Page 53 of Blood Magic

“They came to visit me because I called about Axton mind-controlling humans.”

“Called,” he said, confused. “How?”

“One of the vampires gave me a number.”

He looked heavenward and blew out a hard breath. “Fuck.”

“It’s okay,” I told him. “They didn’t come to me to warn me off, they came to ask for help.” I was reluctant to tell him exactly what they’d offered, though I wasn’t sure why. I just knew he was going to be very displeased. I hurried on. “I told them everything I knew about Axton and the humans he’d killed, and—”

“Kait,” he said, but he wouldn’t look at me, and from that alone, I knew he was either terribly upset or quietly raging. Both, most likely. “They don’t pay attention to anything that won’t get them something in return. And they don’tcare what happens to you.” Finally, he lowered his stare to mine. “I do. I am your alpha. You accepted me as your alpha. Your wolf is mine. You will listen to me, or I will discipline you.”

I was furious, but my wolf was cowering and wanting to drop to her knees and lick his hand. Finally, I settled on speaking my truth. “I don’t know how to be a wolf, Jared. Not anymore. She wants to obey you, but I…” I shook my head. “I can’t.”

He gripped my shoulders. “Why not, Kait? It should be natural to you to bend to your alpha. But you see yourself as—”

“Your equal.” I lifted my chin. “I’m a grown woman, Jared. I make my own choices. I’m sorry I can’t fit into your whole…pack situation. But you’re not the boss of me.”

And that was the damn truth.

An alpha cannot have an alpha, now can she?

Now I knew exactly what she’d meant. She’d seen that much inside me. I was not a good little wolf. I was not an alpha, not really, not officially, but inside…

Yeah. Inside, I was an alpha. My wolf, though, she just wanted to cry.

Jared simply nodded.

Because of the overwhelming sadness, I had to ask. “Does this mean I’m not your wolf? That I’m not Pack?”

He leaned forward to kiss my cheek, his lips just grazing the corner of my surprised mouth, and honestly, I thought it was about the hottest kiss I’d ever received. “I’ll protect you like always, Kait, although…” And his smile slid across his face, slow and hot. “If I’m not your alpha, anything can happen.” He walked away before I could think of a single thing to say, but then he turned back. “And you will always be Pack.”

Then he wound his way through the little knots of chatting people, people I’d nearly forgotten were even there, and I lost sight of him.

I wasn’t sure what I’d just done, but I remained torn between sadness and pride. I hadn’t had a choice, not really. I could have struggled to be what I was supposed to be, but that was what it would have been—a struggle.

I was no one’s puppy.