Alpha's Vet

His Shirt

Chapter 14 – His Shirt

Lara POV

The river is beautiful. Warm sunlight glints off the water, and the soft murmur of the current makes me feel like I could sit here all day. The group from last night is here, laughing and splashing, and they’re just as kind today, making me feel included despite being the “new girl.”

Zac is hovering near me, polite and eager, but he’s not Lucas. Ugh—why can’t I like a normal guy? Why does the only man who makes my heart race feel completely unattainable?

I’m still wearing the oversized shirt Jacqui lent me. Zac notices and asks about it. I tell him Jacqui gave it to me, and he smiles, apparently delighted. Men are weird.

Then I feel it: eyes boring into me. I look up, but see nothing. Heat prickles all over me, and I realize I can’t focus on Zac anymore. I hear a low growl, and my blood runs cold.

Out of the woods, Lucas emerges. My pulse spikes. He’s… huge. Bigger than I remember. Or maybe it’s just because I’m sitting? His presence fills the space, and suddenly everyone else fades away. Only he exists.

“Sorry, Alpha, I didn’t know.” Zac’s voice snaps me back to reality. Alpha? Boss? I hadn’t realized the weight of that title.

Zac bows his head, not daring to meet Lucas’s eyes. “Sorry, Lara. I have to go.” He quickly rises and leaves.

The others are still in the river, but I’m not sure they noticed anything. I, however, cannot stop staring at Lucas. Even standing still, he radiates power. His aura shifts through colors I can’t name, and my head aches from trying to process it.

I glance down at my hands, and a low growl vibrates from him. I look back up, and his aura has shifted again, calmer now.

The river quiets behind me. I turn and see Jacqui walking toward us, still smiling. “Hi Luc, we’re leaving, but I know Lara still wants to stay a bit. She hasn’t been in the water yet.”

Lucas hasn’t broken eye contact. He’s looking at the shirt I’m wearing—the one that belongs to him. My heart starts pounding uncontrollably. Neither of us speaks.

“May I join you? Please?” His voice breaks the silence. The “please” feels foreign, almost tentative, like he rarely uses it.

Hearing him speak like that, feeling him so close, I become painfully aware of my body. I’m wet. My n*****s are hard. I fight the urge to shift closer.

He takes a small step toward me, then stops, restraining himself.

“Yes, please,” I whisper. My voice feels like it belongs to more than just the words—I want him. All of him.

He sits next to me, close enough that his aura touches mine, but not close enough to touch. My hands are itching to reach for him, but I place them firmly on my lap, as if they might move on their own.

Five minutes pass in silence, watching the river. Finally, he speaks.

“You have my shirt on.”

My face burns. My heart races. My body responds in ways I can’t control.

“O… I’m sorry. Jacqui borrowed it for me. I didn’t know it was yours.” My voice is barely audible, and my cheeks are hotter than ever.

“I am not,” he says simply. I feel stupid for not understanding and fall silent.

Lucas POV

I almost tore Zac apart when I saw him sitting near my mate. Ten minutes of watching before I finally got Lex under control.

Then Zac asks her out on a date. My blood boiled. My teeth clenched. I felt every primal instinct screaming to claim her—right here, right now. But as I stepped out of the trees and saw her, the thought of anyone touching her made my stomach twist. She consumed me completely.

I stop a few feet away. My mind is a battlefield. Part of me wants to scoop her up, take her to my room, and never let anyone else see her. Lex rages in my mind, wanting to claim her, but I force him back. We wait. She is ours.

Jacqui appears, chattering, but I block it out. Leave. I mind link her, and she disappears.

Every time she moves, every subtle breath, every hint of arousal, I smell it. Lex is clawing to break free, but I hold him back. I cannot risk overwhelming her.

Then I see it: she’s wearing my shirt. My own damn shirt. My body reacts before my mind can catch up. I want to tear it off her. I want to burn it, keep it, mark it as mine. The thought of anyone else touching it—or her—pushes me toward madness.

I sit next to her, still too afraid to touch, though every instinct in me screams to. Alpha legends speak of men going mad when denied their Luna. I feel that madness pressing against the edges of my control. She is mine, and I will not let her slip.

Sitting beside her, finally close, I feel… a little calmer. But only just.