Night and Neera: A Rejected Mate Story

Chapter 17: Alpha

An Alpha set on wooing his Howl is a man who doesn't know exactly what the hell to do with himself. An Alpha had never before had to woo his Howl -- basic biological urges took care of that for him and everything fell neatly into place as the two came together, tearing off clothes to get at one another in a frantic frenzy, canines descending a bit, eyes glowing, little growls coming out instead of words at times. 

Because Night had given his word to me that we'd take it slow, he was having to fight both his nature and his wolf -- and he was doing it to give me time. To settle. To process all of the craziness that had taken place since my birthday. For an Alpha, that was a huge concession.

I know I've pushed you and ruined our Taking of the Blood, but I'm not pushing any more, Neera, I promise. You're my Howl, and even though my instinct is to move fast with you, I can take it slow. 

My instinct made me want to move faster, too, but I fought it and made sure we were moving slowly. Of course I knew where we'd end up. That was given, a foregone conclusion that was absolutely inevitable, but I wasn't taking the direct path there. The human part of me liked the idea of being pursued and dated, building a relationship that was based on feelings and not instinctual urges.

It's going to take about five months for our house to be built, and we're going to use that time to get to know each other without the pressure of needing to save the wolf world on our shoulders.

We may not have had the pressure of saving the wolf world on our shoulders, but we sure as hell had the pressure of hormones -- out of control, raging, intense, unrelenting -- on our shoulders. Every time I was near him, my wolf sat up, right along with my human hormones and reached out for him. And the man knew it, because his canines would descend and he'd fill his lungs with me, then turn and stalk away a few yards, muttering to himself. Although maybe he was fighting his wolf, because I'd heard him snap, I'm not humping her damn leg, so just shut the fuck up about that! one time in utter frustration.

But for an Alpha who didn't know exactly how to woo his Howl, he was making a surprisingly good effort -- he was funny, he was a little goofy, he was eager to please and he was charming as hell. But underneath all of it was a sweetness that couldn't be denied. He was like a...wolf pup, bouncing energy, happy to be around me, wanting my attention and lapping up any notice I gave him.

With every other pack member, he was Alpha -- decisive, controlling, firm, caring, rock-steady. Strong as hell. I was getting another side of him that no other pack member ever had, not even Lindsay Morgan when Ifrita was controlling her. For three years, despite being enchanted to believe he was in love with Lindsay Morgan, Night had never behaved toward her the way he was acting with me. 

I thought back to the day after we had killed the magicks, when we honored the wolves who had offered their necks so Raevyn and Ifrita could be destroyed. We all gathered around the bonfire as Night addressed all of us.

"We honor Blaisall and Lindsay Morgan today, for without their obedience to a decree, without their willingness to lift up their heads and show their throats, our pack would no longer be. We send them, with our thanks, on their journey back home."

Solemnly, we all watched as their wolves' bodies turned to ash so they would become part of the earth again, and their spirits would ride to the Forces on the flames that leapt up into the sky. I searched Night's face for any signs of distress for Lindsay Morgan's death, I even reached out through our bond, but there was nothing except gratitude that she and Blaisall had bared their necks.

He sought me out after he touched hands with all of the pack members. The rumors had been  flying about exactly what had gone down the previous day, and everyone needed reassurance through the Alpha's touch to calm and help settle them down.