Chapter 05 Mr. Alpha Stalks A Human (Part I)

Aidan watched her leave the school building, exhaustion visible on her face. She looked like she hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep and wasn’t eating right. Her backpack seemed heavy, and as she waited with other students for the passing cars to clear the road before they could cross, she brought the back of her hand to her mouth to partially cover a yawn.

She was twenty years of age, and yet she looked like she was already thirty. Slightly taller than most of the girls around her, and noticeably bigger, Emma stood out from the crowd. Aidan stared at her, scanning every bit of her for as much as he could behind the safety of the car’s tinted window. There was nothing special about her – not in the way she looked nor in the way she carried herself, which was severely lacking in energy. And the more he watched her, his confusion grew as to why Henry was invested in her to intend to mate with her.

Henry seriously wanted to introduce to the pack, his mate, an ordinary human girl who got knocked up and somehow marked by their enemy? There was nothing to her – beauty, fame, money – probably average intelligence too.

While Aidan mentally insulted her, she crossed the street and seemed to be headed home. He instructed Pint, keeping his eyes on her lest he lose her. “Follow her.”

“Yes, Alpha,” he responded, and pulled out from the parking lot and into the street, keeping up with Emma. As they hit the intersection, they’d have to wait before they could join the traffic flow. And even then, they’d be stuck.

“Wait for my call,” he said, then opened the door and stepped out, hearing a ‘yes, Alpha,’ as he closed it. There had to be something about Emma that could at least get him thinking. He had to find something for his beast, or it’d go wild and take control, and he wanted this week to be relaxing in every way possible.

Arke gave him troubling sleeping for the last four nights since it wouldn’t shut up about her and kept scolding him for belittling her. Well, sorry not sorry, he happened to have a certain vision of his … their mate and she didn’t fit any criteria – she was easily a zero on his standards. Aidan wouldn’t even spare her a glance should she accidentally bump into him in public.

It was her that night, he was sure. He scented her, and the same longing feeling washed over him again. For decades, he searched for her. Aidan had always yearned for her without knowing who she was. He searched, waited, and when his patience ran out, he sought other women. And yet when his mate was finally within reach, he couldn’t accept her. But who was he fooling?

Fuck! What was the Moon Goddess thinking?

Aidan followed behind her. All this trouble just to calm his beast down. She wasn’t even worth his time. Having returned to this city, Aidan planned to finish business quickly and have some fun time for himself, which usually came in the form of alcohol, pot, pin up models, and by the early hours of morning, solitude. Instead, he was using his very limited free time to stalk a woman whose scent excited his beast.

She smelled good … so good that he was fighting to keep his canines from changing their forms from a human’s to that of a beast’s. Arke wanted to be near her – bathe in her scent and mark her to overpower the disgusting scent that lingered around her.

Checking his watch, he had been following her for almost an hour now and from the lively city center, she led him to a quieter, more desolate area on the outskirts of the city. They passed by somewhat decent establishments, graffiti painting brick walls in words that only those who knew understood and the usual drawings of genitalia. Apartments were lined up, in both left and right, most looking run down, some windows either broken, taped, or boarded. Groups of young men and women were gathered on porches, some groups dancing to music blasting from a radio, some holding sports equipment, while others conversed amongst themselves.

Aidan kept his head low. Neighborhoods like this, people knew one another – and as a stranger who had no intention of getting called out, he raised the hood of his jacket and kept walking. Some of these people were probably customers of the business, but they didn’t have to know, and he didn’t give a fuck about them too. Aidan was laying low for he was following her, but if they stirred trouble for him, he wouldn’t hesitate to keep them up all night, including their families.

Emma rounded a corner and he counted five seconds before doing the same. Then she was nowhere to be seen. The sidewalk was empty. A car passed by, and his eyes followed it, and he saw her again – across the street, just a little further up, entering a small grocery store.

He’d get caught on camera if he followed her in there, and he didn’t want that. Aidan could wait her out, but curiosity got the better of him.

“Arke,” he called, and the beast happily wagged its tail. “Help me out here.”

“With pleasure.”

Aidan closed his eyes as he felt the heat of Arke’s energy course through him and gather behind them. When he opened them, he could see clearer. From where he stood, he could see her past the glass walls, standing in front of a shelf of… milk?

Emma had a finger on her lips as she looked over the choices, and Aidan watched as she lifted one then put it back down. She took out her phone and tapped on it for a few before biting her lip as she looked at that particular product. In the end, she chose another and placed it on the basket. At the end of the aisle, she disappeared momentarily before showing up again – this time between rows of shelves that displayed products for babies – diapers, wipes, bottles, clothes, and other things he didn’t know what for. It just reminded him that his mate had a child that wasn’t his. Emma took a bag of diapers from the shelf, two packs of baby wipes, and a bag of tissue paper. Then she took a pack of baby bottles from a hook, shook her head, and placed it back.

She looked for other things before going to the counter. Aidan had to wait a few more minutes before she was out and was heading back to her home. As he stood there, he pretended to be doing something on his phone. It was already getting dark too and she didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. From time to time, she’d raise her shoulders and her backpack would adjust for a bit – it must really be heavy. One hand was carrying a bag of groceries, the other holding a bag of toilet paper – she looked like a walking mini-grocery store on her own.

Despite her weight, she was a fast walker, and though sweat rolled off her skin and his heightened sense of hearing picked up on her heavy breaths, she kept walking … deeper into a less friendly neighborhood.

“Mate ….” Arke whined.

As much as Aidan hated to admit it, by that point he was getting worried on what her living conditions must be like – this wasn’t exactly a safe place to live in. He should know.

The last light of day was going, giving way to the night. Emma slowed down, switched the things she was carrying on each hand then resumed. Then she stopped abruptly and looked to her left. It was an alleyway, but it was probably a shortcut since she seemed to be thinking of whether to take it or not.

Aidan’s mind was telling her not to do it but… it was of no practical help. Never use the alley!

Emma turned left. Not long after that, he heard a chorused laughter of men. Shit!

X

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

'Cause y'all are so awesome for having read this far, I wanted to let y'all know that:

Longer chapters have been split, hence, the affixed Part X in certain chapters. Chapter 05 is a sample within the free chapters. This rule has been consistently applied to locked chapters.

~I know - I'm awesome too.