Page 18 of Wolf Traded
“What the hell was that?” Angela asks as I step outside into the brisk night air.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I shrug and shoulder passed her.
“You scared the life out of half the pack when you came storming into the pack lands with a woman thrown over your shoulder.” She lifts a skeptical brow in question.
“Good. If I scared them then that means they will stay away from her until we are mated and I bring her before them as their alpha female.” I keep walking needing to get to the forest for a run and refusing to be yelled at by my beta for something my wolf wouldn’t have let me stop even if I wanted to.
“Alpha, what is going on? Did she agree to be alpha female? Why did you carry her home over your shoulder?” She shakes her head but I have little patience for her questioning me.
“She agreed but her mother was trying to convince her to change her mind because of the rumors about what happened to Elise.” I shake my head at the very idea. That girl had been seriously troubled and I’d hoped I could bring her out of her misery. Things didn’t happen the way I had hoped. “I panicked and threw her over my shoulder and ran here. She will be safe on pack lands. My wolf will allow nothing less.”
“Are you sure it’s the animal and not the man?” She rolls her brown eyes. She’s lucky no other pack members are near. She knows better than to challenge my decisions.
“It may be both, but my wolf will expect no other outcome. She will be mine and no male from this pack nor any other alpha will see her before I claim her. She agreed to be mine and I will make her mine tomorrow night. Make sure she has everything she needs. I’m going for a run.”
“You locked her in your rooms then?” She looks disgusted with me but I nod with a shrug. I will keep her safe as I see fit and no one will tell me otherwise. I won’t be able to keep her safe forever. The man knows this because she is too strong. The wolf refuses to listen. He will be restless until she is ours. “You realize locking her up is a bad idea, right?”
“Probably but for now it’s the only thing my wolf will allow. So, you help her and stop questioning my decisions and do what I say.” I growl, my wolf close to the surface.
Angela throws her hands up in the air probably in exasperation as she storms away. Huffing out a breath I walk into the woods to shift. I need to run. Her scent is still lingering on me and I don’t trust my wolf not to claim her before she has a chance to process everything happening.
Stripping down I hang my clothes from a nearby tree and let the shift wash over me. Bones shift and move cracking and reforming quickly until I am on all fours in my giant black wolf form.
The scents of my forest and pack overwhelm my senses but still peace fills me. I didn’t realize how stressed I was feeling while in Grayson’s pack lands. Being home and having my future mate close makes everything better.
Ignoring the scents of prey animals and the sounds of them scurrying in the underbrush, I make my way to the cliffs. I haven’t been out here in a long time, not since Elise. I take a deep breath of the fresh salty air as I look out over the ocean.
It was Elise’s favorite place once she was brought to our pack. I can’t think about what happened though. I know she wasn’t strong enough to be my alpha mate. I knew from the beginning but I didn’t care. Her death is my fault. I never should have chosen a weak mate just because she was beautiful and smart.
A mournful howl bubbles up out of me and echoes out over the sea. I won’t make that mistake again. Jara is the strongest female I have ever met. She will be mine. I won’t let her be anything less than the perfect alpha female.
A twig snaps behind me and I growl as I spin around my hackles raised. Rochelle steps out of the forest hands up as if in surrender. I wonder how the weak female was able to sneak up on me so easily. Was I really so deep in thought that I didn’t hear what was going on around me?
“I’m surprised you aren’t with your newmate.” She says the word mate with distain. I know the woman is jealous but can’t bring myself to care.
I wander over to my stash spot wondering if the sweatpants I left there the last time I was here are still there and huff out a relieved breath when I find them. I shift quickly and dress. We can only communicate when both of us are in wolf form and only because I am the alpha of the pack.
“What do you want, Rochelle?” I growl out angrily. She should know better than to disturb my peace.
“Why aren’t you with your new mate?” She repeats her earlier question.
Shaking my head, I turn my back on her to look at the night sky. It is a sign of disrespect but the woman doesn’t protest or make a sound. She knows better.
“I don’t answer to you, Rochelle or did you forget who the alpha is?” I bite out not even turning to look at her.
“No, alpha. You’re right. I just don’t understand why you have to go to other packs to find a mate when I’m here.” I can hear the pouting in her tone. My shoulders tense and my body turns ridged as a snarl escapes.
“You are not strong enough to lead a pack. You will never be strong enough. Go home, Rochelle. I will not have you challenging my decisions again.” I flick my gaze to hers and look away dismissively.
A strangled sound fills the night air before I hear her stomp through the trees away from me, finally. One bad thing about being alpha of such a large pack is the lack of peaceful moments. Everyone always wants something for me or has a problem that only I can assist with.
I walk over to the cliff’s edge and sit for a minute thinking about Jara alone in my bed and the scream of frustration I heard as I was leaving the pack house. Is she angry at the situation? She didn’t appear to want Grayson anymore since the rejection but she didn’t exactly seem to be happy with the idea of being my mate either.
Would anyone be happy with this situation? Surely not but I just wonder what this could have been like had she not been fated to Grayson. There had been something between us even if it was just a mutual attraction. Something doesn’t quite add up for me with this entire situation. Fated mates are rare in our world and Grayson shouldn’t have been able to give her up like that.
I’m not complaining. I got what I wanted. But, the whole situation just doesn’t make any sense and things I can’t explain are dangerous. Like how a woman who seemed to be acclimating for the pack one day and the next jumps off a cliff to her death to escape me and my brutal closed off nature. Elise’s suicide is one thing that has never seemed quite right. The note left behind explaining that she would rather be dead than mates to me had me angry and hurt though I couldn’t show it. I can never show my emotions.
Emotions are weakness. Are you weak or are you an alpha?
