THE WITCH AND HER ALPHA

Chapter 18

Drake was still at the pack house, sitting at his place at his grandfather's right hand on the table. The old man was briefing the pack on the new developments and plans on how to tackle the Esmeralda problem.

They had been discussing that for about a week now and frankly, Drake was tired and he missed Raquelle. He hadn't really been able to talk to her since their just date and he missed her a whole lot.

He had just been really busy. As prince and next in line to be alpha, he had a lot of responsibility and he couldn't be seen slacking off. He didn't get any time to himself except late at night and he knew she'd have been asleep by then so he'd only send her texts that she'd wake up to in the morning.

It didn't feel the same as listening to her or hearing the sound of her voice but it was something.

He was also having a hard time concentrating on what was being said because his phone was buzzing with texts from Jo. He didn't have to even check the notifications to know it was her.

She had told him not to be late to the party that she had thrown for him and he knew the texts were reminders.

To be honest, the whole reason he was excited for the party was because of Raquelle. He had been ecstatic to find out that they had the same birthday and he wanted to see her.

He was a bit nervous because he had been a loner all his life and now a party was being thrown in his house in his honor. He didn't even know who the guest list comprised of since he didn't have many friends.

Other than Raquelle he didn't have any human friends and she wasn't exactly human and he had a few friends in the pack but he wasn't sure they'd be comfortable partying with humans.

He didn't even know why he agreed to this but once Jo gets an idea in her head, no one can put it out.

He snuck a peek at the time on his phone and knew he was officially late for the party.

“Man, Jo's going to kill me", he muttered.

“Is there something you'd like to share with the pack Drake?" his grandfather asked. All eyes turned to look at him and he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him.

He had forgotten he was seated in a room with werewolves with supernatural hearing.

“No alpha. Sorry for the distraction", he apologized.

His grandfather sighed, massaging the wrinkles on his head with his hand.

“It's okay son. You can leave. I think everyone here knows your mind isn't in this besides, you're right, Jo is going to kill you", his grandfather said, the corners of his lips turning up in a smile.

“Thank you grandfather", Drake said, getting up quickly. He headed to his room to get changed because he knew she had left him an outfit to wear.

He opened the bag and smiled at the outfit. Jo definitely had good taste and she knew his style. The outfit she had chosen was classy enough without being overly flashy. It was a simple designer look. He got dressed in the black T-shirt over black pants and he finished the look with a gold leather jacket.

On his feet, he wore a pair of dark Jordans. A silver chain dangled off the pocket of his pants and he wore a simple gold chain on his neck.

He admired himself in the mirror. He looked amazing. He picked up his dark sunshades and ran out of the house.

His phone rang at that moment and he answered without even checking the name because he already knew it was Jo.

“Dude, I am going to f*****g kill you. The party has already started. Where the hell are you?" Jo asked. She sounded mad.

“I'm on my way. See you soon", he said, hanging up immediately.

He got behind his car and hightailed out of there. A while later, he arrived at his mansion.

He could see the flashing lights and hear the loud music and his nerves suddenly reappeared. It was one thing being around people in school, but now they were in his own home. Once again, he regretted agreeing to this.

His thoughts shifted to the only bright side of the situation he could think of, at least he'd get to see Raquelle. Letting that thought take the forefront of his mind, he squared his shoulders and walked in.

He entered the ballroom and he had to give it to Jo. She outdid herself with the decorations and with the guest list too. It wasn't overly packed with bodies like most high school parties.

He didn't have time to look at the people as his eyes sought out one person alone. He hadn't found her yet when Jo appeared beside him.

“There you are, finally", she said, hitting his shoulder.

“Sorry. The meeting took longer than expected. Grandad had to let me leave early to let me attend", Drake said in explanation.

Her look softened at his explanation. She understood how demanding his job could get. “It"s fine. What matters is you're here now and you can have fun".

Drake chuckled. “You did a great job with the place Jo. Thank you", he said, giving her a hug.

“You're welcome. Now go mingle. Tom is waiting for me. Bye", she said sashaying away.

“Wait, where's Raquelle?" he called after her.

“She's somewhere around here", She called back.

He rolled his eyes. That was no help at all.

He decided to grab a drink and go look for her. As he was passing, he recognized a few people from school and surprisingly, his friends from the pack. He said hi and greeted them but didn't stay long chatting with them as he was still on a mission.

Finally, his eyes found her. She was facing away from him talking to someone but she looked gorgeous from behind. She was dressed immaculately in a golden jumpsuit and he knew he had to thank Jo for that one.

She hadn't seen him because she was engrossed in a conversation with some guy from school. Drake couldn't remember his name but he was definitely one of her friends.

He didn't like how chummy they both looked. She was laughing at something he said and he even had the nerve to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

If looks could kill, what's his face would be dead by now. Raquelle must have felt his stare because she turned back.

On seeing him, her face broke into the biggest smile. All his worries from before melted and he couldn't help but smile back. He knew they wouldn't be able to talk much so he gestured for her to meet him at the upstairs balcony.

She nodded and he watched as she said goodbye to her friend and followed him.

They both arrived around the same time and it was a lot quieter there.

“Hey", she said in greeting.

“Hey", he responded.

He found it so awkward. He had so many things he wanted to tell this girl about how much he had missed her, about how he had longed to hold her since he last saw, about how he couldn't get that kiss out of his mind, yet the only thing he could manage to say was hey.

“I thought you weren't gonna show", she said.

He took a seat on the pavement and she joined him, sitting beside him.

“Please, Jo would skin off my fur and hang it on her bedroom wall if I missed this party", he said.

Raquelle laughed. “Yeah that sounds exactly like something she would do. You know, I missed you, this past week", she said so softly that if he wasn't a wolf, he might have missed it.

Drake didn't think she would ever understand how happy those words made him. He didn't think he would ever fully understand either.

“I missed you too", he replied, taking her hand in his. “I'm sorry I couldn't keep in touch a lot. Things were just really... busy", he said.

“It's okay. I get it. You're here now and that's all that matters".

He brought her hand to his lip and kissed it. “You look really beautiful tonight", he told her.

She blushed at the compliment. “We'll have to thank Jo for that. She's responsible for this whole look".

He rolled his eyes at her response. “Oh please, we both know you look amazing with or without the fancy clothes and makeup. The beauty is all you baby".

She blushed even more at the term of endearment. They spent the next couple of hours talking, the party all forgotten. They spent the time catching up on all they had missed during their week apart.

Everytime Raquelle remembered that she had only known Drake for a few months, it amazed her because now she couldn't remember what her life was like without him and she couldn't even imagine her life without him in it. It scared her that she felt so strongly for him.

Her phone buzzed with a text from Flora.

Flora: Where are you?

It was then she realized just how much time had passed.

Her eyes widened in surprise after which she giggled.

“Jo is definitely going to kill us. We practically missed the whole party", she said to Drake.

He checked his phone to confirm the time and his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“How is it 11:55pm already. It's five minutes till midnight. There is no way we've been up here that long", he said amidst chuckles.

“Apparently we have. It's almost the day of our actual birthday", she replied. “Hang on I have to text Flora back. You actually haven't met her yet".

She quickly shot her a reply telling her she was with Drake and she'd be down soon.

“We should be heading down soon. It's our party and we've both disappeared for hours now", she told Drake.

“Being here with you alone is much more fun for me than being in a room filled with people I couldn't care less about and Jo", he said, cupping her face in his hands.

Her face flushed at that and she smiled at him. Her eyes flashed to his lips. He seemed to be having the same idea as her as he leaned in close, never taking his eyes off hers and claimed her mouth with his.

She closed her eyes, kissing him back with the same energy. It was intense, yet soft at the same time and through the kiss, they poured out their feelings for each other.

Their lips moulded against each other in perfect sync and perfect harmony. Like they were made for each other. And as the clock hit 12:00am on the day they both turned 18, the winds shifted and they realized they were made for each other.

Suddenly it all made sense to Drake, the unexplainable attraction he had to this girl had become explainable. She was his mate, his to love, his to cherish and his to protect and he was hers. The thought excited him beyond words could describe.

Werewolves found their mates anytime after they turned 18 but since they had known each other since before they had turned 18, the mate bond hadn't exactly manifested itself.

It felt like their souls were being bound together. Drake was sure she was feeling it too but he knew she probably didn't understand what it all meant.

They broke apart from the kiss and stared at each other.

“Woah", she said, her eyes fluttering open, “that was some kiss".

“Yeah", he replied, a goofy smile on his face. He definitely wanted to kiss her again.

“Why do I suddenly feel like my soul is intertwined with yours?" Raquelle blurted out.

He took her hands in his, drawing himself closer to her. “Because it is", he answered, “I felt it too. We're mates and it didn't manifest until we both turned 18", he explained, kissing her forehead.

“That would explain why I've felt this unexplainably strong connection to you", she replied. “How is this possible though? I kinda thought your mate would be a wolf".

Even as she said that, she was glad she was his mate and not some wolf chick.

“I'm glad it's you and not some wolf chick either", he replied to her thought.

Her eyes widened in surprise. He just chuckled in response.

“I have a lot to explain. It's a good thing we've got time because if I'm being honest, the only thing I want to do now is kiss you again", he said to her.

“Then what are you waiting for?" she replied, a smirk on her face.

With a grin on his face, her kissed her. He wrapped his hands around her waist, the cut out of the dress letting him touch her bare skin. Needing her to be closer, he gently lifted her and placed her on his lap. She gasped at that and laughed into the kiss. Her hands found themselves in his air and just as things were getting steamy, both their phones rang, causing them to break apart abruptly.

At first they were startled, then they both burst out in laughter. They both checked their phones. Jo was calling Drake and Fauna was calling Raquelle.

“We'd better head back downstairs before they sniff us out and have our heads", Raquelle said.

They walked back down together, hand in hand, basking in the glow of their new found mate bond.