Chosen by the Alpha (#1 of the Denali pack)

Jensen

I could almost feel the powerful voice coming closer to me, as tears were still falling on my lap beyond my control, escaping from underneath my blindfold. The hands of the two pervs were gone at the same time as the powerful voice had spoken, as if they were afraid of it.

"Get your hands off of her, or I will cut them off, so help me Goddess!" I heard the voice speaking again, power still radiating off of it.

Wait,

Was this monster standing up for me?

I heard footsteps going backwards, away from me, and the sounds as if someone was being punched multiple times.

"Don't you dare step paw or foot on my land ever again. You don't ever put your hands on a woman when she is scared or crying, especially not when she is MINE! You do not deserve to be a part of my pack anymore, GET THE HELL OUT!" the voice roared throughout the ballroom, being followed by the whimpers and cries of the remaining girls that were still sitting inside the ballroom with me.

I heard the two pervs crawl up from the floor and run away, making it silent in the ballroom once more. I still wasn't breathing, too afraid to even begin.

"I am so sorry," the voice said, coming closer to me, which made me think that he had lowered himself to be on the same level as where I was sitting. He also sounded much friendlier than just a few seconds ago.

"I should have been here sooner, so none of this would have happened. I promise to never be late for you ever again."

Wait...

What?

Ever?

As in forever and ever?

What the hell is going on?

I reminded myself that maybe now would be a good time to start breathing again. So I gasped for air, which led to one final tear falling from underneath my blindfold. As it rolled down my cheek slowly, I felt his hand on my face while his thumb lovingly wiped my tear away. As his hand touched me, all the hairs on my neck stood back up again as a bolt of electricity soared through my body. But this time, it didn't feel bad or wrong in any way. I felt calm under his touch, safe and protected in his hands. Like I was being touched for the first time in my life. Without even noticing, I was leaning into his hand, trying to get my breathing back to normal. Which seemed to be helping as I felt myself relax, feeling his hand against my skin.

"Please, don't cry" he spoke, almost in a whisper.

"Come on, let's get you out of here. Can you walk or do you want me to carry you out?" I heard his voice going further away, he was standing up again, taking both of my hands, telling me to stand up too. I followed his lead. It felt like my hands were made to fit in his, a perfect match.

Am I dreaming?

Did I block the events out so far that I had started hallucinating by now?

"I can walk, please just... don't let me fall, please?" I finally got myself to bring out in a hoarse voice, probably sounding like a mad woman. The hands gently pulled at my arm, guiding me away from the freak show. He placed one of his arms on my lower back and with his touch, I felt another bolt of electricity going through my body once again. I must have been dreaming, because I could've sworn that his hand twitched just a little bit.

Did he feel it too?

After a few steps, he let go of me, and I heard a door closing to my left. We were all alone now.

"I am going to take your blindfold off, OK? Don't be scared. I’m not gonna hurt you, I promise." he spoke, again in his loving, friendly voice. He released the knot on the back of my head and lowered my blindfold gently and slowly. Again, I had to adjust myself to the bright light in the hallway where we were standing, so I had to blink a few times and squint my eyes, before the face in front of me took shape and I was able to see who had saved me.

Oh my...

I was looking at the most beautiful man I had ever seen in my entire life. His eyes were piercing through mine. They were a mix of brown and green, blended together in a perfect harmony. His brown hair was playfully spiking to the right. Perfect teeth, even toothpaste models would be jealous of . Ending with his lips, which almost made me lean to the front instantly, wondering how it would feel like to kiss them.

He had a bit of a bad boy vibe on his looks, but I couldn’t help myself, feeling like that was not who he was as a person at all.

He was looking at me, questioning probably if I was OK or not. After I didn't say anything, he smiled nervously.

OH GOD that smile!

That same second, I also found out that my mouth had been hanging open all this time, staring at him in wonder.

Now I must have looked like a fool!

"Wow," he finally broke the silence between us,

"You are so beautiful." he sighed and looked at the floor, like he was thinking about his next move, or trying to hold back something.

"Are you OK?" he asked, looking back into my eyes. I couldn’t speak, so I just nodded and kept looking at him like a crazy person.

“I am, again, so sorry that I wasn’t on time. If I would have sensed you sooner, I would have been the first to enter. When I did sense you, I also felt how scared you were, so I rushed in as fast as I could to get to you.” He started mumbling, his eyes still looking at the floor, like he was apologizing to me.

“What do you mean, you 'sensed me'?” I asked him, tilting my head to the side, as if that would make me help understand him better.

“Well,” he started rubbing his hair to the right.

So that’s why it peaks that way...

“We can sense our mate, feel it when we find her, when she is close. When I felt you, I knew you were in the ballroom. I just didn’t know what person you were. But when I walked in and saw those bastards with you, I just knew instantly, it’s you, you are my mate!”

My eyes widened at his response. In school, we learned about this. A mate is like a soulmate to them, maybe even stronger than that. These monsters supposedly only had one in their entire lives, a person who they loved unconditionally. They would even die without each other. My brain was having problems with processing all this info. How could I have a mate? I didn’t even know his name.

“I’m sorry.” I brought out in a whisper,

“It’s a lot to take in right now, I guess?” He smiled and sighed, almost sounding like a relief.

“That’s OK, it’s a lot for me too, and this is my normal life, I can’t imagine how you must feel right now.” Out of the blue he cupped my face and made me look into his eyes again, as if he had been trying to behave all this time, but now lost all of his control. Looking into those gorgeous eyes made me weak in my knees. I had to focus hard on my legs to keep standing. They felt like jelly under his touch.

“What’s your name, mate?” he asked, studying my face, looking for any sign of fear, which had totally left my body from the moment he had taken me out of the ballroom.

“Hannah” I brought out, almost as a sigh.

Keep breathing girl, or you will not live through the night.

He smiled at the sound of my name ,taking one step closer to me, pushing me against the wall.

“Nice to meet you Hannah, I’m Jensen.” I got lost in the moment. I loved his hand under my chin and wanted it to stay there forever. Feeling so peaceful like there was not one care in the world. His name, Jensen, going through my mind over and over again like a beautiful country song. And then, he just let me go.

NO!

I screamed on the inside, at the same time thinking to myself, I must have lost my damned mind,

I just met him!

Chill girl!

“We need to go. Are you ready?”

Go?

Go where?

Panic went through my body for the first time since meeting him, thinking about the girls that were chosen and were never seen again, after the ritual.

“No, I’m not ready.” I whispered as I searched the floor. Jensen tilted his head and got closer once again. “Why not? What’s wrong?” I forced myself to look at him again, trying to stay strong, because I knew if he would give me puppy eyes, I would melt on the spot.

“My necklace, my makers stole my necklace, it’s the last thing I have of my parents. I need it back.”

I brought out the words as I placed my hand on my neck, hoping that maybe the necklace magically would reappear.

“Is it important to you?” He asked, laying his hands on my hips.

Oh God,

Please don’t do that right now!

“Yes, it’s the last thing I have of them , and I’ll never see them again after today…”

My voice died, so I couldn’t end my sentence.

“ OK ,” he said, shrugging as if we were having a normal conversation.

“Wait here, I’ll be right back.” He went through the door that we had passed as he walked back into the ballroom and left me alone in the hallway. I leaned against the wall, trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I was chosen and my life as I had known it, was completely over. On the other hand, I couldn’t believe the feelings I had while being with this man, Jensen. I didn’t even know him for five minutes and already I was feeling like a crazy teenage girl who had a crush on some celebrity.

Does he feel the same way towards me?

What will happen when we leave here?

Where am I going to live?

Is Jennie going to be there?

Oh my God, Jennie!

Was she ok?

Would Jensen know where she would be?

As my mind was going crazy, the door opened once again, and angel-looking Jensen walked up to me once again, holding my necklace in his hands.

“Sorry little mate, your mayor seems to think we don’t like any personal items from our mates. I, on the other hand, am totally fine with that.” He stated as he stood behind me to put my necklace back on. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw it and automatically turned around. He put my necklace back on and when he closed it, he gently brushed his hand over my shoulder, it made me shiver as the electricity went through my body again.

How does he even do that?

“Thank you Jensen, this means the world to me!” I smiled at him, letting my hair fall down after holding it to the side for him long enough to close my necklace. Placing my hand on it to make sure that it was still there and I wasn't dreaming.

“You’re welcome, let’s just say , the mayor and your makers had a good scare. And there will be some changes in the rules for the upcoming rituals.” He smiled, showing all his teeth, his perfect teeth. I got lost, just looking at him.

“ OK, let’s go!” He smiled as he took my hand and walked me outside. I couldn’t help but just to follow his lead. My body got nervous, thinking about what was coming next.

“Where do you live?” I asked, almost skipping, to keep up with him.

“The pack house, it’s in the forest, about a 30 minute drive from here.” We walked out of the back of the building which I had never seen before. I turned around to check the outside walls. Only girls who were chosen got to see the city hall from this side. We made it to a big black SUV , where Jensen opened the door for me and helped me get inside, by still holding on to my hand firmly. He closed the door and stepped around the car towards the driver’s seat. He got in and looked at me while putting the keys in to start the SUV.

“Ready?” He asked me while he was trying to see if I was still OK.

“I think I am.” I answered as I looked outside, to see my village one last time, as Jensen drove off with me, into the unknown.