The Alpha's Innocent Mate

Rain is pouring down heavily all around me. For every step I take, there is a new, brown puddle refilling my already heavy combat boots with more dirty water. I think a small rock has lured its way into one of them, too, but I’m not sure. My feet are numb, so I don’t feel the pain. They’re cold, wet and they’ll definitely hurt in the morning, but I can’t stop yet. I need to get at least halfway through this forest first.   The dirt road beneath me is slippery and muddy, yet I still haven’t fallen down and ruined my clothes. I hope I don’t either. They’re the last pieces of clean clothes that I have. A pair of very distressed jeans, exposing more of my pale thighs than I want to admit, making them freezing cold, even though my blood is naturally a lot warmer than everyone else’s, are covering my legs. Or, almost covering them, at least. I have a tank top, too, and a knitted sweater that my grandmother gave me for my fifteenth birthday. I’ve been careful to wear i

I don’t really get the sudden change in Juan’s demeanor. It seemed like his son and son-in-law didn’t either, yet Marco showed me to a guest room on the second floor, where I had a private bathroom and a huge bed. He said I’d be staying there until Juan said otherwise. He also said he would ask his friend to lend me some clothes, so I now have a whole duffel bag of clothes inside the guest room. I decide to take a shower, and get into some of these clean clothes. I really need it. I’ve been washing up in rivers for too long, occasionally sneaking into a public pool or something, to use the showers there. It works, but nothing beats a real shower, like this.   I undress myself before I walk into the bathroom. It’s small, but cozy, and the water is warm almost immediately after I turn it on, which is nice. Still, I find myself looking into the mirror. I haven’t in a long time, and I almost immediately regret it. I’m looking scrawny. Boney, even. My ribs are sticki

I wake up to a knock on the door, and I sit up, staring at the door in horror. His smell is everywhere, but I know I locked the door, so he hasn’t been in here. I hope. As the knocking continues, I get up from the bed, and walk over to the door, and slowly turn the lock around, before I open the door up.   I brace myself as I look through the door, but it isn’t him. I exhale in relief as I look into Soraya’s kind eyes.   “May I come in?” she asks, holding up a tray with two sets of breakfast on it, and I nod, stepping aside so she can come into the room.   She walks through the room like she owns it, and I guess she does, but it’s a little intimidating, at the same time as it’s very calming and reassuring. She sets the tray down on the bed, and sits down on the edge, patting on the bedding next to her for me to sit down, too. I close the door again, and walk over the the bed, and crawl up into it.  

My eyes open up slowly, and they immediately meet with a pair of green ones, very much unlike his siblings’ eyes. I was expecting brown, but I guess he got his mother’s eyes. My breath has stopped, that’s safe to say, and I don’t really know what to do except stare into his eyes. They’re so beautiful, like two bright, shiny emeralds. One corner of his mouth quirks up into a half-smile as he looks back at me. After what feels like an eternity, I finally move my eyes to look at him, and not just his eyes. His skin is pale, just a little darker than mine, and he has a beard. My so-called soulmate has a beard, and I’m not repelled by it. It’s more like the opposite is happening, judging by the tickling feeling everywhere, even between my legs. I really want to wrap my arms around his neck and be even closer to him, but I can’t do that to myself. I need to leave soon. His short beard is dark brown,

I turn around to face away from Azaire, and look at my surroundings. We’re in a clearing inside the never-ending forest. It looks almost like someone has made it this way, with the tree stumps scattered around, a log there, and a fire-pit in the middle. A few meters away from me is a treehouse, leaning against one of the bigger trees surrounding the clearing. It looks like it’s filled with comic books and toys, and I take a step closer to it, just to see if I’m right. “I used to come out here with dad when I was a kid, when he had patrol,” Azaire says, but he doesn’t move. “Dad and his beta, Paul, built it for me and Paul’s son Tyler, who is my best friend. You should meet him, and his mate. I have a feeling you’d hit it off.” I turn around and frown at him. “Just because I’m supposedly your mate, it means I’d become friends with your friend&rs