The Supreme Alphas Unwanted Mate

7 - I won't reject her, but I won't claim her

Luther

“How the hell can you drink so much and not be drunk?!”

“Because I’m not a fuckin.g lightweight.”

I roll my eyes at Christian, my best friend and would-be Beta, when my father finally hands me my own pack.

Christian sways in his seat with a smirk on his face. The man never could keep up with me when it came to alcohol. He sometimes forgets that I’m a Supreme Alpha. Alcohol doesn’t affect us the way it does other Wolves, and it only affects them if something is mixed into it, such as Wolfsbane, Kathien root, etc.

What makes me laugh about Christian is the fact in order to get drunk, he needs to swallow a barrel full of the stuff.

When Chrisitan asked me to meet him at the pub in the human town just outside of Lykos, I thought it would be good for me to get out of the house. I needed to be away from Jenna – not that I’ve seen her around. I’ve made sure to stay out of her way. I’m barely holding on by a thread, and if I see Jenna, I don’t know I’ll be strong enough to resist her. The mate bond cannot be allowed to grow; it has to be stamped out.

I need to make plans to visit my grandparents. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I know it’ll be a while. If anyone can point me in the right direction when it comes to finally ridding myself of Lorcan, it’s my grandparents.

I know they’ve spent years trying to find ways to separate us, but with my help, we can speed up the process. If that fails, I’m fucke.d. Doomed to spend what’s left of my life waiting for Lorcan to take over.

Lorcan swears the Moon Goddess Selene promised to grant his wish.

But where the fuc.k is she?

Not coming good, that’s for sure.

I know that Lorcan isn’t a liar, so the Moon Goddess must be. She used my brother, coerced him with false promises, and then tossed him aside when she was done with him. No wonder Lorcan is going crazy.

“When do you think Orrin will cough up?”

I sigh because Christian has asked me the same question for three years. Every time, I tell him the same thing. ‘When I find my mate.’

I knock back my scotch and slam the glass down on the table. Thankfully, not hard enough to break it; I don’t want to draw attention to myself.

This place is full of humans, and though they’re blind to our world, there’s always a chance one will find out what we are. This isn’t the movies, and most would think humans are insane if they ran around shouting about Werewolves. But DNA doesn’t lie; should we accidentally leave that around, the person deemed insane would no longer be so.

Shattering a glass on a bar wouldn’t have anyone thinking that I have supernatural strength, but I’m always cautious, just in case. It only takes one person to start rumors, and they could bring hell to our door.

We shouldn’t have come here, and I can’t believe I let Christian talk me into this. But staying on pack grounds didn’t appeal to me. I needed to be as far away from Jenna as possible without leaving the country. I didn’t go far, but far enough.

“Come on, Luther. You found your mate. Why don’t you just claim her already? It is because she’s an Omega?”

Of course, Christian knows about Jenna, though I wish I hadn’t told him anything. The man doesn’t shut up about her.

I roll my eyes. “I don’t give a shi.t that she’s an Omega, Christian. You know why I won’t claim her, so just drop it,”

“Why are you letting Lorcan dictate your life?”

No one else knows about Lorcan outside the family that I know of. Christian only knows because he met the motherfucker one night. I thought Christian would distance himself from me after that, but he stood by me, my friend, to the end.

It’s good to have someone to confide in who won’t tell me what I should do all the time.

“I know what he did to Jenna, scared you, but she needs you, man. You know what it’ll do to her when you reject her. She’s an Omega; the rejection period will kill her, Luther. There’s no doubt about that. It won’t matter how often you tell yourself she’ll be okay; Jenna will never be okay. Reject her, don’t reject her, but the end will always be the same.”

He’s right, and I hate it. An Omega can’t survive the rejection process; not one has been recorded in history to have done so.

Rankless Wolves have a better chance of overcoming rejection and finding their second-chance mates. However, not all of them survive.

Alphas and Betas stand a better chance, but not even Alphas and Betas are immune to death via rejection.

I was kidding myself when I said Jenna would be okay. I could never hurt Jenna like that, and I don’t intend to reject her. I won’t because deep down, I’m hoping I can give Lorcan what he wants, then come home and finally be with Jenna. But I wouldn’t blame her if she told me to go to hell.

It’s killing me not being with my mate, not touching her, or tasting her sweet lips. I want to hold her in my arms and tell her that I love her and I’ll never let anyone hurt her again. Because I do love her, I can’t help myself. I love her enough not to put her through more pain, thanks to Lorcan.

All her life, she’s been the little white-haired girl who Lilly wanted to make our sister. Thank the Goddess, that didn’t happen, or having Jenna as my mate would have made this very awkward.

I can’t do anything because I’m too unpredictable. I am a danger to my mate, and I will never put her in the position to be hurt by me again.

Well, Lorcan, but it amounts to the same thing.

“I’m not going to reject her,” I tell Christian honestly.

Christian turns in his seat at the bar and stares at me, open-mouthed. “So, you’re stringing her along? Are you insane? What the hell is going through your head, Luther?”

“None of your business,” I’m not here to have a heart-to-heart. I don’t want to talk about Jenna with anyone; I just want to get out of here and clear my head.

“Wow, harsh.”

I roll my eyes at him. “Look, I’m not here to talk about Jenna and what I intend to do or not do. I thought you wanted to talk about this new pack of ours.”

“The pack you won’t get until you have a mate, you mean?” Christian huffs like a child, and I fight the urge to punch him.

“I have a feeling I can convince my dad to give me pack territory once Lorcan is gone.”

“You really believe you can rid yourself of him?”

I nod my head. I hope that I’ll be my own person soon. I have to think like that because the other option is not one I want to consider.

“I believe that the answer is near,” I nod my head again. “I’m leaving in a few days. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I know I can’t return unless I’m free.”

Christian nods his head as if agreeing with me. “I get ya. Just remember that I’m here if you need me. I’m just a phone call away.”

I clasp his shoulder and squeeze. “Thanks, man.”

By the time I get home, it’s after midnight. The place is dark, as most are in bed by now.

I hear giggling from the living room, and I know my parents are doing something I do not want to think about. I wouldn’t know they were in there if it weren’t for my Wolf hearing. As it is, I can hear an ant move.

I shake my head and chuckle. They still act like kids, young kids in love. My siblings and I had a wonderful upbringing, thanks to Anja and Orrin Dalgaard. We couldn’t have asked for better parents.

Sure, I think it’s gross that they still have se.x, but why the hell wouldn’t they?

Dad’s in his fifties, and Mom’s in her forties; they have a very long life ahead of them, so they may as well enjoy it.

I chuckle all the way to my room. My hand is on the handle when the most enticing scent fills my nostrils. My eyes close, and I have to stifle a groan.

I don’t want to turn my head because if I do and I see Jenna, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop myself from grabbing her and holding her in my arms. My Wolf is already on edge; he wants his mate and won’t quit until he gets her.

But I do turn my head.

There she is, walking towards the staircase with a washing basket in her hands.

I narrow my eyes.

Why the hell is she doing laundry at this hour?

With my Wolf vision, in the dim light, I can see that she’s exhausted. Jenna looks like she could do with a shower and plenty of sleep, and I’m sure a hot meal wouldn’t go amiss.

Something about how she looks right now tells me that Jenna isn’t taking care of herself. It’s my fault because I’m keeping her dangling on a tightrope.

Jenna stops at the top of the stairs, sniffing the air before her eyes lock on mine. “Luther,” She whispers my name, but I hear it clearly.

I grit my teeth, sweat beading at my temple. I’m fighting every instinct not to rush over there and take Jenna in my arms. I want to taste those plush lips so badly, but I can’t. I have to keep her at arm’s length, no matter how long it takes.

‘Do you really think she’ll wait forever, Luther? The bond will bend if you’re away too long, and Jenna may find her second chance mate. It won’t matter that you’re trying to protect her; she’ll move on. Either that, or she’ll die a horribly painful death. We’ll lose our mate!’

‘I know you’re angry with me, Valerian, but I’m doing this for Jenna. Lorcan already tried to kill her; why would I put her through that again?’

‘How fuckin.g noble of you!’ My Wolf hisses.

I tune him out and continue staring at Jenna.

Whatever my reasons for pushing my mate away, I have to wonder what the hell she’s doing up at this hour.

“Why are you working at this hour?”

Jenna blushes. This is the most I’ve ever spoken to the girl; no wonder she’s nervous. “I got a little behind with my chores, so I was just finishing.”

I narrow my eyes because that isn’t like Jenna; she is always on top of things. Then I wonder if she’s starting to slow down because of the mate bond bending.

Goddess, it’s already happening; my mate is weakening. Soon, she’ll be gone from this world, and I’ll be left behind to mourn forever.

Jenna bites her lower lip, and I have to turn away from her. I have to because if I don’t, I’ll lose my resolve and pin her to the wall; consequences be damned.

I say no more. I open my door, walk through it, and shut it behind me, locking it for good measure. I drop my head back against the door and sigh. I have to harden myself against the lust I feel for Jenna. I have to tell myself that she means nothing to me; it’s the only way I’ll get through this.

When I come home, if everything is as it should be with Lorcan, I’ll claim what’s mine. Until then, I have no mate, and she means nothing to me.