Free The Alpha's Desire 5 by Willow Brooks Page A

dead at his hands since onto my own weighted shoulders. Yet, killing him didn’t alleviate that even if others thought it warranted. It didn’t make me want to stand up straight, to pound on my chest, to celebrate in any way. Even the relief I felt at having gotten rid of the threat was short-lived and not enough to overshadow the intense insanity that plagued me now. I had no other terminology for it as none of it made sense.
     
    Pulling up my jeans, buttoning them, I bent over the wave of nausea, letting what little I’d eaten come up as I fell to my knees. Hot tears burned and clouded my eyes. As I continued to dry heave, the burn of it ingratiating itself into my guilt-ridden brain, I felt the others behind me. Lex shifted, threw on his jeans I knew from the sounds I focused on intently just to have something, anything to draw my attention away from the turmoil taking me, making me want to curl into a fetal position and will the world away.
     
    All I knew was I wheezed instead of breathed as my head hung there. I shivered, yet my body was sweating. The eyes of Lex and Nira behind me seemed to bore into my back and still I couldn’t manage to turn around and face them. Without the rough bark of the tree I’d thrown my forehead against after getting sick, I may not have managed to stay upright, well on all fours as a human at all.
     
    A touch on my back made my neck whirl, bringing me face to face with Lex though my arms remained straight down, holding me up with my hands balled into fists so tight I expected blood to begin dripping down my palms at any minute to soak into the hard dirt. Still, he pulled me into his embrace, now seated himself on the ground and gave me a hard, quick kiss on the lips.
     
    “I’m proud of you, my little wolf,” he said before placing a light kiss on my forehead. “You were very brave out there tonight.”
     
    I only managed to shake my head in response, a sob stealing any breath I had, making words an impossibility which was fine given I had none of them to say.
     
    “I am. I am very proud. You followed your wolf, did what had to be done.”
     
    “I thought you were upset… with me,” I managed, even though I tripped over the light, shaky rush of words.
     
    “No, not upset, just concerned. A first kill is a big deal, and I didn’t want you to suffer any more due to that man. It had to be done. Do I wish it hadn’t been you, that you wouldn’t have to deal with this right now? Yes. Am I proud of you for completing the mission? Yes. Whatever comes now, we will deal with it together. I just need you to make me one promise.”
     
    “Yes. Whatever you want,” I choked out as fresh tears spilled from my eyes, and relief washed over me to some degree.
     
    “Promise me that whatever you are feeling, that you will share it with me, no matter what you think of it or what you think I will think of it. I want to help, and I can only do that if you are one hundred percent honest with me. No holding back, not anything, not any time. I am here, always. And, I love you, more than words can say. You can tell me anything. I will always be here to help no matter what. My love for you my mate is truly unconditional, though in this situation it doesn’t matter as I could not be prouder of you.”
     
    I’d appreciated every word of Lex’s lecture as I nuzzled into him.
     
    “You must focus now,” he said, his hand running down over my hair as we continued to sit by the tree. “You need to see if you can connect to Josh again and bring him back. Try to let him know that Daniel is dead, and it is safe to come back to the SUVs, to lose the other wolves.” 

Chapter Seven
     
    Still being held a little too tightly in Lex’s strong and concerned arms, I concentrated to connect with Josh. With him still out playing bait along with other werewolves and vampires, I attempted to let them all know it was safe to come back to the SUV’s before anyone else got hurt tonight. Everything