Under the Alpha

Christmas morning

        “GOOD MORNING!!!,, Cole’s loud voice shook the house, Dimitry woke up startled out of his mind. Thud Solance sits up spooked by the loud noise and the sound of her mate falling out of the bed. If her mind had been fully awake, she would have laughed at the sight of her mate. “Wut?,, That was all she could say as she yawned and rubbed her eyes. Dimitry grunted irritated as he got back up on the bed, “This is too early,, he hissed as he laid back down pulling his mate with him.

                      “I SAID GOOD MORNING!,, Once more Cole’s voice sounded, this time, loud clanking followed. “God damnit Cole, I’m going to rip you a new hole if you don’t shut up,, Dimitry mumbled pulling the duvet over their heads, trying to block the sound out. “IT’S CHRISTMAS MORNING!,, This time it was Adele’s voice that hollered through the house.

        Dimitry groaned in irritation, pushing his head hard into the pillow- He was doing his best to block out the two noisemakers screaming, he had little success. The loud clanking sound again, Solance wined. “WAKE UP!,, Cole shouted at the tops of his lungs, more clanking. “Grrrr,, Dimitry let out a deep growl and with a violent movement he sprang from the bed, he headed for the door. His back muscles tense, his aura deadly and if Solance could have seen his face, she would have seen a glare so menacing, it any receiver of said glare would know a gruesome death. Maybe that would have made her stop him, but she remained buried in their bed. He opened the door, with a little too much force, resulting in the door cringing. When he left he was much gentler with the door, not wanting to disturb his mate any further.

        “GOOD MORNING!,, the two loudmouths sang loudly, accompanied by the clanking again. Solance sat up, letting the duvet pool around her. She yawned and smacked her lips a few times and rubbed her eyes. Feeling a bit more awake now, she screeched her head and then proceeded to stretch her upper body.  She then looked around, gathering her baring’s after that rude awakening. Their room was a mess, yesterday's clothe were littering the floor. Heck, she isn’t even sure how she made it to the bed, “Dimitry,, she muttered and yawned one more time. She must have carried her to bed last night, she looked down and found her in a large t-shirt, Dimitry's t-shirt. She could feel her bra straps digging in, her mate was an utter gentleman. He had given her something comfortable to sleep in, but she hated sleeping in a bra. She looked to the curtain, it was still dark outside, though that wasn’t unusual these days, since it was December.

“WAKE UUUUUUUUUP!,, hollered Cole again, Solance flinched at the loud sound. Then more clanking sounded. Dimitry make it stop. Solance reaches for the single nightstand, to get Dimitry’s phone. She pressed the bottom on the side, resulting in the screen turning on, it was 06:47 in the morning. No wonder her mate was pissed. !I SAID WAKE IP!,, Cole yelled again, and the clanking sounded again, though this time it was much faster. What could even make that sound? Solance wondered thoughtfully. “GET THE f**k BACK TO BED!,, Sounded a loud, angry, and remarkably familiar voice. At the sound of terrified yips and whines, Solance made a silent prayer, that her mate would herd the troublemakers back to bed, and not kill them. A final clanking sounded followed by a small sorry, she then heard rushed footsteps making their way up the stairs and down the hall.

        “Seems like they got the message,, Solance figured as she stood up. I might as well give it to him now, she thought and quickly made it to the shared closet, she shuffled through her underwear, the only place she had succeeded in keeping to herself, Dimitry was keen to have a part in everything, well everything that had something to do with her. She found the small Azura and Kobalt wrapped box, it had a golden ribbon where she had attached the homemade card. Excitement bubbles in her stomach. She knew her mate would be here any second, she leaped to the bed and hid the gift under the duvet, her eyes trained on the door. She found she had trouble sitting still, she felt like laughing. Though it had been yelled, but at that moment she realized it was Christmas morning. Her first Christmas without her grandfather, but she wasn’t alone. A soft smile decorated her face.

        The door opened and Dimitry stepped in, he ran a hand over his face. He then looked up to see his mate sitting up, right awake and bouncing in place, with that soft smile on her face that he adored. “We aren’t going back to sleep are we?,, he asked rhetorical making his way to the bed, he sat down on the bed and faced the human who grinned at him and shook her head. He sighed but accepted his fate, he knew the girl. Once she was awake it was nearly impossible to get her to fall asleep, he looked at her, she was still bouncy in place. “what has gotten you so excited?,, he asked leaning closer to her, she bit her lip and then reached under the duvet and pulled out a small present, she held it out to him.

He was stunned at first and just sat there blinking at the nice-looking box, he then looked back at her. She looked at the gift in her hand and then back at him, he took the gift. “Shouldn’t I wait and opened later, like all the others?,, he asked fingering the ribbon, feeling excitement grow in him too. “well.. I kind of wanted to give it to you in private, and since I can’t fall asleep,, she muttered playing with her fingers as she looked away from him. He chuckled and then took off the card, it was different from any card he had ever gotten before. It was layered, giving it a 3D effect, it was a winter landscape, with trees and a lake, it looked familiar. That is when it hit him, it looked like his secret spot. He looked up at her “you made this?,, he asked looking at her with wonder, she shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head “grandfather had this tradition, that we always made the cards for those close to us,, she said. He flipped the card open gently and read the card.

To Dimitry, my mate.

We have had a bumpy road so far and it will be bumpy some time forward too but in the midst of it all. We have found each other, you have given me a family, a family I could only dream of. I know that being with me, means you cannot have a true mate bond. But I hope that this can give you, if only a small part of what such a bond is.

Thank you for finding me, I am looking forward to many Christmases with you.

Love Solance, your mate.

        “A true mate bond?,, he whispered and then looked up at the girl. “I know, being with me, a human, limits those abilities that come with a mate bond. So, I talked to Sarah, about finding a way to strengthen our bond, so we can have something similar even with me being human,, Solance said. “such a thing exists?,, he asked with wonder, not quite getting it yet. Solance nodded eagerly, “yes, Sarah asked her late mate’s pack for help, they send the ritual,, Solance answered. Dimitry looked at her, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. he reached forward and hugged her tight, the gift laying abandoned on the bed. He had already gotten the most precious gift, anything else would pale in comparison. It was not the notion of a deeper bond, that fill his being with happiness, but the knowledge that she embraced them, that she wanted to be his mate, in more than just words.

        Solance enjoyed the hug, but she wanted him to open the gift. “hey, there is one more thing,, she giggled as he whined. “but you have already given me far more than I could hope for,, he whispered into her ear huskily. She blushed, and pushed at his chest, she turned her head away, trying to gather herself. “Now, please open the rest of your gift!,, she stuttered. Dimitry snickered at her red face and ears but did as she said. He untired the neatly bow and opened the box, inside was a black velvet box. “are you going to propose?,, he asked teasing, which resulted in him getting hit in the head with a pillow. He laughed as she kept hitting him with the pillow. “I surrender,, he said, “I surrender,, he laughed as she finally stopped. She had a crinkle between her eyebrows and a cute pout, she huffed and hugged the pillow. “Come on open it,, she urged. He took out the black box and opened it, inside were a pair of earrings. They were shaped like leaves, both hanged on a small chain connected to the stud. But they were different, one had a crescent moon-shaped stud and was silver, the other had a sun-shaped stood and was gold. He touched the silver one, it was pure silver, it could feel it tingle in his skin just from touching it. “this one, I can’t wear that,, he said a little dumbfounded. Solance coughed and he looked back up at her, she pulled her hair away from her right ear. “I had them made, so we could each have one,, she whispered. “a matching pair despite our differences,, she added. Solance reached out for the golden stud and lifted it from the box and gently took out his black stud in his right ear, in its place she put in the golden one. Dimitry flicked the leaf so it dangled, it was light. “It looks good on you,, Solance said blushing and fumbled with her fingers as he looked at her. His tousled golden locks, his tan skin, golden-brown eyes, and the defined facial features. Unbelievably good, now he looks like some ancient roman God. Solance facepalmed, what was she thinking. He probably hated it, it was too feminine. Well done Solance! At least he is marked now. Solance wondered where that last thought had come from.

        Dimitry looked at the many expressions that danced on his mate’s face, he didn’t care that the earing was feminine. His mate had it made thinking of him, and she would have its pair. Each a part of one whole, he liked that. He took the silver piece with one hand and with the other he lifted her face, her big blue eyes meet his eyes with wonder.

Solance shivered as Dimitry's fingers ghosted over her right ear, the slight pinche from having the stud pushed through the half-sealed piercing in her ear. “sorry,, he whispered and kissed her cheek. Dimitry leaned back a bit to take her in, the silver color suited her. It complimented her bright blue eyes and her fair skin, her brown hair seemed warmer in color. She was mesmerizing.

        He pulled the human into his arms and nuzzled her face, “thank you for the wonderful gifts,, he whispered into her hair. Solance smiled and nuzzled back and whispered a quiet welcome, she then paused. “Dimitry, I’m curious,, Solance began, he hummed urging her to continue. “what was making that clanking earlier?,, Solance asked all serious. Dimitry paused and laughed.

        “What on earth compelled you guys to wake the house at that ungodly hour?,, Zetrich asked as he opened his second gift. Adele looked at Cole, who she found was busy with his gift. “We were excited, couldn’t sleep,, Adele said shrugging as she accepted the gift from her sister. “but really, pot lids?,, Solance asked from her seat on the floor, she was leaning against the couch. Dimitry sat on the couch playing with the human’s hair. “Well… they could make a loud noise?,, Adele said feeling silly, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. “It made you look like that monkey from toy story 3,, Cole said. Solance saw Adele’s eye twitch and then she leaped at him, he yelped, and then they fought on the floor, they tumbled into Alex who was opening his present from Solance, he yelped and then turned to hit them both over the head. “What if it broke!,, he scolded. The two looked guilty, the group laughed. Alex finally got to tear the paper off, he froze in place as he stared at the gift. “How did you know?,, he asked and then turned to the human, Solance smiled “I had a hunch?,, she said. Alex thanked her for the acrylic nail kit, he had wanted one for ages, he couldn’t wait to get to it.

“Hey, Sol. What did you get Dimitry?,, Aywa asked hugging the dress she had received from said human. Solance blushed as Dimitry pulled her hair away from her right ear, he then proudly flaunted his own earpiece. “matching earrings?,, Matthew asked though he didn’t fail to see the look of longing on his mate's eyes. A quick look at the other females in the room, he quickly caught on, the females liked it. “Nice,, he finished politely.

“Now, when talking about gifts,, Dimitry said as he got up and went to the three and picked out a gift. He handed it to Solance “here,,. Solance looked at him and then started to unwrap the gift. She pulled the lid off the box and inside she found a new phone, already sat up, numbers added, ringtone, and even a little keychain of a wolf, of course. She reached up and hugged him and whispered her thanks.

        “Well, where do you think we should hang it dear?,, Clyde asked as he handed his mate her coffee, they both looked at the large painting. “Somewhere we can enjoy it,, Lavenda said as she admired the painting her daughter-in-law had made for them. It was of all the nine wolves that had saved her that night, side by side, it was remarkably accurate. the landscape was frosty, the lake in the background and the Full moon giving the wolves an unearthly shine. It had taken their breath away, Solange had said that was how she saw them that night. The two leaned back, snuggling on the couch, the young had left for the basement, eager to enjoy and share their gifts.