The Wanted Alpha

Chapter 1 - Werewolves

Christopher

By the time we had arrived at the house the Beta's broken bones appeared fully healed. During the journey, our two parties had learned a little of the other, why each of us were in the area and the wolves seemed much more relaxed around us now. Sparrow in particular had seemed much more at ease with the wolves too and even seemed to quite like the young she-wolf warrior sat next to her. It seemed to be fate that these people were from the very pack I had been trying to persuade the wiccans to seek shelter with. But, understandably, the idea of being around werewolves after such an attack they had bared witness to was a little terrifying for them. 

The most important detail I had learnt was this beautiful man's name...Jude.

 A perfect name for a perfect face.

I was relieved I had been sat at the side of their Luna, April. If I had been next to their exquisite Beta I doubt I would have been able to resist running my hands across his tempting skin, over his chiselled masculine features or through his soft chestnut curls and short beard. I was sure the naturally sweet woodland scent was emanating from him too, reminding me of the maple trees I fed from.

With their Luna safely in my arms and my Jude...THEIR BETA! Their Beta...carried carefully over Greer's shoulder, I led them up to the house with Maeryn in front to open the door for us.

Juniper, Acacia and the four little faces of the wiccan children looked up to us from where they were playing with plants in the sitting room.

"And what are you little saplings doing up? Come on, bedtime. Juniper and I will tell you stories tonight" Maeryn encouraged, trying to get the children out of the room so they wouldn't be scared by the werewolves.

But far from being scared, they seemed intrigued as they were being led upstairs, looking with great interest at the young woman in my arms and the people behind.

"Who's that? She's pretty" little Thyme asked from where she peered down on the steps.

"Yes, just like you" I smiled up at her "but you'll meet her in the morning, now go to bed or you won't get any stories."

Her little legs quickly ran up the rest of the steps.

"Oak, Alder, Bay! Come on boys, you too" Maeryn called, urging them to follow.

Acacia looked a little unnerved at our unexpected guests as she stood awkwardly by, unsure what to do.

"Could you make some of that herbal tea? These people have had quite the day. And I'm sure when these 2 wake up they'll be in some pain" I felt my heart constrict slightly at the idea of Jude being in any discomfort. Damn, this feeling was just growing stronger. 

The tea that these wiccans could make was quite something, any pain he would be in would be eased almost instantly. Their power seemed to amplify the healing properties of the herbs hugely, making it much more potent. 

She quickly scarpered off into the kitchen, while I motioned for the others to follow me so we could place down the Luna and Beta. Without thinking I instructed Greer to place Jude down in my bed while I placed the Luna down in Cowyn's.

I hadn't had a man in my bed for over a decade and now I had the most perfect one that the goddess ever created laid in it...this was becoming an increasingly dangerous game of temptation I was playing.

I sent the other three wolves upstairs to call the White Tree pack. This Alpha Ethan of theirs would have no doubt felt his Luna in trouble and would be beside himself wanting her back. The last thing we needed was an enraged Alpha on the loose, his only fixation would be his mate and he wouldn't exactly be open to reason.

I went through to the kitchen in desperate need of something to drink. Water would do but I could have done with something stronger. Acacia's tea was steeping, filling the room with its aromatic scent and I smiled seeing that someone had brought in my chokutō blade. I sighed deeply, the calming scents of the herbs were only reminding me that that man's sweet woodland scent was pervading through my bedroom. A dread had been growing within me, I knew without a doubt I wanted that man...but would he want me? Did he even like men in such a way? The anticipation of finding out whether he truly was my soulmate was gnawing away at my insides. My internal fretting was stifled by a shuddering of the entire home as though a wrecking ball had burst through the walls and by the angry voice coming from the sitting room, it would appear the enraged Alpha had found his Luna…

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With Alpha Ethan finally reunited with his mate and calmed, after a fashion, we recounted the day's events to him, as well as what led to us four vampires to be living with three young wiccan women and four children. He seemed to express genuine remorse for his earlier outburst and sympathy for our situation, even offering us a home within his pack. I had accepted it readily, then realised in my haste about Jude...if he wanted nothing to do with me this could become complicated, or awkward, or both...but living in a pack would give my coven the protection they needed and they were more important than my wants or needs.

My heart rate suddenly soared and I felt as though my very soul had an electrical current running through it...though I had never experienced it before, I knew what this sensation was; the beckoning, my soul's missing half calling out to me. 

He appeared clutching his side and holding onto the wall, clearly still sore from his healed broken bones. His deep ocean coloured eyes quickly scanned the room looking for their target, landing on me.

Jude

Fuck, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck and as my memories resurfaced I realised it was because I had. 

What the hell happened?

Wait...where the fuck am I?!

The scent of maple syrup clung to the air and the sheets I was laid on and had me wanting to cocoon myself inside them. I didn't know whose bed I was on but both my wolf and I wanted its owner, now. My wolf, Jace, was practically clawing at mind to find the source of this smell. That could only mean one thing. There was only one singular being in this world that could cause this reaction from my wolf...my mate.

My bones were screaming at me to sit back down, I must have broken something in the crash. I felt healed now, but the pain was still very much lingering. The whole left side of my arm and torso felt excruciating and my head was pounding, from the impact and from my wolf howling, urging us to find our mate. 

I couldn't work out this scent though. It wasn't from a wolf. What the hell was my mate? The maple syrup smell had an almost electric edge to it? None of this made any sense, but I wanted him nonetheless...shit, it had better be a man! The mate bond was known for throwing a curveball sometimes but I didn't care who or what my mate was, just as long as it was male.

I hauled myself to the door, clutching my side and used the wall to steady myself feeling a little weak from healing. I headed in the direction of the pull my wolf felt, following the mouthwatering scent of maple syrup but also picking up the scent of many others, including that of my pack. As I came to a sitting room I was vaguely aware of many others around, but I barely registered their presence. My attention was solely on the most glorious man I had ever laid eyes on as he rose, slowly, looking as equally transfixed as I was, with the same laboured breathing. His eyes were like liquid gold, warm but piercing. His hair looked like shining, spun silk, jet black with a blue hue hanging elegantly around his shoulders and half tied back giving a clear view of his face. Holy fuck, if perfection had a visual representation it would be his face. Refined but chiselled and masculine features coated in a hauntingly pale skin that shimmered with subtle moving colours. 

...He was a vampire.

I chanced a fleeting look at his body, appreciating his fine and toned physique. I noted the bright tattoos down his left arm, I would have to get a better look at them later, preferably when we were alone and I could trace every line with my fingers...or my lips, I wasn't particularly bothered which.

I returned my eyes to his, after my brief split-second ogling. My wolf seemed to snap out of his stupor as he urged me forward to claim our male.

"Mate" I spoke in a strained voice.

"...Yes...it would appear so" I wasn't expecting such a silken baritone voice from his lips, or the peculiar accent that I didn't quite recognise. Both simply added to his magnetism.

I took my first steps towards him, leaving the support of the wall that kept me up right. He moved towards me, faster than I could fully register, gripping my arms to hold me steady. I had heard how a mate's touch was supposed to feel but this felt different entirely, as though every nerve in my body was firing at once. And by the look on his face, he felt it too. He was even more breathtaking up close as I tilted my face up to him, he only stood a few inches taller than myself. I noticed his honey eyes shimmered like his skin, swirling subtly in various shades of gold. I was both painfully aware of the eyes on us but also not giving a damn to their presence.

"I think it's time for bed, everyone...come on, move it" I heard an unknown woman speak, trying to clear the room of onlookers.

"Dang it...this was just getting good too" I was fairly certain that was Janine.

I felt people move around us, some offering congratulations...I think...I wasn't paying attention to anything other than the man holding onto me.

"How are you feeling? Are you in much pain?" he asked with concern in his eyes. 

Ignoring his question, I slipped my hands up to his face, kissing him desperately as I wanted from the moment I recognised his scent as my mate. He stilled for a moment, before he responded in kind with his arms sliding around my back. I grasped the back of his neck, deepening our kiss as our tongues melded together in perfect sync. We only separated when breathing became necessary again, both of us parting, slightly breathless and leaning our foreheads against one another's. 

"...I'm not a wolf" he rushed out a little awkwardly, as though I needed telling.

I pulled my head back to look at him, a barely suppressed smile on my lips and a small laugh escaping me.

"Thanks for the heads up, I don't think I'd have worked that out" I couldn't contain my laughter any longer seeing his adorably awkward expression.

"You're a vampire, I know and I don't care...you're mine and I'm yours, that is if you'll have me?" I asked hesitantly, now realising that if he said 'no' I didn't know what I'd do.

He nodded and before he could speak I crashed my lips to his again, rougher this time and more insistent. His moan ignited so many sensations deep within me and had things twitching to life rapidly. He pulled away, blinking out of his daze as I tried to rein in my wolf, Jace. While this vampire didn't have a wolf for my own to link with, I could feel there was some part of him that Jace was connected to, something that he could communicate with in a way.

"You don't even know my name yet" he smiled and, goddess, I'd do anything for that smile.

"Minor details" I chuckled "but since you brought it up, what is it?"

"Christopher Dijkstra...but call me Kit" he said softly as his long fingers stroked my beard. 

So he was Dutch? That was pretty hot.

"Jude Sherwood" I replied.

He paused in thought for a moment "Sherwood? Like Robin Hood?" he smiled widely, showing his perfectly straight white teeth and those characteristic pointed canines.

"Yes! Finally, someone gets it!" I had said that joke for so long and no-one ever got it.

He laughed a little along with me before pulling me back to the bedroom I had been in, making my heart accelerate. 

"Would you like something to eat? You have to be hungry."

I nodded and he quickly left and came back with some soup and a mug of something aromatic.

"I'm afraid there's no meat. Prior to you wolves showing up, none of us ate it in this house" he said as he handed me the bowl.

"You waited till after I accepted you to let me know you're a vegetarian?"

Werewolves were staunch carnivores and though we'd eat our vegetables, there was no way we could live without meat.

He laughed a little, a sound I was quickly becoming addicted to "it's worse than that, I'm vegan."

Vegan?! Well shit, the things I did for love.

I narrowed my eyes playfully "as long as you don't think I'm following that lifestyle too, wolf men need their meat" I smirked as I started drinking down the thick soup.

I loved watching him swallow with difficulty as his eyes swept over my muscles. I may have been an average height for a wolf at 6'4 but I made up for it in my build, something I was now immensely proud of given that my mate very much liked what he saw. 

"So, if you don't mind telling me, what the hell exactly happened?"

As I ate, he told me everything that had happened after the SUV t-boned us, while sitting just across from me on a simple chair. It sounded as though I'd missed a hell of a fight and I would have given anything to see Kit in action. I still couldn't quite believe my mate was a deliriously handsome, sword wielding, vampire coven leader...I wasn't sure what I had done to be blessed with such a mate but I would praise the moon goddess till my death for giving me such a man as Christopher. 

I was still a little hungry after the soup, but incredibly grateful for it. We wolves tended to have a bottomless stomach and my mate had shared what little he had to take care of me, I couldn't help but find myself falling that little bit harder for him because of it.

He took the empty bowl from me and replaced it with the pleasant smelling mug.

"It's a herbal tea that the wiccans make themselves. It'll help with any pain but it's strong so sip it carefully" he instructed, while I looked at him sceptically.

I didn't exactly believe that some simple 'tea' brewed by anyone could magically relieve aches and pains instantly. And I was impatient to have my mate back in my arms again. So I downed the entire mug's contents in one go, feeling a rush of disorientation wash over me. But, I would admit, the aches I felt in my bones eased almost immediately.

"That's why I said 'sip', silly wolf" he smirked, playfully reprimanding me.

I had never involved myself with another dominant male before. Being the Beta, there hadn't really been any other man to truly challenge me like Kit. But I liked it. I growled, feeling a little excited by his natural authority and before he could move away I grasped his waist, pulling him down to straddle my lap on his bed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! I am a coven leader, not some wolf's lap dog! This is most undignified!" he exclaimed, clearly affronted. 

I doubted he had anyone challenge him in such a way either. From the growing bulge I felt above my own, I could tell it aroused him as much as myself.

I captured his lips before he could voice any more protests as my hands slipped up into his hair, loosening the tie that kept it tied back. I wanted to be able to run my fingers freely through his silk-like strands and appreciate their softness. 

"Can you imagine the scandal if anyone saw right now?" I whispered playfully against his skin as I kissed my way down his jaw to his neck. 

He inhaled deeply and suddenly when I reached a particular spot, the site where I would have marked him if he were a wolf. It was just further proof to me of how right we were together, how we were made for each other. As my teeth grazed the spot he groaned almost violently, grinding his hips against mine. He suddenly grasped my wrists, pushing me down to the bed and pinning my hands above my head. I could easily overpower him, but I was intrigued as to what game he wanted to play. He looked pissed, except that the subtle pink to his cheeks and his now glowing gold eyes told me he was anything but. 

"Calm yourself, wolf! There are children upstairs and these walls are quite thin. There will be no games tonight" he spoke with authority. Or at least he tried to.

I smirked up at him, loving the midnight curtain his hair created, encasing us in our own world. But also confused by how he said 'games'...could he hear my thoughts?

He spoke before I could ask "yes. I can practically feel your thoughts already" he glared down at me.

"So if I behave like a good boy, does that mean I'll get some belly rubs?" my wolf growled in my mind in genuine elation at the idea.

"Goddess, you werewolves are impossible!" he exclaimed while trying to climb off of me, but I locked my legs around his waist pulling him back down on top of me.

"Sleep beside me, tonight. Nothing funny, just sleep by me, please?"

"...Well I need to change first. That is, if a certain someone lets me up first?" he challenged.

"You know wolves, you know how we sleep. You can change right here" I challenged right back, with a grin. We liked to sleep as nature intended, bare.

"That is certainly not happening, because I know how little restraint you pups have!" he bit back.

"Pup? I'm a grown man, sweetheart."

"Compared to me, you are a pup. I'm over 100 years old" he said, looking quite smug.

I was a little shocked he was such an age, I knew vampires aged slowly and lived longer than my own species. No wonder he spoke like my grandpa, he was older than even him! But it was a bizarre concept to wrap my head around as Kit looked younger than myself. I guess eating all those plants gave him great skin?

He used my moment of shock to climb off of me, heading over to a small closet door and re-emerging wearing thin dark blue pajama pants and a t-shirt.

"I don't think I have anything that'd fit you, you're a lot...broader than I am" he said looking a little sheepish.

"That's fine, I don't need anything to sleep in."

I stood before he could protest and stripped to my boxers, still feeling a little stiff in my side, but taking great pleasure in seeing my mate's flustered face and glowing gold eyes rove over the muscles of my chest and abs. His hand reached out, delicately tracing a finger over my skin and sending every nerve I had into overdrive as he followed the covering of my chest hair down to the line it formed, disappearing under the waistband of my boxers. He retracted his hand swiftly, as though he broke himself free of some spell.

"Let's just get some sleep before you start losing your control again" he stated incredulously. 

Yeah...I was the one about to lose control here.

I shook my head at his gall and pulled him into the small bed with me, kissing him softly this time. I wrapped my arms around him tightly, as though he might disappear and pulled his leg up to drape over my waist. We rested our foreheads against each other, both sighing in content at the feeling of the bond still firing between us.

"You have no idea how happy I am to have finally found you" I whispered against his lips.

"I do...trust me, I've waited a lot longer."

Chapter 37 - The Wanted Alpha