CLAIR. "You may not want me, but I’ll make sure someone else will see my worth!" I stood up from where I was sitting and moved away from him, walking toward the stream while pulling my shirt over my head to reveal my red bikini top. I stopped just beside the deep part of the steam. My hands gripped the waistband of my shorts, pulling them lower on my legs, and bending as I lowered them to my feet, fully aware that I was showing him my naked ass. My bikini thongs didn’t cover anything at all. "What the fuck are you doing?" I heard him ask with a hitched breath. I turned around and put my hands on my hips, standing proudly in my red bikini, which leaves nothing to the imagination, before licking my lower lip. "I need to swim, Jake. I feel a little hot just thinking about the possibilities of another Alpha touching my..." I was not even finished with my sentence when a loud growl erupted in the air as strong arms swept me away, taking me with him and landing us in the water. Fear cr
JAKE. I shifted and ran away from her, confused by the emotions that she stirred in me. I hated the fact that I wanted her out of my life, but I hated myself more for hurting and pushing her away because, in reality, I knew I wanted her. All of her. I’d been an Alpha for ten years, and nothing or no one made me feel alive the way she did. But being together would not guarantee that I would remain sane for the rest of my rule. She was already starting to break me down. She was making me weak. And I shouldn’t let her do that. I shifted back to my human form and walked naked inside the packhouse toward my office. I went inside and slammed the door. My Beta, who was already waiting with my shorts, threw them at me as soon as I entered. "It looks like it didn’t end well." He said with brows furrowing. "You disturb us." I scowled at him. "You asked me to remind you." He shook his head, a smug grin on his face. He waited for me to take my seat before he continued. "We can just cancel
CLAIR Three days had gone by since that disastrous breakfast with Jake. I hadn’t seen him since that day, so I spent most of my time training and volunteering at the daycare. Tonight will be a full moon. Four pups were expected to shift, and I convinced Aaron to let me join him since he was the one overseeing when pups shifted for the first time. He would be helped out by two other warriors. Glaiza would be among the pups shifting tonight. I worked with her at the daycare, and we’d been spending a lot of time together for the last couple of days, so when she told me she would be shifting, and how scared she was, I volunteered to stay with her. And I was glad Aaron let me join. I wanted to let Rain out. It has been a long time since she went out for a run. Of course, I had to make sure Jake wouldn’t be around, or it might not end well if Rain saw our mate. Luckily, Jake had to attend some meetings in the nearby town and wouldn’t be back until midnight. Then shifting would be done
CLAIR "Jake!!!" I called out for him while my brother carried me away from the clearing. Jake didn’t want me. I knew it already, and yet the feeling of being unwanted and unloved came in full force tonight. The pain was unbearable, so I just let the tears flow, sobbing quietly in my brother’s arms. The burning started to come again while Aaron did his best to run fast towards the pack house. Everything went blurry after that, and I just found myself being guided toward the bathtub, with Jenny helping me out. "Go, Aaron. I can take it from here," Jenny said almost in a whisper while pushing Aaron away from the bathroom. "I’ll let you know if we need help. Now go!" Aaron sighed before nodding, leaving a peck on Jenny’s forehead. "Thank you!" Jenny smiled at him before closing the bathroom door. She then walked to where I was and crouched outside the bathtub before she began massaging my temple. "Hey, little girl, does the cold water help?" I shook my head. Jenny’s eyes were fill
JAKE I woke up with a soft body against my torso and my nose automatically sank into her neck, letting her smell consume me while sparks traveled all over my body. It would be nice to wake up next to her every day. I moaned hungrily and found my lips starting to nibble and suckle her skin, making her stir but she remained sleeping. I felt my dick coming to life, but before I could do more, I heard soft knocks on my door. My body automatically jerked up from the bed as I palmed my face! Fuck! This will be messy! I got up from my bed and put on my sweatpants before grabbing the blanket to cover Clair from head to toe. I had no idea what I was trying to achieve, only that I hoped not to wake her up yet. I opened the door slightly, just enough space for the person outside to see me. Standing outside my door was Jenny, a worried expression written on her face while my Gamma and Beta were fast approaching. Fuck this! "Alpha. We’ve been trying not to disturb you but we’ve been looking
JAKE Clair ran away after hitting us with her words. Everyone stood frozen in their place for a moment until Jenny moved and ran after her. Aaron followed suit, and I was left alone with my Beta. I was left speechless. Everything she said to Aaron backfired on me. I did this to her. I made her feel unwanted and not worthy. But if she only knew the struggle within me. I let out a sigh and was about to move my feet to follow after them when I felt my Beta’s hand on my shoulder. I tilted my head to look at him as he shook his head. "Don’t. It’s better if you talk with her when you are both in the right frame of mind. Nothing will help right now, especially if her brother is around." He said in a low but firm voice. I swung my coiled fist into the wall beside me in response. I hit it two more times before I rested my forehead on the wall, eyes closed, with my jaw tightening and not bothering at all that my knuckles were bleeding and that there was a big hole in the wall right now. Ech
CLAIRThe last few days have been exceptionally quiet. I felt like everyone was walking on an eggshell whenever I was around. Aaron has not uttered a single word about my heat or about my relationship with Jake. He simply went on with his usual routine and dropped by from time to time to check on us. Although I missed his protectiveness, I was thankful for the privacy and the space at the moment.Jenny has gone quiet as well and didn’t ask as many questions as she used to. Not that she did anything wrong, but maybe she felt bad about everything I said. I would if I were in her shoes and heard everything. I was sure no one would want to hear their friend embarrass herself in front of her brother and the man she liked.But on the other hand, Dad was an exception. He was never the type to invade my personal space, literally and figuratively, which I was thankful for, but lately, he has been more responsive and attentive to me. He was constantly checking if I needed anything or if I wanted
JAKE We’re heading off to Aeon’s party anytime soon. If it weren’t for the pack business that, for unknown reasons, he chose to conduct on the same day as his party, I would not be attending his gala. He might have wanted me there for a certain reason, but I just shrugged it off until his invitation to Clair came forward. He must have known that Clair wouldn’t go unless she came with someone from her pack. If it were up to me, I would not let her go to this party, but my Beta informed me that she wanted to go. Her agreement to go caught me off guard. I always thought she hated this kind of gathering, but I couldn’t avoid thinking she might be considering Aeon for her chosen mate, like what she told me last time at the stream. Now I have to change my plan for tonight. I initially thought that I would just attend the meeting with Aeon and leave as soon as we were done with it. But now I had to stay for the gala as well and watch her all night. Aeon might be a close friend, but Clair