The Witch's Alpha

Chapter 27

Declan slowly made his way up the walkway to Alyssa's apartment, trepidation filling him with each step. What kind of welcome would he receive when she opened the door? Would she hate him because of his father's outburst? He pulled his jacket around him even more as he held his breath and knocked. He might run a higher temperature due to his wolf genes, but it was still cold outside in the middle of January.

When Alyssa opened the door, the first thing Declan noticed were her red, puffy eyes, and he felt his heart sink. His mate had been hurt by the man who had raised him, and he wanted nothing more in that moment than to rip his father's throat out.

"Oh, baby," he cooed as he entered her home and wrapped her in his arms. "I am so sorry for the things he said. He had no right to say that to you," Declan told her as he picked her up and carried her to the couch after he shut the door with his foot. Sitting, he held her in his lap as she cried.

Alyssa sniffed as she threw her arms around Declan, and buried her face in his chest. "I d-didn't even d-do any-anyth-thing to h-h-him! Why d-d-does he h-ha-hate me?" she bawled.

Alyssa hated that she was crying, and she especially hated that she was crying in front of Declan. She didn't want the man she loved to think she was a weak, emotional, drama queen. But no matter how she tried, she couldn't stop the flood of tears from coursing down her cheeks and soaking into Declan's shirt, which only made her cry harder.

"Ssh... It's ok, baby, it's ok. He's a cranky old man. He just has to get over himself and get to know you. I promise, when he does, he'll love you almost as much as I do. Hell, Mom already loves you, and she's never even seen you. Not to mention Connor and Verona. They all love you, baby. WE all love you," Declan assured her as he rubbed soothing circles on her back.

Alyssa eventually calmed down, and her breathing grew heavy. Declan glanced down at her and realized that she had fallen asleep. He continued to sit there with her in his arms and watched as she slumbered.

Unlike Alyssa, he didn't see her tears as a sign of weakness. He saw them as a testament to her character that she wanted his pack to accept her. He recognized the strength it took for her to lean on him for support when she needed him. And he couldn't have loved her more.

Getting up, he carried her into the bedroom and placed her in the bed. It was then he noticed she was covered in paint splatters, so he quietly searched for pajamas to change her into. Once he found a pair of sleep shorts and a t-shirt, he gently began undressing her. Slipping the jeans she was wearing off, he quickly replaced them with the shorts that showed off her long, toned legs. His breath caught in his throat as he removed the stained old shirt she was wearing. He'd never seen a woman as beautiful as she, and it took everything within him to cover her back up in the clean shirt when all he wanted to do was just gaze at her and memorize the way she looked. Removing his own jacket and pants, he crawled into bed with her and gathered her up next to him. He didn't want her to wake and think he'd tried to take advantage of her while she slept, so he'd kept his own t-shirt on, even though he usually just slept in his boxers or nude. He pulled a light sheet over them as the previous days events, along with the long night, caught up with him and he quickly fell asleep.

*

When Alyssa woke, it was dark out. She tried to roll over only to be held down. Tensing up, she looked down to find a strong, toned arm draped across her waist, holding her in place. She followed the arm up to a shoulder, turning her head as she went, her heart hammering in her chest. Whoever was holding her had his head- she could tell it was a man by the musculature- burrowed in her back, hiding his face in her hair. She could feel the man's legs pressed up against the backs of hers, and contemplated kicking him before she recognized the little jolts of electricity that flowed into her wherever bare skin met bare skin. Heaving a sigh of relief, she instantly relaxed and snuggled deeper into Declan's embrace.