Fated to the Promised Alpha

Chapter 5 - Steamy encounter

Charlie's skin was flushed a nice pink when she exited the hot shower. The air was full of steam, more than one person should’ve made but the indulgence had soothed her aching muscles better than she imagined. She watched her reflection in the mirror rub the tension out of her shoulders, her eyes falling to her bare neck. A sight that made her wolf grumble, though she pushed away any thought of the blond-haired Alpha before they could arise. After just managing to get her body to relax, she wasn’t about to ruin her light feeling.

Dried and dressed in the deep red underwear she had brought with her to the showers, Charlie padded back to the main changing area, enjoying the floral fragrance humming from her skin. It was sweeter than she expected but soothed her into a happy smile. As she neared the room which held her clothes, Charlie felt the prickle of someone’s presence. Her muscles bunched in preparation, and she crouched lower, approaching the entrance with softer footfalls, hoping to catch the person by surprise. At best it would be a pervert she could catch red handed and embarrass in front of the other warriors, at worse, it was an infiltrator to the pack, and she had a fight on her hands. Pressing herself tight against the tiled wall, she checked the left-hand corner first, furthest away from the exit. She had to crane her head out of the hallway to see into the room, poking her head into the open for a quick moment.

“Lottie.”

A sudden voice sounded to her right, feeling close to her ear and she jumped to the other side of the hall, slamming hard into the wall. An amused looking Jayden stood close to the exit, watching her with a sparkle of laughter in his eyes. His voice had felt so close to her when he spoke and yet there was a good few meters between them.

“Did you really not sense me?”

Charlie put a hand against her chest, feeling her heart pounding to break free from its cage. She glared at the Alpha and his stupid face. “No! Geeze Jay, you scared the crap out of me.” She was about to laugh when she realised how she had spoken to the head of the pack, and quickly corrected herself, looking to the floor out of respect. “Sorry, Alpha Jayden.”

“Don’t do that.” Jayden’s voice softened and Charlie peered up curiously. The previous smile he held had been dropped, and her stomach turned at the thought of it being her fault. “If nothing else, we are still close friends.”

The f word made her heart stumble, but she ignored it to give him a curt agreeing nod. “Why are you here, Jay?”

“I had something important to tell you. Though, maybe another time would be better?” Jayden lazily lowered his eyes to trail across her body, making Charlie flush. She scrambled to wrap her arms around her breasts and midriff, scowling at the man again. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen her this naked before. There was a lake nearby that the pair had used to cool off as kids, after their fathers had given them a harsh training session. She had worn a bikini then and underwear wasn’t much different. Her cheeks heated further when she also remembered Jayden had seen her shift back into human form after many pack breaches, seeing her stark naked. This felt different somehow, maybe because the Alpha was now looking properly.

“Well, what did you expect coming into the women’s changing room! Couldn’t you have told me earlier?”

“I wanted to tell you in private.” The Alpha took a small step towards her, and her eyes darted to his feet and back up again to his eyes.

“Couldn’t you have told me over mindlink?” Charlie tried to lace the words with sarcasm but instead they wobbled.

“I wanted to see you.” He took another step forwards.

Charlie held her breath and tightened her lips into a line. His words felt cruel when they could mean something entirely different to him than her. Not trusting her voice, she gave another short nod, inviting him to continue with his news.

“You were really impressive today, Lottie.” She tried to ignore the way her heart fluttered when he spoke the nickname only he called her. “When I heard you were returning, I was already convinced I wanted you to be a part of my upper ranks and now I’m certain. You will definitely be given a Gamma rank, but I also want to test you further for the possibility of Beta.”

All thoughts of being self-conscious flew from her head at that news, and her face split in two with the size of her grin. Keeping the Beta title in her family was her dream, and though she had told Jayden her wish may times over the years, she had never expected it to become a possibility. The Red Moon pack was stuck in the past with only a handful of female warriors, let alone any in the upper ranks. It was unheard of and for Jayden to even consider her to be Beta was a show of support that warmed her. Charlie was about to run and hug him, when she remembered herself and contain the move to a little jump of celebration on the spot. “Thank you, Alpha Jayden... Jay.” Her voice softened, and she enjoyed the way his eye lit up with her happiness. “What will the extra tests be?”

“I want us to have 1 on 1 training for the next few weeks. I may invite some advisors to attend and provide input, otherwise it will only be us.”

The words lingered between them as an acknowledgment that they would have time everyday with each other. An image of the pair alone under the night sky, inches away from kissing, entered her mind. It had been the first and only time the pair had been in private since realising their mate bond and already Charlie was feeling their connection becoming stronger. She dreaded the effort that would be required to see Jayden everyday whilst keeping her wolf in check, knowing her need for him would grow and make their inevitable separation harder. Her heart clenched as she turned away from him.

The plain wall she faced gave Charlie little to distract herself from the wolf behind her. She cursed that Jayden was stood between her and her clothes, leaving her to the fate of the Alpha’s choice. If he left now, she could get dressed, leave and pretend this was a normal encounter. When Jayden instead moved closer, she felt her heart flutter. He wasn’t leaving.

“Lottie, about last night...”

“I know, it was a mistake. It was heat of the moment, understandable in our... condition.” Her rambling cut him off, trying to breeze past the words of his regret she was certain would come.

“That’s not what I was going to say.” His tone danced with amusement and Charlie gritted her teeth. Jay’s light attitude to her feelings was starting to piss her off. “I was going to apologise for not talking to you sooner and for leaving you alone last night without clearing things up. There were too many eyes on me at the party and I wanted to speak about our situation in confidence.”

A heat prickled behind her eyes, but she took a breath to steady her voice, still with her back to the Alpha. “I understand. Now is as good a chance as any. Can we get this over with?”

“Over with? Do you not want to talk about this?”

“There’s not much to talk about. I know it needs to be done and better sooner rather than later. I’m a bit scared that the longer we leave it, the more painful it will be...” Charlie’s voice trailed off, ashamed by the admission of her fear.

“You think I’m going to reject you? If that’s what I wanted, don’t you think I would’ve done it by now?”

“But you have a chosen mate. You are promised to someone else, Jay. You can’t go back on a decision like that.” The words came out more bitter than she intended but her frustration was mounting. Why couldn’t he have just waited for her.

“Decision? You think this was my choice? We grew up together, Lottie, I thought you would know me better than that.” The Alpha stalked towards her, getting closer with each word spoken. Her breath hitched in her throat as his voice became louder and scent stronger, threatening to encompass her. “My father arranged this pairing when I reached 25. Our alliance with the Eclipsed Valley pack was weakening and, with me not finding my mate so late, this was the solution he decided on.”

Charlie flinched at the venom dripping from his tone. A part of her was comforted that Jay hadn’t made the choice himself, but the situation had her stomach turning. It was more complex than she could’ve imagined and there was a larger than expected wedge between them, which didn’t seem moveable. “Oh.” Was all she could manage to say, the weight of the dread settling on her shoulders, heavy to bear.

“Yeah...” The relief was evident in his voice, and Charlie wondered how many people knew the whole story behind the new pairing gracing the pack. Jay was so close to her now that she could feel his body heat radiating against her skin. She knew if she leaned backwards, his chest would catch her. But she didn’t, no matter how much she wanted to. There was a line between them that shouldn’t be crossed, and that line was Olivia.

Charlie felt a soft pressure between her shoulder blades and realised the Alpha had craned his head to rest against her. The sigh he released swept along her spine. A smoothing calm, which was better than the hot shower, emanated from his contact and she released her own sigh, gently leaning into his touch. No matter how loud her mind shouted that this was wrong, it felt so natural for Jay to be against her, getting comfort from her presence and making her wolf purr.

Charlie screwed her eyes shut and she bit at her bottom lip, unable to stop betraying words from leaving her mouth. “This is more complicated than simply offending Olivia. You need to reject me.”

“No.” The word was softer than the night before but held no less emotion.

“It’s for the betterment of the pack. Don’t you want that?” Charlie’s voice was no more than a murmur now, her will gradually leaving her body.

Jayden tentatively wrapped his arms around her stomach. Her body shuddered when his fingertips lightly grazed over the skin of her waist before trailing to settle on a comfortable spot and enveloping her in an embrace. The heat of his skin swelled in her abdomen, adding to the warmth that had begun building in her core since she first saw the Alpha. Her senses became hyper aware of his movements, every brush and sweep of his skin on hers igniting tingles that raised goosebumps to the surface.

The tip of his nose lifted and gently caressed up the edge of her neck, his hot breath tickling her skin.

“Lottie.” Jay’s lips brushed her earlobe, and she instinctively rolled her head to the side. “Tell me what you want.” Her words caught in her throat as her rational mind, fears and desires conflicted in their response. He moved his lips to trail down her neck, only touching against her skin when he spoke. “Lottie, do you want me?”

The easier question coaxed a thoughtless reply. “Yes.” Charlie bit her lip, unable to take back the admission. Did she even want to?

Before she could second guess herself, Jay swung her around to face him. He was closer than she expected, and Charlie was immediately pinned by his heavy dark gaze, her hazel eyes trapped in the lust swimming in the blue depths. The Alpha’s grip on her waist tightened, drawing her closer, forcing her chest to press flush against his. She craned her head back to look up at him, but Jay lowed his face to nuzzle into her neck, finding her pulse point before taking a long inhale. Charlie followed his lead, allowing his sweet scent to wash over her.

“Why couldn’t you have come home six months earlier?” The words were pressed against her skin as Jayden trailed across her collarbone, giving the sensitive area beneath her bra strap a sharp nip that pulled a gasp from her lips. Charlie spread her legs and the Alpha obligingly stepped between her thighs, pressing their groins tight together. The cloth of his joggers felt smooth against her bare skin but did little to hide his stirring arousal. Feeling the affect she had on him enticed her to tilt her hips and grind against the hardening bulge. The groan that her mate released flooded her core with heat, daring her to push herself further.

She knew she shouldn’t have allowed the Alpha to get this close. She should’ve stopped him after his first touch, each one after had just stoked her greed for more, but Charlie couldn’t help but feel her p***y throb with need as Jay rocked his hard c**k against her. Small pants of anticipation fell from her mouth as he lowered his hands to her rounded ass. His thumbs teased along the edge of the lacy briefs before his large hands cupped her, gently encouraging Charlie to her tip toes. He lifted his head with the movement, tilting slightly to align with her lips, merely inches apart now.

“We shouldn’t do this, Jay.” Her lips whispered on their own volition, almost brushing against the ones closing in.

“No, but we both want to.” The Alpha's voice was deep, and she felt the rumble of it vibrate his chest.

Charlie’s eyes fluttered closed; his admission of his feelings was enough to make her succumb to their mate bond. Her lips parted as a tingle of electricity hummed between them and Charlie prepared for sparks to fly.

“Charlie?” The jarringly familiar voice of Dex echoed into the changing room and Charlie snapped from her haze. She suddenly pushed her hands hard into the Alpha’s chest, making him stumble back a few steps. Her breath was haggard, her heart violently pounding at the interruption as her mind caught up to the consequences of their actions should anyone have walked in. It took a few moments to compose herself, all the while Jay silently watched her reaction with burning eyes.

“Just a second.” Charlie responded and hastily yanked on a pair of jeans and a top before darting from the room, leaving the stunned Alpha behind in her wake without a single glance back.