The Alpha Takes a Mate (13 page)

Did he sense her presence?

Even as their connection was growing she still struggled to talk to him. Not being able to look him in the eye didn’t help. She spent more time avoiding his gaze than not.

Once they got to the edge of the forest he put her down. She pushed her uniform dress down her thighs.

He escorted her around to the front entrance.

“I’ll pick you up tonight. I’ve got some plans.”

She smiled, kissed him back, then watched as he met with Lori. The other woman stood waiting for him a few buildings down.

Chapter Thirteen

Brandon
joined Lori, and together they moved in the direction of the house in the far forest. Over the last few days several witches and warlocks had turned up, along with two other wolf alphas and the leader of the bears next to his.

Drake, Darcy
, and Lewis stood outside the house as yelling came from inside.

He was thankful the woman at his side remained quiet on the walk up.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

All three men turned to him. They glared at Lori before turning back to him.

“They’re getting pissed with being trapped in the house. We’re waiting for several more bear leaders along with vamps to turn up. Crazy Lizzy almost burnt the place down to the ground earlier,” Drake said.

“What? Why?”
Brandon headed towards the front door.

“She was setting fire to towels.
The flame caught the curtain, and instead of putting it out, she watched the pretty colours. Her words not mine,” Drake said, holding his hands up in surrender.

“Where’s Elle?” Darcy asked, glaring at Lori.

The woman at his side put a hand at his hip. His scent surrounded her. He hated touching the other woman, but the Otherworld creatures needed to be convinced he’d mated. The news had travelled fast about his mating. He didn’t know how but could only put it down to soothsayers or the witches with powers to see into the future.

“She’s at the diner. Do not say her name,”
Brandon said.

“Don’t worry, Darcy. I’ll make them believe I’m really
his.” Lori ran her hand down his shirt front. Brandon caught her hand.

“No, don’t touch me.” He touched her
, but none of his touches were intimate. Their touches were necessary in order to protect Elle. Since he’d found her, he couldn’t bring himself to look at another woman.

“I still think this is a fucked up plan,” Lewis said, throwing his cigarette into the dirt.

“Doesn’t matter what you think. We’re going through with this.” Brandon started forward and was stopped as Crazy Lizzy growled at him. Her eyes were glazed over.

“I didn’t ask for thi
s. How dare you pick her? I told you I’d do everything you wanted. It should have been me.”

Her voice was loud, screeching almost. Crazy Lizzy attacked him, slashing his face.
Brandon roared as she made to attack him once again. Drake and Lewis grabbed her. The instant their hands touched her, the trance she was under stopped. She stared down at the hands that grabbed her.

“Seriously, doggies, I can make my way into the house.” She brushed their hands aside and smiled at
Brandon. “You’ve got a nasty gash, Wolfy. You should get that sorted.” Crazy Lizzy tapped his hand then walked away.

They all stared after the witch.

Had she just attacked him, or was he imagining it?

“Okay, that woman gets weirder by the year,” Drake said.

She’d been known to have her episodes. Brandon wiped the blood from his cheek. What did she say? Was that a premonition?

“I’m going to see her.”
Brandon charged in the direction she walked. The witch whistled as she moved. Didn’t she know how dangerous her actions were?

She’s crazy.

“Cr … erm … Lizzy, what was that all about?” he asked.

The witch bent down to pick up a dandelion. She turned to him. Her green eyes stared back at him.

“What?” she asked, twirling the weed in front of her.

“You just said something back there and scratched my face,” he said, pointing at his torn cheek.

“Shoot, I really should cut my nails back. Thank you for reminding me,” she said, moving away.

“Lizzy, will you stop
?”

She stopped with her hands in the air. Her mouth open as she went to take another breath.

Getting annoyed, Brandon grabbed her arms. “Stop messing with me. You sounded distraught when you spoke.”

Lizzy blinked and sighed. “I’m over two thousand years old,
Brandon. I can’t remember everything I’ve said today, let alone next century or the century just gone. We’re in the twenty-second century after all.”

He frowned. “No we’re not. We’re in the
twenty-first century.”

“Really? Then I’m seriously ahead of schedule.” She froze, blinked
, and looked at him. Her change of moods was a challenge to keep up with. “What I said was a warning, Brandon. The decision you’ve made is not a good one. You’re going to lose everything if you’re not careful. Be warned, evil lurks everywhere, and they want to tear you apart.”

Brandon
took a step back. “What danger? What evil?” he asked.

“Seriously, do I have to do everything?” Lizzy threw her hands in the air and walked away.

He tried to keep up with her, but she simply vanished before his eyes. Cursing, Brandon retracted his steps. His people were talking with several warlocks. Lori was waving a daisy through the air waiting for him.

All their gazes turned to him as he made his way out of the clearing. “Did you get done what you needed?” Lori asked.

Lizzy appeared beside the warlock. “He did. Do I know you?” she asked the warlock.

Shaking his head,
Brandon made his way toward the house.

Witches sat on the sofa playing with their hair. Warlocks watched the
m, grinning. The animosity between the witches and warlocks was legendary. Witches were always female while warlocks were men.

He didn’t understand the whole story
, but their battles had been going on for centuries.

The scent of the forest surrounded him as one of the bears came out of the kitchen. He was a tall man.

“I didn’t think you were going to show, Brandon. I heard from little fairies that you were mated. I figured this meet would be cancelled,” Alaric said. Alaric was the leader of the bears who lived close to his town. They were good friends but stayed apart in case their beasts ever threatened to tear them apart.

“This is far too important,”
Brandon said.

****

Elle worked through her break. She dodged Layla’s questions, and even Daisy appeared to be sombre. The pack members she served avoided her gaze, which only served to unnerve her.

Shrugging off their attitude she kept an eye on the door. She was waiting for Matthew to
enter. The mated wolf always ate at the diner. She cleaned tables, refilled salt pots and sugar bowls. Sipping her milkshake, whenever the door went she checked to see who entered.

“Who are you waiting for?” Layla asked.

“Erm, I’m not waiting for anyone.”

Layla gave her a pointed look.

“Okay, all right, I’m waiting for Matthew. I want to ask him some questions.”

Her friend nodded. “I can see why. I bet all this mated stuff is new.”

What stuff? Nothing seems to have changed other than I get tingles when Brandon’s close by. That’s wrong. You also get turned on whenever he’s around.

Shaking off her thoughts she stared at her friend. They’d not got
ten a chance to talk since the incident with the human men.

“What’s going on with you lately?” she asked.

Layla shrugged. “Nothing new is happening. I’m the same person. I’ve got nothing to share.”

“What happened with Lewis?” She took a seat looking out at the diner in case a customer needed her. Daisy had left to visit her mate. Elle sat in the kitchen area waiting for Layla to talk.

“Nothing actually happened. I don’t know. He took me home. My folks weren’t home, and he sat with me for some time. He talked to me about the human and what Brandon needed to do. I knew he was going to kill them. I just thought it was a mistake.” Layla tucked hair behind her ear.

Elle listened to her remembering the shock of
Brandon’s outburst. He looked ready to tear the guy apart, and he had.

She shivered. Elle didn’t want to think of his hands hurting anyone, especially when they brought her so much pleasure.

“When everything settled down, I made us a drink, and he came up behind me. Lewis wrapped his arms around my waist and ground his … erm … dick against my ass. He told me he wanted me.” Layla was bright red.

“I bet he said way more than that.”

“He did. I refused. I told him I didn’t sleep with men. I’m waiting for the right man for me. He backed off instantly. With the way Brandon’s behaved around you, I know I’m not mated to Lewis. He’d have claimed me by now.”

Elle saw the sadness in her friend’s eyes. “I’m so sorry
, sweetie.” She reached out but Layla stopped her.

“You don’t need to pity me. It’s no problem. I’m not destined to be with Lewis. It’s for the best. Your guy is here. I’m going to serve coffee. I hope you find what you need.”

Layla rushed out of the room. Matthew was sat in his usual seat with his mate. Taking a deep breath, Elle moved out of the kitchen. She approached his table.

“Hi,” she said.

“Elle, how are you doing?”

She put her notebook away. “I was wondering if I could talk to the pair of you,” she said.

“Sure, take a seat.”

Matthew’s mate smiled at her.

“I’m ever so sorry but I don’t know your name,” Elle said.

The woman laughed. “No problem. I’m used to being called Matthew’s mate. I’m Christine.”

She shook the woman’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Elle said.

“So, Elle, what do you need to ask
?”

“I need to talk to you about this mating thing.”

He froze. “You should talk to the alpha. He’s your mate.”

“I’m not used to this, Matthew. I don’t know how to talk with him about this.
He won’t tell me everything that happens during a mating. We’re at an impasse,” she said, trying to reason with him.

“You need to tell her, Matthew. She has a right to know,” Christine said.

Elle smiled at the other woman.

Matthew let out an agitated sigh. “This is going to get me into fucking trouble.” He leaned forward. “Have you accepted the mating?”

Elle frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“
Mating takes two people, Elle. You either accept Brandon as your mate, or you don’t.”

“He’s convinced I’m his mate.”

“But you can still reject him. It’s not unheard of. We’re mated together for a reason, but it can happen,” Christine said.

“The mating requires you to open yourself up to the other person. Christine and I accepted each other. There was no fight between us. We found each other, fell in love
, and the rest is history.” He stroked her hair.

Elle watched the movement and yearned for something similar.
Brandon touched her, but it wasn’t affectionate. Brandon’s touch always made her think of him telling the world he owned her. She didn’t like it. There was no affection in his touch.

“Your mind is the barrier I’m talking about. We all build
walls up around ourselves to protect us. When I found Christine, the barrier went down, and I let her in. She knows my thoughts and feelings.”

Christine smiled at him. “I know when he’s horny or hungry. The connection is between us like an electric spark no one else can see
, but it’s there, and it’s all ours.”

The woman locked her fingers with Matthew.

“When the mating happens you’ll sense each other, and we can communicate through our minds. We don’t need to talk.”