My Mate is an Alpha

Chapter 6

CEDAR

Usually, I would say my wolf was being dramatic, but today, I was just as desperate as him.

The second I stepped outside and picked up on her scent, I had tunnel vision. I didn’t pay attention to where I was going; all I cared about was getting to her. I found my lovely mate along with her luggage at the bottom of the stairs, right outside the pack house. The closer I got to her, the more I noticed a different fragrance mixed with hers. It was more earthly; woody.

A male’s scent.

Torrent immediately started growling inside my head as he recognized the smell suppressing Sasha’s. It was the same one I had sensed earlier during our first, magical meeting. At first, I didn’t think anything of it. However, I was consumed with worry to find the situation repeating itself.

“Stop, Tor!” I pushed him back to the corners of my mind, silencing him.

His possessive Alpha wolf genes would only feed the doubts in my head. I normally didn’t feel insecure, and I certainly wasn’t the jealous type. Yet the thought of Sasha’s heart already belonging to someone else… I just needed to know the truth. Without cornering her, obviously.

I took a deep breath to allow myself to think straight. Once my feelings were under control again, I managed a smile and walked up to my mate. She was clearly distracted, as she only noticed me when I was a few steps away from her. The blue in her eyes was intoxicatingly serene, though not as much as the dimples on her cheeks.

“Is everything ready, ma chérie?” Desperate to feel the sparks of the bond again, I laced my fingers with hers. I didn’t miss the way she shivered as my thumb caressed the back of her hand.

“Yep. I just got back from talking to my father.”

“Oh. I was hoping I’d have a chance to accompany you through that,” I sighed. “I’m an old-fashioned man; I wanted to ask him for your hand.”

“You’re such a gentleman.” Her cheeks turned red, and the sight caused Tor to purr in admiration. “It’s for the best that I went alone though. He was a bit overemotional.”

“Are you sure you’re ready?” My smile was gone as guilt struck me, and I stared deeply into her eyes. “You can have more time if you need. I’ll stay with you. All you have to do is tell me.”

“I’m ready.” She nodded confidently.

Earlier, I could still catch a glimpse of doubt in her eyes, but now, it was completely gone. Her determination to leave her life behind to share a new one with me made my heart skip a beat.

But even then, I could feel something holding me back. As I inhaled her scent, the smell of the other male had Tor raising his hackles. Stupid insecurity.

“So, uh…” I started as I tried to think of a discreet way to address the issue. “I assume you had help packing.”

“Yeah. I wouldn’t have finished this fast otherwise,” she agreed as I silently prayed for her to answer my unspoken question to prevent me from sounding like an overbearing jerk. Thankfully, she did. “The Gamma helped me.”

“I’ll be sure to thank him later.” A brief pause followed as I tried not to jump to conclusions. Despite my efforts, I let my guard down, allowing the words to slip right through my lips. “Is he an ex-boyfriend?”

Her eyes widened with what I hoped was not anger. As she shook her head vehemently, I realized she was just shocked. “Me with…Jasper?! No way!” I could sense a hint of disbelief in her answer. Relief washed over me, and I tried my best not to let it on. “He’s my best friend. That’s all.”

See? He’s just a friend, I repeated inside my head, both to me and to my wolf. No need to be jealous.

“If that’s the case, he’s more than welcome to come visit us at Ninebark whenever he wants,” I told her truthfully. “Make sure to let him know that.”

The most beautiful smile lit up her face. “Thank you…” She leaned closer to whisper against my lips, “Mon chéri.”

I let my head fall backwards as I suppressed a growl. “I shouldn’t have told you how I like that. I have a feeling you’ll be using it to your advantage quite often.”

“A Luna must know the weapons she has at her disposal,” she taunted.

Goddess! Could my mate be any more perfect?

I told myself that I would wait for the right moment to kiss her for the first time. That I wouldn’t give in to my dark instincts and ravish her like an animal. She was a lady; a princess, and I wanted to treat her as such. But I had to admit that I wouldn’t have been able to keep the promise I made to myself if Alpha Lancaster hadn’t interrupted us just in time.

“Alright, I’m here!”

Sasha turned her face to her leader at his announcement, and I did the same. There was a sad undertone behind his smile. It wasn’t hard to understand that, though he was happy for his friend, it pained him to see her leave. My mate was truly loved here… But I knew my family would love her just as much.

She glanced at me one last time before letting him know, “We’re ready to go.”

“I won’t keep you waiting then.” He nodded at her.

Just then, Caitlyn approached him to give him a silver dagger. Sasha left my side to join them, promptly stretching out her hand to the Alpha. It was him who hesitated to bring the blade closer to her skin. I watched as he carefully drew a line across her palm in a ritual I was too familiar with. He proceeded to chant a few words in an ancient language while her blood flowed out.

And by the time her wound healed, her ties to Diamond Tempest had been broken.

Rumor had it the emptiness that came with being separated from your blood family was far more terrible than the burning caused by the silver when the ceremonial dagger cut your skin. As I had always belonged to the same pack since the day I was born, I couldn’t know the pain myself, but I wanted to be there for my mate. Yet before I could reach out to her, the Luna jumped into her arms.

“I’m gonna miss you so much!” Cait sobbed into her hair. Unlike Lance, she wasn’t really trying to keep her stoic leader pose, regardless of who would see her like that.

“I’ll miss you all too,” Sasha confessed.

When the Luna pulled away, the smile on her face contrasted with the tears streaming from her eyes. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for us. Be happy, and please remember that you can always count on us for anything you need.”

“I know.” My mate held her friend at arm’s length, exchanging one final meaningful look with her. “I’ll be back soon. I wouldn’t miss the birth of Diamond Tempest’s heir for the world.”

Caitlyn instinctively ran her hand over the bump in her stomach, soon nodding at Sasha. Lance wrapped his arms around his Luna’s belly from behind, kissing the top of her head lovingly. It wasn’t long before the Beta couple also joined them so they could say their last goodbyes. The Gamma was nowhere to be seen, but I assumed he had already bid her farewell anyway. I fought my desire to be next to her, aware that she deserved one last moment with her friends.

Once they were done, I too exchanged a few words with them, shaking Cait’s and Lance’s hands before leading my mate towards our car. On our way there, she lifted her hand up to inspect her palm. My heart ached as I understood what was on her mind. One of my arms went around her shoulders, pulling her closer to me.

“How are you feeling?” I lowered my head to look into her eyes.

“It’s…weird,” she confided with a sigh. “Feels like a part of me is staying behind.”

“In a way, it is.” I held her tighter, trying to comfort her. “I always hated goodbyes. But if it’s any help, the feeling should go away once I officially welcome you into Ninebark.”

She flashed me a brave smile. “We should get going then.”

My Beta was waiting for us next to the limousine. A few Omegas had helped load my Luna’s luggage into the car, so we were all ready to go. The driver hopped out to hold the door open for the three of us, and once we were seated, we took off.

Sasha kept staring intently at the landscape through her window as we left Diamond Tempest. Her heart was breaking, and I didn’t know what to say to help her. All I could do was stay by her side. Thankfully, my Beta was a big goof who managed to entertain her with his silly jokes. He distracted her enough to get her mind off things until we started driving up the mountain where my pack was located.

There was nothing outstanding about Ninebark’s territory. Unlike most packs, we didn’t have a dense forest surrounding our land. Instead, the natural geography of the rocky terrain kept us hidden from the humans. At this time of the year, white blankets of snow covered the green grass, and the ninebark garden that granted our pack its name would be dormant until Spring. A few western red cedar trees scattered around were responsible for making the landscape a bit more lively.

“Not as beautiful as Diamond Tempest, huh?” I broke the silence, noticing how my mate’s eyes were fixated on the glass.

“It’s different.” When she turned to look at me, I was surprised by the smile on her face. “It’s so open, yet at the same time, so cozy. The cottages are so cute.”

I found myself mimicking her expression. “Well, I’m glad you like it.” Intertwining our fingers, I leaned into her ear to whisper, “Welcome to Ninebark, my Luna.”