The Alpha's Son

Chapter Five

                                                                                            Jake

            My dad had jumped straight into conversation with Alpha Nyko about what brought him to our area. I listened for only one reason, which was to hear anything that might give me more information on Stella.

            "We have family nearby, and Stella's mother just passed away recently. I thought it would be best that I brought her around family that she had not seen in some time."

            Oh, wow. How could he stand to be sitting there without falling apart? If I lost my mate, I would lose all sense of purpose. Nyko had to be one hell of an Alpha to be able to do what is right by his daughter without falling apart.

            My dad shook his head. "I am sorry to hear that. I cannot imagine what it is you must be going through." He had told me of the few times that he did lose my mom. He explained it as being the worst times of his life but was light with details. When I used to ask my mom about it, she would just start crying. All I knew was that the moon goddess brought her back for good reasons.

            I could see the pain hidden behind Nyko's eyes. Still, he held back those emotions probably because he did not want to look weak in front of another Alpha. "It has been an adjustment, but we are making it. To be honest with you, Blake, I was hoping to marry my daughter off to your son. My hope for her would be that she would grow up into a strong pack. I think that every father dreams that their daughter would marry an Alpha's son."

            "That is too bad indeed. Jake here has recently found his mate." My dad smiled so big that his canine teeth were showing.

            Nyko shifted in his seat and turned his face so that he could only see me out of the corner of his eyes. "What a lucky guy," he said with a strange tone. "My Stella recently found her mate as well." A huge lump formed in the back of my throat. Nyko knew that I was her mate. I could tell by the way he was staring at me. "It was a shame, really. She came home crying her heart out to me a few days ago, wondering why her mate would lie about another woman being his mate, rather than his true mate."

            "I wish I could say that all werewolves would just give in to the mating bond, but I would be a hypocrite if I said that. When Roxy and I met, I rejected her the moment she became a hybrid. It was the one thing I regret more than anything. Roxy is my mate and Luna now, but things could have gone quite differently for us back then if I wouldn't have been such an asshole to her. I hope that Stella's mate comes around for his sake. The more he pushes away the mating bond, the more he will come to regret it just as I have."

            I stared at Nyko as his eyes never left mine the entire time my dad was talking. Oh, please don't say anything. My mouth began to move when I realized Jet had stepped forward to defend himself against his mate. "Maybe her mate had good reason to do what he did. What if he wants to be with her, but he can't because something else has a hold of him?"

            They both stared at me. My dad was giving me a chilling look while Nyko's eyes seemed to soften. 'Thanks there, Jet! Give me a little warning next time you want to come forth and put your foot in my mouth.'

            It wasn't like you were going to say anything, Jet said before he shut me out. Wonderful! I was left to clean up this mess on my own.

            I put my hands in my pocket and swayed back and forth on my heels. "What I mean is that hopefully, they can make it work. I wish your daughter the best."

            That seemed like it satisfied my dad for the time being. "Indeed. Jake, why don't you begin?"

            My mind was more focused on Stella than learning about the intentions of her father. Who cared why he was here? The only thing that mattered was that I needed to make this partnership work so that I could be closer to Stella. I dived right in and asked question after question, just like my dad taught me. By the end of the conversation, I was sure my dad was pleased with how the meeting had gone.

            I told him that I would happily welcome Nyko and his pack. "It is settled then. If you need a place to stay, the packhouse is open to you and your pack for the time being. We have plenty of room. We have had multiple renovations done to the packhouse in the past few years that have expanded to make it bigger. Once Jake became of age to find his mate, we knew the potential of having to accept his mate's pack into our home."

            "His mate's pack doesn't want to be here, then?" Nyko again eyed me, his cold features settling back on his face.

            It was then that I could smell the enticing aroma of my mate's scent getting stronger. She was close. I knew I needed to talk to her if only it was just once. "Excuse me," I said, then practically ran out of the room. I could hear my dad apologizing for me to Nyko and his two men.

            When I got outside the door, Stella was there pacing back and forth while chewing on her fingernails. Her eyes peered up at me, and she stopped pacing. "What do you want?"

            "I..." I wanted to talk to her, but this place had too many ears that could hear this conversation. No one else needed to know that she was my mate. It wouldn't be safe for her if they did, and her safety was my top priority. "Can you come to take a walk with me?"

            Stella took a minute before she nodded her head yes and began to walk out in front of me. We walked side by side until we were deep into the woods, away from the other werewolves. "Is this far enough yet? Are you embarrassed for them to know that we are mates or something?"

            "No! I would never be embarrassed by you. Look at you, Stella. You are everything I thought my mate would be and more. I am just in a complicated situation right now."

            She placed her hands on her hips as a way for me to take her seriously, but I found it quite adorable. "There is nothing that could be more important than your mate. If you wanted to reject me, you could have just been a man about it instead of faking a mating bond with another she-wolf."

            "Reject you? Why would I ever want to reject you? You are the definition of perfect." I wanted so much to reach out to her so that I could show her just how perfect she was, but this stupid spell wouldn't let me. "It is dangerous for you for others to know that you are my mate. I am keeping it from them because it is my job to protect you. This is me keeping you safe."

            "I can take care of myself, Jake. I don't need a protector! What I need is the love of my mate. Can you not feel that pull? Even now, after what you have done, all I can think about is what it would be like to touch you."

            My eyes closed as I began to imagine what it would be like to have her skin brush against mine. I could feel the pull she was referring to, but it was almost not there at all, complements of the spell. She took a step toward me. I put my hand up to stop her. "Don't."

            Stella ignored my request and continued to move toward me. "If you want to keep us a secret, then fine. If it makes you feel like you are protecting me, then I will go along with it, but not if you push me away when no one is near. Like right now, for instance. There is no one around to see anything. If you truly cared for me as your mate, you would..." Her face turned white as a ghost, and she dropped to her knees in front of me, screaming in pain.

            I ran over to beside her, fighting against the spell with all the strength I had. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold it back for long. "f**k!" The spell felt as if it was burning me from the inside out. Now on my knees beside my mate, I managed to reach out for her. I lifted her chin slightly with the tip of my finger, as I was afraid of what would happen if I touched her. "What is it?!" I asked all panicky.

            "Heat," was all she said.

            Out of nowhere, four-pack members surrounded us. They could smell her the same way I could. The scent of her heat was getting the attention of the unmated male wolves within our pack. Lucas was one of the four wolves. I let out a warning growl, but it did me no good. Stella was not officially mated, nor was she marked. Her heat couldn't have come at a worse time.

            "Back the f**k up!" I told all four of them.

            As the others stepped back, Lucas took on the challenge. "Why are you protecting an unmated wolf in heat? It isn't like she is your mate, though I wonder how your mate would feel about this. Step out of the way, Jake. This little she-wolf is pain and needs some help to relieve it."

            His words set me off. I stood up, and as I did, I shifted and placed my paws firmly down on the ground in front of Stella, protecting her with my body.  The closer in age that I got to becoming Alpha, the bigger my wolf, Jet, seemed to get. There was no doubt that I had grown in size since my last shift. My fur was beginning to set in its permanent color too, which was silver. I flashed my teeth at Lucas while letting out a territorial growl.

            Lucas put his hands up and backed away slowly. "This isn't over, Jake!" He said before turning away and heading back through the woods toward the packhouse.

            The fire burning through my veins only got worse when I felt Stella's hand touch my front left leg. Jet let out a low satisfied hum while closing his eyes to soak in the feeling of being touched by our mate for the first time. The feeling was hard to describe. I could only describe it as an out of this world kind of feeling. This was a feeling I wished I could feel forever.