The Rise of the Alpha

24

"You're dreaming," the clad figure said, "and now, I need you to wake up." Before I could even gain a decent grasp on the situation at hand, she disappeared in a poof then reappeared right in front of me, kneeling down to ground level; man, she looked absolutely sinful in that pure, innocent white! "Did you not hear what I just said to you?" she inquired in addition, her voice soft and sweet and oh so pleasing to my ears.

It wasn't until then that recognition hit me like a Louisville slugger to a tail light, and when it did, I could hardly believe what my eyes were witnessing. She was my mate! That beautiful girl whom I'd rescued from the unforgiving grips of that choppy water! Truthfully, I was lost in the rawness of her beauty…even if only for a temporary while. The way her hips had swayed with each step she'd taken, the musical sound of her voice as she spoke to me, the overall comfort I felt with her being so near – all of it s.creamed 'mate'!

"Boy, I know you hear me, now answer me!" she then scolded me, the c.omplete flip in her tone a bit unsettling.

Wait … that voice is a little TOO familiar…, I thought, confused. How the hell did this heavenly figure's angelic voice morph into a more familiar one at the drop of a hat?!

"Jaden, wake up!" the voice of Sarah suddenly commanded, albeit it was coming forth from the mouth of my kneeling angel. Either way, it had my full attention! "Boy, I know you heard me, now get your a.ss out'a that bed and check on your mate! She's waking up!" the figure scolded further with her hand outstretched, and the moment I took hold of it to pull myself up to a sitting position, the scenery around the angel and me morphed c.ompletely to that of Sarah's medical wing. "Jaden, really?" the angel snorted loud and clear, and it was then that the heavenly body of my mate transformed into the…um…not-so-heavenly-looking figure of Sarah.

"Huh? W-what?" is all I could muster amid the confusion, befuddled even in my dream state.

"Boy, I just told you that your mate is shaking uncontrollably! Didn't you hear me?" Sarah went on, which in turn seemed to slam my senses back into me, waking me and making me jump to my mate's side. Sarah had some insense burning, which she'd mentioned was to help bring my mate back to herself. "She's shaking like a leaf in the wind, trying to come to. You need to intercede."

"But, what can I do?" I asked. "This isn't exactly my area of expertise."

"You're her mate," she answered plainly, which was all I needed to comprehend.

Admittedly, what initially came to mind was to slip into bed beside her, wrap my arms around her, and hold her until the shaking ended…so, that's precisely what I did! Ever so carefully, I lowered myself and scooched in close to her (which, considering the size of the mattress, there wasn't exactly an abundance of wiggle room to begin with), then I put my arms around her body and held on tight, resolving to remain there until further notice.

Though still shaking, her body instantly began to calm. From over my shoulder, I glanced and realized that Sarah had taken a few steps back in what I assumed to be observation, smiling warmly when our eyes met for those few moments. "It's working," she mouthed, f.ollowing it up with a reiterating thumb stuck up in reassurance. Then, she crowded the doorway and said, "I'm gonna hit the hay again, but you just keep on doing what you're doing. She'll be fine, but either way, you know where I'll be should you need me." On that note, she excused herself from the room and went about her own business, leaving unwanted quiet in her wake.

Turning my attention back to my mate, I inhaled her faint scent deeply then exhaled it slowly and nuzzled her neck, breathing her in even more; I swear, the likes of that sweet, heavenly aroma had Xavier up on his haunches and was driving him absolutely mad with lust! Calm it down! We must be patient, I ordered sternly, sending him pouting into his corner of my mind.

"I promise, mate … I've got you and won't let anything happen to you. I'm here, and you're mine," I whispered to her, and then the most incredible thing happened – she smiled! Granted, it wasn't this huge, beaming, teeth-showing, billboard-worthy smile or anything, but rather a tiny, upward tug of the corners of her lips into the most perfect little expression To be a witness to it soothed my soul in a way that I've never felt before, and it helped to keep both my wolf and myself on the calmer side as the night dragged on. At certain points, the sheer quiet plus the fact that I was dog tired (no pun intended) had me dozing off, but any slight twitch from my mate had my eyes popping open and myself snapping back into the present; at other points, though, Xavier just wouldn't shut his yammering-a.ss mouth the hell up! Needless to say, the combination made for a rather interesting night.

*****

Several long, boring, sleepless hours later, the light of dawn began to stream through the curtain over the window, giving way to not only a brand-new day but also brand-new hope. The moment my ears registered Sarah leaving her room, I kissed my mate gently on her forehead then cautiously removed the covers from myself, then I climbed out of bed as stealthily as I could manage, dipping out of the room and into the main part of the house a few moments later.

"Good morning," Sarah acknowledged my presence with her back to me, filling up the coffee pot with water.

I returned her cheeriness with a warm greeting of my own then sat down at her table, waiting for her to j.oin me when she was ready to. After the liquid goodness finished brewing, she poured us a cup each then delivered them and took her seat, and we got carried quickly away in conversation about the night before. I was in the process of recounting the moment I saw my mate smile in her sleep when a loud THUD sounded from the room in which she was.

"What the hell?" I practically barked, locking eyes instantly with the concerned ones of Sarah.

It's mate! Xavier replied, and with that, I abandoned the table and ran to the door of the medical wing, stopping for a short moment to collect myself before I entered.