Alpha Alec's Redemption by Kathy M

Chapter 261

Alec

The cold-water rushes over me, icy rivulets cascading down my skin as I brace my hands against the shower wall. My breaths come in sharp, ragged bursts, each one echoing against the tile. My muscles tense beneath the freezing spray, and yet it does little to quell the fire raging inside me.

I squeeze my eyes shut, the water stinging my skin as I drop my head, letting it pummel the back of my neck. It's not enough. Nothing is enough.

The scent of her clings to me, even now. It's embedded in my skin, threaded through every breath, every heartbeat. Sadie. Her soft whimpers, the way her body arched against mine, her mouth forming my name on a trembling gasp. And now she's in the other room, curled up in that bed, her body wracked with the heat

I can't take away.

Knox growls in my mind, pacing restlessly. "They are in pain."

I know. Goddess, do I know.

I grip the back of my neck, fingers digging in as if I can scrub away the feeling of her pressed against me. The memory of her slick warmth against me is a brand I can't erase, and it's driving me out of my mind.

She wanted me. Begged for me. And I had to pull away. I had to be the one to stop it.

I can still hear the echo of her voice, broken and raw.

"You don't want me. You still love Lola."

A shudder wracks through me, the ache in my chest intensifying. I still can't believe that she believes I still love Lola. Can you imagine that? Yet can I blame her for believing that I didn't want her because I still loved Lola?

I know there were rumors about me and Lola three years ago. I do admit that I mated Lola during her heat; that is true. what is not true is the intensity of it. It wasn't so intense. It wasn't anything but normal.

That should have been another sign that something was wrong. That She wasn't who I thought she was. That she wasn't my mate.

many red flags about her and our so-called relationship. With Sadie, everything is a thousand times more intense than what

I have been so stupid? How could I allow myself to drown so much in a woman that I ended up hurting my true mate? It pisses me off so

against the tile, the impact jarring up my arm. Pain explodes through my knuckles, sharp and welcome, grounding me in something other than the desire tearing me apart. I drop my head against the wall, the cool tile against my

were dumb,"

I whisper, my voice

we didn't know what to expect," Knox says. "We thought everything

deep down we knew but we chose

everything. I turn off the shower, water streaming down my face as I stand there, head bowed, heart

towel around my waist. My reflection in the mirror is a stranger- wild and tired eyes, hair plastered to my skull, jaw clenched tight

bothering to dry off. The wet fabric clings to my skin

her brow furrowed even in sleep. My heart twists painfully. She's still suffering. Even in

makes a soft sound, instinctively burrowing into my chest, her face pressing into the crook of my neck. The feel of her,

top of her head, inhaling her scent, letting it seep into my veins. The need to mate

when I know deep

weren't for the heat,

to him, my

is a heavy, frustrated weight in

"How's Nyx?"

"Not good.

eyes shut, my hold on Sadie tightening. I want to help. But she's not

before he says, "Nyx is feeling the brunt of it. Their heat

my teeth, throat tight. "When Sadie wakes

moment with you. Maybe that'll help. Maybe it'll give Nyx

bleeds through the bond.

and tears mixing with her natural sweetness. She's shaking slightly, even in sleep, and it's all I can do not