Page 61 of Alpha Ruined
But it’s obvious she’s been crying, and she doesn’t want to have to see the look of pity on Darlene’s face.
So, she turns the opposite way of the café and heads to a place she spotted the day she arrived in Green Woods.
She’s always liked cemeteries.
She stopped mentioning it after she turned eighteen; her mother screamed at her so much when she said it offhandedly that she’s kept the thought to herself since then.
Carol has never been a fan of them, especially after her husband was placed in one.
But Green Woods Cemetery makes Bree feel at peace.
Small gray headstones line the neatly trimmed green lawn,protected by an intricate wrought-iron fence. Each grave appears well kept and visited enough that the memories of the dead aren’t forgotten.
She’s the only visitor at the moment, and she breathes in the crisp, fresh air and pays her respects to the buried.
There’s a bench donated in the name of a couple that has passed away, and she takes a seat there, her loneliness eating at her.
She allows herself a quick cry, letting out a soft sob, desperate to release the stress she carries.
She lets the breeze play with her hair as she stares off into the distance, becoming as quiet as the people buried beneath.
It startles her that she senses Cole before she even scents him.
Goosebumps prick at her skin as he takes a seat next to her, his scent soothing her. The wind carries his essence, swirling it around her until her head is dizzy with nothing butAlpha.
Relief washes over her in waves.
He came back.
It doesn’t matter how he found her—Cole’s returned and is sitting with her. Dressed in fitted dark jeans and a black sweatshirt, he looks casual but still polished.
He doesn’t speak, just drapes his arm over the top of the bench, subtly caging her in.
She sighs in relief as they sit in silence.
She can feel him watching her as she stares into nothingness, enjoying the stillness of the graveyard.
The other day, his attention would have bothered her.
But today, she welcomes it.
“I owe you an apology,” she says as clouds roll in and cast a shadow over them
“You never need to apologize to me,” he says, his voice low.
A lump forms in her throat. “I figured you’d never want to see me again,” she admits, “after how I acted the other night.”
He hums. “Silly girl,” he murmurs, his voice silky. “I’m never far from you.”
She shivers.
“And as for the other night,” he continues, slightly amused. “I frightened you. I could sense it, and I just kept pushing you. I’m surprised you didn’t run screaming from me.”
She swears she can smell a hint of something metallic emanating from him, clashing with his citrusy, delicious scent, but she blames it on the wind.
She chances a glance at him, smiling as she notices the slightly disheveled hair and twinkle of amusement in his eyes.
“That’s not why I ran,” she says softly. “I panicked for a different reason.”