Chapter 76

Chapter 0076

“So this is your safe option.” Alec sounded hurt.

“Yes and no. Yes, you make me feel safe. I am comfortable here. I like it here. YOU are not a safe option. You mean vulnerabilities. You have the power to hurt me, me ntally, emotionally, and physically.

I’m scared.

to be mated because you will feel all my insecurities, my weaknesses and my fears. To me, you are the

unknown and my head is screaming to run but my heart wants to stay. To give you that power over me

and trust you won’t break it.”

“You’re scared to be loved.”

“Sometimes, love isn’t enough. Dad loves me and it wasn’t enough. Colt loves me and it wasn’t enough. Ace loved me and now he’s dead. What if you love me someday and it gets you killed too. I’m not worth

that.”

Alec was quiet for a minute before getting up and literally picked me up and took me to the couch. He placed me on his lap, tucking my feet under his legs so I couldn’t move. “You are very worthy of love. I wish you could see how great your heart is, I know I can’t convince you of anything right now but after tomorrow, I will be spending my days making sure you know just how loved you are.” Alec cupped my face as he gave me the softest k*ss before pulling me into a hug. I fit so perfectly against his chest that I was able to snuggle into him easily. “Should we keep working on the design?”

“Sure.” I wasn’t ready to get up but I did after he released my feet. Alec grabbed the books and brought them to the coffee table so we could keep eating.

“What do you want for flooring?”

I

“Well, I want a light olive or sage green on my walls. Not too dark flooring but maybe more gray than

brown?”

“Something like this?” Alec pulled out something that was kind of what I was thinking.

“That is too shiny. I don’t want anything to show dust easily or show scratches.”

“This?” Alec pulled out something very gray with a hint of brown. It had like build in scrapes that would.

hide any scratches.

“I love that, how much is that per square feet?”

“Don’t worry about it. Everything here is within your budget. Even if you pick the most expensive stuff, it

will all be covered. Penny is truly gifted. No wonder she was your assistant.”

“I have a knack for choosing the right person for the job.”

“What are you thinking about?” Alec asked. He was studying me as my attention pulled back to him.

“Are you really going to let me continue to tattoo after I become your Luna?”

“Kristen, being Luna isn’t a death sentence. It’s a job, a way of life. Think of it as a career. You can still do hobbies. Besides, you said you enjoy being busy. Do you realize how much power you will have here? If you wanted an art studio for teens, you can make that happen. If you want a big as s library, all you have to do is ask. This whole pack will be looking to you to grow their lifestyle. All those projects you did for the school and kids, you get to do on a much bigger scale. You can keep helping people.”

Well, when he put it like that…. “Oh.”

“Is that why you are pushing against this so much?” Alec asked.

“I always dreamed of traveling. Seeing what else is out there. Though, anything is better than my dad’s

pack. I just want to be able to choose for myself.”

“Would you choose traveling over me?”

14.

“No. I’m going to explain and I want you to try and understand. I’ve never really said this before to anyone other than Colt. I’ve said pieces, yes but not the whole thing.” Setting my fork down, I sat back.

“Growing up in that kind of environment… All I wanted to do was get out. For obvious reasons, staying wasn’t an option. As we got older, everyone always said that Ace would have been my most likely mate. I was told that since I was 11. So it just became natural to spend more time with him. As we got older and my situation got worse… Colt and Ace could only do so much. It became unbearable around when I was 1 My arm got broken. I could have tested out of high school but that meant doing online college classes and more time with An n. So, I opt to stay and go to high school. Each time Ace or Colt failed to protect

me.

dreams of traveling grew. I started saving my money and opened the tattoo shop. It got to the point I started seriously questioning my desire to be mated to Ace. If I was with him, I would have left him to travel. Without a doubt. Being mates to him meant staying and living with An n. After I met you, I

realized there might be a life for me that doesn’t include staying there. That doesn’t mean my dream of traveling is gone but the thought of being able to live somewhere I don’t have to look over my shoulder is

what I am after. You provide that here. I think I’ll be happy here, as long as I can still be me and still tattoo,

but I still want to travel and see the world.”

my