Chapter 16: Questions
Sophie
I wake slowly, warm and comfortable, with the scent of pine surrounding me. I love the scent of pine. It reminds me of the pine trees surrounding my home.
My hand moves over something hard. It’s not a rock, it’s….l frown, running my hands over the hard surface.
When I hear a man’s groan of pleasure I shoot up, or I try to. I realize I’m in the arms of a man and not just any man, Alpha Hunter. My mate.
“Let go of me! What are you doing?” I scream, pushing away from him and landing on my butt.
?” he says, shaking his head as if shaking the sleep e the mistake of looking down and I can see that much aroused.
“Oh no! No, no, no!” I yell, scooting away from him on my butt, ready to turn and shift into Hedda.
“Wait! Don’t go! I’m…” he jumps up, then looks down at his erection. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do about that. I was laying with you, you’re my mate, you were running your hands
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over my chest, and it felt so good…” He holds his arms out to the side, shrugging. “I’m a man, it’s not like I can hide it. I’m attracted to you, aroused by you. But I’m not going to hurt you. I would never force myself on you.”
“No, you’d just force your mark on me, and then force yourself on me,” I say, still scooting back.
“Look,” he says, putting his hands on his hips and as much as I don’t want to, I can’t help but appreciate how utterly
gorgeous this man is. He has thick, sandy blond hair, still mussed from sleeping. His body….I have to press my legs. together as I look over his body. There isn’t an ounce of fat on this man. I know from touching him a moment ago, that his muscles are solid and rock hard, and they cover his entire body. Every inch of him is muscular and powerful. Hedda begins purring and I quickly cut her off.
I see his nostrils flare. Dammit, he can smell my arousal. Well, arousal or no, I’m not going to let him mate me in front of goddess knows how many people.
ays again, this time crouching down. “If I was orce my mate mark on you, I could have done it at
point last night.”
“There’s no one here to witness it, what would be the point?”
He growls at that, and I watch his hands turn into fists. “No one will ever see you like that. I told you before. I’m a possessive man. I do not share. Ever. You are mine. You will
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only ever be mine. I refuse to mark and mate you in front of anyone. If you want to kiss me in public, or let me kiss you in public, fine. If you want to sit in my lap in public, I’d love that. But I will never parade you naked, never put you in any state of undress or partial undress where anyone can see you. You. Are. Mine,” he snarls the last part, standing again.
I scramble to my feet, not wanting to be at a disadvantage of being on my ass in front of this man. But, I have to admit, his words send shivers down my spine.
“Now, can we start by you telling me your name?” he asks.
I open my mouth, but he cuts me off. “You’re real name, this time.”
I shake my head at him.
“I already know you’re an Alpha. I can smell it. Hell, even asshole Owen could smell it.”
“No, he didn’t. He just realized that his Alpha command didn’t work on me,” I tell him.
He gives an exasperated look. “Good to know he’s as stupid as I thought,” he says, which makes me chuckle before I slap my hand over my mouth.
It’s too late, he heard it. When he looks back up at me, his eyes have gone soft.
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“If I had to guess, I’d go way, way out on a limb. Someone who I thought I would never see again,” he says, his voice so soft I have to strain to listen.
I feel a wave of jealousy flow through me. Who is this woman who he thought he’d never see again, the woman he obviously hopes to see again.
He looks at me with those grey eyes through his long lashes. Damn him and his long, sexy eyelashes.
“Who would you guess?” I ask, not sure I really want to know.
“Little Sophie Meyers.” My heart skips a beat at the way he says it. It’s as if he truly is desperate for me to be her.
“I’m not little anymore,” I say quietly.
ou’re not. I remember you being so happy, so excited night I met you,” he says with a soft smile on his face.
“Yeah, well, two years on my own, on the run, and a big dose of reality will wipe that right out of a girl,” I say sarcastically.
“I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you.” He says it so gently, with so much concern in his voice, that it brings tears to my eyes.
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I shrug, turn so I can wipe the stupid tears from my eyes.
“Where have you been all this time?” he asks me.
“I was hiding in a human town.”
“What happened, why did you leave that town?”
I shrug again. He gestures for me to sit, and I narrow my eyes at him. He puts his hand up in front of him and then slowly sits down. “Please,” he says, gesturing for me to sit with him.
‘Hedda?‘ I ask my wolf.
‘I like him.‘
‘Yes but can we trust that this isn’t a trap?‘
She pushes forward, looking at him. He never once looks away. ‘Yes, I think we can trust him. At least for now.‘
When I sit, he smiles, pleased with my decision.
“Tell me about what’s happened with you. Where did you go? Why did you leave?”
“First, I have a question for you,” I say, crossing my arms. The motion makes me realize that I’m just as naked as he is. It’s
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been a long time since I was naked like this in front of someone. I suddenly feel very self–conscious.
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I’m not sure what he sees on my face, but he puts his hands up again. “Give me one minute,” he says, jumping to his feet. He starts to turn and then turns back. “Don’t run. Please.”
I nod. I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard an Alpha say ‘please‘ as many times as Alpha Hunter has said it to me in the last 24 hours.
I hear some rustling nearby and he’s back in a few minutes. I‘ m shocked when he hands me branches with leaves and
shrubs on them.
“You look uncomfortable sitting here naked, so I thought you could use these to cover yourself. I got myself one too, so you
on’t have to see how excited I am to be talking to you,” he ays, giving me an embarrassed smile.
I stare at the branches for a moment, feeling my heart melting just a bit at his kindness.
“Thank you,” I say, covering myself. I feel better not being so exposed,
“You’re welcome. Now, you had a question for me. You can ask me anything,” he says, covering himself and settling in like we’re in an office or sitting room somewhere, catching up like old friends.
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I frown at him for a moment, trying to understand him. I can’t, so I decide I’ve got nothing to lose by asking him my question, or rather, questions.
“You said you remember that night, the night we met?” I ask.
“Yes, your sister’s 18th birthday party.”
“Yes,” I say, looking down at my hands. “Why….why did you hover around me that night? Why did you dance with me and only let certain people dance with me?”
“To protect you. I could tell instantly that you had no idea what was going to happen. It didn’t matter that Alpha Calvin is a good guy and I knew he’d do whatever he could to make the night easier for your sister. There are always some people, like Alpha Owen for example, who get out of hand. You were underage, but you were also quite naïve. I warned your father
out only letting you dance with a few of the Alphas that night, and we took turns dancing with you.”
He smiles, looking away for a moment. “I remember you loved dancing, and you were very good at it.”
I smile, blushing at the unexpected praise. “I remember thinking the same about you. You were a very good dancer. I enjoyed dancing with you that night.”
I looks at me, the smile lingering on his face. “Is that your only
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question for me?”
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I shake my head, not sure how to ask my next question.
“You want to know why I was watching you when your sister was being claimed?”
I look up into his eyes. “Yes.”
“I felt a pull to you that night. Shaw felt a pull to you, a need to protect you. I didn’t know it at the time, but it’s quite possible it was the early stages of the mate bond. We are both Alphas so it’s likely that I was feeling it early. I refuse to watch a woman be taken publicly like that. I don’t agree with it, and I have no desire to have a conversation with a woman who can‘ t meet my eyes because I saw her in a situation like that and now, she’s too embarrassed to even look at me, much less speak to me. I was outside that room, so I could give your sister what little privacy I could offer her. That’s the first reason.”
“And the second?” I ask.
“I was watching over you. I was making sure no one tried to sneak to your room while everyone was watching your sister’s claiming. I also helped your warrior get back to her room safely, but I came right back to make sure you were safe. It was not my place to tell you what would happen, but I could see on your face how horrified you were. I wasn’t surprised to hear that you had run the next morning.”
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I look down, thinking through everything that he’s said. It changes the entire perspective that I’ve had of him that night. I look back up at him, having one more burning question for
him.
“Ask,” he says gently.
“Why are you here?” I whisper.
“You’re my mate. I want you. I want my mark on your neck. I want to make love to you and bind you to me in all possible ways.”
“But not in public?” I clarify.
“No, I want to do it privately, just you and me.”
“What about your pack members who don’t believe in a private claiming? What about the other packs who will fight against me being named your Luna?”
“Any pack member who does not accept you as my mate and their Luna, will find themselves without a pack, at least until they find someone else to take them in. I will renounce myself as their Alpha.”
“You would do that?” I ask, shocked.
“Yes, absolutely.”
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“Why?”
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“Because you are my mate. Because I am your Alpha. I am meant to protect you, and love you, and care for you. And that is what I will do. No one will be above you in my life. No one. They may sound like pretty words,” he says, using my phrase, “but they are words that I mean. They are from my heart.”
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