if you’re backing out of this…I need to know sooner rather than later. Time is kinda of the essence here.”