The Alpha's Favorite Rogue

Chapter 6

Ella’s POV

How is this even possible?

I mated to someone else years ago.

Someone who didn't want me. Someone who rejected me.

How can I feel the mate bond with someone new now?

Two mates?

Is this for real?

And to a Lycan!

My brother’s Beta Lycan at that.

Not bothering to pay attention to where I am going, I accidently stub my toe against a large, sharp rock while going full speed, and stumble, not quite catching myself in time, and I find myself ungracefully rolling into a thorny bush.

Ow.

Clumsily getting back onto my feet, cringing from the thorns getting caught in my fur, I shift and cradle my bruised hand against my chest.

Judging by my new Lycan mate's reaction, he wasn’t too thrilled with this new development either.

He didn’t even try to come to me.

Did he not feel the mate bond?

Well, I guess I didn't exactly run to him either.

But I have a legit reason. I already had a mate.

And he rejected me.

So I was surprised.

And scared of another rejection...

Roughly pushing aside my bangs along with that thought that I said I wouldn't dwell on anymore, I sink down onto a grass patch and lean back against a thick tree trunk.

My first mate's handsome, freckled face swims into view and I shake my head to try to get rid of it.

The familiar knot of pain that's associated with his memory, kind of like I just got gut punched, isn’t as strong though…and it goes away almost as instantly as it came, replaced by a swoosh of excitement as Cory’s image changes to Beta Chris’s.

He is really handsome.

And holy moly is he buff.

Kind of intense looking though.

Like scary, almost.

And uninterested.

Oh my god.

I pull my knees against my chest and lower my forehead against them.

Is this my fate?

To be rejected by a mate not once, but twice??

Even to be rejected once is uncommon.

What the hell is wrong with me?

An enticing scent sends goosebumps up my back and I lift my head to see a giant, black Lycan in his shifted form only a few feet away.

“Jesus! How did you get so close without making any sounds?”

I jump back, placing my injured hand on the ground to prevent myself from falling over, then wince in pain and bring it close to my chest, painfully aware of how exposed I am at the moment, so I hunch my shoulders and pull my knees closer.

“Sorry.”

I can feel his hesitancy as he lifts a paw as if to take a step, but then sits down and looks at me instead.

Almost like he is studying me.

And I study him right back.

This isn’t my first time seeing a Lycan in their wolf form.

We studied both werewolves and Lycan’s anatomy at the healer institute.

But this is the first time I have seen one outside of the academy.

They had always seemed sort of scary and, well to be honest, kind of ugly to me.

With their elongated legs and snouts…but for some reason, as I study the one sitting three feet away from me, I see him differently.

He looks strong.

Attractive.

My wolf stirs.

Damnit.

I always thought it was strange how normal humans can keep all their emotions and desires tucked neatly and safely away inside their head. Strange, but oh how I envy them for it.

We unlucky werewolves have all our desires swirl around us for each other to see and smell.

No hiding out attractions to each other.

Lovely.

“What’s your name?”

It hits me how strange it is to be having a conversation with a Lycan while sitting completely naked in my human form.

Do I shift back?

Do I want him to shift instead?

Yes.

I want him to shift.

That sounds way more interesting.

Um.

Is he lifting an eyebrow at me?

Can all Lycans lift their eyebrows in that arrogant 'I know what you are thinking' kind of way?

I mean, I totally don't care if he shifts.

He probably doesn't look that amazing any way.

“My name is Ella. I’m Ra- I mean, Alpha Ralph’s sister.”

He says nothing.

Just sits there silently, staring at me.

Great conversationalist.

“I know who you are. You are his Beta. Chris. He told me a lot about you.”

He gives a small snort.

“He told me nothing about you.”

His comment makes me prickle.

Rude.

“Well, he has had other things on his mind, I am sure.”

I carefully cross my arms over my chest to make sure it’s covered, then straighten my back, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Why are you here?”

My mouth falls open in a gasp of indignation.

“I don’t need a reason to be here, my brother is the Alpha!”

“What I meant was, what brought you here? Where were you before?”

Tapping my fingers against my arms, I hesitate.

For some reason, I want to spill everything to him. Tell him my entire story.

But that’s just dumb.

His demeanor doesn’t exactly invite confidences.

“I finished my training and I heard that my brother's new pack needed a healer. And I wanted to be near my family. So...here I am.”

He doesn’t respond.

“Okay, so this whole you being in Lycan form while I am here, in my human form, super naked, is totally not awkward at all."

He doesn't move.

"Can you shift and have, like, a normal conversation with me?”

Beta Chris looks uncomfortable as he considers this, and I feel a small triumph for a brief moment.

Ha!

I'm not the only one feeling awkward.

Maybe he will ask me to shift to my wolf instead.

But then he sighs and shifts into his naked human form.

Just standing there, totally exposed. Compltely naked.

Oh, this backfired.

Big time.

Damn.

I swallow as I take him in.

All of him.

Umm. Wow.

Yeah, alright.

His body is amazing.

Sigh.

“Is this less awkward for you?”

Beta Chris’s voice is dry.

I lift my shoulders casually, trying to play it cool, even though I know he can feel my desire building.

“It’s aight. It's cool.”

Could I sound any lamer?

Wait...

Oh my gosh.

Did the corners of his lips just twitch?

Did he almost smile?

Impossible…

“Listen…”

He takes a step closer and I stand in response.

As if I can’t help it, my body just moves.

He got closer, so my body just needed to be closer.

He jerks to a stop.

This time his eyes move slowly up and down my entire body, and I feel my cheeks flush.

But at the same time…

I feel excitement.

His eyes move back up to meet mine and I take another step closer.

Mate!

I get a new mate.

Mine.

All mine.

I raise my hand to touch him.

Anywhere.

I just need to feel him.

I need to know if it's real.

Will there be electricity?

What will my body do when he touches me?

Will it be like Cory?

Could it be?

A crashing noise to my left makes me pull back my hand to my side as my brother comes crashing into our small space, breathing heavily, his eyes wild.

“Ugh! What the hell, Ella!”

He puts his hand up to block me from his view.

“Chris! I have been calling for you!”

His voice is gruff, angry.

Another, quieter sound of someone in the woods and the girl who was standing with Ralph outside the building where Chris was, comes stumbling to a stop just behind him, clutching at her side.

She throws me an apologetic glance and tugs on Ralph’s shirt.

He frowns at her then lowers his head towards her so that she can whisper in his ear.

Who is this?

Alpha Ralph seems to listen to her though, before standing back up and looking pointedly at Beta Chris.

“I need you to come with me.”

Beta Chris gives a brief nod, then turns without so much as a glance at me.

He and Ralph disappear through the trees.

My body seems to sag a little the further Beta Chris gets.

Wait, don’t leave!

Ugh.

Damn it Ralph.

My little brother always did have the worst timing.

I notice that the stranger who followed him here stayed behind. She gives me a kind smile and then walks over to a tree and peeps into a bush.

She pulls out a giant t-shirt.

“Here you go.”

I take it from her with a mumbled thanks and pull it over my head.

“So…Beta Chris, huh?"

Her lips are pursed, eyes wide, as she nods.

“It seems so. I take it he is not entirely super well liked around here, judging by my brother's reaction.”

She shrugs.

“I just got here, so I couldn’t really say. But Alpha Ralph seems…um…”

I roll my eyes.

“Well, he can be a little overly protective. Kind of ridiculous really. I'm the older one.”

She gives a timid grin, as if she really doesn't know how to respond to that. Probably a little shocked at how I am talking about her Alpha too.

I laugh and hold out my hand.

“But also kind of sweet, I guess. I’m Ella. The big sister.”

“Nice to meet you, Ella. I'm A-, uh...Tess.”

Her cheeks turn a faint pink.

Weird.

But I shrug it off as we both turn in the direction of the packhouse and start making our way back through the woods.

I wonder where they went off to.

Will Chris come looking for me again?

It's like butterflies explode inside of my belly when I think about him following me into the woods.

That's gotta be a good sign!

He came after me!

And he wasn't pulling away when I was moving closer to him.

What would have happened if we hadn’t been interrupted?

Would we have kissed?

My body tingles at the thought, my toes curling in excitement even as I walk.

Or maybe even more?

Oh god…

Crossing my arms over my chest to hide my suddenly obvious arousal, I cough and try to take my mind off my new mate.

“So, congrats. On finding your mate.”

“What, oh, um, thanks.”

Not sure if congrats are in order just yet.

He might not want me.

He didn’t exactly scoop me up in his arms in excitement.

At least not in the beginning, but he did come after me...

Change of topic.

I need to think of something else.

I glance down at the woman beside me.

She doesn’t have a scent.

And she is super short.

“Are you…a werewolf?”

“Yep.”

She looks down as she steps over a large, sharp looking rock and I wonder if it was the same one that I tripped on earlier.

“You don’t have a scent.”

“Oh, that. Yeah, I use a special potion…”

“Wist?”

“Um, yeah. That’s it.”

I study her profile, my curiosity growing.

She avoids looking back at me.

What is she doing walking around the pack wearing wist for?

“Why are you wearing it?”

Another thought hits me.

“Wait, does Ralph have some here?”

Oh, this is wonderful!

I can continue my research that ended so abruptly back at the academy.

“Um, no, not exactly.”

She twirls her finger around her ponytail.

“I am just passing through for a few days and I am using it while I am here.”

“What? Why?”

She tugs on a low hanging branch and tears off a leaf as we pass.

“Uh, just so, you know. Anonymity.”

I laugh.

“What, are you on the run or something?”

She looks up at me and accidentally walks face first into a flimsy branch that she hastily swats away.

“No. I just, like my privacy.”

Interesting.

“Wist is super rare to come by. I was researching it back at the academy before…well, before I came here.”

“That’s neat. So, you are a healer?”

“Yep.”

“That’s exciting.”

“Oh yeah. I am looking forward to finally being in a pack. It’s been a long time. What pack are you from then?”

“I’m not.”

Her voice is kind of tense and I decide to drop it.

“So, you are just here for a few days? You seem to be pretty close to my brother.”

“We just met. He asked me to help train the new pack members who used to be rogues, that’s it.”

“Oh. Bummer. I was hoping that he had finally found his mate, especially after what happened.”

“What do you mean, what happened?”

Whoops.

Maybe that isn’t my story to tell?

Tess looks eagerly up at me, apparently very interested.

Who is this woman?

Who is she to Ralph?

“Nothing really. Here’s the packhouse. I am staying on the main floor in the back. I am going to go through this door...”

She follows me.

“It sounded like something.”

“Huh?”

“Alpha Ralph…you said something happened.”

“It’s really nothing. This is me.”

I point at the door behind me and glance a few feet down at Beta Chris’s door.

Convenient that we are so close.

Will he come to my room later?

The door behind me opens and Ralph is standing there with my duffle bag over his shoulder and, as I watch, he picks up both suitcases from the floor beside him.

“What are you doing?”

“Moving you.”

“What?”

“I don’t think you’ll really like this room.”

I laugh.

“It’s fine! Don’t be ridiculous.”

He shakes his head and pushes past me.

“There’s a problem with the room, we have to move you upstairs.”

Shaking my head, I grab his arm.

“No there isn’t! You are being silly, it’s fine-”

He turns his head to scowl at me and I quickly remove my hand.

For the first time, he doesn’t seem like my carefree, fun, and loving little brother, but an Alpha. A real, and very intense, Alpha.

My Alpha.

I nod.

I told him that I would respect him as my Alpha.

“Okay. If you say so.”

"I do."

He makes his way down the hall and Tess and I share a look.

Clearly, my little brother has an issue with me mating to his Beta.

But the thing that I really want to know is, does his Beta have an issue with mating to me?