Girl With The Alpha Mate

Chapter 4

Ryker's POV

I get home and go straight to the kitchen. I need alcohol. "Where were you after class, Alpha?" Steven asks as he makes himself food.

"I went to her house." I huff.

"I assume by that you mean you went to Alyssa's house?" he says, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Yes." I nod.

"And you being angry, I assume that means you saw her and her boyfriend getting physical?" he says, looking disgusted.

"What, no?! Don't make me think about that! If I would have -" I shake my head, trying to get that mental picture out of my head.

Dex doesn't let it go, though. He pushes me to the back of my mind as I feel my eyes change to black. "I would have killed him for touching what's mine!"

"Dex! Dex! Let me go. I can't breathe!" Steven says, holding me onto my wrist. I look to see my hands wrapped around his throat, strangling him.

I get control back from Dex, and my eyes turn back to green as I let Steven go. "Sorry," I mumble.

"Don't be. I said that just to upset you. I should have known that was going to happen." Steven says, holding his neck.

"I hate you sometimes" I roll my eyes.

"So why are you mad?" Steven asks.

"She has kids."

"Well, a kid is supposed to be a blessing. At least that's what your mom always says." Steven says.

"No, not A kid. 4 Kids. Quadruplets, to be exact." I huff, running my hands thru my hair.

"She has four kids?" Steven's jaw drops.

"What the f**k am I supposed to do?!" I growl in frustration.

"I don't know. Are you sure?" Steven asks.

"Yes, I'm sure. I saw them all with my own eyes. She is never going to leave that i***t if kids are involved. And I can't tell her to reject me; that would mean telling her about what I am." I yell.

"You could reject her," Steven suggests.

"But I don't want to reject her. Honestly, I don't think I could if I tried." I explain.

"Hey, boys, what's up?" Mom asks, walking into the room.

"He is just having girl troubles," Steven explains.

"What's the issue?" Mom asks, looking at me.

"I don't know what to do. Her boyfriend cheats on her constantly, but she isn't going to leave him." I explain.

"You don't know that he cheats on her constantly," Mom says, shaking her head.

"Yeah, I do. I was with her earlier today when he admitted to her face that he f****d another girl. I don't want her with him, but I don't want her getting hurt either. I could see that she was hurt, it was written all over her face, but she still didn't say anything. He has her so well trained in the worst way possible." I huff.

"Well, the way I see it, you have two options. Reject her or fight for her." Mom shrugs.

"What if it's wrong for me to fight for her? What if I'm just hurting her and others by trying to be with her?" I ask.

"It's also wrong to let her stay in a loveless relationship when she would be happy with you." Mom shrugs.

"I don't want to reject her. I'm happy when I'm with her. And she seems happy when she is with me and sad when she is with him. But-"

"Buuuutttttt, you thought finding your mate would be easier," Mom says.

"Yeah." I sigh. "It's not like I can just go up to her and be like you're mine. I'd just scare her off." I say.

"Yeah, but if you can show her that relationships don't have to revolve around cheating and getting hurt. Just start by being her friend, prove she can trust you, and rely on you. Even if you're not with her, being around her will make your wolf stronger, and that's what the pack needs right now." Mom says, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"I know," I sigh.

"Just try not to kill the boyfriend," Mom says sarcastically, patting my shoulder.

"No promises. "I answer as Mom grabs an apple and walks out of the kitchen.

Once Mom is out of earshot, Steven looks at me excitedly. "What do you say to a guy's night? You, me, Micah, and maybe some others are going out to the club like we used to. It might help you get your mind off.... this." Steven says, motioning to me. I plan on getting very drunk.

Micah, Steven, and I went to a rooftop club in the city by the college. It's pretty crowded, and Micah's been acting weird all night. He usually is calm, cool, and collected, but tonight he seems antsy. It's killing my buzz.

Micah suddenly sticks his head up and sniffs the air. "She's here."

"Who?" Steven asks.

"Mate," Micah growls.

"Alyssa?" I ask, looking around.

"Not your mate. Mine," he growls.

"That's great. Who is it?" Steven asks, looking around.

"I can't tell. I just caught her scent when the wind started blowing." Micah says.

"Follow it," I say, pushing him into the crowd.

"How come everyone is getting their mate but me?" Steven mopes.

"Not all of us are getting our mate even when we find her," I comment.

"You at least know who she is. We are here to distract you from your mate's problems." Steven says, downing his drink.

Steven and I watch as Micah walks around sniffing the air trying to get another whiff of her scent. He suddenly stops, and his eyes go wide. "Mate."

"I guess he found her," Steven says.

"Oh, great. The asshole just walked in" I glare at Luke, who just got here, as I down my drink. I watch as Micah walks closer, and I suddenly recognize his mate. "No way."

"What?" Steven asks.

"His mate is Kaylin. She's Alyssa's best friend and Luke's sister." I explain.

"Let's go. She seems angry, and we already know he isn't a good guy. We might need to stop Micah from killing him or kidnapping her." Steven says. We set down our glasses and head over to stand next to Micah. We might need to hold him back or be his backup.

"How were the boys? Feeling better?" Kaylin asks her brother, who already looks annoyed.

"Yeah, they all seemed like they didn't have a fever anymore." Luke nods.

"That's good. I've been so worried about them. What did Alyssa say when she got home from work?" Kaylin asks.

"I don't know." he shrugs.

"You mean you didn't talk about the boys being sick when she got home. She must have gotten off work early if you're already here." Kaylin comments.

"No, I didn't talk to her." Luke shrugs.

"You didn't talk to her when she got back?" Kaylin questions.

"I didn't wait for her to get back." Luke shrugs.

Kaylin's face drops, and her mouth hangs over for a second. "YOU LEFT 3-YEAR-OLDS HOME ALONE, UNSUPERVISED?!" she yells, pointing at his chest.

"Relax, they were asleep," Luke says, throwing her hand she is using to point at him away.

"You asshole! You said you would watch the boys while she is at work," she yells.

"You left the boys at home?" the guy we met that's friends with Micah asks. I think his name is Leo.

"It's not a big deal. It's not my responsibility." Luke shrugs.

"Not you're responsibility?! It's your night to watch them!" Kaylin yells.

"I did watch them. And put them to bed. Then I got bored and didn't have anyone there to amuse me. So I came here for entertainment. They're asleep. What's the worse that can happen?"

"You ass! Hasn't that poor girl been through enough without you adding to her crap? She had to give up her whole life and... You...." Kaylin huffs. She stops for a moment and glares at her brother. She starts pushing against his chest as hard as she can. "You said you would be there to help her, but you only do that when it suits you. The rest of the time, you just make her life a living hell, you cheat on her in front of her face and rub it in, make her question if she is good enough to deserve love, and I know you don't love her. You wouldn't treat someone you love the way you treat her. You act like she never mattered to you, and you don't even have the decency to end it with her. Lord knows she doesn't think she can end it with you because she feels like she owes you!" Kaylin yells, continuing to shove at him. "I'm ashamed to call you my brother, you just a jackass and pathetic excuse of a human."

"Don't shove me, you b***h" Luke yells, shoving Kaylin, sending her falling to the ground.

Micah reacted instantly, not that I was going to stop him. "Didn't anyone ever teach you not to shove girls?" Micah shoves Luke backward.

"She isn't a girl; she is my sister," Luke argues.

"Are you ok, Kaylin?" I asked, bending down to help her up.

"I'm fine," she says, getting to her feet and dusting herself off.

"Oh, of course, you're here. First, it's at school, then at my girlfriend's house, and now here. You're either a stalker or a maniac. Either way, you need to back out of my life." Luke redirects his anger to me.

"Big talk for a guy that shoves girls around," I growl, stepping closer to him.

"She is my sister, and it's none of your business," Luke says.

"When you start shoving girls around in a bar, it becomes our business." Micah glares at Luke, stepping closer to his mate. "Are you ok, princess?" he asks her.

"Yeah. I'm fine. It's no big deal." she smiles at him.

"Come on, Kaylin, let's go to Alyssa's house and check on the boys," I say, still glaring at Luke. I hear Micah growl, obviously not liking the idea. "You want to babysit? No? Calm down." I growl at him.

"Yes, Alpha." Micah rolls his eyes.

Kaylin and I get back to Alyssa's house to find it unlocked. I checked the whole house, and there was nobody here besides the boys who were still sleeping safely. That's good.

Kaylin leads me back downstairs to the couch I sat on with Alyssa earlier. "Sit. Talk," she says, motioning to the other end of the sofa. "I know you like her. I know that this is a weird situation, and you must have questions."

"Oh, ok. I'm not used to taking orders." I say, taking a seat and looking at her skeptically.

"So, what is your burning question that you've been dying to ask?" she asks.

"Ummmm... I know he is your brother, and it might be insensitive, but why does she stay with him?" I ask

"I couldn't tell you. I have been begging her to break up with him... well since they started dating, but I've been serious about it for about two years now," she says.

"So they really have been together for a while?"

"Since middle school. Her parents and my parents used to joke when they were kids that they would get married. And for a while, I believed that they would. But as the years went on, a lot happened, and now I guess it's just what she has always known." Kaylin explains.

"But he doesn't respect her," I sigh.

"Believe me; I've tried. You heard me earlier. But he doesn't listen to me." Kaylin shakes her head as I hear a car in the driveway.

"I think I just heard her car pull up," Kaylin says.

"You're right." I nod.

"Hello?" Alyssa questions walking into the house. "What are you two doing here? Where is Luke?"

Kaylin stands up and fixes her shirt, then walks towards Alyssa. "So this b***h-"

"Oh no, what did he do?" Alyssa sighs.

"I was at the club with the girls, and he showed up. He just left the boys here." Kaylin sighs.

"He did what?!" Alyssa yells.

"But Ryker and I came right over; they are completely fine and still asleep," Kaylin says.

Alyssa looks at the floor and takes a slow deep breath. "Thanks for coming. You could have called me, and I would have left work," she says.

"No, you need to work. I understand that. Plus, the club was getting boring. I'm so sorry Luke just ditched like that. He is such an ass." Kaylin hugs Alyssa.

"Yeah, he is." Alyssa nods, hugging Kaylin.

"Break up with him, Lys," Kaylin says, rubbing Alyssa's back.

"You know I can't do that," Alyssa says sadly.

"Can't or won't?" Kay asks.

"Can't."

"Why not?" Kaylin asks.

Alyssa drops her arms and takes a step back from Kaylin. "What am I going to do with the boys while I'm in class. I'd have to drop out if your mom didn't watch them for me. And work. I couldn't work. We need the money because those boys are tiny, but they eat so much. I need to be working more, but your family does enough for me. I can't ask your family to do more; you've already done so much. And I can't lose your family; you've been a second family to me all my life. You're the only ones I have left. I can't put the boys in preschool or hire a babysitter; that costs more than I make. Your mom is a saint for not charging me so I can go to school." Alyssa sniffles.

"Your mom and my mom were best friends for years. She is happy to help. So am I." Kaylin hugs Alyssa again.

"He is a good boyfriend," Alyssa says.

"Yeah, maybe six years ago before all this started, but things were different back then. We both had happy, healthy, loving families then. When was the last time he helped you, not because you bribed him or my mom threatened him? Even today, when the boys were eating, he just stood there texting some girl." Kaylin says.

"He helped carry two of them downstairs." Alyssa defends him.

"They're 3. They can walk down the stairs on their own. Face it. He is good for nothing." Kaylin rubs her back. "Is this really how you want to spend the rest of your life? Do you want that kind of influence around the boys? Do you want them growing up to treat girls like that?"

"No," Alyssa sniffles.

"Then do something about it! This is how you're going to be until he leaves you for someone else. Those kids aren't his, and he will never pitch in, help out, or marry you. Not as long as those kids are in the picture."

Wait. What? Aren't those kids Luke's? Whose kids are they?

"They're not just some kids! They're my brothers and the only family I have left!" Alyssa cries softly.

"Brothers?" I ask.

"Yeah, they're my brothers." she breaks away from Kaylin and sniffles. "I know it's weird they call their sister mom. But I'm the only parent they've ever known. Mom died giving birth to them. Dad got in a motorcycle accident the day of her funeral and died from his injuries a few days later. I was 18 and next of kin, so I cared for my brothers. In a matter of one week, I went from having two parents and four brothers on the way to having no parents and having to take care of 4 babies by myself. Luke was really good then. He helped me a lot. Dealing with the death of my parents and learning to take care of babies, he was great. But as time passed, he helped out less and less. At first, when he started cheating, they would fight about it, but I know it's my fault now. I drove him to that point by not having enough time for him. It's my fault, and I have to live with the consequences." Alyssa explains, crying a little bit.

"No, that's not your fault," I say.

"I can't help but remember all the good times we had. We grew up best friends. Our parents used to joke about us getting married when we grew up, and I remember how happy that thought made my mom. When we started dating, our moms used to say that we were going to be one big happy family. So I feel like if I end it, I'm just disappointing my parents like I'm letting them down." Alyssa cries again. I hate seeing her upset.

"Oh, honey, you know that's not true. Your parents are never going to be disappointed with you, they love you so much. You could never disappoint them even if you tried." Kaylin comforts her.

"I'm done talking about this. This is a pointless conversation." Alyssa says, getting out of Kaylin's hug. I can practically see her shutting down.

"It's not pointless. It's talking about your life and your happiness. This is a very important conversation." Kaylin says.

"No, it's pointless. You wouldn't understand," Alyssa says.

"Then explain it to me," Kaylin says.

"I need him. He makes me feel not so alone, ok?" Alyssa says.

"You're not alone. You have tons of friends, and me, and my family."

"That's not what I meant," Alyssa says with a pointed look.

"Is this about that?" Kaylin asks.

"And me. I'm willing to help," I chime in.

"That's nice, but you don't have to."

"I want to. How can I help? Just tell me what you need, and I'll do it." I offer.

"I know it's late, but do you mind helping me catch up on my homework?" she asks.

"Sure." I nod.

"Great. Now that that's settled, I'm going home." Kaylin says.

"Ok. Thank you for giving up a fun night at the club, so I could work." Alyssa says.

"No problem. I'll see you in the morning." Kaylin waves, then head out of the house.

"Sorry for that. I'm just tired of having that same conversation with her. I didn't mean to say all that." Alyssa sniffles taking a seat on the couch.

"No, don't apologize. I didn't mind at all. I'm glad that I got to know more about you... hear your story. I'm really sorry about your parents." I say.

"It's a pretty awful story, isn't it? It's not as sad as it seems on a daily basis. It's almost impossible to be sad with those little monsters walking around." she smiles.

"I bet. They were pretty cute." I nod.

"Yeah, and they know it too." Alyssa laughs. Talking about them seems to make her happy.

"Tell me about them."

"Well, they're all quadruplets. But Aiden and Bryson are also twins." she smiles. "Aiden has the shorter brown hair, and Bryson has the long brown hair. Callum has short curly blonde hair. And Dylan has dirty blonde hair with the surfer haircut. And they all have their own little personalities." she explains. "Aiden is the oldest, he was baby A. He worries like he is 80. Bryson is the second oldest, baby B. He is a little daredevil escape artist. Callum is the second youngest, and he is the sweetest. He is such a cuddle bug and the quietest. And Dylan is the youngest, baby D. He is a little space cadet." she is smiling happily.

"A space cadet?" I ask.

"Yeah, in his own little world and completely unaware of what's going on around him." she nods.

"Wow. Sounds like a handful. And I see what you did their naming them with their birth order and names."

"Yeah, my parents chose their name. And they're a handful, but I love them. Let's do the school work before it gets too late. I'm sure there are 100 other things you'd rather do with your Friday night." she says, reaching for the notebook she left on the coffee table.

"I'm right where I want to be," I reassure her.

We sit down and work on her homework for a few hours. It's really late now, but I'm not tired at all. I'm wide awake, running on adrenaline from getting to spend so much time with her. My mind is racing from learning so much about her.

I lean in closer to her to point at her homework. "See if you carry the exponent-"

BANG!

"Luke's home." Alyssa sighs.

"Are you sure that's him?" I ask, trying to focus my senses to see if I can hear or smell anyone that could be dangerous.

"Yeah. He slams the door like that when he is drunk." Alyssa sighs, leaning over to put her things on the coffee table in front of us.

"You shouldn't leave your front door unlocked. Any old undesirable could walk in." I tell her as Luke walks into the room. "Exhibit A" I roll my eyes.

"Great, what is he doing here?" Luke slurs. He is obviously drunk.

"He and your sister came to check on the boys after leaving them here alone. And he was nice enough to stay and help me catch up on the school work I missed this week." Alyssa explains, standing up and walking past me to stand between Luke and me.

"Get out of here, dude." Luke shoos me away.

"I don't take orders from you, and this isn't your house," I say, crossing my arms and standing up, moving right behind Alyssa.

"Then how come I have a key?" Luke taunts me holding up a key ring.

"He has a key?" I ask Alyssa as my chest tightens.

"Yeah. So does Kaylee, Leo, and a few other people," she explains.

"I don't like that."

"This isn't about what you like. Now I said get out of here." Luke stumbles towards me.

"Luke, this is still my house," Alyssa says.

"I don't like him hanging around you," Luke says, looking at Alyssa angrily.

"You have no right to be mad. I do. You left the boys here alone so you could go get drunk and hook up with other girls." Alyssa says calmly.

"d**k, move," I comment.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Luke yells at me. He steps towards me but ends up stumbling into the wall.

Thump

"Mommy?" a child says.

"Great, look what you did, Luke." Alyssa glares at Luke as a child walks into the room. "It's ok, Callum. Go back to bed."

"I'm not tired." Callum yawns.

"Go back to bed, baby. I'll be right there to read you a bedtime story." Alyssa says.

"Ok." the kid says, turning to go back to bed.

"And tell your brothers to stay in bed. I know they are awake too." Alyssa says. The kid walks out of the room, and Alyssa turns to look at me apologetically. "Ryker, I appreciate everything you did tonight, but this is a conversation between Luke and me. I'll see you Monday." she smiles sadly.

"Ok. Let me know if you need anything, ok?" I remind her.

"Ok, thanks." she smiles.

I am barely to the front door when I hear Alyssa, "Let's talk." she sounds sad. This is her thing. She needs to do this by herself. She needs to find her voice. I reluctantly walk out the front door, but I'm not leaving. I'm going to hang out for a few minutes to see if she needs anything. It bothers me that she doesn't lock her doors.

I stand on the street, leaning against my car, settling in to listen. I hate leaving her with him.

"Do you have any idea what could have happened?! You left them here alone. Someone could have broken in, or one could have woken up and wanted a snack and climbed on the counter and gotten hurt. A million bad things could have happened, and you just didn't care." Alyssa says, sounding annoyed.

"That's not true." Luke denies.

"Yes, it is, and you know it," Alyssa says.

"Nothing happened. You baby them."

"Because they are babies!" Alyssa yells.

"You're just overreacting."

"You're acting like an ass."

"Better an ass than an emotional bitch." Luke says angrily.

"Out! I want you out of my house." Alyssa says. Good kick him out.

THUD!!

"What was that?" Dex asks, going on high alert.

"It might be one of the boys getting up again." I try to reason. Nothing happened, right? Why isn't anyone talking?

"Let's go, help, mate. She needs our help." Dex complains.

Luke storms out of the house, slamming the door behind him and marches across the yard over to his house. Good. Wait, why can't I hear anyone moving around inside?

"Mommy?" I hear a kid ask shyly.

"What is it, baby?" Alyssa sniffles.

"Why is Uncle Luke being mean to you?" the kids ask.

"It's fine, Aiden. I'm fine," she says. That's good. She's ok.

"He was being mean, mommy. He should be put in time out." A different kid says... It kind of sounds like I think it's Callum.

"Oh, he is," Alyssa reassure them.

"Why was he being mean?" a third kid asks.

"Shhhh... Babies. Who wants to have a sleepover in my room tonight?" Alyssa says, sounding a little bit happier. All the boys start cheering with a string of 'Me!'s. "Come on, let's go to bed. We have a big grocery shopping day tomorrow morning with Auntie Kaylee and GiGi."

Ok, it sounds like everything is ok. I hear the metallic clicking of a lock. Good. She locked her doors. And I know her plans tomorrow. The pack needs stuff... I might just go shopping.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There she is. My beautiful mate is standing by the deli with one kid sitting in the shopping cart as another one runs around nearby. They both have brown hair. These have to be the twins. Aiden and Bryson.

"Bryson, careful," Alyssa says, sounding tired.

"Hey, funny running into you here," I say, walking up to them.

Alyssa glances up at me from the piece of paper she is holding. "Hey. What's up?" she smiles.

"Nothing much? Umm, Where are the other two?" I ask, looking around.

"Callum is with GiGi in her shopping cart, and Dylan is with Kay in her shopping cart. It takes a whole team just for me to get groceries for the week. Bryson, get down." Alyssa says, turning around to scold her brother.

"Ok. I only saw two and got worried. And I see what you mean by daredevil." I laugh as she pulls Bryson off of the deli counter he was climbing on.

"Yeah, the boy has no fear," she says, lifting him up to put him in the shopping cart too.

"I can see that. Can I help you?" I offer.

"Nah, it's fine. I just am trying to figure out what I need from the deli," she says, looking at her list again.

"Yeah. Looks like it. So how did last night go?" I ask.

"Fine." she sighs.

"That's good..." I study her face for a second. She is wearing more makeup than normal. "You look good, by the way... with the makeup and everything. Not that you don't normally look good, you do. But the makeup just makes you look extra pretty." I smile at her.

She glances up at me with a sad smile. "Thanks."

"Got any big plans for later today that you are wearing the makeup for?" I ask, desperate to make conversation with my mate.

"No, just hanging out with the boys and work later tonight." she shrugs.

"Why do you put on makeup to go to the grocery store but not normally wear it to class?" I ask.

"I don't know."

"Sorry. I just am trying to understand you better." I apologize.

"It's fine. I don't have a good answer for you."

"That's ok. Mind if I walk around with you as you shop?" I ask.

"That's fine. What are you here shopping for?" she asks.

"Mainly cereal," I answer. I wasn't paying attention when Mom told me what else we needed.

Alyssa laughs the cutest laugh. "Oddly enough, me too," she says, showing me the list.

"Perfect. Lucky for you, I am a cereal expert. I can tell you all the best cereals." I joke as we start walking.

"Oh, can you now?" she laughs.

"I can. It's like my one area of expertise." I nod.