Alpha’s Hybrid Cinderella – Chapter 32

Evan had given something of himself to me last night, something he could never take back. He had yet to tell me he was ready to give up the search for his mate, but what he had done last night, what we had done last night together was proof of something. Or maybe that was just the hope in me burning so bright it shoved away sense, but that was what I wanted to believe.

I was in love with Evan. I wanted him to love me. I wanted him to love me unquestioningly, without reserving room in his heart and mind for someone else he hadn’t even met yet. Could this really be the beginning of it?

The curtains over the window let in no light, and Evan must have locked the door so no housekeepers or maids would peek in for their morning cleaning routine. I peeked over the covers just in case, but we were alone in the room. With a small sigh, I dropped my head back onto the pillow.

ess over the last few minutes or had he been awake before me? “I’m okay. Just don’t want to be late. You don’t have a clock in here.”

ace, fingers trailing down my cheek and tracing my li

.”

Rest some

ing me, but the guilty pleasure of soaking in his attention silenced me before long. I enjoyed the silence, the company, his warmth next to me in the sheets. When we pulled off the covers to get c

Except…

e vulnerability once and for all that he had tried to hold back in vain. I had heard his thoughts, his emotions, all of the tumult in his head and heart as he made love to me, and that was how I knew it was genuine. He cared about me. He was still confused, still angry, still full of pain, but he cared about me.

ow much I wanted to. I could kiss him, I could hold him, we could make love aga

asn’t his either, and I needed to tell him.

ed to know.”

could never regret that. I reached for him, aching to fill that void in his heart that made it so natural for him to doubt, and spoke.

calm, and waited.

inking, are you?” he asked. “This is something different?”

“Yes.”

nd of thoughts do you mean? That you can hear?”

e. Or… sometimes it’s like with you, where there’s something heavier that can block it completely. Like clouds on an overcast day.”

ock my th

ood it. No one wanted to know their thoughts weren’t their own, that somebody was always listening in.

ing it, even if it was a poor attempt. “But sometimes, even when it’s just that one person and me, and the thoughts that come across are clear, there can be emotions that are even heavier than the words. And a lot of the time, people don’t think in words anyway. It’s mostly impressions, images, feelings. It’s a relief most times since that makes it easier to tune it out.”

ike it?”

.”

. He was uneasy about what I had told him, but the strategic Alpha instincts in him couldn’t be denied. “If I had that kind of ability

what happened that night. But any memories I see in you, it’s a perfect reflection only of how you remember it, not how it actually happened. It’s why I can’t look back into my memories either and remember us meeting.” If it really ever happened, a small voice murmured inside me, still doubtful.

n’t remember me from that night?”

sed. “… Can you hear what I’m thinking right now?”

g not to. But

head right now, then?”

my life trying to preserve everyone else’s dignity by keeping my ability small, doing everything I could to make it shrink, but now Evan was inviting me in. How could I say no?

.)

ou, Claudia.)

(Ca

hide the rampant blush that overtook my face.

neither of us spoke. But my hand was on his chest, warm and strong, and his arms were around me, holding me tight.

the entire time I had pretended I didn’t?

wanted a house, a garden, and I still wanted to be able to stand on my own two feet, but… couldn’t I have those and Evan, too?

“I don’t know what comes next, but

h me. Together.”

and sweet it hurt.

er let me go.