Chapter Thirty-Nine
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
A FEW DAYS after Bea passed out at the office, we get a call from the DAU. Benjamin Montgomery, the alpha who tried to break into Bea’s apartment over the summer, has finally been arrested. She is free to move back into her place.
I hate it. I’ve gotten used to having her in my space. Her scent soaking my apartment and her shoes kicked off by the door. The routine we’ve created together has settled the harsher edges of my instincts, the ones that make unbonded alphas go feral with age.
“If you drop me at my apartment, I’ll pack everything and take it with me this morning,” she says, walking past where I stand frozen at the kitchen island.
Asking her to stay would be really shitty when I refuse to meet her other mates or bond her. Yet every fragment of my soul is screaming at me to stop her from walking away.
“Of course,” I grit out. Clearing my throat, I gather our breakfast dishes and focus on cleaning up.
This is what I wanted. For her to move on and be with the pack of Fate matched mates she’s connected to.
Wanting what is best for her doesn’t mean setting her free is easy.
“Thank you,” Bea comments as we pull up to her apartment forty minutes later. She barely looked at me during the drive over, choosing to stare out the window instead. “For letting me stay with you while the DAU sorted this all out.”
“Of course. I will always do what I can to help protect you.”
That was the wrong thing to say. She stiffens, her jaw clenched shut as she jerks her head in a sharp nod.
Leaving my car to idle at the curb, I grab her suitcase from the trunk and carry it to her door. Seeing the dent in the wood from the attempted break in has a growl threatening to rattle in my chest, but I push it away.
Bea is safe. The threats against her removed. She doesn’t need my overprotective instincts getting in the way.
“I will likely be a few minutes late to the office,” she tells me as she opens her door and steps inside. The stale, dusty scent of her apartment greets us both, making my nose itch.
“Take your time. Any tasks assigned to you this morning can wait.”
She nods again, still refusing to look at me. I sigh and pass her the suitcase in my hand. Goodbye seems too final, so I turn on my heel and stalk back to my car.
Each step is agony, and I have to remind myself this is for the best. I cannot risk her safety if I am unable to share her with her other mates.