The Rise of the Alpha

23

(Jaden's POV)

**in his house that night**

I'd yet to hear a word from Sarah in regards to my sleeping mate. I trusted the woman, though, and in her abilities even more so. Deciding to call it a night, I freshened up in my bathroom then linked Sarah to see if she'd let me sleep by my mate's side again. To my expectation, she gave me the green light, so I eagerly booked it over to her place to check up on my girl. Sarah met me at the door and ushered me inside then handed over the wadded-up bedding (including the blanket and pillow I'd left) and excused herself from my presence, leaving me to make my pallet and pour myself into it. Xavier and I conversed a bit as I laid there, yacking of our nameless mate and sharing our hopes that she would want to stick around after she awoke. Internally, I had to laugh at the whole thing; there I was making plans for my future with a woman whom I didn't know the most basic information about and might or might not stick around!

At the pace of an overtired sloth, the thought-filled minutes dragged by, and as they turned into an hour, I grew more and more restless. I even linked Mom with the intention of bugging her for a while, only she didn't reply because, in all likelihood, she was fast asleep. Grumbling under my breath, I decided to climb out of bed and make myself a cup of herbal tea, figuring I'd just sip myself back to bed versus stay up the rest of the night the way a nocturnal owl would.

Clutching the handle of the full mug in one hand and an old, shabby blanket in the other, I made my way carefully outside and created for myself a hang-out spot in the soft grass not too far from Sarah's front door. This wasn't the first time I'd done something like this; in fact, this is what I did any time my mind insisted on yammering instead of shutting down for the night.

With my spot set up, I took my place and sipped away, watching the night sky aglow with a canopy of infinite, twinkling stars which, more often than not, typically offered me a sense of comfort. Many years ago, my father had told me that if ever I found myself living life without him and his guidance, all I had to do was look up at the sky and he'd be there. All the greats who have gone before us are still within our reach, if only we look up, he once said, his face turned to the beaming rays of the warm, spring sun. Well, life's taught me to do just that, my man, hence the reason I'm up and sipping tea outside right now. If only he were physically here with me, though…

***

After a lengthy stretch of time had passed (and with the tea finally taking full effect), I rose to my feet and gathered my belongings then bid the celestial bodies a good night and headed back inside, yawning as I tossed the old blanket onto the back of the nearest couch cushion. Then, I trudged back into the medical wing and crawled back into my makeshift bed, pulling the cover up to my chin and closing my eyes to focus on trying to fall asleep. Against my intentions, I let my mind wander to the utter mystery that was my mate, and in no time at all, I was down for the count, sleeping like a rock until well into the next day.

*****

That day and the f.ollowing one seemed to pass at the pace of an overworked tortoise, considering my mate was still konked the hell out had no changes in her progress. By then, news of the happenings both before and in Sarah's abode had definitely spread, and after getting the third degree from my best friend, Will, about it all, we decided to pass the hours together and chat of all things mate-related. See, Will had been away on a hunting trip with a few of the other men in the village when the peril at the lake had occurred, and like the brother I was never blessed with but had always wanted, he took it upon himself to keep me occupied until the minute struck when I could hold my mate in my arms at last.

We passed time chasing rabbits, exploring the dense woods, and talking each other's ears off about all of the possibilities of the future. Will was one of the lucky ones, having found his mate, Maddie, shortly after the both of them turned eighteen. He confessed his suspicions of the Moon Goddess having a hand in sending Maddie to him and said the same of her sending mine to me…and I kind of agreed with him; I mean, what were the odds that a Loner wolf like me would have the chance to meet his mate all the way out here in No Man's Land anyway? Slim to none, I'd say, apart from fate or some sort of divine intervention!

Once evening came around, we decided we'd let our wolves loose down at the calmest section of the peacefully-flowing river – our favorite hangout spot of all the tucked-away places we've deemed worthy of mucking around in. Discussing the future even further via mindlinks, we sat on the bank and watched the sparkling water gently flow, carrying downstream the stray leaves, broken limbs, bunches of pine straw, and whatever worries one could possibly toss into it. Will and I, both, have always loved the calm and serenity that bodies of water had to offer, so those kinds of places were where we spent lots of our time in general.

We remained there for a lengthy while longer, but once we reached the point that gathering thoughts and concocting ideas began to get old, we decided we'd head back to the village and turn in for the evening. Breezing through the foliage and leaping over downed branches, we ran until we reached the outskirts of the village and, from there, bid one another a good night and went our separate ways – he to his shared house with Maddie, and I back to my own. Since it wasn't too terribly late, I linked Mom and chatted with her for a spell, then I linked Sarah and asked the same ol' question I'd asked the previous two nights – may I please come and stay with my mate?

Though she was already comfortable in bed, she granted my request, so I zipped over there and let myself in then climbed yet again into my makeshift pallet and, to my surprise, drifted off with little effort soon thereafter. My everything was exhausted, and the speed at which I succumbed to sleep reflected such!

Precisely as I had expected it to do while I slept, my mind wandered back to the other night and played over those horrific scenes in vivid, specific detail. It desperately wanted answers and explanations, and it was no stretch to admit that my wolf and I equally longed for our mate to finally be able to feel the same connection to us as we did to her. My mind, my body, my soul – all of it already wanted and needed her and craved her, and to be honest, it frightened me in a way that I've never been scared before…for aside from my mom and a select few others, I've finally got something in life worth losing…and I technically don't even have her yet because I still don't yet know how she's gonna react to finding out she's mated to me, let alone what her name is!

***

The dream was wild and insanely intense! Instead of my mate being the poor soul who'd gone over the edge of that terrifying cliff, it was I who went over – arms flailing like a mad man and all! I crashed hard into the water beneath me! I got tossed about by the choppy waves! I got smashed into that jagged rock face! I went under and struggled to gain my bearings! It was my vision which grew more and more blurry until it met the blackness of unconsciousness! Hell, it's like I could feel every ounce of fear that my mate felt as that very same scenario happened to her!

Just then, I saw two glowing, apparition-like figures approaching from far in the distance, then they appeared before me in an utter flash; like lightning striking from the heavens, they were mere inches away from me and stretching out what looked to be a hand. One began to speak, and at first, it was rather difficult to decipher what it was saying since it sounded muffled, much akin to the way the voice of a shouting person on the water's surface sounds from beneath it. As I grabbed hold of the smooth, feminine hand, a rough, masculine, authoritative voice came though, heard with such clarity that I was taken right back in time to my pack days and the Alpha I'd once had.

"Are you ready to wake up, Sweetie?" it asked, then the figure to which that voice belonged began to barely come into view beside the outstretched arm, looking at me in a manner which felt all too similar to the way my dad used to look at me – a total display of pride, confidence, and love.

A mumbled mess is about all I could muster in response; I had no idea why coherent speech escaped me in the moment, and the situation began to frustrate me…only I suddenly couldn't move, like I was frozen beneath the surface and ever so slowly sinking further into the depths of it.

"Sweetheart, we need you to wake up now, okay?" instructed the feminine voice, then as slowly as her companion's features had begun to show themselves, they and the voices started to fade into the far, blue distance. "Just relax, breathe deeply, and open up your eyes…," the both of them added, so with every ounce of might I could muster, I fought to do precisely that. Despite my desperate efforts, however, I went nowhere besides further and further down; even in Dreamland, I was more than just a tad concerned for my life! Just then…much like the flick of a light switch on a wall…I was whisked through the water at top speed and spit out upon the shoreline, soaked and cold and as n.aked as the day I was born.

"Are you awake now?" whispered an inviting, angelic voice a moment later, and as I opened my eyes to peep whom the lyrical sound belonged to, I was able to make out a mysterious but beautiful figure approaching me slowly, dressed from head to toe in most magnificent, beaming white.

"What the…," I cut my own self short, thoroughly confused as to what my eyes were beholding.