Page 39 of The Alpha's Forced Bride
I watched Harvey's eyelids flutter, and the rest of the world seemed to fade away. As I held his hands in mind and waited for him to wake up. I felt him rising to the surface—the increased scent of bergamot in the air, the way the tips of my fingers seemed charged with electricity from touching him, and everything in between. My heart seemed to stutter in my chest as his eyelids fluttered again and then flew open, focusing on me immediately.
His smile was small at first, lopsided and lazy. Then, as the light came back into his eyes—those gorgeous honey-colored eyes—his lips parted. He reached for my face and cupped my cheek tenderly, just like he always had. I had spent so many nights without him; four nights that I had to spend lying on the ground without him near me. But as he awoke, it all seemed to vanish at once, like it never happened. Nothing had gotten in the way of us; nothing could get in the way of us. If anyone tried, they would end up without their vision. Harvey had shown me proudly that he would defend me and his pack to the ends of the earth.
He was an incredible alpha, and I knew that dedicating myself to him was the right thing to do. It always had been. That was why I was in the woods that day. My spirit knew that I needed to find him, that I needed to get to him in whatever way possible. He took a deep breath, held my shoulders, and pulled me close. His voice was raspy but his message was all too clear.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I will always love you. You are my mate.”
Chapter 21 - Harvey
I would have never imagined in a million years that I would be spending Christmas Eve with my mate and her family. I was sitting in the kitchen of Kiara's home, which was situated just across the street from her father and Regina’s home. All three of them were being warm and familiar with each other. I felt like such a fish out of water, sitting there with my cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows sticking out of the top. Kiara crossed the kitchen to stick a peppermint candy inside of my cocoa, and I glanced up at her, noticing how her eyes lit up every time I looked into them.
There was more warm support out of her than I could have ever imagined. Holidays were never particularly special for me; my parents had left when I was young, and I began working as soon as I was old enough. It was at my first job that I met Clancy, and that was where I started my journey with the Grimpaw pack. The Grimpaws were simply a collection of misfits and discarded clippings. We were a family that took care of each other, and now we had the chance to rebuild our family—to grow even stronger than before. Because we finally had a cure and a plan that was going to push us forward.
Kiara stirred the peppermint candy into my cup and then stroked my cheek. “Do you want anything else, handsome?”
I sniffed the air. “It smells like the sugar cookies are ready.”
The timer dinged, and I heard Eric share a laugh with Regina across from where I was sitting. He hadn't glanced at me much tonight, but he had at least included me in a few jokes. He even laughed once or twice at a few of my own haphazard jokes. Regina was easygoing and sweet, with lovely hair and lavender eyes. Her floral sweater seemed to be out of place for Christmas, but no one seemed to care about that because she was happy and comfortable. Eric himself was a bit dark and broody, but otherwise fine.
Kiara was brighter than everybody else in her pink bell bottoms and her red Christmas crop top. The large cardigan she wore over it was a delicious sea green that complimented her eyes. Her hair flowed over her shoulders, flying freely—just like she was now. As she pulled on some kitchen gloves and took the cookies out of the oven, she set them on the counter, drawing my attention just as she always did to the way that she moved; graceful and fluid, sweet and full of intention. I loved all of that about her.
Eric cleared his throat and then tapped the table a few times, his eyes rolling around as if he were searching for a topic. I coughed once and then tried to change the topic to something else.
I leaned forward and said, “I heard you’re a farmer and you work in the field. Is that right?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I work on the farming equipment or fix cars. I can fix houses, build houses, or tear them down. I can garden. I can do pretty much everything.”
I smiled. “A jack of all trades.”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“I am a bit of a mechanic myself. I actually helped build the village for my pack.”
His eyebrows rose with interest. “You did that all of that?”
“Well, I wouldn't take all of the credit but I did a good bit of it, yes.”
Eric looked impressed. Regina beamed as she took his hand and said, “He has a bit of an obsession with the way things are built.”
Just as she made that joke, Eric leaned forward and started to talk shop with me, using language that only carpenters would understand. I told him about how Clancy had the incredible ability to look across a field and tell the exact dimensions of a barnyard from a large distance. Eric was impressed and wanted very much to meet Clancy to see what they could build together. As the conversation continued, Kiara set the cookies on the table and put out plates so everyone could have some. The sugar cookies were the usual holiday fare with little Christmas trees or snowmen patterns. I didn't much care for the imagery, but something made me feel warm. I realized the feeling I was experiencing was because all of this was incredibly normal, and I’d never had normal. How had my life changed so drastically in a week? It didn't actually matter how, I just wanted it to stay that way.
Kiara slid into the chair next to me and I put my arm around her, casually draping myself over her shoulders. It felt strange to sit across the table from her best friend and her father, but the conversation became so casual that it felt like we had been doing this for years, as if it was just any another Christmas in this household. Considering my family was non-existent, and all I really had growing up was Clancy, it felt surprisingly easy to slide right into place with them. Regina was so welcoming, and although Eric was hard and his expressions were judgmental, he was opening up a little bit at a time.
Kiara assured me with comforting glances, smiles, and loving touches to my knee, my elbow, and sometimes to the back of my neck where she rested her hand, every so often scrubbing her fingers in circles to remind me that she was there. Comfort like this didn't come easy to somebody like me. I was used to getting glares at or being chased off. I was used to eating scraps with Clancy or cleaning up after members of my pack who had gone off the deep end, or even collecting them off the streets where they had passed out from being in some kind of demonic rage. Things weren't going to be easy going forward, but I knew they were going to get better eventually. They had to, because I wanted them to.
Kiara gasped suddenly. “Tomorrow's Christmas and I haven't gotten you a gift.”
I laughed. “I've already got the best gift, you don't have to worry about that.”
“No, I want to get you something. I just want to make it special, you know, as it's our first one together.”
“Well, it can't argue with that kind of logic. But I can assure you that I don't expect anything else that you already haven't given me.”
Her smile was easy, loving. “You really are easy to please, aren't you?”
“Yeah, I am. But I also really should get you something.”
She waved off my comment. “I don't need anything from you either. I've got your bite on my neck. That's enough for me.”
