Grey shook his head. “Alethia, I don't think there’s anything wrong with dating around. For men or for women. But I do believe that it should be something you do because it’s fun and exciting for you, not because you don’t care. Or don’t like yourself.”
Ali nodded. “I know. I figured that out after a while, but I already had a reputation. The last couple of years, I haven’t dated nearly as much, and I haven’t gone home with any guys in a long, long time. But all anyone remembers around here is how I used to be, and that’s all they’ll ever remember.”
“And then I came along, and made you think I was something different,” Grey finished. “But when I told you we were mates…”
“…I thought it was the same thing happening all over again.” Ali closed her eyes, remembering the surge of fury and hurt when Grey had said those words. “I’m so sorry I yelled at you like that.”
“I understand why you did it. You had no reason to think it might be real.”
“Is it real?” she whispered. “Is it really real?”
Grey took her hand, kissed it, and then pressed it to his heart, clasping his own hand over the top of it. “Can you feel that?”
“Your heartbeat?” Ali frowned. She could feel the throbbing beat under her palm.
He shook his head. “No. Further in.”
Further in… Ali closed her eyes. Grey’s heartbeat pulsed against her hand, but beyond that, there was something else.
A spark.
A spark inside of Grey that met an answering spark inside of her.
She’d felt it, she realized, when they’d been making love. She recognized that sensation of joining, of their souls meeting at the same time as their bodies did. She’d been feeling her mate.
She blinked her eyes open and stared at Grey in disbelief. “It’s there. It’s real.”
“It is real,” he confirmed, and bent down to kiss her fiercely. “You’re my mate, Alethia,” he said when he pulled back. “And we are going to be together forever. And that is the truth.”
***
Grey was so angry it was hard for him to keep the growl in his chest from making itself known.
He wanted to hunt this boyfriend down and tear him limb from limb. He wanted to do the same to Paul Parker, and to everyone who had ever given Alethia a harsh word or a cold shoulder. He wanted to show them what happened to anyone who hurt his mate.
But more than that, he wanted Alethia to feel safe and happy right now, so he held his growl in and cradled her in his arms.
She’d fallen asleep after telling her story, clearly exhausted, and now she was curled against him, lashes resting softly on her cheeks, breathing low and sweet.
Looking at her, he felt a rush of possessive, protective instincts. He couldn’t imagine how anyone would deliberately hurt someone like Alethia.
From this moment on, anyone who did would pay.
***
Ali woke up slowly, feeling warm and comfortable and content. Better than she had in a long, long time.
Pale light was filtering through the windows. She’d slept until morning. And stretched out next to her was her mate.
He was pressed up against her, his arm around her waist, breathing softly in her ear. Slowly, she eased herself around so she could look at him.
With his incredible eyes hidden, she could appreciate the rest of his face more, its lines and planes. The straight line of his nose, the curve of his lips, his high cheekbones, the way his hair fell across his forehead.
The swell of love inside her was so strong that it made her eyes prickle. She loved this man. His strength, his kindness, his quiet respect, his hot desire. The way he was protective of her without acting like she couldn’t make her own decisions. His warm smile. The way he delighted in his snow leopard form.
As she watched, he stirred and stretched, as though he’d been able to feel her eyes on him. He opened his eyes and smiled. “Good morning.”
“I love you,” Ali said, because she didn’t feel like she could go another second without telling him.