The Alpha King's Series novel Chapter 8

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CHAPTER SEVEN.

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BRINLEY.

It felt like knives all over my body as I hit the water, but that was a rush. So much adrenaline was pumping through my veins. When I surfaced, Thomas was already above the water smiling at me as I came up. "Fun, huh." I couldn't help but giggle, "Yeah, it was." "I got a blanket sat out over there. Do you wanna talk for a while?" I nodded, "Okay," We both swam towards the shore, not bothering to get dressed, knowing we would be back in the water. "How many girls have you brought here?" "Girls?" Thomas chuckled, "I don't fuck girls, 508."

My mouth went dry and unable to form words. "I've brought a few women here, though." I didn't say anything. Instead, I watched the waterfall and how the water hugged the rocks as it fell into the pond. I knew that Thomas wasn't a virgin no way he could be looking the way he does. That only made me more insecure, knowing I haven't slept with anyone, and Thomas will not want someone inexperienced that he thinks will cling to him. Thomas chuckled, "Don't think so hard. Your cause wrinkles." "Would wrinkles make me more appealing to you?"

"You're kidding, right?" I met Thomas's gaze, but I stayed silent. Thomas hovered himself over top of me. His body was only mere inches from mine. And the unfamiliar ache in my core began to throb. "508, you're beautiful. And if you think it's easy for me not to be able to touch you, to kiss you—your wrong." Again, my eyes fell to his defined chest, and this time, I couldn't help myself. I ran my fingers over his chest and the hills of his abs. Thomas closed his eyes. I can feel his muscles retract from my touch by taking a deep breath. No doubt he feels the spark. "Why are you against my age? Were mates that shouldn't matter."

Thomas opened his eyes, and they locked on mine. Thomas moved back to his side of the blanket, lying on his back, looking up at the stars in the black sky. My body missed his heat and the way he made me feel hovering over me. "My father, Harry, was not a nice person. He would beat on me and my half-brother Knox. One day I got the courage to ask him why he hated us so much. I was eight, so I didn't fully understand. I knew my mother had an affair with James Deluca. Who is Knox's father, but why hate me? I was his blood son. He was miserable because my mother wasn't his mate; he was forced to kill his mate. She was sixteen. He was twenty-two." "He killed his mate because she was younger?" "No," Thomas shook his head, "She had two mates and chose the other guy close to her age. My dad couldn't handle the rejection, so he killed her," I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Thomas," I whispered his name low. His silver eyes met mine, and at that moment, I knew. Thomas didn't need a mate right now; he needed a friend. Thomas's childhood sounded as bad as mine was. But, even though Delores was a step-monster, she did care for me more than my father and sister. Delores even trained me in the field when she could sneak away from my dad.

"You don't want a mate, do you?" "I'm not rejecting you," Thomas said, clenching his jaw. I furrowed my brows, "I don't want you to reject me, Thomas. Just be a friend," "You'll be okay with just being friends?" I nodded my head. Thomas sighed and shook his head, "The more we are around each other, the stronger the mate-bond gets. Can you handle that?"

"Can you?" He inhaled and exhaled a deep breath, "I can try if you want me to," I purse my lips, "Okay," I nodded. I crawled on my hands and knees over to Thomas. He arched his brow. "Let's go swim," I told him, and he nodded.

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ONE WEEK LATER

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Today Julia and I are going into town for coffee. I'm glad we both get the same day off. Julia and I have become great friends. Unfortunately, though her tendency to speak her mind doesn't bother me, she can often get pretty raunchy. And that is just outright embarrassing in public. "Are you in Thomas still in the friend zone?" Julia asks. I nod, "Yes," She groans, "I don't know how you can stand it." I shrug, "We both decided to take things slow," I lied. It was either friends or Nothing, and I didn't want him out of my life entirely, so I chose friends. Thomas was right about the mate-bond. The more time we spent together, the stronger the bond got.

"Well, Xander and I. Can't keep our hands off each other," Julia laughs, "So things between you and Xander are good then?." Julia nods, "More than good. It's a lot of up and down." I blushed and covered my face. Julia caught me off guard, but I should have suspected it.