Alpha Born Beta

Chapter 2: Who are you?

Mate.

I inhaled deeply, trying my best to keep it together as I approached the group of four. As hard as it was for me to break eye contact with this gorgeous man, I had to do my best to act normal. The last 8 years of my life, my grandparents have constantly instilled into me that no human outside of our world could ever find out the truth about us. I promised time and time again, especially when it came to Teresa and Michael, that I would never spill our secret. Even as hard as it was to keep my cool now, I had to while I was with them. I really did not want to deal with weird questions from my best friends.

I looked at Teresa and smiled, trying not to show any sign of discomfort or anything that would spark her best friend radar to question me about what was wrong. If she noticed something was wrong, that is. As we made eye contact, she smiled happily back at me, and I sighed relief internally as I stopped in front of her. She seemed excited, not upset.

"Yay! You're back!" She hugged me tightly, and she whispered in my ear as she leaned in. "Cameron and his friend are here. Introduce yourself please!"

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to still the thoughts going crazy in my mind. Here I was, going to prom with someone my best friend was so happy to set me up with, and somehow he was friends with my mate?! I had never even sensed another werewolf at school, or around the city at all! Yet here he was, standing less than a few feet away from me, his scent enveloping my entire being. If I wasn't so focused on taking regular breaths and soothing my anxiety, I would have already hit the ground a mess.

I let go of Teresa and turned towards the boys. I smiled at Cameron, giving a small wave. "Hi Cam, it's good to see you again."

He gave a huge smile in return. Cameron stepped forward, giving me a side hug. "Hey girly, it's good to see you. You look gorgeous."

"Thanks! You don't look too shabby yourself." I nudged his arm playfully with my elbow. He stepped back and turned towards his friend, a big grin on his face as he motioned between this stranger and the rest of the group. "Now that Hunter is here, allow me to formally introduce you guys to one of my best friends! This is Daxton."

The group started a bit of small talk. Michael mentioned he recognized him, but that they had never met, and he didn't really see him around Riverside High School. Daxton explained he did go to school with us, but that he took college courses outside of regular high school classes to get some early college credits before he graduated. I wondered why he went to human school and not his pack school?

Cameron and Daxton had been neighbors for their whole lives, so, of course, they were inevitably best friends. Cameron brought him to prom on a whim because he originally wasn't going to go, but told him that this would be the last chance for this experience before they graduated and began adulthood. As they both answered Michael's and Teresa's questions, I stayed quiet, mainly just observing this gorgeous man in front of me and listening intently, wanting to know every single detail. But it was becoming harder to maintain my cool as I was standing there. Every time I looked over at him, he was already looking at me, staring back so intensely. The way his blue eyes wandered over every inch of my body had me feeling like my knees were about to give out beneath me.

After a while of them chatting, I just couldn't take it anymore. I was sweating profusely, yet the chills returned all over my body, and I thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest. I cleared my throat gently, causing them to all look at me. I just smiled at Teresa and Michael, barely keeping myself put together. "I'm going to have to excuse myself for a moment. I really need to use the restroom again."

Teresa gave me a look of concern, and as she was about to speak, I held my hand up to her, just smiling and shaking my head. "No, I don't need you to come with me. I'm fine, promise. Just my stomach isn't feeling too great. We didn't really eat much today." The stomach part was true, but mostly because there were butterflies dancing around and I felt like I was going to pass out if I didn't get a second to myself. I watched as she looked at me for a moment, hesitant. I could hear her heart beat speed up a little - she was worried. But after a moment, it settled down, and she smiled and nodded back at me. "Okay. Come back soon though, okay? We'll get some water and snacks in, and then it's time to party!"

Without looking at the other two standing in our group, I quickly turned on my heels and began walking back through the crowd. This time around, the people chatting and laughing loudly while the music playing in the background didn't bother me. It was his whole existence that bothered me, but in a way so good it made no sense to me. How he could so easily sweep me off my feet and catch me off guard was so beyond me at that moment. I knew that the mate bond was strong, but experiencing it first hand myself now, I didn't know how other wolves even functioned around their mates.

I turned down the corridor to the bathroom, and the hallway was empty. I listened carefully, and I couldn't hear anyone from inside, so I was hurrying to get in and try and lock the door to really be alone for a few moments. I pushed the bar on the door, and I really hadn't been paying much attention to my surroundings. I was mostly lost in thought - his face, body, scent stuck in my mind. I didn't care about anything else at that moment, or anyone else for that matter. But I needed to be alone to really collect my thoughts and figure out what to do next.

As I opened the door, I was immediately caught off guard by a pair of hands lightly pushing me further into the bathroom. My heart suddenly stopped in my chest, my eyes wide as I turned around to see Daxton behind me, quickly shutting the door and locking it.

He didn't turn around right away, just stood there, breathing heavily, hands on the door. I had backed myself up against the sink, also unable to control my breathing. We both just stood there, and I could tell he was trying to keep it together. His arms were trembling against the door, and I knew the room was as hot for him as it was for me.

After a few moments, Daxton slowly turned around, staring right into my eyes. I couldn't look away, and especially now that we were alone, all I wanted to do was admire him. Thick, long blonde hair was pulled up tightly into a neat bun, and the way his dress shirt wrapped around his arms and torso so tightly, showed off his strongly built physique. He was tall, his skin beautifully pale and bright blue eyes I could drown in. Not to mention that we were now alone, locked in a small space, all I could take in was his scent. He smelled so strongly of freshly ground coffee in the morning, with a hint of lavender, and fresh pine wood. Three of my favorite scents, naturally, so of course that would be my mate - how fitting. My throat was dry, but my body was trembling. My hands clutched the counter behind me, and I knew my knuckles were white from the grip. It was also hard to ignore the fact that his existence not only took over my entire train of thought, but a heat in my stomach began to arise. I could feel myself getting wet under my dress, and I squeezed my legs tighter in hopes to hide it. Is this really what the mate bond did to you? Stop time and make you extremely horny in a matter of seconds? I had never felt this way towards anyone before, not even remotely close.

He took in a sharp breath, and I could tell he could smell my arousal and hear my heartbeat. His blue eyes suddenly turned black, fists clenched at his sides. His wolf. I held my breath, expecting him to fully launch himself at me and take me on the counter right now. His wolf was clearly ready to claim me. Even without mating and marking, the sound of his heart rate and the blood running through him so rapidly gave away his desire to shift right then and there. But I was surprised when he just exhaled softly, and his blue eyes returned. I was impressed by his ability to really control himself. It was hard to keep your wolf under control.

Daxton shook his head, putting his face in one of his hands. He sighed before speaking. "Who are you?"

I was a bit taken aback by the sudden question. I was not expecting him to be so calm, especially with how both of us were so clearly overwhelmed with emotions. But, I was grateful. It gave me a sense of security, and I was somehow comfortable enough to answer him without stumbling over my words.

"If you are inquiring about what pack I belong to, the answer is none. I'm really nobody."

He dropped his hand from his face, looking at me again. He showed no emotion, but his voice stayed calm and gentle. I was expecting him to be upset. "A rogue?"

I shook my head, gulping down my nerves. Rogues were killed by packs. They were frowned upon. I didn't want him to think that was me. "No. Far from. It's a long story honestly."

"A nearby pack?"

I shook my head again. "I'm not from here."

He just stared at me for a moment, a puzzled look on his face. "Do you know who I am?"

"No. Well, I know your name now. But I don't know you."

Again, he just stared at me, still puzzled. He didn't say anything for a few moments, just silently admiring me. I decided to break the silence, because Ember was ready to be the one to claim him if he just sat there like that for much longer.

"Am I supposed to know who you are?"

He suddenly smiled, chuckling gently at my sarcastic remark. "I guess I'm just surprised. You're a wolf that does not belong to a pack, but you are not a rogue. We've never met, and you somehow don't know who I am?" He shook his head, still laughing, but it was friendly, not hostile. That put me at ease a bit. "I guess I feel more flattered than anything."

Now I was the one to look at him in confusion. Flattered? "Who are you?"

Daxton suddenly stepped forward, closing the gap between us in an instant, catching me off guard. His face and body were just inches from mine. His hand reached up to touch my face, softly stroking my cheek. The moment our skin made contact, I could feel the sparks, tingling so rapidly and running through my entire body. My heart had never felt more complete at that moment. He was so close I could feel the warmth of his breath when he spoke. "We'll worry about that later. I just..." He paused, staring deep into my eyes. I couldn't look away, it was like I was stuck in a trance. The way he was looking at me, I didn't want to look away either. "You are so beautiful. Your scent... F**k. It hit me so hard the moment I walked through those front doors. I was so confused as to what smelt so heavenly. And the moment you walked up to me..." He leaned in closer, our foreheads now touching, still staring at each other. "I was stunned... My mate was suddenly just standing right in front of me. A beautiful, sexy goddess I had never seen nor pictured in my whole life. And you're all mine."

Without warning, he fully closed the distance, his hands cupping both sides of my face as he crashed his lips onto mine. I hesitated for a moment, completely in shock. We had just met less than ten minutes before, and without even knowing who I was, he was ready to claim me. My mate. My whole body lit on fire, Ember howling chaotically in my head. We have had our fair share of relationships, lots of kisses and s*x, but just one kiss from this man and it was like I needed him to breathe, to exist. I couldn't hold back anymore, my hands reached up and I wrapped them around his neck tightly, pulling him as close as possible, giving into the feeling. The kiss was full of passion, and want, and need, and we were breathing so heavily as our tongues began to dance around each other.

Daxton's hands dropped down to my waist, picking me up and setting me back down, b**t on the counter. I gasped lightly, but his lips soon found mine again as his fingers squeezed my hips. My legs instinctively opened up and I wrapped them around his waist, pulling him back to me. We were both hot, sweating and out of breath but needing more. His lips on mine felt like a piece of a puzzle I had been missing for so long, and his tongue exploring my mouth had me soaking wet. We were hungry for each other, and Ember was crying out to rip his clothes off right then and there and make him ours.

Suddenly, a realization hit me - that I was about to f**k this man in the bathroom at prom, a man whom I had just met, and I gently pulled away, our foreheads still touching, both of us panting. Despite him being my mate, we needed to have some sort of composure and control. Plus, there was a lot we really needed to talk about. He just looked into my eyes, slightly confused as to why I pulled away.

"Not that I'm not having a great time," I giggled, out of breath, "but I think we have some more talking to do, and we probably shouldn't f**k in the bathroom at prom. There are people waiting outside. We also just met."

I could tell by the look in his eyes he was not pleased, and seemed totally fine with probably bending me over the bathroom counter. However, he just sighed, pecking my lips softly before pulling back a little, his hands still on my waist. "I guess you're right." One of his hands found my chin, tilting my head up to look at him. "Promise me one thing though."

I nodded without hesitation. Wait, why was I even promising him anything? We just met. But Ember kept telling me she didn't really care, he was our mate, and we would do whatever he wanted us to. Deep down, I guess I didn't really give much a fight back. Daxton grinned happily. "Good girl. Promise me, you'll give me a chance to get to know you tonight? There is no way I am letting you go, now that I've finally found you."

I just stared into his eyes, blank-faced. My heart sped up at his words. The mate bond really did take over, not allowing any room for any other thought or reason. I didn't quite understand it, seeing as how this was my first real wolf experience in years. But my heart and mind were telling me I couldn't let him go either. Despite all the years we've had to fight to keep our secret, to live as humans, this is the one thing that would never happen in the human world. Humans didn't have mates they were blessed with by the Moon Goddess. That was us wolves. Before this "human" life of mine, all I was ever taught was that the mate bond was one of the most crucial aspects to a wolf's life. Wolves needed their mates to survive. And I really needed him.

After a moment, I nodded, giving a small smile. "I promise."