Her Little Secret

Chapter One

Clara leaned on Jaxton's shoulder and sighed happily. "Are you ready for your Alpha Ceremony in a few weeks?" she asked, picking up the bowl of popcorn and tossing a few pieces of the fluffy, salty, white snack into her mouth.

Her friend shrugged as he snatched a few pieces of the snack for himself. His blue eyes twinkling with mischief, "Eh, it is what it is."

"But your dad is making you the Alpha, and you're still single," she pointed out. "Usually the Alpha doesn't move up until they have their mate, unless something catastrophic happens, and thank god that isn't the case."

Jaxton chuckled, "I think my dad is just ready to retire and go on that trip my mother has been on about."

The two laughed and returned their attention to the movie on the TV. A sappy romantic movie about some woman who got pregnant by mistake while on a one-night stand.

Clara shook her head, "I'm glad that'll never be me!" she said, pointing to the screen.

Jaxton looked down at his friend, "Oh, I don't know, I think you'd look cute pregnant." His eyes darkened slightly as he looked into Clara's eyes.

The young woman giggled, "No, I'm on the pill," she said simply, looking up at her friend and noticing the change in his demeanor, she swallowed. They'd always been close, and while she'd had a little crush on him for years, they'd never acted on it, because of his status and needing his true luna. He, on the other hand, had been sowing his wild oats since he turned eighteen.

He lifted her chin slightly and kissed her. She tasted good. Salty and sweet from the snacks during the movie. He deepened the kiss, plunging his tongue into her mouth.

After the initial shock of his lips on hers, she allowed him access, kissing him back while her hands wandered over his body. Quickly, they removed their clothes and explored each other's bodies and when his mouth wandered lower on her, she lost all her thoughts. Before she could warn him, he'd taken her virginity, plunging painfully into her delicate center. He paused, "Clara, I'm sorry, I didn't know," he stammered.

She smiled at him, "It's okay, please, don't stop," she whispered. If this was the only time they ever did this, she wanted all of him.

He grinned at her, "I couldn't if I wanted to," he leaned down and kissed her, "You feel so good."

When they finished, Clara got up and went to the bathroom. She cleaned herself up and sighed as she looked in the mirror, "So much for saving yourself for your mate," she whispered, only slightly ashamed of herself for not waiting until her true mate found her.

Jaxton was sitting up on the bed, waiting for Clara to come out of the bathroom. As she walked back into the room, he smiled at her. "Are you okay? I would have been gentler if I had known."

Clara nodded once, "Yeah, I'm fine." She picked up her shirt and pulled it over her head, covering herself back up. "Listen, Jax," she started by using his nickname, as she sat on the edge of the bed, "I don't think this should happen again."

He started to protest, but she held up a finger making him pause, "No," shaking her head, "You're my best friend, and I love you. But if this," she used the finger she had held up and waved it between the two of them, "Continues, one of us could become attached and when our true mate shows up we'll be hurt."

Jaxton shook his head, "Clara, I want to make you my chosen mate," he said.

Clara gave him a sad smile, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Please consider it?" He begged, "At least until my Alpha ceremony," he asked. "IF our true mates don't show up by then, will you accept me as a chosen one? After all, I'm twenty-two, and she still hasn't appeared in my life." His blue eyes pleaded with her warm brown ones.

Clara thought about it for a minute, "I'll think about it."

Jaxton's eyes lit up, and he pulled her into a tight hug, "Thank you," he said, kissing her on the cheek.

"You're welcome," she said softly, a worried feeling already settling into the pit of her stomach. "I have to leave now, though," she said, pulling herself away from her friend. "I promised my mom I'd help her with the twins' birthday party. And this is the third time they've changed their minds about the theme this week alone."

Jaxton laughed, "They're thirteen-year-old girls! What could they possibly want to change it to this time!"

"Well, Leslie wants it purple, and Layla wants it black," she let out an exhausted sigh, "Those two are polar opposites, and it's driving my mother crazy."

Jaxton thought for a minute as the movie they had been watching on the streaming service switched off and the recommended for you page showed up. "Don't they both like that?" he asked, pointing to the popular show that was a spin-off a Gothic family from the sixties.

Clara nodded, "Yeah, why?"

"Purple and black, duh," he said with a chuckle. "They can have the best of both worlds!"

Clara smiled at Jaxton, "And that's why you're gonna be a great alpha." She stood and made her way to the door, pausing before she opened it, "But, just because you're going to be the alpha doesn't mean you get out of balloon duty," she said wagging a finger at him teasingly. "You're the only one tall enough to help me."

He laughed as he watched his best friend leave. Once the door was shut, he grabbed the pillow that she'd been lying on and held it tightly, inhaling her delicious scent. He looked out the window at the dark sky outside and stared at the moon. "Why couldn't it have been her?" he asked the moon goddess sadly. "She's my best friend."

Clara paused outside the pack house door and looked up at the full moon, "Why did I let him do that? He's my friend." She let out her breath, "I just hope this doesn't change anything between us," she muttered to herself as she walked down the pathway to her parent's house.

Standing just outside the doorway, she could hear her sisters fighting over the theme, with one wanting purple and one wanting black. She opened the door, "Hey, enough you guys. How about this?" she asked, bringing up the suggestion Jaxton had given her.

"That's a great idea!" Layla said.

"Yeah, that's cool!" Leslie agreed. "And we can have a punch that smokes."

Clara was relieved that this had finally been decided, since their party was in ten days." You can thank Jaxton next time you see him."

The younger siblings grinned and winked, "OOHHH, Jaxton," they teased in unison.

Clara glared at her sisters, "There's nothing there," she said sharply.

"Tell that to the hickey on your neck," Layla teased.