Alpha Alec's Redemption by Kathy M

Chapter 241

Sadie

The next day came sooner than I had expected or prepared for. I was still on cloud nine after shifting into our other state. It felt so good. Like I had unlocked something fierce. Something divine. After Alec left, I practiced more and each time it became easier than the last.

My mind occasionally drifted to Alec and that moment when I hugged him. That moment kept playing in my head over and over again, no matter how many times I tried to block it. It's just there. When I am not thinking about the mess with Xena and Kaden, my pack, Alec's pack or Aspen, I think of him.

Aspen's squeal brought my attention back to the present and I forced those thoughts to the back of my mind.

She was practically bouncing on the bed, kicking her tiny feet in excitement as I tried to get her into a little pink dress she'd insisted on wearing for our outing.

"Are you excited for today, sweetheart?" I asked, tying her curly hair into two neat buns.

She nodded furiously. "So excited, Mommy! Mister Alec said there'll be lions! And maybe even giraffes!"

I smiled, my heart clenching. She was glowing. Alec had told her about the zoo last night, and she hadn't stopped talking about it since. I couldn't help but feel a little flutter in my chest, knowing this day would mean something to her.

She was practically bouncing on the bed, kicking her tiny feet in excitement as I tried to get her into a little pink dress she'd insisted on wearing for our outing.

"Mommy!" she squealed, her curls flopping as she threw her hands up dramatically. "I need sparkles. All princesses have sparkles!"

I laughed, brushing her hair back and kissing her forehead. "You don't need sparkles to be a princess. You already are one."

gave me a scrunched-up,

tiny silver butterfly clip I'd hidden behind

have

me tear up. "You

nodded and watched her eyes widen as I clipped them into her hair. "Now

stretched out, giggling in delight. "Mister

word hit me in the chest.

hit me

the truth. I don't understand why, but it was like an insistent

to reveal to her

Alec

treating him like her dad. To her, he was someone to look up

out into the hallway, Aspen holding my hand with a

And goddess help me.

jeans, a soft gray shirt that clung a little too perfectly to his frame, and a clean shave that made

said with a

hand and ran straight to him. "I told you I'd look

whispered as he picked her up. "You look magical. Like

found myself smiling -helplessly, stupidly, a little painfully. They looked... perfect

way she curled into his arms like she belonged there.