The Alpha's Son

Chapter Six

                                                                                            Stella

            One simple touch made my body come to life for the first time in my seventeen years of existence. The truth was that I wasn’t too excited about finding my mate before I met him. All my friends from back home bragged about how great their mates were. Mates could make you much stronger, but they could also be the only ones that could ever truly break your heart. Since I was nothing but a pup, I have heard too many stories to care for it to happen to me. Take my mother, for instance. She died, leaving my father alone in this world. I had always heard tales about what it is like for a wolf to lose its mate but experiencing it first hand was so much worse than the stories. My father was only a shell of a man now. He told me that we needed to come here to make alliances, but the truth was that he wasn’t strong enough to be our Alpha anymore. I hated to admit it like that, but it was nothing but the truth. I loved my father more than I have loved anything else in my life, so seeing him like this broke me into a million pieces. It wasn’t until I discovered my mate that I began to have hope again.

           Jake stood there in front of me in his wolf form, looking as if he was made for this life. I, on the other hand, was nothing like that. Growing up, I was so out of place in this world, even as a werewolf. For the first time, I felt like I belonged. This overwhelming feeling set up deep inside my heart. Jake shattered my heart in a matter of seconds, but he also seemed to mend it in the same amount of time.

           I watched as he ran off into the woods. How could he leave after that? If I felt that coursing through my body, couldn’t he? This was the exact reason that I never wanted to find my mate. My luck was horrendous. I stood to my feet and wiped away the single tear that had fallen down my cheek with the back of my hand. One thing that my father always taught me was to pick myself up. 

           The night that I found out Jake was my mate was when I went home frantic about what had taken place. We were new to the area, but my father knew what was wrong with me even before I told him. He was always so protective of me, but he still gave the best advice. That was when we came here to seek an alliance with this pack’s current Alpha, Blake, which happened to be Jake’s father. I’m sure my father did that out of no coincidence, though he played it off like he did.

           The one thing worse than being a werewolf was being a female werewolf. This heat has been coming and going since I turned seventeen. Because it happened to me so many times already, I learned to control it better than most other she-wolves my age. It still was horrible and seemed to be worse when I was around Jake. I was happy that this time it only lasted a few minutes. It made no sense to me why Jake would protect me from those unmated wolves when he doesn’t want me for himself.

           As I was getting ready to head back up to the packhouse, Jake reemerged from the area he took off running to moments ago. He was now dressed, apart from not having a shirt on. Oh, my, he had sweat beading on his chest, making it look like little crystals in the light. The sight of Jake made me bite my lip to keep from moaning. He had to have been at least six feet tall, black hair that was long enough to run your hand through, clean-cut shave to his facial hair, broad, muscular shoulders, and yellow-greenish almond-shaped eyes. This man was going to be the death of me. I tried my best to pretend that his appearance did nothing for me, but the truth was I was dying inside.

           “Where are you going?” He asked so casually.

           I closed my eyes and focused on controlling my spiraling breathing. “Back to the packhouse. You disappeared, so I figured our talk was over.”

           He took a step toward me but kept his distance. “No, I wasn’t finished, but if this is too much for you right now, then I will understand.”

           “You are impossible to read. Jake, you bring me out here to make it out as if you care about me, yet you will not explain to me what is going on. This protective act is a bit over the top. Just go ahead and reject me so we can get the pain out of the way. Maybe it is better that I don’t have a mate anyways.”

           Jake’s eyebrows furrowed. “I would never reject you. It has been my dream to find my mate. Stella, please understand that this is not my choice. I want you more than I have wanted anything else in my damn life. If I could, I would easily give up being Alpha so that I could have a life with you. Things just aren’t that simple. You have no idea how much I wish that we could be together.”

           I let his words sink in. If he wanted me to believe him, then I needed something in return. “Fine. I will let this go for now and trust that you are only looking after me if you do something for me first.”

           “Anything!”

           “Kiss me.”

           He went silent, which told me one of two things. He was either speaking to his wolf or trying to find a way out of doing this. “Come here.” Without even thinking about it, I managed to gracefully stroll over to him. My heart was beating loudly against my chest. “You have to calm yourself, Stella. Relax.”

           When Jake’s hand touched the side of my cheek, I nearly collapsed. His touch was everything I wanted it to be and more. I briefly wondered if this was just the mating bond or something far beyond that. I could feel our wolves gravitating toward each other like it was destiny or something, but it was also me who was utterly smitten with him.

           “I don’t know if this is going to work, but I will try. Stay very still.” 

           My eyes instantly shut closed. I was hoping that it may make it a bit easier for him, though I had no idea why he was struggling with it, to begin with. After all, it was only a kiss, right? I could hear him let out the sexiest groan from his throat that I have ever heard. My body was on fire, waiting for the feel of his lips on mine. Please, I can’t take the anticipation much longer. As if my plea was answered, his lips landed softly against mine. My eyes pried back open just to make sure it was him and not some trick he was playing. I knew by the way his kiss sent my body into overdrive that it was him. He was staring at me as he moaned into my mouth and pushed his body into mine. This was far more than just a simple kiss.

           Jake sucked in my bottom lip then pushed his head back. “You have no idea how much I want you.”

           Oh, but I do, Jake, because I want you as equally as much. My body was reminding me as his hand skimmed my lower lip. I whimpered as he dropped his arm by his side. “Don’t stop.”

           He cracked a smile while he rested his hand on my hip. “There are things that you do not understand. I want to tell you, but I can’t. Just know that I will treasure this moment forever.”

           What did he mean by he would treasure this moment forever? Did that mean what I think that it did? I used the hand that was resting on his chest to push off him and walk around him. “So that means that you won’t ever kiss me again? How could you think like that? That kiss was…”

           “Stella, that kiss was f*****g perfect. It wasn’t the kiss that is the problem. I am the problem. There is something bigger at play here than you and me.” Jake stopped talking. He began to look around the woods frantically. In a low voice, he said, “go back to the packhouse right now. I will explain later, just go!”

           My wolf, Midnight, obeyed and took off running without my permission. ‘Seriously? You aren’t going to be like some love-struck puppy dog that obeys their owners every command, now are you?’

           It is about trust, Stella. I trust his wolf Jake with my life. You should trust them too.

           Midnight was right. After sharing that kiss with him, I was sure I would do anything he wanted me to do. I had to have faith that Jake would do right by me and not break my heart. If he wasn’t telling me things, it was because he was doing it to protect me. I had to learn to live with that until he felt it was the right time to tell me. There was something out there in the woods with him right now. Maybe that was what he was trying so hard to protect me from.

            I got back to the packhouse in time to see my father stepping out the front door. He was shaking hands with Alpha Blake, which meant that they had come to some kind of agreement. Good. There was no way that I could leave now after having kissed Jake for the first time. Maybe if I was patient enough, he might find himself giving in to the mating bond.

            My father walked over to me with a wide grin. "Where have you been, young lady? Have you been with that mate of yours?" He knew all about who Jake was from the moment I told him. Those subtleties of his earlier were a way of touring Jake in his own way. 

            "Dad, can you not be so obvious? You know that I didn't come here to stir things up with Jake and his family. We came here for an alliance, remember?"

            He swung his arm over my shoulder while dragging me alongside him. This was the most I have seen him smile since before the death of my mother. "Okay, sweetie, I will try to remember that."