Dex Arlington is the Alpha’s son, and he will not allow anyone to hurt his mate. When he finds out she's been beaten up by one of the pack wolves, he goes to settle the score. He doesn’t care that Casey hasn’t been able to change into a wolf. She belongs to him, and no one will hurt her, and anyone who tries will pay the price.
Casey Scott isn't happy. Ever since she knew she was a wolf, all she has ever wanted was to transition. She wants to run out in the wild, beneath the full moon. Only, it never happens. Her wolf is not coming.
She doesn’t know how Dex can want her. Yet, nothing sends him away. He refuses to leave her alone. From the moment they first met as children, he said he knew they were meant to be mates.
But someone has a secret. They are closing in. Who would dare try to kill the Alpha’s son?
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“It’s me,” Casey said. “I am the one you care about.”
Dex stared at her, and he took one step, then another, until he reached out and rested his hand against the side of her head.
She didn’t know what to say or do, she could only look at him. “That’s right, isn’t it?”
“Did you not know?” he asked.
“I … I … no.”
He smiled. “You know, for a clever woman, Casey, you sometimes are a little dumb.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because you didn’t know it was you I cared about.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “No, not why I’m dumb, but why did you not tell me?” she asked. “Why do you care about me?”
Dex could have any other girl or single woman in the pack. Besides the fact he was handsome and sexy, he was also going to be the next Alpha, and to a lot of women, that was a draw no one could deny.
She didn’t care that he was going to be the next Alpha. When they were little, her parents would always tell her to be nice to Dex. She didn’t have to be told to be nice. Once again, it took her a little time to realize that Dex was the Alpha’s son. She already cared about him by then. He was her best friend and in his way, her savior.
It would seem there were a lot of times when fellow peers from the pack didn’t like her. She had no idea what she did to irritate them, but either way, she was not going to let it bother her. Dex cared for her.
“How could I not care for you?” he asked. “You’re smart—”
“You just called me dumb,” she reminded him.
“You’re smart and dumb at the same time. You do not know what is right under your nose, and you’re … beautiful. Even when people are being assholes to you, you haven’t changed. It has not made you bitter. You don’t think about getting them back. Even after what Buddy did to you, you’re not thinking about hurting him.”
“I can’t change who they are, and I am not going to allow them to change who I am,” she said.
Her mother had always told her it wasn’t about what other people did or how they acted, it was about how it made her feel and behave. She was not going to let any of them get under her skin. The bullying was manageable. Now, she knew it was all because of Dex. He made it work. He stopped the bullies.
“No, you can’t change them, and they haven’t changed who you are. You’re amazing, Casey. I know that, and so does everyone who comes to know you.”
“I’m not special.”
“You are to me, and that is all that matters.”
She looked at him, a little taken aback by his honesty. “I had no idea.”
“And that is what makes you pretty dumb.”
Casey sighed. “So, what do you want?” she asked. “You won. You caught me. What is it you want?”
“This.” He closed the distance between them, and then his lips brushed hers.
She felt that tingle shoot all the way through her body, and it made her melt so hard and so fast. She didn’t know what to do with her hands, and for several seconds she kept them at her sides. Then, she wanted to touch him, to feel his body beneath her hands.
Starting at his waist, she slowly began to slide them up, going toward his chest. She felt how hard he was beneath his clothing. Dex had always been all muscle.
Several of the girls in her class had wanted Dex all to themselves. She’d heard them conspire, trying to gain his attention. Whenever he’d enter a classroom, they’d puff out their chests, wanting him to notice them.
Looking back now, Casey remembered him always finding her and coming to sit right beside her in class. Now, that made a lot of sense to her why some of the other girls hated her guts. Some of the bullying, especially in school, had come from the girls.
She was having a reality check and an epiphany after each one. They hated her because of all the attention she got from Dex. This made so much sense to her.
Kissing him, she loved the feel of his lips on hers, and then, as she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and pressed her body to his, he felt so good against her. She loved the kiss. It felt like she’d been waiting all her life to feel his lips on hers. And then he pulled away.
“You’re my reward.”
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