In the Alpha’s Arms

The Things in Between (cont’d)

Lita shook her head. She didn’t want to say. “Well, whatever it was, it hurt you enough to snap me out of sleep,” he smoothed her hair, pulling her tightly against him, “I hate to feel your pain. It’s like glass under my skin.“

Wha—7

“We’re linked now, if you’re hurting. I’m hurting. It’s easier for me because I’ve been in tune with my wolf for longer but you can feel my emotions too. Look,” he pulled their fingers entwined, “Focus on me. On my breathing. On trying to reach out to me, not with your hands but with your mind. The first time it’s like… searching for something familiar. Let your wolf help guide you.”

Lita focused for a moment, letting her nerves settle into the action. Her wolf nudged at her, pressed her nose against her. Slowly, she felt a foreign sensation permeating into her mind like smoke. Warm. Sure of itself. Clear. Cole. It was familiar, not like a scent exactly, but like a sensation that could only be his. Like the feel of his hands but in her mind. She knew him instinctually by contact and this was another form of it

“Does every wolf have this with their mate?” her body felt overwhelmed with sensation. Like his essence was pouring into her, distorting her sadness and guilt like color diluting in water until she relaxed. She relaxed because he was relaxed and Lita chose to let that emotion overrule hers.

“Yea, but not every wolf gets a mate, Lita. It’s not rare but it’s not rampant either.”

“It’s like destiny? Or magic? Or–? I don’t know, help me out here,” she sniffled.

“It’s not like we’ve got it all figured out either, babe. Just like humans, there are plenty of things about ourselves we don’t entirely understand. But it’s not magic and it’s not fate or some other abstract idea.”

He huffed, trying to find the right words to explain, “It’s like… chemistry? Proximity? Right time, right place, right people… like a mix of pheromones and the right timing. We haven’t pinned down the exact trigger for it but it’s certainly a mix of everything I just said all at once in one perfect, coincidence.”

can happen with a human? Because, I mean, if my wolf was suppressed, I don’t know

But again, some people choose to ignore it and mark someone else. Someone they’ve chosen for themselves, not someone they’re drawn to. I was drawn to you the second I smelled you and then like a switch, our bond was just…

The sensation was so foreign and painful because you were closed off, emotionally empty when I tried to tap into you. I could only get glimpses of what you were feeling. Like that day in the parking lot. And even then, the pull was

was burning from the inside. I still do,” Lita reached her hand to bring his across her bare stomach. That sends a

on her shoulder and back up to her cheek, “There are others who never get the bond at all. It’s finnicky like that. It’s not some special thing gifted to us by the gods, it’s a very real, tangible bond we share with another soul. A soul that’s our compliment. And in a world with 7 billion people, the odds of finding that complimentary soul is like a needle in a haystack.

I thought you

a person could potentially have wandering around out there but once the band is sealed and marked, it’s the only one. Everything else

I dream of it a lot. I killed him. It wasn’t–I didn’t… and Erica. I just–I don’t even know… I feel like a monster. I feel like destroy people’s

nothing I can say that’s going to change how you feel inside. I know that. I can tell you it’s not your fault. That you didn’t kill your brother, it was an accident. I can tell you that if Erica wasn’t dead, you would be and I’m glad every single day that you’re here instead. I can tell you that the guilt isn’t real, it’s just your emotions

it’ll get easier. At least, that’s how it was for me when I left my original pack. I’m here with you though. You have me, lean on me when you need to. The memories are hard. Harder than anything else really. Especially because of how they make you

1/2

Things in Between

here with

there, you know, I saw him and his eyes. Lifeless,

was already so hurt and vulnerable, he needed to tread lightly, “We heal. But as I said, we can’t replace something that’s lost and we can’t survive…major trauma. An injury

second. It should have been