The Witch's Alpha

Chapter 20

Alyssa let out a small groan as she slowly sat up. She couldn't believe she fainted. She'd always prided herself on being a strong woman, and now she felt weak. To be honest though, Declan's confession had been a shock to her, and her body did the only thing it could to handle the stress of the last few days.

She still couldn't believe he'd never told her. She thought they had gotten close enough he wouldn't have felt the need to keep this a big secret. After all, she had divested her secrets. Why couldn't he?

"Declan," she began, "why didn't you tell me? I thought we trusted each other. What does this mean?"

"I'm sorry, Alyssa. I was planning on it, I just... I don't know," Declan told her. He was looking at the ground, and she wished he'd look at her. Did he hate her that much?

"Is it because I'm a witch? I told you what I was in the meadow, Declan. You knew all along. Did you forget? Is that why you hate me now?" Alyssa had tears in her eyes at the thought of the man she was quickly falling in love with hating her.

"What?" Declan's head snapped up. "No. Alyssa, no. I don't hate you! I could never hate you. I knew you were a witch, but I don't care about that. I just thought once you found out, you would hate me. Most witches don't like my kind because of our history. I couldn't stand seeing the disgust in your eyes when you found out."

"What? Why do our races hate each other?"

"Long story short, a witch separated a man from his wolf, and the wolves have hated witches ever since. I don't know why witches hate us, though."

"Oh, wow. Yea, I can see how that would cause hate and discontent... but, Declan, why would I hate you for that? You didn't do it, right?" Alyssa asked.

Declan chuckled at that. "No, Alyssa, I didn't have anything to do with that. That happened a long time ago. I guess I was just scared you would leave me once you found out the truth. I love you, Alyssa. I didn't want problems of our races to come between us."

Alyssa gasped, and Declan quickly became aware of what he had just confessed.

"You- you love me?" she repeated, hope evident in her voice. Before Declan could brace himself, Alyssa leaped on the tall man, wrapping her arms around him in a crushing embrace. His words had made her heart swell and she realized in that moment that she wasn't falling in love with him. She'd loved him from the moment she had first seen him. "I love you too, Declan," she breathed in his ear.

Declan released the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding as his body relaxed at her confession. He squeezed her back, loving the feel of her in his arms, and he never wanted to let her go. He couldn't believe that she hadn't left him. What had he ever done to deserve this woman? To have her love him as he loved her.

A knock at the door brought them out of their own little world. Connor, who had been sitting quietly in one of the chairs in front of Declan's desk, doing paperwork, quickly got up and answered it. A troop of three men quietly entered, carrying boards and nails to fix the broken doors at the end of the room. Setting to work, they had the job done within minutes, and left as fast as they came.

Once they had left, Connor caught Declan's eye and silently reminded the Alpha of his responsibilities that awaited him downstairs. Declan released a heavy sigh. He knew he should just get it over with, but he didn't want to leave Alyssa so soon after the scare he'd had when he thought she was going to reject him.

"Baby, I have to go talk to that rogue. He told us something disturbing, and I need to question him about it some more," he told the woman he still had wrapped in his arms. "You can stay here, or I can have someone follow you home?"