All Chapters of The Deaf Alpha’s Unexpected Mate : Chapter 41 - Chapter 45

SERAPHINEI expected Ally to fumble with the lock. Maybe curse under her breath, maybe give up after a few frustrated tries and suggest we find a window instead.I did not expect her to drop to her knees in front of the admin block's back door, pull two thin metal pins from somewhere inside her braid, and start working the lock with the calm, practised efficiency of someone who'd done this before."Ally." My whisper came out sharper than I intended. "What exactly is happening right now?""Shh. I'm concentrating.""Since when do you know how to pick a lock?""Since the year the kitchen started locking up the good rice and I got tired of watery porridge." She didn't even look up, her tongue poking slightly between her teeth in concentration, the pins working in small, precise movements I could barely follow in the dark. "You'd be amazed what a person learns when they're hungry enough, Sera. Now hush, or I'm going to make you explain to the matron tomorrow why there's a broken pin jammed

DexGosh. The way her mouth curved when she slurped the spaghetti, the slow drag of her tongue as she licked the sauce from her lower lip; I couldn’t take my eyes off her. That little involuntary sweep of her fingers through her wavy hair was the same habit I had. It hit me low in the gut every time she did it.“You’re so silly, Mark!!”My stepmother’s laugh cut through the haze. Rose was sharing some joke with her perfect husband, my father, who had never managed to be a perfect father to me. She was glowing, completely oblivious to the current running under the table between her daughter and me.“You’re right, Mark. We should get a family portrait now that we’re all complete.” Rose turned that bright, optimistic smile on me. “Dex? What do you think?”I had been about to take another mouthful. Instead, I set the fork down carefully.“That’s a great idea,” I said, voice calm. My father smiled, satisfied, and shifted his attention to Wren.“Wren, my dear, I hope you’re settling in we

“We shouldn’t be doing this.”The words barely made it past my lips. I was already out of breath the second Dax had me pinned against the pantry door, the cool wood pressing into my spine while his body heat burned everywhere else. I had only come in for the tomato sauce. That was the entire plan; grab the jar, leave, pretend the last five years had never happened. Then he stepped in front of me, shut the door with a soft click, and kissed me like he was starving, and I was the only thing that could fix it.Even as the protest left my mouth, I didn’t push him away. My hands were supposed to shove at his chest. Instead, they fisted in the soft cotton of his shirt, pulling him closer until there was no space left between us. His mouth was hot, demanding, tasting faintly of mint and something darker that was just him. I felt the scrape of stubble along my jaw as he deepened the kiss, and a low sound escaped my throat before I could swallow it.“Wren, hurry up! The oil’s already hot.”Mom