The Lost Slipper (Fairytale Shifter #3)(16)

His thumb rubs along my jaw, but I just stare at him in confusion.

“I’ve meet a lot of alphas and their mates.” He pauses, leaning forward, his nose brushing mine, before pulling back. A soft smile pulls at his lips. “All the alphas I’ve met were mated to alpha females. Nothing like you.”

I can’t stop myself from flinching. The words cause me pain, and they cut me. Stone must feel it because a growl leaves his chest.

“I didn’t want that,” he says, his voice deep and strong.

“A mate who matched you?” Every alpha male I’ve met has been paired with an alpha female. That’s why I didn’t understand our mating and how it could happen.

“That doesn’t sound like me. Not much of a match.” He leans forward, doing the nose rub again. This time it tickles a little, and a small giggle spills from my lips.

“See? That’s what I want. I want you, and every time you got close to me, it was like a bitter reminder of what I’d never have. I wanted it. Wanted you from the very beginning. I also knew it was wrong to long for one who wasn’t my mate. Here I was, spending my nights dreaming about you. Falling asleep with you. Checking in on you.” He leans in, his lips a breath from mine “Doing fake house checks when you were at school just so I could sit in your room and smell you while you were gone.”

“You went into my room?” I don’t know why out of all the stuff he said that was the question that popped up first.

“Mainly when I got to the edge. Pack shit got to be too hard, and I needed to be calmed. Yeah.” He shrugs his big shoulders like it’s no big deal. “I’d tell your stepmom it was normal. I was just checking in on you, but I’d just sit. And try to calm down.”

“Did it work?” My words come out as a whisper.

“Every time.”

“Then why were you such a jerk to me all the time?” I pull back, smacking his arm.

“I was never mean to you,” he growls, like I offended him.

“Never mean to me? Really? You randomly text me, bossing me around, all the time. Last month at the fair you said I wasn’t like everyone and embarrassed me in front of the pack.”

“You aren’t like everyone else.” His brows draw together like this is something I should know. “I knew that from the moment I laid eyes on you, and not because you were a bear shifter, Winnie. I don’t know why I knew you were different, I just felt it. Everything about you is soft and sweet and I want it. My wolf wants to just curl around you and soak it in. Relish the comfort. I feel starved of it.”

His hands start to roam my body, sliding down my sides and over my hips.

“Everything I do is for this pack and what I think is best for it. Even when I was pushing you away, I thought it was best for you. I’m starting to think I can’t do anything right. I f*cked up with Gwen and now you. I seem to be doing more damage than good.”

My heart breaks for him at the confession because what he’s saying is true. Everything he does is for the pack. Gwen even said today that she’d never seen Stone do anything for himself. I can’t imagine working so hard for something and thinking you’re still not doing it right.

All this time he’s wanted me. Maybe I can be the one to finally give the alpha something of his own.





10





Stone





“Stone.”

Hearing my name on her lips is enough to make me do whatever she wants. I may be the alpha, but this little cub can bring me to my knees. Never before have I bared myself to anyone, but with Winnie, I would do it if that’s what she asked.

Pulling her closer to me, I slide my hardness between her wet folds, teasing myself. I feel Winnie shudder against me, the pull between us getting stronger.

“Do you want me to stop?” I’m so close to the edge that if I do this much longer, I won’t be able to stop. I’ll slide back and push inside her and I won’t be able to pull back out.

I feel her nails dig into my shoulders as she clings to me. Her big eyes gaze into mine, and I see her make her decision. “Don’t stop. I’m yours, Stone. Since the day you found me, I’ve belonged to you.”

At her confession, I roll us over so she’s under me, and I pin her arms up by her head as her legs wrap around me. “Say it, Winnie. My wolf is too close to stop. Tell me what I need to hear.” I feel my nails start to ache as I dig them into the bed, trying to hold on to my wolf. I’m sure my eyes are glowing, and I feel the tingle in my spine as if I could shift at any second.

“I’m your mate, Stone. Take me for your own.” Her words are breathy as her hands come up to rub my chest, scoring her blunt nails down my tattooed skin.

The feeling of her marking me and telling me to claim her sends a shiver running down my spine. I take a breath to try to control my wolf because I want to stay human for this. I don’t know if we can mate as shifted animals, and it’s been so long since Winnie has shifted that I’d be worried to try it.

Leaning down, I rest on my elbows, holding her face in my hands. I rub my nose against hers, then look into her soft brown eyes, needing to tell her before we mate. “I love you, Winnie. I have since the day I first held you in my arms. I’m so happy that you’re my mate.”