The Wanted Alpha

Chapter 36 - Apologies

April

He looked so relaxed, the dark circles from stress and exhaustion seemed to ease as Ethan closed his eyes with my fingers stroking the soft strands of his hair. Despite how tired he must have been, he had stayed up to keep watch over everyone and hadn't even acknowledged how selflessly he had acted. To him, he had simply performed his duties and nothing more. But I could see how the pack, our pack, looked up to him because of it. And why I had come to admire him so much.

'Does Carrick know we're coming back with guests?' I mind-linked him.

I should have thought about this a little sooner, I didn't want us to be scrambling last minute. This seemed like something a good Luna would be on top of and even though I still didn't feel ready for the title, everyone kept calling me it anyway so I should really make an effort to step up.

'...Yeah, I messaged him while we were eating...he's on it,' his tired voice replied, full of sleep even in his mind.

Of course Ethan was already on top of it, he always was.

'Mr. Alpha, always the thoughtful host,' I smiled down at him, but received no reply. He was already fast asleep with his lips slightly parted and breathing steadily.

August was as enamoured as myself gazing down at our breathtakingly handsome mate looking so peaceful. 

"He seems like a really great Alpha to all of you, well, when he's not on a rampage that is," Maeryn said as she peered over the seat to us as her husband looked at her with a cocked eyebrow sceptically. He had been on the direct end of that rampage so his scepticism was understandable.

"He's tough, that's for sure. But the pack always comes first with him," Jaime spoke from the front bench seat where he sat with his sister and Greer. I could hear the respect and esteem he held for his leader, the same I'd heard from many of the pack when they spoke of Ethan.

We settled into quiet conversation, keeping our voices low so as to not wake Ethan but given his deep breathing, he was pretty much dead to the world. I say 'we', Janine was the one who did most of the talking, she was one of those who could talk to anyone about anything but never speak over you. It was one thing I very much liked her for as she made you feel at ease. She was the most outwardly excited about our Beta's mate being a vampire. In her words, Christopher was 'like the hottest real life anime husbando' she had ever seen...I had no clue what she meant, but she promised that when she got a new phone she would introduce me to the whole concept.

"Hey, can I ask you guys something?" Jaime spoke up, turning to address the vampire couple behind him. "How exactly do you feed from plants? Like, if you don't drink blood, how does that actually work?"

"Jai! You can't ask that, it's rude! I swear you were dropped on your head as a kid," his sister berated him, sounding mortified.

"It's fine, honestly. We know this is probably the first time you're even meeting a vampire," Rhian laughed as the twins glared at each other, again.

"I would like to point out some of us learnt this in school, while others were busy making moon-eyes at girls," Janine continued to scowl at her twin.

"We feed on the life energy of our food source. Without it, we wither away. It has to be something living and plants are everywhere. Animals are a little tricky to keep alive while they're being fed from and most of us really hate killing anything if we don't have to. And it's not as though many humans want one of us sucking out their life. So, plants are a hell of a lot easier," Rhian summarised.

It was still a slightly bizarre concept for me to grasp my head around. Even though I knew the stereotypes were false, they were still hard to ignore and not let influence my thinking. There was one thing I didn't know about them, their skin. The opalescent colours that had shimmered on their skin last night weren't present now in daylight.

"Can I ask about your skin? It had those really pretty, faint colours. How do you do that?" I asked.

Maeryn turned, with a gentle smile, "it's sort of similar to how fireflies glow."

"Oh, I actually know this one," Greer called out from the driver's seat. "It's a form of autogenic bioluminescence. But UV light interrupts the enzyme reaction in the skin's pigment layer of the epidermis. That's why you don't see it in daylight."

Even from looking at the back of their heads, I could tell both vampires were pleasantly shocked that a wolf knew such a level of detail.

"Thanks for the TED talk professor Greer," Janine responded, though I could tell she had learnt something.

"You guys asked, I delivered," he laughed.

"He's actually right though. Not many people know that," Rhian said, still looking impressed.

"What can I say? I paid attention in school," Greer said, looking proud of himself.

"I think reading those journals helps too," I added, Greer truly did amaze me sometimes with his intellect. It wasn't something you'd expect from a warrior as they had a little bit of a reputation for being meatheads.

The conversion continued up front as I looked down to my mate still sleeping soundly, he hadn't stirred once. My large, intimidating Alpha...curled up like a puppy, with his arms around my waist.

'How can someone be so cute without trying?' August fawned, I could feel her pressing her nose and forehead against his wolf's in our shared link.

I continued to stroke his face softly, loving how the very corners of lips subtly upturned at my touch. I was only distracted by the sound of slight screeching behind us. I looked up through the rear window to see Christopher's truck swerving back onto the road. He and Jude were driving on their own, carrying what little possessions the vampires and wiccans had...I was almost scared to ask what had led Chris to swerve.

'Are you guys ok?' I asked, undecided whether I actually wanted to know.

'We're fine, I'm just scaring the shit outta my mate. Don't worry it's nothing lewd,' he laughed heartily through my mind.

'Can you try and not die? That seems like a really embarrassing way to go,' poor Christopher, I felt he would have his hands full with Jude. But I was sure as a coven leader, he would be able to handle a mischievous wolf.

Ethan

The feeling of entering our territory woke me up and even though I'd only had a few hours of sleep, I felt so much better having my mate so close and wrapped in my arms. I snuggled my face into her stomach, not ready to separate and not caring there were others in the car. 

She giggled softly while stroking the hair away from my face, 'you look so much better.'

'I'll feel even more when I get you back home. Having you this close is already driving me insane,' it had barely been a day since I last had her and having nearly lost her had my possessiveness clawing itself to the surface.

Damn, I had to show our new people to their rooms and organise a tour so they knew their way around the pack house...it was times like these I hated Alpha duties.

Carrick was waiting out front looking eager to meet everyone, with a few other wolves intrigued to meet not only new members but ones of a different species. He greeted them all in turn, fussing over the children lovingly and embracing both Jude and his mate in a hug. I don't think Christopher was expecting such a warm welcome given his slightly startled expression. My Gamma had set up several rooms on the third floor, unsure how many were needed but wanting to make sure everyone was comfortable in their sleeping arrangements.

"It's ok Ethan, I can show 'em around. I know you gotta have a lot of stuff to examine with our Luna."

He threw me what I'm sure he thought was an undetectable wink. But given the sly grins from the vampires and Jude, it was very much obvious what he meant, though the three wiccan women looked completely oblivious.

I shook my head in exasperation, 'real subtle as always, man.'

'The way you're shifting and looking at the stairs ain't exactly subtle either, pal.'

...Touché.

As the door closed to our suite April surprised me by wrapping herself around me, locking her legs around my waist and kissing me almost aggressively. This was a new side to April I hadn't seen before...and I wasn't against it in the slightest. She had initiated things before, but never like this, never this dominantly. Usually this would have made my wolf bristle with annoyance, but coming from our mate, it excited us both. Her hands slipped under the fabric of my jacket pushing it off and yanked my shirt over my head.

"Someone's impatient," I grinned, loving her red cheeks.

"I want you, I'm not ashamed to admit it," she breathed out as she ground her hips against mine. 

A growl vibrated through my chest as I pressed her against the wall. We hadn't even made it past the hallway and I doubt we could make it to the bedroom either. I loved how bold she was becoming, more brazen and confident in herself each day. And honestly? I found it sexy as hell.

Our lips only separated to remove her own top and when my desperate fingers couldn't undo the clasp of her bra, I shredded it with my claw making her laugh at my own eagerness. I placed her down so we could rid ourselves of the rest of our clothes and grasped her thighs again. My thumbs traced the swell of her flawless breasts that fit my hands perfectly, gliding over her excited pink buds and loving how her head rolled along my shoulder in pleasure. She palmed my erect shaft which I could already tell was leaking, aching to be buried in my mate. Her lips moved along my shoulder, settling on her mark on my neck. As her teeth bit down on it, I couldn't help the loud growl that ripped through my chest as my hips thrust forward, with a little more force than I had intended. This was only her third time and she might still be adjusting to such an intimate feeling, but her loud moans were encouragement that I hadn't hurt her. I gently thrust into her, giving her time to adjust to my size but loving how her tight walls gripped every inch of me.

'Stop holding back, I can take it,' she urged in our link.

I withdrew my hips and slammed back into her, giving her the strength she craved, both of us groaning at the sensation. Each thrust I felt her thighs grip me harder, her hands digging into my shoulders roughly, her claws starting to extend as her wolf came to the surface. As my pace increased I felt her starting to shake as she gripped me tightly and threw her head back, her voice a mix or a loud moan and a roar of her wolf. I slowed my thrusts down as she recovered from her climax, her head laid against mine as she took deep breaths. I began thrusting back into her slowly, loving her slightly confused euphoria, wondering why I hadn't pulled out yet.

'I'm not even close to finishing yet,' I mind-linked as I captured her lips and moans again.

----------

As my mate dried herself off from our shared shower, I busied myself cooking some dinner. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and I was very much responsible for that, though it had been fucking amazing. The steak was cooking nicely and the mixed vegetables were about ready; I may not have known how to cook much but what I did know, I could cook well at least. 

The smile on my face was instant as April entered the kitchen, her cheeks pink as she eyed my bare back. She had clawed it up a little in our vigorous bouts, but they were healing fine. She had been a little mortified that she had gotten so carried away, but I loved it, I loved her. The marks were barely visible now and would be gone in another hour, I was slightly disappointed her new marks on my skin wouldn't last. 

I plated both our meals up, joining her at the dining table by the large window looking out to the forest. Watching her now, the memories of how she played with the wiccan children flooded my mind. She had been such a natural with them, she would make such a loving mother to our pups one day. My wolf practically preening, mentally, against his mate wanting that same future, wanting to become a father. But only after we dealt with our issues first, namely this Alpha Nicholas. Which reminded me, I still need to analyse those burner phones.

April insisted on cleaning up as I had cooked, so I went through to my study to make a start. She joined me not long after wanting to see how I worked and sat on my lap as I worked around her. The unknown number was now dead but originated in southern Montana, it wasn't connected to any name or account but it confirmed this could only have been orchestrated by one individual, Nicholas. Not that that surprised either of us but it was good to have it officially confirmed. The fact that the number was dead meant that he knew he had failed and I felt some smug satisfaction in the knowledge. I had already ordered our patrols be tripled as soon as I was back in our territory, I wanted nothing getting in or out of our pack without our knowing. I even considered distributing some remote cameras and sensors well outside our borders to detect any incoming threats. 

It was getting late and pitch black outside, but it wasn't too late to simply enjoy some time with my mate. I felt a little bad for leaving our new members alone, but Carrick knew what to do and would make sure they hadn't gone without anything. Jude, I hadn't heard a word from; I had no idea if a vampire could mark or be marked but we would find out in the morning, no way would Jude let his new mate walk around without some form of visual claim on him.

As I was just standing from my desk, a warrior on patrol mind-linked me.

'Alpha, we apprehended a pack member acting suspiciously. They looked like they were trying to leave the pack through the eastern border. Gamma Carrick has taken them to interrogation at the prison.' 

'Carrick?!' I mind-linked quickly, wanting to know what the fuck had happened.

'I got 'em Ethan, they gave themselves up. I'm at the prison, I take you'll be here soon?'

'Yeah, I'm coming now...who is it?'

As he told me the name, a roar ripped from my chest startling April.

That rat bastard!Bonus

Chapter 39 - The Wanted Alpha