Owned By The Possessive Alpha, Bounded To My Mate novel Chapter 156

Chapter 156

Chapter 156

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Denise POV

My hand was in close to his, only a hair breath between them. I couldn’t pull away without making it clear what was on my mind so I left it there. The car zoomed past trees as the silence grew heavy in the car.

I could feel his eyes on me as he drove from time to time. I felt his wolf trying to figure out what I was keeping from him. I said nothing and kept looking straight ahead.

My mind went back to Eli’s face. I wasn’t interested in the color of his eyes or the shape of his jaw. I was focused on the moment his eyes found Kieran. It was like watching light enter a room that wasn’t dark; the effect was obvious enough.

There was no subtlety or deception there. It was the bright and unguarded. He didn’t understand that he wasn’t supposed to react like that in a lobby of strangers. He was being what he was: a kid and he did what kids do: the first thing that came to mind.

I remembered Alyssa was quick enough to anticipate his reaction and in one motion, without hesitation had nipped his reaction in the bud before anyone had an inkling of what was going on.

A slight frown appeared on my face. The natural ease of that movement meant it wasn’t the first time it was happening. She had had enough practice for that ease she displayed when she scooped him in her arms. This has been going for a long time and most likely before I ever came into the picture.

Finally, I turned to look him and didn’t ask anything, waiting for the bond to tell me instead.

Underneath the careful warmth he carried for me, I could feel something there. It was so subtle that it took a while for me to figure out the right word. Guilt.

It wasn’t the sharp blade of new guilt, it was the dull ache of something ancient that had been worn down but was still present nevertheless. It had always been present buried deep beneath things he

communicated through the bond, the incident at the lobby just brought it to the surface for me to identify

I looked at his warm and steady hand near mine. It was the same hand that held me a countless number of ordinary times since the mating. The same hand that held me just a few moments ago before now we couldn’t mention what we both knew just happened.

What happened in the lobby was true but it didn’t change our marriage. Our marriage was true, I knew that much and I wasn’t going to let his secret cancel out the fact that he had been good to me, more than he had to, more than I expected.

It was time to reconcile both truths and stopped treating them as separate situations.

I began to think about what I wanted. I knew what I was getting into when I signed that contract and I had accepted it as at the time.

There was a warning about the mating but I had no idea how it would change the equation. I had no idea

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15:15 Sat, Sep 19

Chapter 156

what our current arrangements was but it wasn’t what we had talked about.

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The realization sunk in slowly: I was beginning to want things; something I didn’t think possible given the nature of our arrangement.

What I wanted was the truth not to punish him or have enough ammunition to confront Alyssa; I wanted to know what my marriage actually was.

“Kieran,” I said.

He glanced over.

Who is Eli? How long have you known her? Is there anything I need to know?

I could have asked any of these three questions but I didn’t because in that half-second, I knew exactly what asking would set in motion. There would be a chain: an answer to my question and my response to his answer. I wasn’t ready for his answer yet. I knew myself well enough to know that this wasn’t going to be something that could be easily filed away.

If he told me Eli was his son, I would have to make a decision about him whether I wanted to or not. If he told me about Alyssa, I would start to rethink everything about Kieran and what he stood for.

Looking at him, I realized wanting the truth and being ready to receive it were two different things.

“Are you hungry?” I asked instead.

He studied me for a while. His face held the impression he knew what I asked wasn’t what I wanted to ask.

“Yes.”

“Let’s stop somewhere.”

“Okay.”

We found a small place a few blocks from the apartment and ordered after seating.

“How’s has classes been going?

“I have a professor that believes students should spend the whole day studying.”

“Sounds like a professor who’s never had a real job.”

I looked at him as he ate. “He didn’t appreciate it when I told him that.”

He smiled and it reached his eyes. We were now two people talking about nothing that mattered.

“I can picture Rosaline complaining about the flowers already.” I said.

“Of course. It’s practically her job description.”

“I think she’d be offended to hear that.”

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