Forced To Love You

Stay

"So have you always lived here?" I asked as I twirled the spaghetti around my fork. Christian took our plates of spaghetti and two glasses of water to the dining table before he came back to get me. He wouldn't let me walk on my own. I had to remind myself that it would help me heal faster if I let him but it was still humiliating.

"I grew up in Twisp but I only moved here once I took over the Alpha title. It's easier to be protected if I live here than in town somewhere."

"Protected?" I vaguely remembered Madison saying that people wanted to take the Alpha title.

He nodded. "The Alpha title is fairly popular among werewolves."

"This might seem stupid to ask but how do you feel about it? Did you want it when your uncle stepped down?"

His lip moved upward. "I wouldn't have asked for the title had it not been handed down to me. But I don't mind it. Since we're a private pack, I don't have to worry about conflict from outside packs."

"Private? How does that work?"

"We keep to ourselves and run on our own accord. People are free to come and go but we do have a council meeting to discuss any new members."

My face paled and my fork stilled over my plate. "Does that include me?"

Please say it doesn't.

"Normally, it wouldn't be such a big deal but considering you're my mate..."

I groaned. The last thing I wanted was for a whole town of people to make a big fuss over me when I didn't plan on staying. Especially a whole town of people I didn't know.

"Maybe don't seem so turned away at the thought of joining the pack. You don't want them to dislike you from the moment they've met you."

"The whole thing sounds absolutely crazy if I'm being honest."

He laughed. "I can see that."

I took another bite of the spaghetti. I hated to admit that it was actually decent. It didn't taste like basic, boring spaghetti. "Who taught you how to cook like this?"

He stared down at his food and I watched his smile slowly fall from his face. "My mom taught me when I was younger."

I leaned back in my seat. I could see him practically shrivel up as he grew quiet. This was obviously a touchy subject for him.

"Christian, why don't you talk about her?"

He took a bite but I could tell it was only to get out of the conversation. The room was empty and quiet yet the silence was loud.

"Christian, I can't be with you if I don't know anything about you."

He dropped his fork and leaned back in his chair. He stared up at the ceiling for several seconds before he spoke. "She died when I was thirteen. A rogue got in and killed her in her sleep."

"Rogue?"

"A lone wolf. Someone who has no pack. We closed the pack after that."

His words made me feel bad for asking. I'd forced him to tell me that his mom died when it was clearly a hard topic for him to talk about. I still struggled with my parents' passing too.

"I'm sorry, Christian."

He nodded, a stoic expression on his face. He seemed... elsewhere. To me, that seemed a little odd considering the mate bond that we shared would have made him excited to be with me. Or at least, I assumed it would do that.

So I decided to change the subject. Since it was my idea to ask about his mom and put him in the bad mood thereafter, I knew it was up to me to fix it. "Madison seems to think I should know what your favorite color is. She keeps asking me if I've asked you yet."

He smiled and it made me feel relieved that I didn't completely ruin the evening. The last thing I wanted was for him to be broody and sulk the rest of the night. "It's red."

I nodded. I didn't peg him as the 'red type'.

"What else did she want you to ask me?"

"Your favorite food."

"Spaghetti. What about you?"

"Chinese food. I always order the lo mein."

His gaze met mine and I felt my face heat up when I realized we basically liked the same food. At least... the same food group.

I looked away first and took a sip of the water he'd gotten both of us.

"So since you're willing to ask such deeply personal questions, I think it's only fair that I get to as well."

I chewed at the inside of my cheek as I waited on him to ask me his question. I could only imagine what it would be.

"Are you a virgin?"

And just like that, I realized I didn't truly know Christian as well as I thought. just when I thought he'd ask an absurd question, he asks one ten times worse. I tried my best to keep my expression cool and calm but I definitely struggled. "Yeah, I am. Are you?"

He waited until I peered over my glass at him before he answered. "I haven't been for a few years now."

"Why?" I wasn't sure why I cared but the question came out before I could stop it.

Excitement danced in his eyes and I hated that I sounded so... intrigued. "I wanted to wait for my mate but as the years passed, I kept thinking it would never happen. Some people never meet their mate."

I set my glass down carefully before I accidentally broke it over my excitement. "Wait a minute. So you're telling me that you, Christian Dawson, Alpha of a werewolf pack gave up?"

He crossed his arms over the table and leaned closer to the center. "I didn't give up. I didn't have as much faith in the Goddess but I never stopped hoping that it would happen at some point. But eleven years is a long time to wait."

I stuck my bottom lip out at him to mock him. "You poor thing. How did you even manage?"

He rolled his eyes and pushed away from the table. He stood and grabbed both of our plates.

"I can help, you know." I reached out for one of the plates but he was faster. I grabbed the glasses of water and stood. I took a step with my bad leg and felt a shot of pain run up my side. The sudden pain sent me falling back into the chair. Thankfully, the glasses were nearly empty so I didn't spill anything on either myself or the floor.

Christian turned around and used his back to open the door. "Stay."

I rolled my eyes and set the glasses on the table once more. I wasn't a dog. I didn't appreciate being treated like such. If my ankle wasn't hurting me, I would have stormed over to him and hit him for the comment.