The Rise of the Alpha

27

The man didn't miss a beat. "Sure. I can do that. Let's start with the where, shall we?" he replied, then he led our way from the room we were in out into the open concept of the main part of the space. We were in someone's house – I could gather that much on my own. "The 'where' is you're currently in the living room of one of my good, older friends in a little village in Everly."

Everly…, murmured Chloe in thought.

Never heard of it before, I linked back, but at least we now know where in the world we are!

"Is it nice here?" I inquired, instantly feeling stupid for asking such a question, considering the treatment I'd received from two perfect strangers thus far.

"Oh, it's great!" he declared with a broadened smile. "Nice and peaceful and lush with greenery."

His response offered me that same, odd sense of comfort I'd received from his voice a bit earlier. "Now, the 'how long' and 'why'…," he continued, assisting me in taking a seat on the couch, then he plopped down beside me and threw an arm behind me to rest it on the furniture's back. "You've been here for a few days, and you ended up here because you were brought here."

"Well, that's incredibly vague," I scoffed him off, then quite literally out of nowhere, I experienced what felt like an intense, pulsating pain rattle my brain. "Ugh! Why does my head hurt all of a sudden?" I groaned, massaging my temples in attempt to alleviate the discomfort.

"Oh, that's just a side effect of the magic," chimed an older woman as she traipsed into the living room from a different one, her arms filled to capacity with a wadded bundle of dryer-fresh clothes.

"Umm … okay? And you are…?" I questioned in return, pairing it with an arched brow. I mean, I did recognize her voice from earlier, but still! I needed names!

"Oh, where are my manners? My goodness!" the woman scolded herself, then she held up a hand in a 'wait just a second' gesture and hurried into what appeared to be her bedroom, judging by the glimpses I'd caught of the floral-print bedspread and the floor-length mirror leaning against the furthest wall. Moments later, she rejoined us. "I'm Sarah Fontaine. No middle name. And your name is…?" she said, jutting out a hand for me to grab.

"Leila," I answered, giving her hand a delicate shake. Additionally, I adjusted my facial expression to a more neutral one; she was just so chipper and upbeat!

"Aww! That's such a lovely name!" she beamed in return. "And you're … how old are you?"

"Eighteen," I answered truthfully, locking gazes with the pretty, chestnut one of Jaden as I spoke. There was an excitement in his eyes that had Chloe going crazy in my mind, and I had to both beg and urge her to simmer her a.ss down for the time being.

I literally can't help it, Leila! she pouted in defense. He's got me drooling in here-

"Ah … young and beautiful," Sarah babbled on, interrupting Chloe's link, thank goodness! "Oh, what I'd give to be young again…"

"But you look it, though," I mentioned in response. She wasn't fooling me! Witches carry a similar scent, and we werewolves can usually smell it. She smells like a hybrid, though, and I bet she has an interesting story of her own to tell. I'm eager to know what it is, too, but that part can wait 'til later.

"True … but not without oodles of assistance," she informed me, winking as she ducked into her kitchen. When she reappeared, she was holding what looked to be a neatly-folded hand towel. "Here," she murmured as she offered the thing to me, "I believe you've been asking about this…".

With piqued curiosity, I accepted it then unfolded it in my lap, pouring out my praise and thanks upon the woman once I registered what was tucked away inside the folds. What greeted me in that mint-green towel was my missing necklace, and it was so sparkly clean that it looked practically brand new!

"I hope you don't mind the care I gave it, Honey. It was dreadfully filthy with salt and residue when you were brought to me," she mentioned kindly, smiling warmly at me while I clasped my precious jewelry back around my neck where it belonged. "Anyway, you two … I'm gonna step out now to give you some privacy, but it was lovely to officially meet you, Ms. Leila, and please don't hesitate to make yourself at home here in my home." With that, she hightailed it out the front door and closed it behind herself, leaving my mate and me alone on her comfortable couch.

The moment the click of the door sounded, Jaden's attention snapped to me, and he piped up. "Look, let's get one thing established real quick, alright?"

"I'm listening," I insisted, giving him my full, undivided attention.

"Okay…," he muttered a bit hesitantly, then he ever so slowly reached for my hand. "Can you feel that we're mates?" he asked, then after the shortest pause, he placed his hand atop mine and added, "I ask solely because I don't have first-hand knowledge of the after-effects of being in one of Sarah's comas."

The answer was crystal-clear to me, for his hand over mine gave me butterflies out the wazoo! "Well … it took me a minute at first because my wolf was still pretty out of it when I came to, but it didn't take us very long to put two and two together. Like, I could smell you above everything else when I woke up. Your scent is that strong to me. So, yeah. The answer's yes."

Pride and gratitude were, without a doubt, etched across his features. "And are you okay with having a mate?" he then inquired, giving my hand a gentle squeeze as he spoke.

Now, admittedly, I wasn't sure how to respond to that. Of course I was thrilled to have found my mate, especially if something as miniscule as a caress from him could get my heart pumping the way it has thus far…but did I deserve to have one after the nightmarish mess I'd created and left behind? That, I wasn't too sure of. "I … um … don't know if I'm deserving of one, if you wanna know the truth," I answered rather despondently. I mean, how would he receive the news of the line-up of events that'd led me over the edge of that cliff?

"What?! Why in the world not?" he f.ired right back, confusion both present in his voice and etched plainly across his features. "Everyone deserves a chance at that kind of love, y'know?"

Of course I knew; I'd seen that type of love displayed between my mother and father before, as well as all of the mated wolves in my pack! My fear is that when I tell him my story, he won't be singing quite the same tune as he currently is. "With all due respect, Jaden … you don't know me, you don't know a thing about me, and you definitely don't know my history," I leveled with him as I pulled my hand from his grip, then I moved myself a couch cushion over…only he f.ollowed suit without hesitation.

"Well, mate … we've got nothing but time, and I'd be honored to hear all about it if you'd let me in on it," he spoke with seemingly-pure intention, making Chloe's tail wag in response (albeit not overly enthusiastically).

"Honored? Really?" I asked, a bit confused yet undoubtedly intrigued by his choice in wording.

"Hell yeah, because I'd be learning things about my gorgeous mate," he replied, his everything oozing sincerity and enthusiasm and excitement.

That 'g' word had me blushing all over again, damn it! "Well … when you put it like that, it doesn't sound half bad … but, here's the thing…," I began to tell him, making eye contact with him despite the fact that my cheeks were beginning to become rosy. "If I open up to you like that, you'll have to tell me a little about yourself as well. Deal?" With that, I jutted my hand out for him to take hold of.

He jumped on the opportunity, accepting my outstretched hand and giving it a slightly-less-than-gentle shake. "Deal," he then agreed, his overall eagerness comforting me in an unexplainable yet thoroughly-welcomed way. I swear on everything that can be considered holy, sparks flew again the moment we touched, and the heated tingles that were consequently produced spread hastily throughout my body. The man literally heated me up from head to freakin' toe, and I knew that Chloe felt it as well, for she had yet to cease her over-the-moon purring in her corner of my mind. He'll be the one to help us heal from our past – that much I would put a wager on if I were the betting type!

For a few intense moments, our gazes stayed glued on each other, and though I couldn't speak for him, I could certainly attest that I got rather lost in the swirling depths of his beautiful orbs. They were freakin' gorgeous and easily portrayed his kind, caring nature, plus he made me feel unequivocally safe, just the way I had always imagined my mate would make me feel! Damn, I must be dreaming! "Okay…," I said at the end of a short, choppy sigh, then I repositioned myself in my seat to get a little more comfortable. "So … apart from waking, the last thing I can clearly recall is slipping and falling over the edge of a cliff…," I began to explain, then I spilled every minute detail in regards to the messed-up series of unfortunate events I'd undergone, starting with the better memories I had of growing up with friends and family and my most recent birthday gathering, and concluding with to the nightmarish ones of d.eath and pain and dire fleet. I mentioned being an alpha's daughter and rightful heir, too, which didn't seem to take him by surprise at all…and I assumed it was because he could already smell it. As I poured my heart out to him, the tears that had been slowly welling up in his eyes freed themselves and rolled slowly down his cheeks, an action that touched me all the way down to my soul! "Oh, please don't feel bad for me," I pleaded of him. "My life is what it just is now, and I'm not gonna sit around feeling sorry for myself. I miss my home and my pack, of course, but I'm gonna try my hardest to make the most of life going forward."

He shook his head in initial response. "No, you don't understand. I saw it happen! I watched you go over the edge, and I acted accordingly. I wasn't gonna let you d.ie out there! And it's not just that. I dreamed that I was in your place and saw everything. It was like … like … a divine glimpse or something," he explained, then he spent the next several minutes laying it all out for me to gain a clearer picture of, from witnessing my fall to toting me through the forest in order to save my life to sleeping on the floor beside the bed in which I'd woken up.

Much like he was by the end of hearing my own tale, I was moved to silent tears with every revelation as it had come forth. It was his hands that had pulled me from the water! It was he who had saved my mortal life! It's he whom I'll forever be grateful to, and it's he who is my future.