Finding love is supposed to be easy. You turn twenty-one and you scent your mate and the rest falls into place. Well, for most people. But not for me. No, I was rejected the second we discovered we were mates. Now five years later I have moved on and here he is once more. Not to claim me and make me his, nope. Maverick is here to take me to be courted by his boss, the Alpha of Alpha’s. The worst part? Maverick has only gotten more attractive over the years and his eyes are saying a hell of a lot more than his sealed lips. Lips I fully intend to get answers from. Two words: Tatum Rhodes. My best friend's little sister, my ex mate. The very last person I want to be picking up to deliver to my Alpha as his potential chosen mate. Rumor is second chance mates aren’t a thing, I can believe that. But they also say once the mate bond is broken so is the attraction. And that I can confirm with certainty is bullshit, because I feel like I just found the fucking sun after five years of living in a dungeon.
View More*Tatum*
The loud clinking from the kitchen has me creeping out of my bedroom in search of River, my usually quieter roommate. It’s barely six in the morning, far earlier than either of us ever get up, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t happy she wasn’t able to sleep either. She was passed out on the couch last night when I got home from work, so I haven’t had the chance to tell her the good news yet. I have a date. And it’s not just with any ordinary person.
I half expect her to freak out when she sees me come around the corner. I was not, however, even remotely prepared for the handsome, well-dressed man leaning against my kitchen counter. Panic creeps up my spine as I blink at him.
His dark eyes lift from the cellphone in his hand and a smile grows on his face when he notices me. In an instant he straightens up, places his phone down and saunters over, stuffing his hands in his pressed suit pant pockets.
He’s not a stranger. No, this is the very handsome man I’ve been chatting with for two weeks on the newly launched dating app for the rejected werewolves in the community. Only I opted for the more…well…elite version. I upgraded to the royalty level.
Meaning this gorgeous man with the pretty smile is Artemis. App handle name ArtoftheAlphas. Known to all the werewolf world as Alpha Artemis. The literal Alpha of the Alpha’s. He is our king, one without a queen. And he is staring me down like he might want to put that crown on my head and I’m now ready to freak the flip out.
“I was in town…” he starts when he seems to pick up on my internal freak out. “I just thought…maybe it would be romantic…?” He asks, looking around for reassurance from anyone who will give it.
I notice the woman who is laying out a display of breakfast pastries. Another prepares two mugs of steaming coffee, all the while frowning at the array of decorative mugs in my cupboard. My jaw drops open, but I force it closed, feeling a little uneasy. Instinctively, I hug my arms around my body, looking for coverage.
We’ve never met in person before. Nope, not even once. Yet here he stands, overwhelmingly eager to spend time with me, like a golden retriever waiting for a walk. He looks gentle and harmless, so he probably won’t kill me, at least I don’t think he will.
I flash him the best smile I can muster. This is fine. Not how I would do things, but that’s okay. I need to choose him just as much as he has to choose me.
“This is…sweet,” I offer, and he smiles in relief and chuckles.
“Go get something on…” he says, looking at me like I am underdressed, though I can see the grin. “And then maybe I can win you over with a unique proposition.”
I arch a brow, intrigued. “I’d say make yourself at home, but well…”
“Yeah…” he winces “I can see now how this may have been too much.”
“It’s fine.” I tell him, though, I’m not completely comfortable waking up to a man in my house taking over. Okay, not at all comfortable, but it’s not like he came alone and crawled into my bed. He came with staff and is clothed in the nicest tailored suit I’ve ever seen.
“It’s a little creepy, now that I think about it,” he sighs. I grin and nod.
“A creep with croissants and coffee is a creep I can get used to,” the words fumble out like word vomit and I want to crawl away into a corner. Did I just fucking say that? “Uh–I’ll just go get dressed” I chuckle awkwardly as I rush to my room, stopping to glance in the mirror.
I groan in horror, regretting the thought of looking at my reflection. I’m a mess. My ponytail askew with tufts of brown astray on my head and a sleep line from my pillow down my cheek. Just great. I told him he was an okay creep by me when I’m the one looking like I crawled out of a grave looking for brains. At this rate, I should just wish him the best, pack my bags and join a convent.
There is no time to shower, not with my date being a whopping fourteen hours early, so I pull my hair down and brush through it as quickly as possible. I touch up last night’s makeup, freshening up my mascara with a quick stripe before turning to my closet.
I opt for my black maxi dress and grab my emerald green cashmere sweater, tossing it over the dainty straps. Okay, it’s not MY sweater. It’s River’s, but she gave it to me to wear on my date, so this may be the only thing going according to plan.
I do a twirl on my hardwood floor, nibbling my lip in nervous excitement. I don’t look like royalty. Sure a shit doesn’t feel like it either, but royalty is sitting in my kitchen waiting for me. And now that I don’t have time to be nervous, it’s kind of exciting. So I smooth the front of my dress, take a deep inhale and open my door, yelping when I find Artemis waiting right outside of it for me.
“Sorry.” He smirks. “I was just meandering. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a condensed place before…” He says and I bite back a laugh.
“You’ve never been in an apartment?” I ask him and he smiles a sexy little grin.
“No. Usually everyone wants to come back to my place.” He shoots me a wink and I can’t fight the laugh. He is strange, but he makes it easy to relax in his presence. It’s refreshing, to say the least.
“I’d offer you a tour…” I wave my hand around the space. “But there isn’t much else to see but the bathroom.”
“I’ve already looked in there, too. It’s fascinating how you make do with one bathroom for two girls.”
I furrow my brows but follow him as he turns and walks through my apartment and toward the door, completely bypassing the breakfast his staff set up for us.
I squeak in sad surprise as he opens the door to the hallway. With a longing look, I offer a silent goodbye to the delicious smelling coffee that lingers behind us.
He parades me to the elevator; the hallway lined with his staff. I mean, what the hell did I expect? Someone remotely normal? At least he isn’t trying to wink his way into my pants like the weird guy at the bar last week.
“Uh, Alpha Artemis…”
“Please, call me just Artemis, Tatum.”
“Uh, Artemis…About breakfast…”
“It will still be there when we come back.” He offers me a gentle smile and I return it.
This may be the first time we have met, but we’ve been talking for weeks, I remind myself. And all along he has been quirky and fun. This is the same Artemis who was up texting until four in the morning days ago because we were watching the same movie and he needed to know how I was reacting.
My heart flutters as the conversations flood back and blush rises to my cheeks. No, I may have been surprised in the apartment, but I am excited he is here. I feel the heat of his hand, not touching mine, but resting so close it feels like it is. We are both nervous. It’s so easy to sense those nerves when you know them so well, so I reach out and entwine our hand.
He chuckles, his breath releasing as if an immense weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
“Thank you,” he murmurs, and I give him a curious glance. He gives me a shy grin. “I’ve crossed a few too many barriers this morning already. I was afraid to take your hand.”
I can’t help but giggle and look down at our hands as he gives me a firm squeeze.
“I am happy to meet you halfway and cross a few of my own.” I tease as the elevators beeps and the doors open.
He drags me alongside him and presses the button to close the door, giving us the first moment of privacy we have had together yet. He seems to relax a little without his warriors and staff around.
“Can I ask where we are going?”
“Of course.” Artemis says as if he had forgotten he hasn’t told me a dang thing about this supposed date. The one I thought was happening upstairs. “I am taking you shopping.”
“Um…What?” I ask, my eyes wide.
“You do like shopping, right?” He seems worried as he looks at me.
“I mean, as long as it’s not from my paycheck, it’s always a great time.” I tease and he laughs. “But stores don’t open until nine in the morning. We have a good two and a half hours, if not more.”
“You do realize I am the Alpha King, right?” He reminds me. It’s odd how any other man in this position it would sound like he was gloating or trying to remind me how lucky I am. But he seems to be genuinely trying to tease and make light of everything about himself to make me more comfortable, and it’s working.
“What? You are? Well shit, why didn’t you tell me?” I joke back. His smile seems permanent now, his sweet dimples on display, and I can’t help but want to touch them. He’s devastatingly handsome under ordinary circumstances, but add these playful dimples and I want to just eat him right up.
“I have a proposition for you, Tatum.” He says as we exit the elevator.
“Okay.”
“Now,” he sighs, his smile dropping for the first time since being with me. “I know this may not come off right…and you can, at anytime, say no, but I truly hope you say yes.”
My heart races, and I try to calm my nerves. Is he…asking me to be his chosen mate already? Because even with our two weeks of chatting, and the smiles and the butterflies…This is all…it’s too soon.
It feels like I am suffocating as I try to control myself and my emotions, my wolf just as distressed and alarmed in my mind as she tries to calm me down.
Artemis walks me down the corridor and opens the door, dragging me out into the cool crisp morning air that feels like ice against my heated skin. I inhale sharply and give my head a shake. All I have to do is be honest with him and myself. It’s all he has ever asked of me.
“I am seeing other people.” He whispers. I rear my head, turning to look at him, taken aback.
“I’m sorry…?” I blink, and he takes his hand, rubbing it down his face.
“It’s just…My advisors thought…I know it seems wrong.”
He fumbles for his explanation, and I find it cute. Clearly Artemis is unaware of the rules they gave us when we signed up for the Royalty package.
It stated, in simple terms, that he would be speaking to several women, overlapping at times. I know he has been talking to other girls. What speaks louder to me is that he is still here, holding my hand.
“Artemis, I know.” I reach out and press my palm to his cheek. “They informed me it was a possibility when I signed up. It’s okay.”
“They did?” He asks, taken aback. I nod and he heaves a hefty sigh. “Well, that makes this easier, then.”
“Are you breaking up with me?” I ask, feeling a little sad.
“No, I am asking you to move in.”
“What?!” I squeak, my voice as high as my eyebrows.
Hey!! SO this is ending differently than my usual they are happy for 5-10 chapters! why? Becuase I felt their relationship was developed along the way, showing them over that many chapters again would have felt like filler which i promise never to give you. I have also left a few things open for specultion. There is a reason for that. There is potential for a Clem and Kit story, a shorter one but that won't happen until I get the second book in the Rebel Rising series up and completed.Clem and Kit's story would pick up from the moment she is traded to him for Tatum so we would also get alot of Mav and Tatum in their story as they are important characters in their lives. As always, THANK YOU, for hanging in there with me. This was a fun one to write. I will be doing some editing and such and may add more to give us more details about River and Artemis but they also may have a small novella coming if I feel like their story needs to be told from their POV. Basically, everything
Tatum sits sobbing in the bed, her eyes locked on mine as I hold the little screaming bundle in my arms. I look down at my sweet, perfect, and very loud son, Maxwell Mason. Tatum rubs her eyes, her chest heaving up and down, and I can’t help but laugh. I know it’s an awful thing to do, especially considering the circumstances, but I can’t help it. Tatum looks beautiful and exhausted. “Babe, go to sleep.” I insist and she shakes her head no.“Why won’t he sleep?” she blubbers. “I am so tired,”“Tater tot.” I say firmly, “Then go to sleep. I’ve got him. He is okay. He just needs a change and a bottle.”“But I should be able to nurse him,” she sobs, looking at her hands in her lap.“Ah.” I sigh. So that’s the actual issue. Tatum’s milk supply has yet to come in and it is the third week. My poor sweet mate wanted nothing more than to be a mother and be a perfect one. And now that she has a baby, she feels like she isn’t enough because she can’t breastfeed him. “Look at me,” I say, walki
*Maverick*The healer walks around me, a look of concentration on her face before she looks at me and clicks her tongue. My heart falls. Clearly, this physical evaluation is going fucking poorly. And here I thought I was going to be giving the go ahead to make Tate mine tonight. It has been two fucking weeks of not being able to make her mine.No strain on my body, no marking and no fucking sex. Worst fucking rules ever, and here Tatum is all happily complying. I have been a patient man all my life waiting for the day I can fuck my mate whenever I damn well please and yet here I am dying to sink my teeth into her neck and make sure every damn single male in this pack knows she is mine.“Janelle,” I growl at the healer who Artemis sent with us to ensure my healthcare was consistent for optimal healing. She shoots me a glower that says to shut up and wait. “I think your healing has expedited with your new title.” She says, finally standing upright and giving me a satisfied smile. “Your
Maverick stares at me, the haziness finally completely gone as he just observes me silently. I reach out to touch him, my heart pounding. I have been touching him, helping him with the bond the whole time he has been injured and out of it.But now…he is coherent enough to realize I am actually here. He flinches as I come close and my heart aches at his fear, who would have thought he was easier to work within when he was fighting during his treatment than he is right now after a solid 4 days of healing sleep.“Maverick,” I keep my tone light and assuring. Even after explaining to him it will no longer hurt him, he is still hesitant and I understand now just how much the oath was tormenting him. The very sight of me seems to cause him pain and confusion. The fucking oath’s attempt to ruin us is still so damn raw. “Y-you’re sure?” He asks, swallowing roughly and licking his lips “I’m positive.” I nod. “The oath is gone,”“How can you be so sure? I don’t understand,” he mutters, lookin
Maverick tries to reach up to touch me back, his eyes distant but happy, as if he is moving in a fog. My tears run unchecked down my cheeks as I try like hell to calm myself. There is so much happening all at once. In my mind and around me, I feel overwhelmed, completely lost in what to do with all of it. “I need you to keep him from moving.” The healer tells me, touching my shoulder gently. “We have to get his arm bandaged before infection sets in and he loses it.”I lower my head, pressing my cheek to his as he turns into me, a satisfied hum on his lips.“Mav, stay still. You have to stay still, otherwise it will hurt,” I whisper in his ear.“I want to touch you,” he says back, his words sounding slurred as he tries to turn toward me.“No, no,” I rush out, splaying my hand over his chest to still him. My stomach boils when I touch his open wound, but I keep my eyes closed, my face pressed to his as I breathe through it. “You need to heal. ““I don’t want to.” He mutters, and I sigh
*Tatum*I fly out of the car before Jackson even has it in park, sprinting up the heavily decorated stairs as the doors whip open. River throws herself into my arms, holding me as my chest beats and all the terrible thoughts one can imagine flit through my mind. I haven’t been able to catch my breath since she told us to hurry. I can only think the worst. It has to be terrible if she won’t tell me over the phone. “Riv…” my voice quivers as I pull away trying to force her to look at me, but she avoids eye contact. Jackson places his hand on my back to comfort me.“That’s enough waiting. You have to tell her, River. She needs to not be in the dark anymore.” He tells her and she looks over at him, biting her lips. “We found him.” She swallows, rubbing my arms in a soothing manner. “But it’s not good, he is—”I move her aside, rushing into the pack house, my eyes trying to locate where he is. IS he in our old room? Or did it cause him so much hurt that he has now moved to another room?
*Maverick*I know I won’t be able to see Tatum tonight, not without the pain that will overtake me like it does every fucking time she comes to my mind. With the way the oath is going, it is trying to burn her from my memory, punish me for the bond that was divined for me.If I had any other option, I would take it. I have searched for two months alongside Artemis and Milo and at times, even River would pull an all nighter looking for something. Anything that would relieve me of my suffering, and Tatum’s as well. There is nothing, just as there wasn’t two months ago. The only way I can think to end the suffering, truly be rid of the pain, is to end it. No, I’m not the type of man to kill himself. That’s not how I plan to go out. I have respect for the life I was given, the talents I have. What I don’t have respect for are the rogues that started this all. The callous, soulless assholes who only wish to maim and murder for fucking entertainment.Their attack is the one that led me dow
The waves tickle my bare feet, the warmth of the sun seeping into my shoulders as I stand side by side with my mom. I couldn’t NOT bring her with me. I wasn’t in a good enough place to go anywhere alone and with Clem and River both busy living their own lives…well. Mom wanted to be with me. I guess she was worried I would wander off and never come home. But this ending with Maverick feels less…I don’t know. It’s different. My heart is in tatters, but it’s different from the first time. Back then there was an ache, feeling like he didn’t love me, or I wasn’t enough. This time…this time I get it. Maverick loves me, and he loves me as much as I love him. Which is why I have traveled the last two months like he asked me to in his letter. I knew deep down if he thought there was a way out of his oath, a way we could be together, I know he would utilize it. “How are you, my sweet girl?” My mom asks softly and I smile, lifting my chin for the sun to kiss my bare cheeks. “Hmm, I’m good to
It’s bitter out. The cold air is relentless as it whips around, the wisps of little snowflakes blowing in my face as I stare at my parents’ grave. Their grave is massive, no doubt costing thousands, and I tilt my head, wondering how Tatum of all people paid for it. The thought of her creates an ache throughout me, my heart exhausted and battered from all the back and forth for the past two days waiting to see her.I couldn’t bring myself to text her back or even attempt to answer her calls, as I hid like a coward. If I would have answered I would have told her, There is no hiding the truth from her and she deserves to be told in person. I deserve to witness her heartbreaking so I can never forget what I have done to her time and time again. “You’ve been avoiding me,” her sweet voice calls out behind me and my eyes slide shut, relishing how she sounds, the happiness that laces her teasing words. I want to hold on to this, fucking cling to it like a baby clings to its mother, but I’m
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