Don't Let Me Be Yours - Alec Volturi

9. My Alec

I ran through the flurrying snowfall and rushed through the door of the diner with my canvas backpack slung over my shoulder and an umbrella over my head. I made it inside and shook off my umbrella outside the door before closing it up and making my way over to my favorite booth.

The waitress was an older woman whose name tag read KAREN;  she was the one who usually worked the graveyard shift. Karen brought me a cup of coffee fixed up just the way I liked shortly after I get settled into my booth. I'd been there so many times that she knew what I ordered and she was sweet enough to get my coffee prepared without making me have to order it.

I thanked her, and as she walked away I pulled out my laptop so see where I'd left off the last time I was working on my manuscript. My productivity had slowed a bit over the past couple of months as I struggled to shake Alec from my thoughts, but most days I was successful in freeing up enough mental bandwidth to get some work done.

I couldn't think of him. I'd lose my focus and yet another night of writing. I loved writing, it soothed my soul, so being deprived of it was starting to make me crabby. I'd hoped if I spent some time out off of the Cullen property, something I hadn't done in months, I might be able to strike a chord of creativity.

For a moment, as I stared at my laptop screen, I considered taking a break from my manuscript to work on a cute little novella about a handsome prince and a forbidden love. But, maybe that would've been too on the nose. I could even post it online for giggles; maybe there were other people out there who would be interested in reading about my silly little daydreams.

Maybe after the novel was done; I'd been working too long and hard on it to set it down now.

I took a sip of my coffee and began to mull over my project. I'd been dealing with a bout of writer's block, but I felt like I was getting close to breaking through it. Just as I was ready to glue my fingers to my keyboard, though, I heard footsteps heading in my direction. The footsteps stopped at my booth.

"I've been looking for you," I heard a familiar voice say.

I looked up abruptly. "Alec?"

I couldn't believe my eyes. He stood there in a white dress shirt and black slacks, with a black vest and suit jacket on; it wasn't enough layers to make sense in the weather outside, but it was just enough to fend off any questions about his incredibly low body temperature. He smiled down at me with warmth in his eyes.

"Finding you was the easy part," Alec said, taking off his coat and folding it before taking a seat across from me. "Getting you alone, however, is another story altogether."

I blushed profusely. He was looking for me; He had been looking for me.

"I've been spending some time at home," I said blandly, closing my laptop and setting it aside.

"I sent you letters," Alec told me. "I think it's safe to assume they never got past your coven."

"Are you serious?" Anger fluttered in my chest. I hadn't realized they were resorting to those kind of tactics.

"I knew we'd meet again. I just had to be patient - though it's not something I'm particularly good at," he chuckled.

"It's only been a few months," I pointed out. "It's only a drop in a pond."

"A few months away from my mate has been excruciating," Alec admitted, leaning forward a little. "Has it been the same for you?"

Oof. I guess I had to be honest. "Uh, kind of. It's a little different for me, I think. Being half human and all. Duller senses and all that." I was all over the place.

"I see," he said, leaning back. He didn't seem offended, just intrigued.

"I think it gets harder the more time I spend with you," I confessed. It was embarrassing to admit, but he had the right to know. "There's probably a point of no return for me, too."

"Is that so?" He looked pleased to hear this.

"Yes, but my coven knows this, too. That's why they don't want us to see each other."

"Hm. It's not their choice to make, though, is it?"

"No," I blushed. "I've chosen not to seek you out."

"You would've changed your mind if you'd read my letters," Alec replied with a confident smile.

"I want to change my mind, but I can't. I love my coven. I can't leave them; I don't want to."

"Perhaps I just need a little time to convince you," he said, as if accepting a challenge.

"Maybe," I gulped. I took a sip of my coffee. My mouth was suddenly dry. "You can try to convince me to accept you, but I won't join your coven. It's not happening."

"We'll see about that."

"I doubt your coven wants a Cullen hanging around, anyway."

"My coven does what I tell them," Alec said cooly.

"Not your parents," I said. "Your mom would kill me. And what about your dad?"

"That's their problem."

"So, they don't want me."

"It's not about them, Indigo," Alec said earnestly. "It's about us. We're mates. If our families can't accept that, they are the ones who have to sit with it - not us."

"This isn't going to end well, Alec. Seriously. There is no way this is going to go well."

"It won't be easy, sure," he conceded, "but is what we have not worth fighting for?"

Alec had quite the silver tongue; He also wasn't wrong.

He reached across the table and took my hands in his. "Indy. Please. Let's try. Let's see if we can make this work."

My heart hammered in my chest. My, god, he was good.

"Okay," I whispered.

"Thank you," he exhaled, visibly relaxing. "Really. Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," I blushed. "This is only the beginning."

"I'll take it," he replied, content, as he released my hands.

"Alec," I said, getting his attention before he got lost in thought. He looked at me and I cupped his face with my hands before pulling him in for a kiss.

When our lips me the world went quiet; It was just us in that moment. Nothing else mattered; our families, the impending drama, none of it.

"I love you," I told him before I let him go.

"I love you, too, Indigo," he replied. "Ardently."