Alpha alec's redemption (Sadie) novel Chapter 248

The wind is a soft caress against my skin, but it does nothing to cool the heat simmering beneath the surface. Sweat trickles down the back of my neck as I stand in the middle of the field, eyes closed, fists clenched at my sides. Nyx is pacing in my mind, her presence a steady, grounding force.

“Try again,” she urges, her voice soft but firm. “You’re overthinking it. Just feel it, Sadie.”

I take a deep breath, releasing it slowly as I focus inward, searching for the power coursing beneath my skin—the powerful essence that I’m supposed to command. But instead of reaching that power, my mind flashes to Alec.

I squeeze my eyes shut, pushing his image away and try to focus. I refuse to let my mind wander when I should be focusing on getting this right.

“Breathe.” Nyx’s voice is firm but gentle. “In through your nose. Out through your mouth.”

I do as she says, pulling air deep into my lungs and releasing it in a long, slow exhale. It doesn’t help. My skin still burns. My body still hums with restless energy. And my mind? My mind won’t stop spinning.

Because I keep seeing Alec.

I’ve been avoiding him since the day we took Aspen for an outing, but it has done nothing to diminish that unsettling desire I have for him. It has done nothing to stop the bond from humming inside me. It has done nothing to stop me from thinking about him. It also doesn’t help that Aspen has kept mentioning him in almost all her sentences.

I’ve tried so hard to put distance between us. Tried so hard to shake the effects of the bond, but nothing. I still think of him. Still think of his green eyes, that intense look he gave me when he said he’d prove himself. When he promised he’d show me that he wanted me. Not because of the bond, but because of me.

I press my fingers to my temples, trying to push the memory away, but it keeps returning, insistent and unyielding.

His eyes haunt me. Burning into me every time they clashed with mine. Every time we looked at each other across the field or in the hallways right before I fled like the coward I was. His eyes communicated things I didn’t want to accept, but that didn’t stop me from drowning in those green orbs.

A shiver races down my spine, and I bite my bottom lip, tasting the salt of my sweat.

“Sadie,” Nyx says, her voice sharper now. “Focus. You’re letting your mind wander.”

I grind my teeth, forcing myself to concentrate. I focus on the feel of the wind, the warmth of the sun, and the pulse of power that I know is there, waiting to be summoned.

I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and try to do as she says. I first remember how the scepter looked before imagining it in my hand. Its weight in my hand, the feel of it and the power I could feel in it that first time I held it. I can almost feel it—the power, the strength—like it’s just within reach. But every time I get close, the image of Alec’s face bursts through my concentration, shattering my focus.