Unmated

The night was so cold I could see my breath in front of me. Rubbing my hands together, I looked up at the moon, wishing she would spill her secrets to me as she did to the male members of our pack.

What I wouldn’t give to shift into a wolf and run with the wind. Sighing, I shook my head. It was all just a dream, of course. I was lucky to be one of the few chosen women to be a sentinel. My lineage and my connection with the Alpha afforded me the luxury.

Hearing a noise to my right, I turned my head, placing my hand on the dagger I kept at my waist. I held my breath, listening for any footsteps, any sound at all, but nothing moved in the chilly night air. Nothing but me.

I had to stop allowing my mind to wander and start focusing on my task at hand. Taking a breath, I raised my eyes to the moon, only to gasp as two powerful arms wrapped around my waist.

“You have to do better than that, Mercy. You knew I was here. You have to out wait your prey. I know I taught you better.”

I turned, shoving Mason, the alpha of my pack, playfully. “You cheater.”

He smiled down at me before leaning down to kiss me. “How did I cheat? It’s you who seem to be distracted tonight.”

I laid my head on his chest, “oh you know, just another night of freezing my ass off.”

Mason tilted my face back up to his, kissing me again. “You wouldn’t be hinting that you needed warming up now, would you?”

I couldn’t help but laugh as he arched his brow, looking down at me. I had grown up beside Mason and if I would have been lucky enough to have been born a male, I would have been his Beta. I thought it was rather sexist that the women were not included in any of the positive aspects of being a shifter. Only the males of our race could shift and only the males could hold any real titles.

Mason’s lips were on my neck as I once again shoved him. “Stop it. I’m supposed to be protecting our borders.”

He snorted, “wasn’t it I who gave you this job? Besides, it’s been harder and harder to get you alone these days...”

“And whose fault is that?” I said, cutting him off.

Mason looked down at me. “Yours for not being ready at my beck and call.”

I licked my lips, pulling his face down to mine, “you don’t have it that good my Alpha.”

As Mason’s lips moved to my neck, I closed my eyes, forgetting about being on guard duty. I knew it was wrong to be with him. He had a mate. His Luna was at home, but who was I to deny the Alpha? One that I had known my entire life, the same one who had taken my virginity one warm summer night when we were only 16.

The cold was all but forgotten as Mason pulled the zipper of my jacket down, sliding his hands under my shirt. He had purposefully put me on duty the furthest away from our den, just so he could sneak out and be with me. My jacket hit the ground as I reached for Mason’s belt, my fingers expertly unbuckling it.

It wasn’t often that he could get away from the pack unseen. Only one other knew our secret, and that was his Beta. Calvin had made it clear that he didn’t approve of our continued relationship, but he would never go against Mason. No one was brave enough to challenge him.

Our clothes soon littered the ground at our feet and I stood naked in front of him. Here, away from the pack, I could forget he had a mate. I could forget that I could never be with him. Here I could be his. The feeling of being with him never lasted. It was always just a quick fix. A momentary minute where we could both forget our problems. Where he wasn’t the alpha.

Mason’s eyes took in my body before he pulled me back into his arms. His lips captured mine before he pulled me to the ground with him. As he ran kisses down my body, I closed my eyes and ran my hands through his hair.

I loved him. It was words I had never told him, yet still I knew he knew. We were both devastated when he turned 18 and found his mate. He did have an initial attraction to her, but not long after their marriage, he showed up at my door.

He had now been mated for 2 years, and she had yet to produce an heir to carry on his bloodline. I knew that bothered him. He never openly spoke to me about it, but the more time that passed, the more he sought me out.

I never questioned it. I was just glad to have him back. I was lost without him. Most shifters found their mates by 21 and yet here I was, 20 with no one, no one but Mason. And he wasn’t even mine.

Mason’s hands parting my thighs brought my attention back to him. It had been a while since I had last felt his touch. As his warm tongue licked up my wet center, I let out a gasp of pleasure. My fingers buried themselves in his hair as his tongue performed magic. My hips ground against his mouth, searching for the release that was just within my reach. Arching up against him, I cried out his name as I came on his face.

Leaning up, Mason wiped his face with the back of his hand. “It’s been far too long since I’ve tasted you.”

“Shut up and come here before you have to leave,” I said, pulling him to me.

Mason laughed, “impatient. You know I’d never leave you unsatisfied.”

As he thrust inside of me, I wrapped my arms around him. “Damn Mason, I missed you. It’s hard seeing you every day and not being able to touch you.”

Leaning down, Mason captured one of my breasts in his mouth. “I try my best, Mercy. You know I do.”

Running my hand down his face, I closed my eyes. “I know you’re busy, my Alpha. It’s the reason I don’t mind being sent so far away on duty.”

Mason did what he did best. He made me forget about all our problems and made me feel as if I was the only woman in his life. Wrapping my legs around his waist, Mason begun thrusting deeper, harder. With each slam of his body into mine, I felt my nails dig deeper into his back.

My marks never bothered him. They would be healed before he ever made it back to his home. My body was already revving up from his earlier attention, and I soon found myself throwing my head back and crying out. As my body gripped onto his, he sped up, his thrust slamming my body so hard I was moving underneath him. Soon he arched back, letting out a low, sexy growl.

Rolling to his side, Mason wrapped an arm around me, his lips meeting mine. “Wash in the river before you come home.”

I nodded. “I’m not stupid enough to come home with your scent on me.”

Mason let out a sigh. “I know you wouldn’t. I have to go, Mercy. I’m sorry we don’t have longer. I just had to see you tonight.”

Sadly, I nodded, looking over at him, caressing his face one last time before pulling his face to mine. “Till next time.”

Mason kissed me before he finally stood up, grabbing his clothes. He looked down and for a moment and I thought he would speak again, but he shook his head, turning and disappearing. I lay watching as he walked away into the dark, leaving me alone.

Without his warmth, the cold of the night bit into my skin. I knew the sooner I bathed in the river, the sooner I could get back dressed. As I walked toward the river, I began to feel the same empty feeling I did every time he left me.

I hated the fates for not making him my mate. If Natalie was truly his mate, why was he sneaking off in the middle of the night to come and lie with me? Your mate was supposed to be the most important person in the world to you. It was rare, but not unheard of for mates to cheat on the other. Mason, however, had never rejected Natalie, no he married her.

The icy sting of the river took my breath away, and I had to look up at the stars. I could feel the tears sting my eyes. I loved a man that could never be mine. I was lost. After he had found his mate, I had prayed that mine would find me soon. Help take the sting of losing him away.

Instead of a mate, Mason had shown back up at my door. Even I would call myself a whore if I’d ever lain with anyone but Mason. I wasn’t sure what I was anymore. I was Mercy Rose, the unmated Alpha’s mistress.

Sometimes I feared that was all I would ever be.