The Alpha’s disguised mate

‘Hey babe you home?’ A text from Jake draws me away from my homework. We have a school at our pack house and I know he should be studying.

‘You should be studying ;) ‘

‘Oh baby that’s the beauty of being best friends with the soon to be Alpha. I don’t need to study. I’ve been training for this my whole life. Come on baby put the books down and come for a walk.’

‘Ugh fine. 1 hour.’

‘Deal. I’m outside…’ I roll my eyes at his message. He always knows just how to get around me. I grab my jacket and hop down the stairs, I peek in to the living room my dad is sat beer in hand once again.

“Daddy… I’m going out for an hour…” my only response is a grunt and a raised hand. I sigh quietly… oh how I wish my mother were still around. I plaster on a smile and ignore the empty feeling in my chest and open the front door. My smile isn’t fake for long when I see Jake, he’s looking as handsome as ever with his boyish smile and lopsided chestnut hair, his eyes match his hair a soft warm brown. I’ve not met his wolf yet but in my day dreams I picture him that same warm chestnut brown. I can’t wait to meet his wolf, I’m actually counting down the days. Our wolves are dormant until we turn 18. Jake turned 18 last month and had his first phasing. I can’t wait for my birthday to finally meet my wolf too, we want it to be surprise when our wolves meet for the first time. It’s not that uncommon for a lot of wolves to share birthdays as most she wolves fall pregnant during the season, it’s the time she wolves come in to heat and the males go wild for us. It’s not unheard of even hear some deaths to occur due to the males fighting over females, mates or not a male wolf will go wild over any she wolf in heat.

“Hey love.” His voice is soft but has always had a seductively deep vibration to it that makes me shiver.

“Hey… you’re very distracting you know.” He does that boyish grin and shrugs smugly. We’ve been friends our whole lives, we know everything about each other, not a single thing gets past the other. We started dating a year ago after assuming our connection was the underlying mate bond. It made sense to take eachother “off the market” in preparation.

“Well that’s all part of the charm aye. Come on.” He holds out his hand for me to take and leads us towards the woods that back my house well the entire pack really. We have some individual housing for families with older children like myself. My dad never wanted to live within the pack house and I doubt others wanted him lingering around drinking in front of their pups.

“How’s your dad?” I make a grim face and he knows not to ask anymore.

After a few miles I start to tire with my first shift coming up I need to pace myself.

“Hey I need to head home, you going to walk me back?” His brow creases as he thinks.

“Listen I wanted to ask you something…”

“Ok…” he stops and pushes me back gently against a tree and kisses me sweetly before trying to deepen the kiss and I try to turn away.

“Come on… I know we’ve been waiting until your first shift to do anything but we already know we’re going to be mates Cherry why won’t you just give me a little taste…” his eyes grow dark very unlike him and I push him back hard which was clearly the wrong move. “For fuck sake Cherry come on! Stop being so uptight…” he moves back towards me and I dodge him quickly making him growl.

“Jake you’re not thinking straight. We’ve been over this. I’m waiting for my mate…” he slams a fist into the tree beside my head, splintering some of the wood and making me yelp.

“No one can hear you out here you know… if I was any other wolf I’d of taken you by now!” He shouts loudly and fear runs through me like ice in my veins.

“Jake… please you’re scaring me… I just want to go home…”

In the distance, a long strained howl break’s through the evening air, I shiver anxiously and Jakes nose lifts to the air. Without my wolf I can’t identify any wolf’s scent yet and it makes me nervous. He looks back down at me his eyes still dark showing his wolf is visibly in control.

“Then go. If you won’t mate to me I’ll find someone else who will, you’re not that special Cherry. There are plenty of she wolves who would die for a night with me. I am the beta to the soon to be Alpha! Being with me comes with a fucking status. Clearly one you’re undeserving of. Go. Run home back to drunk old daddy.” The tears prick in my eyes at his undeserved insults.

“You don’t mean that. This is your wolf talking!”

“Leave.” His voice is deathly quiet but I can feel the anger radiating off him. When I don’t move he scoffs looking me up and down then taking for the trees and disappearing into the undergrowth. I hear a deep menacing howl, twisting on my heel and bolting out of there. I run the entire way home not daring to look back. What the hell happened to him? It must be the season approaching, it has to be. He’d never be so cruel to me… it’s his wolf it has to be, he can sense my shift is fast approaching and wants a taste of what he thinks is his. The truth is I don’t know if we will be mates yet, there’s no way of knowing until I have my wolf. He’s obviously just frustrated and hopefully sorts himself out before my shift, I need him with me when it happens. It’s the only way I’ll know if we are mates or not is if his wolf meets mine. The tears fall from my eyes from his sharp tongue. He’s never been so cruel… am I wrong to keep denying him when we’ve been so close for so many years. I know I would feel comfortable to be with him physically… well I think I would. Tonight not included he’s always been willing to wait. When I reach the edge of the woods at the back of my house I look up to the clear sky and see the moon a sliver away from being full.

“This is your fault…” I mutter coldly and quickly wipe away my tears and catching my breath before going back in to the house. I know my dad likely won’t notice a thing but better to be safe than sorry.

Once safely in bed I was right to assume my dad wouldn’t notice a thing, he didn’t look up from the tv. Phone in hand I’m debating whether to text Jake… surely he’d be home by now… that’s if he went home… I shake the thought from my head and send a short message.

‘Hope you got home ok… I’m sorry for everything. Love, Cherry xx’

Once I hit send I wait for a reply that doesn’t come. I wonder if he’s ok? He should be the one to apologise, I know that but I’ve always found with Jake it’s easier to apologise first and then you’ll get one in return.

10pm and still no reply… I sigh, putting my phone on my nightstand and flick off my light, still waiting for the text that doesn’t come until I eventually fall asleep.

The following morning I head to school with still no word from Jake and I’m starting to worry. I’ve been worrying all night, tossing and turning, glancing at my phone… I’m still completely lost in thought as I wonder through the halls, when giggling fills my ears and I look up quickly to see a sight I really wasn’t expecting. Jake has his arm wrapped around the shoulder of a girl I’ve never seen before, she’s got long curly blonde hair and a tall slender figure to die for. Her eyes are completely stuck on Jake and look like they’re glittering in the light, their eye contact is so intense it feels wrong to even be seeing it.

“Yo Jake my man, finally bro. You got yourself a damn fine she wolf!”

“Cmon bro you can’t say that about a beta’s mate. You know that…”

“Damn. Mate? You marked her already?”

“You know it. You don’t let a beauty like this slip through your fingers…” Jake pulls her hair aside to reveal two shiny silver scar bite marks in the side of her neck. My stomach drops and my heart rips open. Mate? That’s not possible… I was supposed to be his mate. Why else would we have been so close all these years. It was supposed to be me…

“Bro what about that girl you used to hang round with? What was her name… ah yeah Cherry…”

“What about her? Old news bro.”

I can’t believe I’m actually hearing this. Tear’s burn my eyes like acid and I turn on my heel quickly, dashing out of the pack school and straight for the woods. Throwing my bag and books at the edge of the treeline and run as fast as my legs will carry me until my lungs feel like they’re going to explode. I drop to the damp forest floor and scream out my tears.

What the hell am I going to do? He was supposed to look after me during my change, to keep horny males away from me. How am I going to survive this now? Alone… utterly and completely alone… not even my father can help me. It’s not unheard of for any male wolf in relation to you or not completely lose themselves during the change and mate with any nearby female be-it their kin or not. It’s too much of a risk. My plan was to stay with Jake the night of my change knowing he’d protect me but now I have no plan. No safety and no mate… well I suppose we know now that he was never going to be my mate. That wolf’s cry last night much have been her, he knew the second he smelt her. No wonder he was so cruel… his wolf would have given him no choice. He knew I wasn’t his mate and no longer wanted anything to do with me. Oh goddess what have you done. Who’s going to save me now?