My Female Alpha

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lenora

Emery's emerald eyes are wide and glowing against the setting sun. Her father claps a hand on my shoulder as we reach the landing of the porch.

"It was good talking with ya," he says. "Now, I'm exhausted. I'll see you both in the morning."

"Good night, Daddy," Emery says shyly.

He pecks her on the head and then disappears into the house. As soon as the door shuts, Emery turns to me.

She bites her lip and stares up at me. "How'd it go down there?"

Thinking back on our conversation, I smile. "It was nice. He's a cool guy."

"Oh, good." Her cheeks flush. "What'd you guys talk about?"

I reach over to tuck her hair behind her ear and my fingers linger on her cheek. "You."

"Me?" she squeaks. "I thought he was supposed to interrogate you or something."

"Well, he did have a lot of questions for me. He didn't pry, though. He just wanted to know the basics. But we mostly talked about you." I stuff my hands into my pockets. "I didn't realize the full extent of the trauma you endured."

I overheard her tell Calla about what happened, but it was different hearing it from an outside perspective.

Her father told me she was never the same after what tragedy she witnessed. She moved through the house like a ghost, looking but not seeing, existing but not living.

He also told me that she was even happier now than she was before. Because of that, I had his blessing. He just wanted his baby to be happy and live a good life.

Of course, he has no idea that Emery has been through hell since meeting me, because of me. She came to Lemley to escape it all and start a new life . . . only to end up in the lap of werewolves, murder, pack systems, and general mayhem.

My mate is one sexy little magnet for trouble.

"I certainly don't look back on that time fondly." She looks down at her feet, tangling her fingers together. "If I'm honest, I don't like talking about it."

"Why? I just—I want you to always feel like you can come to me for anything."

She shakes her head and meets my gaze again. "It's not about you. I just don't cope well with stuff like that. I never experienced anything traumatic until then and I just . . . wanted it to go away. I wanted to pretend like it never happened, like it had no impact on my life."

Licking her lips, she wraps her arms around her middle. Her eyes gleam with emotion.

"I haven't thought about it at all since we met," she admits. "I was in a dark place when I moved to Lemley, but you ripped the darkness away. You make me feel safe."

"Baby girl," I sigh and pull her into my chest, hugging her tightly. "I've put you in more harm's way than should even be possible. I don't know how you still trust me."

"Because, no matter what, you always find me. You always save me."

My arms tighten around her, tears budding in my eyes. I bury my nose into her hair and take a deep breath, filling my nostrils with her sweet smell.

She has no idea how happy she makes me.

I didn't think it was possible to love her more, but meeting her family and getting to know her from another perspective . . . she's everything to me.

The kindest, gentlest soul. The remedy to all my pains. The ointment for every scar.

I would lose my mind without her. She's kept me sane through all the hell we've survived.