The Wanted Alpha

Chapter 20 - Darkness

Ethan

My pants were still a little uncomfortable and this whole cab felt far too warm. That kiss, how she had looked at me and that hot meadow scent of her arousal had Ezra and myself roaring with desire. This woman could get under my skin like no other, in ways I didn\'t even know were possible. How could someone with such a warm and pure soul like her be such a devilish tease? I had almost taken her right there, by the side of the road when she ground herself against me. And every time she gave me that look...that damn innocent, doe-eyed look I felt my mind going crazy.

I had planned on easing April into the rest of my past to not overwhelm her all in one go, but it hadn\'t worked out like that. I had shown this woman the darkest parts of myself and she hadn\'t turned away from me, well not yet at least.

We had resumed our journey after our unscheduled pitstop and we settled once again into a comfortable, if somewhat awkward at first, silence with just the radio gently playing in the background and the odd direction from my GPS. I was heading a slightly longer way to avoid wolf territories, I figured the less people knew we passed through the better. But as it was past 2pm we would need to stop for food, snacks wouldn\'t sustain us till we got home and we were already behind due to traffic. We had only just got on route 15 and we hadn\'t even hit New York yet, fuck this seemed longer driving back, but I could say the company this time was a significant improvement.

\'I didn\'t realise I bored you so much\' my wolf piped up.

\'You whined the whole 5 days driving up this way trying to track April down...you weren\'t boring, you were fucking annoying!\'

\'Like you were much better\' Ezra huffed before going back to link with his mate.

\"I don\'t know about you, but I could do with some food and a stop to stretch my legs. How about it, sweet?\" 

She looked a little sleepy but perked up at the mention of food.

Note to self, the route to this woman\'s heart was through her stomach.

\"Yeah, that sounds good. I think my legs are about to drop off, I\'ve never sat still for this long\" she smiled across from me.

\"All right, think you can find us somewhere?\" I doubt she would know how to use a smartphone, so I talked her through what to do. I couldn\'t really search as I drove.

She followed my instructions and up flashed several options. 

\"What about this one, Tavern On State?\"

\"If that\'s the one you want, sounds good to me.\"

We pulled up a few minutes later and strolled over, my hand automatically seeking out April\'s to hold. I noticed her pulling up her hood and glancing around, old habits die hard I guess. I squeezed her hand to instill some comfort.

\"Sorry, just in the habit of trying not to be noticed.\"

\"You wanna borrow a baseball cap and some shades?\" I joked, with a lopsided grin.

\"Are you making fun of me Mr. Alpha?\" she asked with a raised brow and a tiny smile.

\"Would never dream of it, sweet.\"

We were seated pretty quick but we definitely gained a few stares, looks like they didn\'t get many pack, or wolves in general, in here and with my size and build I may as well have \'werewolf\' tattooed on my forehead. The food, I was surprised, was actually pretty good and my mate had eaten a great portion of it too. I asked the staff if they could set us up with a stack of sandwiches to eat for later on and after a generous tip we were on our way again. 

I kept an eye out in the rear view mirror, making sure there were no familiar cars following us. I looked over to my mate seeing her curled up in her seat, using a blanket from the backseat rolled up as a pillow. Her natural ruby red lips were slightly parted, she looked so tranquil and calm. When was the last time she could simply rest like this in peace, undisturbed and free from fear? A warm sensation spread through my chest that she trusted me enough to watch over her and keep her safe while she slept. It wouldn\'t be long before we would be back home and I could make sure she slept soundly like this every night.

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I passed our borders just after 11pm, alerting Jude and Carrick that I was back. As it was late and April was in a deep sleep, I told them it wasn\'t necessary to greet us and that we\'d see them in the morning. So I was surprised to see Jude waiting out front of the pack house for us.

\'You really didn\'t need to wait\' I mind-linked.

\'I know, figured you might need a hand though.\'

\'You really didn\'t have anything better to do on Saturday night?\' I laughed through his mind.

\'Nah, I\'m officially off the guys in this pack. All dick, no brains. I swear, I\'d have a better conversation with a sack of flour.\'

I went round to April\'s side of the car and quietly opened her door, taking her out and carrying her bridal style with her head tucked against my chest. Jude grabbed the bags from the back seat to keep my hands free and helped with the doors. Up in my bedroom I laid her gently on my bed and turned to my Beta to take the bags from him.

\'Thanks for the help. Looks like you\'ll have to save your high pitched squeals till tomorrow when she\'s awake\' I grinned at him, slapping him on the back.

He laughed in my mind \'I\'ll try to contain myself\' he gave me a long, measured look \'it\'s good to have you back, Ethan.\'

\'I\'ve barely been gone a week.\'

\'More like 2 years\' with that he gave me a gentle smile and left.

I guess in the last couple of years I had been a bit of a shell of my former self. But the two days I had spent around my mate, I felt physically lighter, like a relief spread throughout my body. I felt as though I actually had something, someone, worth living for, worth doing my best for. I could sense her scent seeping into the room already, mixing with my own. Hers would be the first on my new bed that had been put in while I was away and it would be the only one I would ever want saturating the furnishings here. I walked over to her quietly, pulling off her boots and gently taking my coat off her body. I really needed to get her changed, but I didn\'t want to see her bare without her permission. 

Maybe I could nudge her awake just long enough to help her get changed without looking?

\"Hey, sweet, I need to get you changed. Come on, wake up\" I spoke softly, stroking her sides gently.

She stirred but whimpered at my touch, like it hurt. Was she injured? I had barely applied any pressure. I lifted up her sweater, swallowing, trying to ignore how alluring her soft, light tan skin looked, but also taking in with concern how much her ribs were showing too. There was a large bruise lingering on her left flank in a shade of greenish blue. It looked to have barely started healing, it must have happened when I chased her and she fell.

I felt a pang of guilt washed over me, I had hurt her again.

\"Stop\" I heard her voice quietly speak out.

I looked up from her injury to meet her hooded, sleepy eyes. 

\"It\'s just from when I fell, it was an accident. It would\'ve been worse if you hadn\'t caught me\" she reached out her hand to cup my face.

\"You wouldn\'t have fallen if I hadn\'t chased you.\"

\"I wouldn\'t be here with you if you hadn\'t. Stop overthinking and come sleep with me\" she pulled on the back of neck, pulling me down on top of her.

I braced myself on my forearms so I wouldn\'t crush her under my weight, feeling very aware of her body under mine again. I rolled us over, giving up on getting changed, and tucked my mate into my side where she curled up happily, snuggling into my chest. She had drifted off to sleep again within a second leaving me looking at that gentle, beautiful face. I tightened my arms around her, avoiding her bruise and let my eyes drift close and sleep overtake me.

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I woke up with a groan, the dim morning light streaming in. Damn, I forgot to close the curtains last night. I opened my eyes, feeling confused why the bed felt empty with my arms stretching out trying to seek my mate\'s warm body. I shot up looking around the bed and room but she was nowhere in sight, her scent was still fresh so she couldn\'t have been gone long. As I was about to call out to her mind-link, the bathroom door opened and out walked April with her hair and body wrapped in a towel. 

\"You ok? You look a little worried\" she asked, walking over to me.

I took her into my arms holding her close, trying to ignore the twitch in my pants knowing she was in nothing but a short towel revealing her ridiculously long legs.

\'Panic much?\' my wolf snickered.

\'You could have said something?!\'

\'She was barely 10 feet away, logic would have kicked in eventually...and if you don\'t mind, I was in the middle of linking my mate\' and with that he disappeared again.

\"Sorry I didn\'t wake you, you just looked really cute sleeping\" she smiled up at me, pecking me on my lips.

A small peck just wouldn\'t cut it. I grasped her cheek eagerly pressing my mouth back to hers, deepening our kiss. We both came up for air, a little dazed and breathless. 

\"Morning, sweet\" I whispered, as I nuzzled her face.

\"...Yeah\" she replied, still a little lightheaded.

Once she had her bearings again, she asked \"can I borrow some clothes? I can\'t stay in this all day\" she pulled back, clasping the top of the towel to prevent it from slipping.

What I would\'ve liked was to strip her of the towel altogether and keep her in this room all day, but that wasn\'t going to help her settle in the pack or keep the tent out of my pants that was quickly pitching again. I grabbed her a thin sweater and joggers, they\'d hang off of her but she\'d be coated in my scent and be covered enough to keep my mind out of the gutter...hopefully. I turned away while she quickly changed, fighting the temptation to peek. When I turned to face her again I realised that even though the clothes did indeed hang off of her, they did nothing to hide her subtle feminine curves or the swell of her breasts...or her erect nipples poking through the fabric.

Keep it together Ethan, I repeated to myself. She had barely been here five minutes.

\"...I\'m gonna go shower\" and I didn\'t miss the little grin as I turned either.

I quickly grabbed a change of clothes and practically ran to the bathroom. One very cold shower later, I felt calm enough to face her again. I was pretty certain she noticed my eyes swirling black and I knew she saw the bulge in my pants when her gaze flickered to my waist.

Dammit, this was going to be a test just being around her.

When I walked out she was standing by the bookcase holding a frame. It was a picture of me and my father, his arm around my shoulders. It was taken when I was 18 and had gone along with him to my first Alpha meeting. 

\"You really do look like him, he was a handsome guy\" she said as she flashed me a sly grin.

I chuckled, taking the photo from her and settling back on the shelf.

\"Should I be worried you have a thing for older guys now?\"

\"Only if they look like you\" she countered with a small laugh.

I pulled her towards me and settled my hands around her waist.

\"I was thinking that I should show you around the pack house and territory today. You were passed out when we got back last night\" I offered.

\"I\'d like that, but I\'m hoping this starts with breakfast first.\"

Food would definitely win this woman over.

\"I\'d never dream of depriving you from a meal\" I chuckled \"but before any of that, there was something that I wanted to do first. I don\'t want you wandering around the pack not being able to mind-link at a distance, just in case. Can I link you to the pack, make you a member?\"

I saw her eyes widened slightly, looking a little uncertain.

\"Not as Luna though, not if you\'re aren\'t ready yet. It\'s up to you\" I stroked her face, pushing a strand of her damp crimson hair behind her ear \"So what do you say? Can I join you to White Tree officially?\"

Chapter 21 - The Wanted Alpha