The Alpha's Protective Mate

38

Charlotte Sanguinite

The light breakfast does make me feel better, and I don’t know why the simple bread and butter tastes so much better than usual today. But as I pick up my mug of coffee, for a moment, I think I smell blood in it. Blinking, I stare down at it, puzzled. But the aroma of the coffee is overpowering, and I’m sure I was just imagining things.

Robert is watching me as I drink, an odd look in his eyes. The taste is different from any coffee I’ve ever had. My toes tingle as I gulp it down, not caring how my tongue burns. My head feels light and my body a little too warm. But as I set down the empty mug, about to ask for seconds, Robert hands me a glass of water.

My head feels a little woozy now.

“Did you put alcohol in the coffee?” I slur, looking at Robert.

He grins slightly. “No. Just drink the water. I’ll make you another cup.”

The water is cold, and it soothes my burning tongue. The next cup of coffee isn’t as tasty as the previous one, and I feel disappointed.

“Here,” Robert says, putting another piece of buttered toast on my plate. “Eat.”

I do so obediently, and as the food hits my system, I feel more stable.

“That was odd,” I mutter to myself, but when I look toward Robert, he doesn’t seem to have noticed anything.

Confused, I concentrate on my breakfast. The coffee is still good, but it doesn’t make my toes tingle anymore, and that makes me a little sad.

Robert clears the dishes, and once he’s done, he sits across from me. “Are you feeling better?”

I nod.

“Then it’s time we talk.”

I let out a gust of air. “I guess we should. What do you want to know?”

“Beruth Sanguinite is your father?”

I nod once again.

“Do you have any contact with anyone in your clan?”

I take my time in answering, realizing that lying by omission isn’t going to help me any.

“No,” I say, truthfully. “My father threw me out in the middle of the night. He just came to my room, dragged me outside, and tossed me out of the compound. My siblings were there, watching. Our compound was in the woods—must still be there. There were all sorts of animals out there. At the time, I assumed he had just washed his hands of me. I didn’t realize he had intended for me to die out there. Vampires don’t kill their young; that is frowned upon in our clans, so I guess he couldn’t kill me himself. But when I ran into Droga, who attacked you, and then my sister, they were surprised to see me alive.”

“So, all this time, your father had no idea where you were?”

“No. I stayed away from the parts of the city I knew he conducted business in. And I’ve always kept a low profile.”

Robert taps his fingers on the table as if considering my words.

“Do you think I’m lying?” I ask bluntly.

“No.” His response is just as abrupt. “I just want to know everything you’ve been keeping from me. Now that Arabella knows where you are, what are you anticipating?”

I lower my gaze to his hands, the thoughts I’ve been burying since last night rearing their ugly heads.

“She’ll tell Father,” I murmur. “And since I am no longer a child, he can kill me now without risking the clan’s disapproval.”

“You think he’ll do that?” Robert’s voice is calm, but I can feel the strain in his tone.

“I would like to think that I am worthless in his eyes, not even worth expending the effort to get rid of me, but Arabella came to the cafe for a reason. I don’t know if she actually intended to kill me or just destroy my face, but there was a reason behind her showing up, and it wasn’t to make sure my life was as miserable as she wanted it to be.”

“Are you saying you expect Arabella to return?”

I nod. “And you’re right. This apartment is no longer safe for me. All she has to do is figure out the names of the employees who work at the cafe, and once she has that list, she’ll be able to pin down my home address. I can’t think of a reason why either she or my father would want me dead, but then again, I don’t understand why she did what she did last night. Every building has security cameras. She would have known that if Jazz had opened the cafe the next morning and seen my body, the first thing the police would have done is check the security footage. And even if Arabella had gotten rid of ours, the building next door has cameras that cover our entrance. She wouldn’t have gotten away with it.”

The words come out of me in a breathless rush as I connect the dots about how reckless my sister’s actions were last night and how they most likely were fueled by something.

“It’s alright.” Robert covers my hand. “Breathe.”

I let out a shuddering breath. “I’m okay. I’m going to have to find a place to stay, though. Maybe a hostel till I can find an apartment to rent—”

“You’ll be staying with me,” Robert says decisively. “I’ll feel better if I know where you are. And not even your family would be stupid enough to invade an Alpha’s home.”

“No!” I shake my head, my heart thundering. “Are you crazy? Have you considered how your pack will react when they realize you’re harboring a vampire in your house?”

Robert shrugs. “It’s none of their business. It’s my home.”

“Robert,” I say pleadingly, “I’m really not worth starting a problem over. I’ll find a place. If worse comes to worst, I’ll ask Ricky if I can stay at his place for a couple of d—”

The growl that leaves his mouth has me falling silent.

“No. You’re not staying with that damned vet. And don’t decide for yourself what I think you’re worth. You’re staying with me. If anyone in my pack has a problem, I’ll deal with them.”

I get to my feet. “Why are you being so stubborn about this? And since we’re laying out all our cards here, why don’t you tell me what your intentions are? Because you and I don’t have any sort of future. Shifters and vampires don’t mix. We both know that. The only other reason I can think of is that you want to use me at some point. But if that’s what you’re planning, it’s never going to work. I have no connection with the vampire world, as you are well aware. I’m not one of those people who wants to live in the moment, Robert. I need to plan and prepare for the future. I can’t have a fling with you. My heart doesn’t work that way. And if you—”

Robert chooses that moment to cut me off, getting to his own feet. “I don’t want a fling, and I don’t want to use you.”

As he rounds the table to me, I hold my ground, meeting his gaze squarely. “Then what do you want?”

“You,” he answers simply, cupping my face. “Just you.”

“It’s not that simple, Robert,” I say heavily, my chest tightening in response to his words. “There is never going to be a ‘you and me.’ Not when you’re the Alpha of a pack. And you know that.”

His jaw tenses. “I’m allowed to choose my happiness.”

“Not when you’re the Alpha,” I repeat emphatically. “And I’m too vulnerable to be caught in the middle of your pack politics.”

I cover his hands on my cheeks with my own, grasping and slowly lowering them. The panic in his eyes is hard to witness.

“Look at me,” he says firmly. “Look at my face, Charlotte. I’m a monster. I don’t want to spend my life being tied to someone who despises my face, somebody my own wolf refuses to accept, because that’s what will happen. Are you really going to condemn me to life with a woman who just wants my money and status?”

His words make me feel horrible. The worst part is that I know it’s the truth. If Robert ends up marrying a woman from his pack who finds his scars repulsive, he will be miserable for the rest of his life. I don’t want Robert to be miserable. His happiness matters to me.

“My wolf is crazy about you, and so am I,” he whispers. “Give me a good reason why you don’t want me. If it’s my face, you can tell me. I won’t get upset.”

My hand lifts to caress his left cheek, and my lips twist of their own accord. “I don’t care about your scars. I think I might even have a matching set now. I just don’t want you to be in a position where you will suffer because of me. I’m not w—”

“Don’t you dare say you’re not worth it, Charlotte.” Robert takes my hands and kisses the tips of my fingers. “To me, you’re worth it. I want you. You drive me insane, every part of you. So, what else is there? What other reason do you have?”

I try to think of something, but my mind is going blank as Robert’s teeth nibble at the edge of my fingers. I know this is a losing battle. He has already won.

From the look in his eyes, he knows it, too.

“Fine.” As the word leaves my mouth, my heart feels light, the tension I had been holding on to abating. “Alright, you win.”

I see the way his eyes light up, and my heart does a summersault in my chest at the sight.

This happiness—it can’t be a bad thing, right?