The Rise of the Alpha

28

Without giving it much thought, I placed a hand on his knee and gave it a gentle squeeze, and as he placed his own hand over mine in return, I dared rest my head on the comfort of his shoulder. "Thank you, Jaden … for everything you did out there. For saving my life and getting me medical attention, and really, for just being in the right place at the right time. You'll never know how appreciated you are," I gushed with my whole heart, albeit I tried to keep my expression composed as I spoke. Don't ask me how, but I could somehow feel his beaming smile in response, and I'd be a liar if I were to say that it didn't evoke a certain type of emotion from deep within myself.

"You're very welcome," he replied softly, leaning his head in more so that it lightly brushed against mine…and just like that, we remained for a few more uninterrupted minutes.

Soon, Sarah came bounding back into the room, taking immediate notice of mine and Jaden's skin-to-skin contact. "Aww! Now, that's what I call a sweet and heartwarming sight!" she squawked, making me bury my once-again blushing face into my mate's shoulder. On that note, she proceeded into her kitchen to tend to her own business (or so that was my assumption), leaving my mate and me again to ourselves.

Once she was out of sight, I lifted my head from his shoulder and demanded his attention by touching my forefinger to his chin and turning it ever so gently to face me. "Alright, now, mate … a deal's a deal, like you said, so what's the story of you?" I said.

Fixating on me, he slightly repositioned on his cushion then took hold of my hand and clasped both of his it. "A deal is a deal, yes…," he muttered with a sigh, "it's just that I'm kind of, sort of still trying to process the 'rogues' part of your story. It's way too similar to my own."

The latter portion of his statement snatched both mine and Chloe's attention. "Similar? How so?" we demanded to know, unable to ignore the goosebumps that had begun to take over my skin.

Contrary to what I wished would have happened next, he kinda clammed up on me initially but soon claimed, "I don't mind sharing the details with you, Leila. Honestly. I'd just rather have this particular conversation elsewhere. Somewhere that's just you and me, y'know what I mean? There's a nice spot we can chill at down by the river. You interested?" With that, he stood up and brought my still-slightly-weak self with him.

Though we probably should have been at least a smidgen, Chloe and I weren't overly apprehensive to go with him, for he was our mate and he'd been nothing short of a total display of genuinity thus far. We felt we could trust him, so hand in hand, he and I left Sarah's house, then he led us through what appeared to be a settlement of sorts. There was no mammoth-sized structure resembling a packhouse in sight, and none of the upbeat folks we passed along the way possessed the tell-tale scents of high-ranking wolves. Wasn't there an Alpha or a Luna or a set of patrolmen somewhere around here? Why didn't these people smell alike?

While we strolled, I took notice of Jaden's actions, from the polite nodding at the passersby to the total vacancy in his facial expression here and there, the latter leading me to assume that he was more than likely responding to mindlinks. It was easily decipherable because I, too, had caught myself doing that same 'blanking out' thing when I was linking someone. I guess it's something all of us werewolves do!

The people were busy roaming around doing this thing and setting up that one, preparing for a festival or an event or some sort of thing that's unique to them. Returning the friendly but curiosity-filled looks I was receiving with my lips zipped and locked into a smile, I continued at his side until we at last came upon the aforementioned river and parked ourselves beside it on a large, mossy patch beneath a beautiful Willow tree.

"So … commence," I commanded as I got comfortable, pairing it with a playful nudge to his ribs. "I'm all ears."

And ALL his, too, girl! exclaimed Chole in my mind. Whew!

You can hush all the way up now, I brushed her off, rolling my eyes to the sky and back regardless of the fact that she couldn't be a witness to that sort of action. This ain't the time for that, sister, so calm it down a hair, will ya?

He didn't waste a second thereafter. "Well, for starters … what's with the necklace?" he asked point-blank, reaching out and touching the aforenamed item as he spoke. "You were as mad as a wet hen over not knowing where that thing was." I clammed up as far as that was concerned; it was time to talk about him, not about my necklace! Taking the hint, he mouthed an 'okay' then cleared his throat and continued, "Well, to pick up where we left off earlier, I said 'similar' in the sense that a rogue attack is what eventually ripped apart my former pack." The statement took me back to a few minutes ago and the lack of a packhouse in sight as we maneuvered our way through the crowd.

Hmm, Chloe mumbled with intrigue. How coincidental is that?!

"You said 'former pack', too, so I'm assuming this land isn't territorial," I stated in addition to my wolf's pondering, taking note of Jaden's single nod in response to my statement. "Why, though? What happened to your pack? You and that Sarah woman smell like you belong to the same one, so what you said isn't making much sense to me. What am I missing here?"

He took a moment to reposition himself. "Well, you're right. Sarah and I do come from the same pack. Rushing Meadows was the name, and our elders put down their roots on a small chunk of land called Astonia," he began to explain. "See, several years back, our little pack fell victim to a rogue a.ttack which ended up k.illing our Alpha and Luna and the other higher ranks, along with a few of their mates. It was pure tragedy, but what made it worse was my dad lost his life that day as well."

"Oh, my God…," I mumbled into my hand, trying hard to conceal the shock I knew was plastered all over my face. I mean, I know I'd just met the man and all that jazz, but that was the last thing I'd expected to hear from him! Despite it being awful information to take in, however, I took comfort in the fact that we had that much in common.

He removed my hand in favor of interlacing his fingers with mine, then he lowered the j.oined pair to rest on his upper thigh. "Shocking. I know," he muttered, his thumb rubbing soothing, gentle circles over my knuckles; I didn't have to know him long or well to admit that he was, without a doubt, capable of comforting me! Honestly, as we talked and let each other in on what has made us who we are, the more natural it felt being in his presence! All of it was happening so fast, too, but I truly didn't want it to stop! Am I crazy?! "He'd tried to warn the others that the rogues were coming," he added, pairing it with a downcast shake of his head. "Unfortunately, they caught up to him and roughed him up a little then eventually hauled him to our Alpha's quarters where one of those b.astard rogues slit his throat in front of the Alpha and Luna as a prelude to what was to come. Dad wasn't even supposed to be all the way out there when those rogues showed up, either. He was supposed to be tending to the communal garden…"

"Your father was out there when the rogues showed up? What was he doing?" I inquired, comfortable enough in his proximity to be able to return the affection he was so freely giving me.

Maybe you should rethink that whole 'not worthy of a mate' thing, girl. Just sayin'! Chloe inserted her unsolicited two cents.

You obviously don't remember what I said to earlier, do ya? Something along the lines of, 'You can shut all the way up,', I snapped back, albeit in a genuinely playful manner as opposed to a bitchier one.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he interrupted mine and Chloe's back and forth, his features so suddenly filled with disgust that it nearly made Chloe's ears go flat in my mind. "It's literally so stupid and senseless…"

Meeting his warm, chestnut gaze, I leaned in the slightest bit closer to him and said in a lower, more seductive tone, "Try me." In all honesty, the switch from dismal to lustful was instantaneous, and the latter emotion overtook his features quickly and borderline humorously (to me, anyway). It didn't have quite the same effect on dear Chloe, though, for she was panting in awe of her mate, and if she were physically able to, she would have rolled up a magazine and smacked me over the head with it for being so easily amused. There was a certain, exciting type of tension between my mate and myself – no doubt at all about that!

"Berry picking," he eventually answered, his eyes portraying desire in spite of the topic of conversation being his father. "He was berry picking. Of all the things he was supposed to be doing that day, he chose to go berry picking!" His gaze then tore from me to look out upon the peaceful flow of the river. "Life's not f.ucking fair, Leila, but it is what you make it. Those are two things I've learned the hard way over the years."