Chapter 1 - A new home

Leah’s POV

“Hi,” He smiled. My mind was racing a mile a minute, and I almost melted at the sight of his gorgeous dimples! “I’m Sebastian, and you are?” I gaped for a moment. I had completely forgotten my name and must have looked utterly ridiculous in front of this Greek god! How was it even possible that he could be my mate?

“Uhm … Leah.” I finally got the words out. I had no idea whether I was frozen in fear or because his eyes turned the most brilliant blue I had ever seen. He had somehow calmed his wolf down enough that it retreated, but mine was purring so much that I almost couldn’t hear anything else.

“So, you are my mate?” He took a step back and gave me a once over and I blushed bright red. I had been driving in my incredibly hot car and must have looked simply disgusting!

“Thank you moon goddess!” I thought to myself. Of course, I would meet the most incredible man on the day I looked my absolute worst!

“Cat got your tongue, honey?” A female voice purred behind him and I suddenly glared at her as a soft low growl escaped when she leaned over his shoulder and was touching him. It took just a moment to realize that she looked a lot like him and a bright red blush crept over my cheeks when he introduced his sister, Emily. He quickly gave me the names of the rest of his people standing around, but I couldn’t remember any of them. Three black SUVs pulled up behind us, and I was about to explain that I needed to go when he placed his arm around my waist and escorted me to the front SUV.

“You aren’t going anywhere.” He whispered into my ear as he opened the door for me and a shiver ran down my spine. How was this even possible? Not once did I feel this strong of an attraction to Eli! He didn’t make me feel this unsettled yet completely at ease at the same time!

“But my car.” The door was closed before I could protest any further, but he slid into the back seat beside me on the other side and suddenly I was furious.

“What about my car?!” I demanded and he grinned.

“Don’t worry, my boys will take good care of it.” As if that should have put my mind at ease! I watched as we drove past and one of his “guys” slipped in behind the wheel of my beat-up old car. I had no idea where the hell we were going or if I would even be safe!

“Okay, now that I have your full attention. Tell me little wolf, where are you from?” He turned sideways in his seat and looked at me and I felt my cheeks burn bright red again.

“Oh, come on, don’t leave the poor guy hanging,” Emily laughed and turned around in the front seat to look at me.

“Goddess knows, he’s been waiting long enough for you.” She winked and I gasped. All of this was just too much! Oh, no! What if he found out I was mated to someone else? Okay, Eli rejected me. Did that mean I was no longer his mate? People finding second-chance mates was such a rare occurrence that some even believed it to be a myth! If I told them where I was really from, would they know that Eli rejected me? Would Sebastian even want a rejected mate that an Alpha didn’t want … Then it struck me … Sebastian was an Alpha … He would definitely have heard of Eli rejecting me!

“I’m a rogue. I don’t have a home. I was just passing through and didn’t realize I was in your territory when you caught me.” It had been the most words I had spoken since I saw them the first time.

“It speaks!” His sister exclaimed before turning around and looking out of the front window again, giving us some much-needed privacy. How were mates supposed to get to know each other if others kept interrupting each damn sentence!

“Surely, you weren’t born rogue.” Sebastian sniffed the air.

“As a matter of fact, you don’t smell anything like any rogue I have ever met.” He looked amused, and I breathed a sigh of relief when the car slowed down in front of huge black iron gates that opened automatically. Everybody’s attention turned toward the large building in front of us and I held my breath. I wasn’t sure how his people would react to their alpha taking a rogue as a mate. I wasn’t even sure if he was the alpha … He smelled like one and he carried himself like one, and the many bowing heads around us told me he was indeed the alpha. He put his hand on my lower back and guided me into the enormous building and the inside was just as beautiful as the outside with an enormous grand staircase right in the foyer.

“We stay on the top floor.” Sebastian pointed up the stairs.

“My sister’s mate is also my Beta and they stay on the third floor with my parents and their two rugrats. The second floor is for the Gammas, since we have so many important females in our ranks, we have a lot of Gammas and the ground floor is for the warriors.” He smiled and guided me to the first door on the right. “This is my office, and yours is right next door.” I watched in awe as he bent down and grabbed a pair of trunks from his desk drawer and I whipped around realizing again that the man was actually naked! I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm my racing heart when I felt his hands on my shoulders.

“It’s okay, you can turn around.” He was laughing at me. I was used to seeing naked wolves. All wolves were naked at some point either before or after shifting. It wasn’t something new, but what was new was what I was feeling seeing his muscles move! My insides turned upside down and it felt as if I was about to vomit! How was I ever going to mate with him, if I felt sick every time I looked at his naked body? I rolled my eyes at my own thoughts and my gesture didn’t go unnoticed as he cocked one eyebrow in amusement. “So, Leah,” He said my name as if tasting it.

“I know you are a rogue, and I know that you seem to be very shy …” It looked as though he was thinking. “What else should I know about you?” Then he looked right into my eyes and my wolf howled happily at the sight of the mischief in them.

“Well, what do you want to know?” I shrugged. What the hell was I doing here? I couldn’t entertain the possibility of …

“I guess the first thing would be if you would accept me as your mate.” He crossed his arms over his chest, leaned back on his desk, and studied me from head to toe.

“I … I don’t understand that. Why do wolves always have to jump into a lifelong commitment? Why can’t we take the time to get to know each other before committing?” I voiced my thoughts out loud and my eyes grew wide as soon as I realized it. I had always wondered about it. Sure, I wanted my destined mate just like every other girl, but then my dream was shattered when he didn’t want me and life changed for me. The way I looked at things completely changed and I ran away from home. Eli never officially chased me away from the pack. In fact, the bastard wanted me around. He just didn’t want me. I guess it’s because it’s destined by the moon goddess and people want to grab onto their happiness as fast as possible. They don’t want to waste any more time waiting.” He frowned slightly and I was surprised that he had actually listened to my question and given me a reasonable answer.

“Well, I can’t. I won’t.” I sighed.

“Can’t or won’t you accept me as your mate?” He stood upright and looked pained and I nearly swallowed my tongue watching his abs move … He really was a delicious piece of man and any girl would give her two front teeth to be with him, but I couldn’t. I was someone’s sloppy seconds!

“I mean I can’t rush into anything.” I was working on a plan to get out of here. All I needed was my car and I would be well on my way, and the only reason I needed my crappy car was because all my damn belongings were in it!

“Ah, so you will consider it if I give you the chance to get to know me better.” He smiled again and I was glad to be sitting down. My knees felt as if they went weak every time he smiled. Oh, goddess, what have I gotten myself into this time?! I nodded, unable to speak again. My throat was awfully dry and it felt as if my tongue was slowly swelling up. I was allergic to him! Could you be allergic to your mate? Never mind! I was allergic to the most handsome man I had ever met and that was that. There would be no touching him or I would blow up like a … A blow-up doll or something! It was a ridiculous idea, I know, but I had to think of some way to keep myself from just falling into his arms and professing my undying love. “Okay, I can live with that.” He grinned and held out his hand for me to take. “Let’s go for a tour, shall we?” He winked, but I kept my arms tightly crossed over my chest. As he opened his office door, his sister met us with an enormous grin and she bowed her head slightly as she giggled. She had probably heard the entire conversation!

“I’m happy to finally meet the woman who can put my dear brother in his rightful place.” She whispered next to my ear before disappearing. She had heard our entire conversation, I realized, and my eyes grew wide. Did these people have no damn boundaries? I nearly jumped when I felt his hand softly rest on my lower back as he guided me through the tour. My eyes darted all over the place to look for every possible exit, but it seemed there was only one … The front door. Now all I needed to know was where my damn car was.