Night and Neera: A Rejected Mate Story

Chapter 13: I'm Protecting You

Alphas are all about being over the top. They have more confidence than fifty men. They're huge compared to almost all other men, as both human and wolf. They're faster than other men, no contest. They're utterly assured and in control in all situations. In fact, the more threatening the situation, the better they are. They thrive on being challenged, being in charge and caring for their pack members.

And in cases where they've fucked up with their mates, they're the biggest babies in the world.

Sad eyes? The very saddest and droopiest.

Hang dog look? The hang doggiest.

Pathetic? The most pitiful in the world.

The morning after Night bit me against my will, I slowly came awake in his arms. I last remembered crying on the floor, my back against the wall, Night's monster wolf huddled beside me. I'd almost jumped out of my skin when I'd first felt the lick of his wolf's tongue against my bite mark, then quickly settled down as he continued his healing ministrations on my mark.

The bite mark I hadn't wanted.

Had refused, in fact. Several times.

But not much other than a bigger, scarier force of nature could stop an Alpha wolf from Taking the Blood with his Destined One. And even then, the Alpha wolf would fight to his death to get through whatever was keeping him from his Howl. It was part of our most basic natures, a biological imperative that could not be denied. An Alpha could not resist his Howl, and vice versa.

So how had I denied him? How had I fought and protested the bite? Nothing should have stopped me, not even Raevyn's words of warning to me not to let Night bite me, and if he did, to not bite him back.

Thinking back to the morning of my twenty-first birthday, I thought about how happy I'd been when I looked in the mirror and realized I was the Howl. My Destined One was known to me -- I wouldn't have to wait for the Forces to bring us together since I knew exactly where to find him. On my run over to Night's house, I'd been planning our future and children together. Of course he'd give up Lindsay Morgan now that his Destined One was revealed. He'd have no other choice. In a word, I would be irresistible to him.

Or I should have been impossible to resist.

Now, after the pain of him rejecting me, then me rejecting him, through the pain of running away from my Destined One not once, but twice, through the helplessness of him Taking my Blood without my consent, I was waking up, cradled in his arms. He was sitting on the floor, clearly having taken my place there, his back against the wall, and his eyes were on me.

Focused on me with startling intensity.

After behaving so horribly to me, after biting me without my consent, he'd held me all night long and I'd slept in his arms peacefully, like a baby. I'd fucking slept in the arms of the man who had Taken my Blood against my will.

Not liking what that implied, with a yelp, I jumped out of his arms, too fast for even his amazing reflexes to stop me and I quickly put the bed between us. Slowly, carefully, not making any fast moves, he got to his feet, not wanting to freak me out any more than I was.

"Neera, we need to talk," he said calmly, making no move to pursue me as he had last night. Would I be safe over here?

Don't think about that.

"I'm not going to come after you, so yes, you're safe over there. I know you're scared of me right now, but I need to tell you about things that have been happening, about magic, about some recent deaths in our pack and the Luniere pack, about why I Took your Blood last night without your permission."