Page 4 of The Alpha's Heart

That’s what happened to Bishop, Kendall tells me. The Luna told him that Sofia Russo of the River Run Pack was born to be his, and his immediate reaction was to call Kendall and ask my Alpha if I would take him as my intended.

An intended mate is just that: a promise is made between two souls, with the mate bond finalizing with a mating on the night of the full moon where a shifter both claims and marks their mate. If I agree, I’m telling this unknown Alpha that I’ll pledge myself to him without knowing little more than his name and the location of his pack.

His pack… which would become mine the moment I accept his proposition.

I don’t blame him for going through my Alpha. That’s what they do. As a new Alpha himself, Bishop can’t leave the Sylvan Pack to meet me in person. So he offered himself to me instead, and if I accept, I’ll go to him—and Kendall will be the one who brokered our mating.

Think arranged human marriages, only we already have Fate telling us that we’re meant for one another on our side.

I just… this is so unexpected. AnAlpha. I’m meant for anAlpha? If I’m sitting on the edge of the armchair, halfway ready to either bolt or show Kendall my throat because of his dominantaura, how would I react to an unknown Alpha who wants to fuck me? To bite me?

To claim me as his forever?

But to be handed my fated mate as easily as that, and for him to send for me instead of rejecting the promise of our bond the moment the Luna whispered my name to him? I’d be a fool to refuse.

Mate Bishop and I’ll never have to worry about overbearing males like Guy again. But mate Bishop and I’ll never return to River Run… to my students… to my colleagues… to my packmates… to Declan ever again.

I’ve grown tired of the way things have been lately. If only to myself, I can admit that. I’ve longed for a mate of my own, one thatIchose. So maybe Bishop Dupuis is choosing me first. He’s an Alpha. That’s how it goes.

But a mate still gets to choose, and from the way Kendall is focusing all of his attention on me as I sit quietly, he’s waiting for me to say something in answer. When I don’t, he asks, “What do you think?”

What do I think? I… I don’t know what to think. A fated mate. Deltas rarely find their mates. Especially for one like me, who’s never left pack territory before, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Only Alphas get gifted the names of theirs, and sometimes a Beta is lucky to get a hint, but unless we stumble upon our mates, how else could we meet?

And mine is an Alpha in Louisiana who is willing to make me his intended sight unseen.

Of course, that means that I don’t know anything about Bishop Dupsuis despite the fact that he’s a new Alpha, and that the Luna thinks he’s the one male in the whole world who is perfect for me.

The Luna is our goddess. The embodiment of the moon herself, she is the one all wolf shifters revere. A fated mate is agift from her and to reject that gift… well, you better have a good reason.

I swallow the nervous lump in my throat. “When do I have to decide?”

“Twenty-four hours,” Kendall answers. “The Luna just passed. If you agree, he expects to hold the Luna Ceremony the next time she rises. For you to join him in Louisiana and accept him as your mate before you finalize your bond, he wants you to agree or reject him by tomorrow afternoon.”

Twenty-four hours to make a decision that will affect the rest of my life…

That’s shifters for you.

I nod. “I’ll have an answer for him tomorrow.”

I know better than to expect Kendall to give his input on what I should do. If it had anything to do with my spot in River Run, he would. But this is different. This has to do with mates.

Mates get to choose, and this is one choice I’ll have to make for myself.

Rumors spread in a wolf pack.I know that better than most. Despite Kendall assuring me that he would keep the topic of our conversation to himself while I was thinking about choosing to become Bishop Dupuis’s mate, I’m not too surprised when a pair of familiar scents filter in through my window.

Anise.

Lemon.

Wonderful.

I’d expected Guy. If my best friend was still doing his best to distract the other wolf, that might explain why I pick up Declan’slemon scent coming closer. Either way, there’s no denying their approach when the mixing aromas grow stronger.

For a second, I think about ignoring it. Knowing that I’ll have to have this discussion sooner or later—and somewhat curious to see if it’s already gotten out that I’m an Alpha’s fated mate—I wait until I can sense two wolves running up to my door before I take a deep breath and open it.

Guy is in the lead. He’s not running, though that’s definitely a stalking motion as he quickly closes the gap between my porch and him. Declan catches my eye, rolling his when I refuse to leave my doorway. He jerks his thumb at Guy, as though saying, “I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Of course not. If the rumors are true, he probably thinks he just lost his best shot at a mate for now.

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