Alec’s

"Well, that's your opinion. I believe in the mate bond. And I believe she'll submit to it."

"Sure, the same mate bond that is clear as day she's fighting and, from the looks of it, winning," Micah growls in annoyance.

Their argument was starting to get on my nerves. I needed to think. I needed to come up with ways to deal with this whole shit storm. I needed solutions, not theories. "Would the two of you just shut up?" I growl, massaging my temples. "You are giving me a headache."

They both turn to look at me, but otherwise shut their mouths. I lean back against the chair and just close my eyes.

Everything I did to Sadie three years ago plays on my mind like a broken record. Every punch, every insult, every slap, every whip, every knife cut. EVERYTHING.

Her pleas for mercy ring in my ears. I try to block them, but it doesn't work. Her screams and cries invade my headspace. I can't shake them off no matter how hard I try.

I'm jolted and my eyes open when the car comes to a stop. Turning to the window, I realize that we were at the airport. I don't wait for the others; I get out because I feel suffocated.

"Do you need help with her?" I ask Sadie, coming to stop near her.

I wanted so badly to hold my daughter that my hands were practically itching.

With a cold stare and a colder voice, she says a simple No. Nodding my head, I then guide her. All through the short journey, Aspen couldn't stop talking about how happy she was that she was going onto a plane.

Her smile, innocence and laughter warm my heart, but also brings a pang of longing. I want her to smile at me like that. I want her to hold me the way she's holding on to Sadie. I want her sweet warmth to erase the coldness inside me. To destroy the monster that I was to her mother.

After being cleared and all that shit, we are led to where my jet is. We get in and the moment we are settled, my pilot takes off.

"What are you doing?" Sadie hisses, when I take the seat next to her.

The mate bond was riding me hard. I needed to be next to her. I needed to smell her scent. I needed to touch her. To mark her. To mate her. I couldn't do the last three things, but I could do the first two. "Sitting, obviously."

"Then I'll go find another seat," she says through gritted teeth and then tries to stand up.

I put a stop to that by grabbing the end of her chair, making sure she didn't move.

She begins to tremble, and her eyes start flashing. I should have been scared because she was on the verge of losing control, but I wasn't.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

"You lose control and this whole jet crashes," I drawl lazily. "You may survive given you have wings and all, but the rest of us won't."

That seems to stop her. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and then opens her eyes again. When she does, she's calmer and more in control.

"What do you want, Alec?" she asks, almost tiredly.

What did I want? Well, I wanted a lot of things, but I doubt she is ready to hear any of them. Hell, I can bet on my parents' graves that she isn't ready to hear any of them.

When I fail to say anything, she pushes my hand away, stands up and leaves. I'm left staring at her seat with unseeing eyes.

"What are we going to do?" Knox whispers, his voice full of a kind of longing and remorse.

I twist in my seat, before looking outside the window. "I don't know. I just don't fucking know, Knox"

I was the great Alpha Alec, but right now I felt like I was nothing but a failure.

Knox question continues to ring in my head all through the flight. It was now starting to hit me just how badly I messed things up.

What the hell do you do when you've messed up so badly, she now hates your fucking guts?