Alpha Instincts

Chapter 31

I spun around, my heart being sent into overdrive. My gaze immediately landed on Cole, who was smirking at me from the tree line. I was completely surprised that he'd magically materialized out of the trees, and it took a while for me to relax.

"Cole, don't do that again!"

"Sneak up on you, or catch you unzipping your dress?"

"Sneak up on me," I replied, crimson appearing on my cheeks. "I mean, don't do the other option, either."

Cole laughed, making his torso vibrate up and down. He was wearing a charcoal-coloured suit, and as he walked towards me, he shook off his suit jacket and hung it over a tree's branch. I watched as he rolled up his white shirtsleeves to reveal bronzed forearms. He was alone and looked like he'd had a similarly long day.

"It's your party and you're not even attending it? Something's wrong," he continued, moving besides me and watching the rapid river.

"I just needed a break from the music and the crowd to think."

Cole nodded. "I need those moments sometimes. It is a bit crowded tonight, isn't it?"

I nodded. "And thank you for the lilies," I said softly. "I love them."

"You're welcome."

Silence pursued. It was a peaceful silence. Cole and I sat down besides the river, overlooking the water. We could no longer hear the music from the party or the muffled laughter, it was just us. Alone.

I wondered what it would be like if I did become Alpha. I'd want to be a leader the pack listened to and respected, like Monroe, but I also wanted them to be under looser reigns, not having to constantly worry about following or breaking the rules. In other words, I wanted to be somewhere in between Monroe and Andrew, the Alpha of the Strongshade pack.

But with that thought just brought me more sadness when I knew it wouldn't come true.

"Sabine?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, more affectionately than accusatory. "You're wearing your thinking face."

I raised my eyebrows. "My 'thinking face'?"

Cole smirked. "Your eyes narrow and your lips purse slightly," he shuffled closer to me. "It's cute."

I let out a slight chuckle. "Well, you can guess. You've known me all my life, so what am I thinking?"

"No idea," he said blatantly. "I can never tell what you're thinking. All I can tell is that it's about something serious."

He had that right.

"Do you like Quentin?" Cole asked, looking at me seriously.

"No," I said immediately, like an instant reflex. "He's a human, and although we had to work on a project together for a long time, we'll always have disagreements." And there was one, very big, disagreement.

But I kept thinking of when Quentin and I were standing across from each other looking over Shadow Falls, and how he'd admitted his feelings for me. And the more I thought about it, the more confused I felt, which sucked since I'd left the party to feel more peaceful and less chaotic.

Yes, there'd been a time when Quinn and I were closer to each other than we were now. But that was because we had to work on a class project together. So there was no reason to make a fuss when I'd only felt the occasional warm fuzzy for him.