Mate (Bride, #2)

by Ali Hazelwood

“Koen, no. You actually like being Alpha. You live to order people around.” He holds back a smile. “Guess from now on, you’re going to have to be people.” “No. You’ll step down, and then what? Run away with me? Be my deadbeat boyfriend? We’re gonna live in the woods, argue over what to have for dinner, and—” I close my eyes and press the back of my hand to my lips. I’m in physical pain. Because… “Sounds that good, huh?” he asks knowingly. And yes. Yes, it fucking does. But. We need him, Layla said. Amanda. Brenna. Dozens, countless people. Even Irene. My eyes lock with his, willing him to understand. “You are the heart of this pack, Koen.” He nods. Even as he says, “And you are mine, Serena.” This is unthinkable. “If you leave for me, and anything happens to the Northwest…I’m going to hate myself for the rest of my life. Your life. Our life.” That besotted half smile, again. “That was a ‘we.’ ” “It wasn’t.” I steady myself. “Just a few days ago you listed several reasons why you had to choose the pack over me. What changed?” He roams the inside of his mouth with his tongue. Waits out the end of a particularly strong gust of breeze. “You told me that you loved me, Serena,” he says simply. His eyes are earnest, liquid. So profoundly good. “And while I’m willing to resign myself to an existence without the person I love, I refuse to condemn you to it.” I square my shoulders. Don’t cry. Don’t you fucking dare cry. “It was very good sex, and I—I made it up, Koen. In the heat of...