Alpha's Pet Book 2

Book 2: The Alpha’s Mate

EVONY

The sound of birds chirping and footfalls on the forest ground stirred me awake. My body felt limp and heavy, and everything hurt. Oddly enough though, I wasn’t lying on the ground; I was…floating?

My head slowly started to clear up, and I paid more attention to what I was feeling. Whatever I was lying on seemed to be moving. When I opened my eyes, I found myself slowly moving through the forest.

Was I being carried? A strange ache in my chest made itself apparent, and I cringed, squeezing my eyes shut. Why did everything hurt?

“Axton?” I said.

The man carrying me stopped and waited for me to relax.

“Not quite.”

The voice sounded familiar, and once the pain had subsided, I looked at who it was, only to be startled.

“Alpha Nathaniel?”

He glanced back at me before continuing to carry me through the forest on his back.

What the hell was going on?

Looking around, I saw nothing but forest, and none of it seemed familiar. This wasn’t the Winter Moon territory.

“Where are we?”

He sighed and looked up at the sky. “Right now, we are inside the Stone Pack territory.” He then continued to walk without giving any further explanation as to why or how we got here.

“What?” So many questions were running through my head, and I tried to think about the last thing I remembered: the party, my friends, and a dance. My head started to hurt worse the more I tried to focus on my memory.

How did I get here, how long was I asleep, and why was he carrying me? I started to worry as I thought about it all. Had he kidnapped me?

“Don’t push yourself. If you don’t remember, then you need to wait. It will only hurt if you try to force recalling your memories. Shifting can be difficult at first.”

His words had me reeling.

“Shifting? W-what happened last night? Are you saying I—”

“Yes,” he cut me off. “On the night of the festival, you shifted and ran into the forest.

“I was the only one who could readily track you, so I chased your wolf down for two whole days until you became exhausted enough and fell unconscious. Since then, I’ve been carrying you back to the Winter Moon territory.”

I was shocked. Was he serious? I shifted? But why? How? I hadn’t even met my wolf yet, and he was telling me I shifted and ran off?

The story made some sense though; it explained how I had gotten so far from home. But I still didn’t understand why he would willingly track me down for two days and then carry me back.

I had thought he hated me?

“I—I can walk if you’re tired…”

“No, your body has endured too much strain. If you try to stand now, you would only collapse, and I don’t need you slowing me down.”

I glared at the back of the alpha’s head. Were they all this stubborn?

Although it could have been worse, he didn’t need to follow me all the way out here, nor did he have to carry me back. So I thought maybe he wasn’t all bad.

I didn’t want to pester him, but I had so many questions. I had thought he hated me. Up until now, I had been avoiding him like the plague because of that, but maybe I was wrong?

“Maybe we should take a break?” He paused and then nodded before looking around the area for somewhere to sit, finding a boulder we could sit on.

He walked over and set me down on it before sitting on the ground—another strange action from the alpha; most often, someone of higher position would take seats before their subjects or anyone below them. But here, he purposely placed me above him and chose to sit on the forest floor.

I watched him curiously, and something seemed different. His eyes weren’t as dull as before, and he didn’t seem that sad. What had changed?

Although I knew it might piss him off, I asked the first question that came to my mind.

“I thought you hated me?” Okay, more of a statement than a question, but it was a start. My nerves had me sitting on the edge, ready to bolt if he decided to try anything.

The man before me seemed to freeze before glancing back at me. “What made you think that?” He seemed genuinely confused.

Was he serious? He didn’t hate me? “You acted kinda…strange whenever you were around me… And in the forest, you…well, it seemed you weren’t exactly fond of me. I thought you were going to kill me…”

I watched as his expression morphed from that of confusion to frustration before looking away.

“That has never been my intention. I never planned to hurt you. I apologize for my strange behavior; in fact…I was still trying to figure things out…”

“What do you mean?” I watched his back muscles tense up at my question as he stayed silent.

He stood up abruptly and looked around before shifting his eyes to me. “We should go.” He was avoiding the question!

He reached out to grab me, and I smacked his hand away with a growl. Alpha or not, I wasn’t going to just let him do as he pleased.

I had alpha blood too, so I was not ready to back down and be treated like a rag doll.

With Axton not here, I needed to stand for and protect myself. There was still no telling if his intentions were good or if he had actually kidnapped me!

“No! I’m not going anywhere with you until you explain everything to me!”

He looked at me, slightly surprised, before looking away and mumbling under his breath.

“You’re just like her…so stubborn…”

Like her? Who was he talking about? Before I could react, he pulled me closer and forced me onto his back. Unless I wanted to fall and crack my head open, I had no choice but to hang on.

“I’ll tell you later,” he said.

“Put me down. You can’t just toss me around. I have alpha blood too, Kade’s daughter or not!”

He stumbled for a moment before a growl escaped his throat.

“Are you really that blind? Kade has no alpha blood; he’s a false alpha. He was able to take control over Winter Moon because he betrayed the real alpha and luna and then chased out half the pack.”

“But do I have alpha blood?” I asked.

He sighed and continued to walk. “Yes, you do.”

“Does that mean my mother had alpha blood?” I asked.

He was silent for a moment, thinking over what he was about to say next.

“Your mother was part of the Winter Moon Pack before Kade took over. If she had alpha blood, there would have been complications within the pack. It’s not often possible for more than one family to have the gene within one pack.

“The current leaders would have probably banished her if that were the case, in order to keep peace.”

“You’re saying that neither of my parents had the gene but somehow I do? That doesn’t make any sense!”

How is this even possible?

Alpha blood was always passed on through family lineage, which meant that the only way I could have had it was if one of my parents had it.

He growled and set me down before looking at me.

“Your logic is flawed, Alpha. You’re saying I have the gene but both my parents lack it? That’s impossible!” I said, angrily.

“It isn’t impossible because Kade is not your father!” he snarled, and I could see the frustration in his eyes.

I looked at him, stunned. Kade wasn’t my father? But then…who? How was I born? Who even were my parents? I couldn’t wrap my head around what he was saying. How did he even know all this?

“Your mother was not Kade’s mate… She was mine.”