SWNOVELS Alpha’s Obsession: Chapter 13
Layne
He gave me the day of my dreams, and he left.
It was all bullshit.
I should be pissed, but I’m not. I’m just tired. Bone tired.
This is the way Dr Layne Zhao’s life ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper.
Okay, now I’m being melodramatic, which is not my style. I pace around Laurie’s tiny guest cottage, picking things up and putting them down again.
I made the right decision. I definitely made the right decision.
Why, then, does my heart feel like it needs help just to beat? Why am I leaking enough tears to float a small boat?
To have swung from such contentment to this can’t be right.
I scrub my face in the bathroom, hoping to wash away the pain, the fear.
Sam might die tonight. Sam might die tonight.
Dear God, don’t let Sam die.
And if he lives—then I still won’t see him?
Does that even make sense? Wouldn’t I be happy he lived and want to savor a few more days, months, or even years with him?
Was I just being stubborn? Yes. My mother always said it would be my downfall. I thought I was choosing what’s best for us, but… I think I made a huge mistake.
For the first time in forever, I have no interest in throwing myself into my research. I’d rather put my head under the covers and cry.
I miss Sam already.
If anything happens to him, I’ll never recover from the heartbreak.
A knock sounds on the door. I give my face another splash and pat it dry. It’s probably Laurie coming by to see if I’m okay.
“Coming,” I call, whipping my hair up in a ponytail. Sam’s mating bite is a shiny red weal against my pale skin. My gut twists. I hope I get to know what it means to be mated to him.
That’s my last thought before I open the door and the Data-X guards shoot me in the chest.
~.~
Sam
Nash and I unload equipment from my van. The drive to Temecula took place in silence, mostly because my lips have forgotten how to move. Not that I’m much of a talker, anyway. And Nash clearly isn’t.
I turn on my comms unit. “Testing. Alpha, do you copy?”
Nash touches his ear piece and nods.
I tuck a gun in the waistband of my jeans. Nash takes two.
There’s no stopping this train now, but if I had it to do over, I’d be back at Laurie’s place, begging Layne’s forgiveness.
She was right. I chose reckless revenge over love.
What kind of idiot am I?
The most I can hope for is to get out of this alive so I can somehow convince her to let me in her life again.
And I don’t know how I’ll do that, but I’m not going to give up until I do.