The Wanted Alpha

Chapter 2 - Games

Ethan

He finally found him, his mate.

Jude had wanted his fated mate for so long...damn I hoped Kevin, the wolf he'd been seeing casually for a few years, wasn't going to be crushed. My Beta hadn't had many flings and chose deliberately not to get too serious with anyone, for this very reason that was playing out in front of us. Jude had mentioned to me that Kevin had asked a couple of times about them taking each other as chosen mates and by the sounds of it, he had once been hesitantly considering it. I had voiced my concerns, I had been bitten painfully by a chosen bond, but my experiences wouldn't necessarily be his and I wanted my best friend to be happy. But now, by how he was looking at Christopher and vice versa, I was relieved he never went through with it as he would have missed out on his fated mate.

I realised now...if April hadn't gone along...their car would have never been attacked and my Beta and the coven leader would have never met. I wished the goddess would have devised another way for these two to meet that didn't involve risking my mate's life, but what was done was done and no-one had died; except for the bastards who now lay dead by the road.

The two men in front of us looked completely entranced by the other, not even remotely aware of any of us around them. What they needed was some privacy right now. As I was about to voice my thoughts, Maeryn spoke up first.

"I think it's time for bed, everyone...come on, move it" she urged, practically pushing the others up the stairs.

"Dang it...this was just getting good too" Janine said, obviously enthralled by the real life drama unfolding in front of her and disappointed to now miss out.

Jaime and Greer as well as the other two vampire males, tried to offer their congratulations but I doubted it even registered. April was already pulling me towards what I assumed would be our bedroom for the night, even though I was wanting to offer Jude my own congratulations and try and apologise for how I spoke to him.

'Don't you dare! He'll be there in the morning, you can talk to him then. Let him be with his mate right now' April mind-linked, as she pulled me from the room and down the hall. 

As I closed the door and turned to look at my mate, she was already sat on the bed, legs crossed with a stern and expectant look.

"Well? We're alone now."

...did she seriously want to fool around now? In a stranger's bed?

She must have noticed my darkening eyes and excited smirk creeping on my face as she narrowed her eyes at me.

"You really do have a one track mind don't you?" she sighed, exasperatedly "outside? With Greer?"

Oh...that.

I sighed, sitting next to her. Though I still felt a little on edge, my senses were back and I was heavily regretting my day's rampage. But, had April been kidnapped for real, it was somewhat comforting to know that I would have been able to track her down quickly. I told her everything I had learned just before feeling her come under attack and the messages on the phones I had taken from her assailants. 

That was still bothering me. 

The only people who knew she was going and where were with her at the time. And from what I had been told, Jaime and Janine had defended her vigorously. Why would they betray her, to then protect her so aggressively from the people they had sold her out to? Maybe Monkshood Moon just had eyes on her from outside our borders? I knew I was missing something here, a vital part that once in place would make sense. I just hoped I could discover it myself before it was too late.

"Ok, I suppose I can see your point now. At least you didn't actually take his head off. You find anything else on the phones?" My mate asked as she rested her chin on my shoulder, peering over at them in my hands.

"No, they're just burner phones. No numbers stored, no personal details, just one unknown number. I have software at home that can give me a location on where these were used, bought and hopefully who this number is...but I think we both have a good idea who it is" that whole attack reeked of Monkshood Moon.

She nodded, with her chin still on my shoulder and placed a small kiss on the side of my neck.

"I should've gotten you some soup. You gotta be hungry?" she asked, concern laced in her voice.

Goddess, this woman was too good for me.

"I'm fine. I don't think I could eat anyway, I'm still a little edgy. You should get some sleep, I've got my team that'll be showing up in a few hours so I'm waiting up for them."

I sat back against the headboard and pulled her to lay on top of me. It was only a single bed, so it was the only way I could hold her as she drifted off to sleep. I stroked her hair, listening out for when her breathing and heartbeat slowed. Slowly slipping her off my lap and making sure she was covered by the blanket, I sat in the chair opposite watching over her and waiting for the mind-link from my team. I quickly searched online to see if the human town down the road had a diner or something we could order breakfast from in the morning. If my pack didn't get some meat come morning I may just have a riot on my hands and lucky for me, there was. 

At almost 1am, I finally received the mind-link they had arrived. Meeting them outside, they handed me a stack of more appropriate clothing and boots. The nine warriors had come in three large vehicles so with any luck we would be able to fit everyone in tomorrow, provided they actually wanted to leave in the morning. I gave the team a run down of what had happened, each seemed intrigued and accepting of having not only wiccans but vampires in our pack. They would have to rough it a little over night, sleeping on the floor of the sitting room and taking shifts to guard the house. I had thought about stationing them outside, patrolling the area but I didn't want to advertise werewolves were around. I took the first shift so the others could sleep, though the first shift turned to all night as I didn't have the heart to wake anyone; they had worked without rest, so they deserved this small moment. 

I returned back to April as the sun started to peek over the horizon a little after 7am. She stirred as I entered, gifting me that wonderful sleepy smile and half hooded eyes. My wolf shuddered in delight at seeing our mate looking so tempting, but there was never a time she wasn't to my wolf or myself for that matter. 

"Ethan? You look terrible, haven't you slept?" she asked in concern.

I chuckled softly "good morning to you too, sweet" I whispered, as I kissed her softly.

I knew she had a point. I had been awake for almost 24 hours and most of that was spent being out of my mind in panic for her.

"You know what I mean! Come on, take the bed. Try and get at least a couple of hours" she tried to pull me to the bed to take her place and though I wanted to wrap myself in her scent there was a lot to organise this morning. The first being to feed 22 adults, 15 of which were wolves, and 4 children.

I insisted I was fine and proceeded to phone the diner I had found with the huge order, promising a hefty tip for the trouble and sent the payment through on my phone. We ventured out into the sitting room hand in hand as my pack were starting to wake and the others had started to descend the stairs. The four children seemed quite excited by all the new faces and immediately started to pull out small pots of little plants to play with and show off their powers to my warriors, much to their amazement. Many of us knew what earth wiccans could do, but it was something else to actually witness it. The small sprouts moved slightly to the movements of the children with little shoots appearing on their tips, they were so young and already their powers held such influence to encourage new growth. My pack were enthralled by the sight, showering the kids with praise and attention. The children took an immediate liking to April; like them she had lost everything at a young age, it was as though they felt a strong, innate kinship to her. The three young wiccan women who had looked a little apprehensive at first, seeing the children so close to wolves, were now beaming. I hoped what they were seeing, how welcoming my pack could be, solidified their decision to come with us.

Jude and his new mate, Christopher, were the last to join us, receiving a wave of teasing smiles and grins from the others. The coven leader, for a brief second, looked a little embarrassed having all eyes on him but he covered it quickly. I noticed their hands were joined and fingers laced, so they were in no way hiding their bond, they really had accepted each other.

"What? You guys never seen mates before? Wind it in troops" Jude said trying to get the focus off of his mate. 

The others laughed a little before their attention was captured by the children again.

"I see we have quite the crowd to feed this morning" Chris spoke looking a little disquieted at the many mouths there were to feed, but softened as he saw Jude sit, playing animatedly with the kids.

"It's already sorted, I put an order in a while ago. And don't worry, I made sure to ask for stuff you guys can eat. I got you banana and oatmeal pancakes, and maple and soy waffles. It should actually be ready for pick up" I said looking at the time on my phone.

He looked momentarily surprised but thanked me for my gesture; these people had saved my mate, pack and had sheltered us all over night, ensuring they ate well was the least I could do. I sent a couple of the warriors to go pick the order up, while Juniper and Acacia insisted on making some tea for everyone. While they waited Jude asked the kids if they wanted to go out and play in the snow with his wolf, as they hurtled upstairs to get bundled up I took the opportunity to walk outside with him alone so we could talk.

"Jude, about yesterday, I'm real sorry what I said" I sighed "don't even try and brush it off, I was pretty shitty to you."

He gave me a warm, half smile "honestly, don't worry. I know you weren't exactly yourself...and you were kinda right, shitty yeah, but right. It hasn't even been 10 hours and if anything happened to Kit I think I'd shit a brick, so I do get it now."

His face actually scrunched in pain, as though just the thought was about to destroy his whole world. The mate bond had him well and truly under its spell and it appeared they already had pet names for each other.

"So, we're cool?" I asked, uncertain.

"Shit, after everything, do you seriously think a moment of insanity is gonna come between us?" he said with a huge grin, pulling me in for a hug and pressing his forehead to mine briefly.

"Oh and you're definitely suspended from your Beta role for a while" I said with a grin, slapping him on his back as he looked at me in confused horror.

"How else are you gonna spend as much time as possible with your mate and getting him and his people settled in the pack?"

He broke out in a huge smile, hugging me again and almost lifting me off the ground.

"After everything you've done for the pack and me, it's the least you deserve."

As he stripped out of his clothes to shift I let him know there were clean ones inside, he couldn't really go back to wearing these with his dried blood all over them. The children came running out with Christopher eager to play with the wolf, so I decided to leave the group alone, smiling at how Chris seemed entranced by Jace, my Beta's wolf.

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After breakfast, with my pack happy on the copious amount of bacon they had to eat and the wiccans and vampires ready to come to our pack, we divided ourselves into the vehicles to head out. It hadn't taken them long to gather their possessions, the home and furniture had belonged to a human family in the town that had rented it out to the group. My warriors all managed to fit in one SUV, with one of them offering to drive the wiccans, children and Cowyn that wanted to ride with his soulmate. 

"Let me drive, Alpha. No offense, but you look like shit and like you're about to pass out" Greer bluntly offered.

I chuckled at his words "I guess I could use a little shut eye."

April dragged me to the very back where I could stretch out, pulling my head onto her lap and stroking her fingers through my hair. 

My wolf's eyes almost rolled in the back of his head with contentment 'goddess, she's glorious' and I hummed in agreement as my eyes drifted closed, loving the tingles from our bond.

Chapter 38 - The Wanted Alpha