Page 17 of Alpha’s Conquest

Oscar was right, of course. David had a bounce in his step since he started staying at work late. Dina was kind and always had his back. I only wanted the best for my sons. But I couldn’t remember the last time ‌I wanted the same for myself.

“It has been a while,” I admitted.

“Twenty years,” Oscar reminded me. “The boys were so little when she passed.”

I stared down at my dirty hands, scarred and scuffed from years of yard work. Laura used to harp on me for not wearing gloves. I still didn’t wear them. “She stayed fresh in my memory all this time. I thought I would never move on. I didn’t even want to.”

“You haven’t taken a lover since she died.” It wasn’t a question. He knew me better than anyone.

“Aside from heat bars for my ruts, no.”

“Twenty years is a long time, Adam. Meaningless ruts are a paltry substitute for the real thing. So someone has finally caught your eye?”

Looking away, I tried not to picture Casey, but his dark eyes crept up on me, and I was breathless remembering the way he looked this morning. That timid expression on his face as he ate, as if he was afraid I would swallow him whole while Marshall watched. I wanted to make him scream with pleasure and punish him every time he tried to resist me.

“No,” I responded, biting my tongue until it hurt. “I just…” Scrubbing a hand down my face, Casey consumed my thoughts. Was Marshall touching him right now? I didn’t want anyone else to touch my omega. “I think my hormones are playing tricks on me. It’s been too many years since I had someone.” It felt like a reasonable explanation for these forbidden desires, but it didn’t erase them. It only made them worse.

“Laura centered you. You were calm with her. Happy. That’s all we’ve ever wanted for you to find again.”

“Centered,” I muttered under my breath. That wasn’t at all how I felt. Was there truly a word to describe this feeling? Unhinged. Desperate. Hungry. They weren’t enough. “I feel feral.”

It was only when Oscar’s smile grew that I realized my grumbles were loud enough for him to hear. “So you did find someone.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, growling under my breath. Stupid. He can’t find out. No one could ever know. “No. Don’t be stupid.” Swallowing, I opened my eyes again, staring at my tool caddy on the sidewalk. “There’s no one.”

“If you say so.” His knowing smirk said he wanted to keep pressing me, but he knew it wouldn’t go far. “Come by the church if you need me. Tell Marshall I said hello.”

He waved goodbye and went into the pharmacy, leaving a few minutes later with a white paper bag. I swore under my breath as he drove away. That was way too close. I almost blew everything.

If he knew how I felt, if he knew how maddening this tug of desire was, would Oscar set me straight before I ruined everything, or would he understand it was something I couldn’t ignore? I didn’t know what I feared more: hurting my son, or losing my omega to him.

Was I looking for a reason to stay away from Casey, or permission to take exactly what I wanted from him?

I threw myself back into the job, doing two days worth of work before I was too exhausted to keep going. If that didn’t calm me down enough to control myself, then I didn’t know what would.

ELEVEN

Casey

Casey

Marshall’s big plan for the day was whisking me off on a guided tour of his hometown. For someone who never spoke of home, he seemed very enthusiastic about showing me every single building downtown. I didn’t mind. I’d look at every inch of this town if it kept me away from Adam.

I hoped the fresh air would clear my head, but he lingered in my thoughts as I followed Marshall down the street. Adam practically ran out of the house after breakfast. Some part of me wondered if he was avoiding temptation, or if he was seeking comfort with someone else. I shouldn’t be thinking like that. He was free to do whatever he wanted. He didn’t belong to me. I was with Marshall.

“Pretty neat, huh?” Marsh asked, his hand pointing to another old building downtown. I’d missed everything he said.

“So cool,” I responded, hoping that would convince him I was listening.

His eyes drifted away, his enthusiasm fading with every step. “Sorry, Case. I know Oakridge isn’t that interesting.”

Damn it.

“No, it’s fine. So, that building has been a bakery for a long time. What about this place?” I pointed to a little empty shop with some faded stickers on the windows. A spool of thread and bolts of fabric. “Sewing store?”

Marshall's grin disappeared, and my stomach sank again. He looked through the dark windows, peering into the empty shop. “Yeah. Sewing place. My uhh… my mom used to work here. At least that’s what they told me. I don’t really remember.”

He was young when his mom passed. That meant Adam had been alone for, what, twenty years?