Refusing my Alpha mate

Clair

I could hear him punching the railing and grunting in the back of his throat. He seemed frustrated, but he didn't justify everything he did, or did he? I just shook my head trying to get that idiot out of my head.

For the rest of the dance, I felt Arthur's warm gaze on me, a few times our eyes met and even though his green eyes looked deeply at me, almost looking for an answer, I looked away after a few seconds.

I tried to focus on the conversations I had after that, but it was like it shook me up a lot more than I would have liked. I didn't want to, but the argument with the idiot had ruined my night, and he seemed genuinely upset about it. Did I really exaggerate?

After the dance, I took a shower and tried to sleep, but my brain was racing with my reaction after the dance, I even thought about apologizing to Arthur. Something I just wasn't used to doing.

The next day there would be the beginning of the Pack's games, It was a tradition among the Packs in the region, that when an Alpha was going to take over, there would be a season of games to entertain and mingle the Alphas and future Alphas with the assumed future, this time it was mine possession and games in my Pack. We spent the morning organizing everything, and I almost couldn't eat lunch due to nervousness, In the middle of the afternoon the guests started to arrive. We had set up some tables for snacks and drinks, and as the first day would be archery, we set up target tripods in one of our large gardens with all the necessary distances for the competitions to be incredible.

I was cleaning my bow as I greeted the first Alphas that were arriving when a musky smell hit my nose and I felt his warm gaze on me, it was Arthur, he came, and in place of the tight suit I had seen him at the ball, or the wrinkled shirt from the first meeting, he was wearing a guard uniform from his Pack, a black outfit with a vest over it, full of holsters and fully armed, my heart gave a little jump and I needed to admit that he was more Still delicious. After greeting Augustus, his father, my gaze lifted to look at him.

"Arthur."

"Claire." He responded with a curt nod.

"You came." I said with a look of surprise in my voice. "Have you stopped running away and are you finally going to start taking on the responsibilities of your Pack?" I said teasing him, and only then did I remember the real reason he was taking over, his father's illness, and I regretted it the second I said it.

Arthur's expression closed, and at that moment, almost like a message from the Moon for me to realize my mistake, Arthur's father had a failure in one of his knees, making him take two large steps and hold his father by the shoulders, helping him to remain standing.

"Dad, are you okay? Do you want to sit down?" Arthur asked worriedly, and seeing in his eyes and how much love and concern he had for his father, made me swallow hard, made me realize that Arthur might be very different from me, but the love for his father was the same, and maybe he was a much better person than I had assumed.

I was quick and pulled up a chair that was close to the drinks table and reached for him, Arthur's eyes met mine and he gave a short nod of thanks. His father didn't want the chair but he had a glass of juice, soon afterward he felt better, and when the rest of the Alphas arrived, we started the games.

As the official hostess, I took my first arrow, and a wide smile appeared on my face when I saw the arrow hit just two centimeters above the black dot that marked the center. Tommy made his arrow, my father did too, and about 3 other Alphas also did it, not even coming close to my mark, and it was Arthur's turn, he pulled his bow from his back, and drew an arrow, he had firm and precise movements as if he had been doing this his whole life, and he was strangely overconfident about it.

He wouldn't be able to reach my mark, all this presumption would be in vain.

But in the next movement, he closed his left eye, pointed to the center, and released the arrow, which made a loud buzzing sound through the air, with so much speed it gained, the arrow hit the black spot squarely, with such absurd precision that my jaw dropped and my lips parted in astonishment.

Arthur turned to look at me with a smug smile at the corner of his mouth. He placed the bow on his back and turned to move on to the next target, as his face came inches away from mine, he lowered his face and said in a whisper.

"I didn't spend the ten years just having sex and partying, as you fantasized in your mind. I spent the ten years studying, Clair, and unfortunately for you today, archery was not only one of the courses, but it was the one that I was better." He finished speaking, looking at me again and following the other Alphas who had already been on their way to the next target.

It wasn't until his body moved away and I missed the warmth of him being around that I realized I was completely panting. Damn Clair.

We competed in all 20 targets, the other Alphas gave me some competition, even though I was still much better than them, but Arthur was much superior to me, it was almost unfair for him to play with us, he looked like a professional among amateurs. He won the first medal of the games by a landslide. After the competitions, there was a time to relax, drink, and eat, and I felt Arthur's eyes on me again, and it was a look of even more resentment, it was almost impossible to continue like this, I felt physical pain in feeling this resentment.

I was taken out of a bizarre impulse to apologize for my actions, this wasn't natural for me, I don't even remember the last time I apologized, but I needed it, it was almost something instinctual, a need of my body. I waited for him to go to the drink station to pour himself and I approached slowly, he looked up from the whiskey he was pouring and I saw his body tense up when his eyes met mine.

"Do you want a drink? Or did you come to insult me again?" His words were filled with pain, but why would he be so resentful of me if we barely knew each other?

I sighed before speaking.

"Actually I came to apologize, but a shot of whiskey it's always a good idea." I said trying to smile to break the mood.

Arthur's green eyes widened when he looked at me, I felt him completely surprised.

"Okay, Apologies? Clair Troffenholl apologizing?" Arthur smiled as he shook his head.

"Don't get used to it, this isn't common. But I made an unnecessary comment earlier today." I looked to the side sighing. "I still think you're an idiot for going away for 10 years to study, as you say, and I really think you did it to avoid responsibility. But I know you came back for him, and you're taking over the Pack, for him." I looked at Augustus sitting in a chair a little further away from where we were, and then my gaze returned to Arthur. "And there is nothing I admire more than the love between a father and a son." I said, looking at Arthur, and swallowing hard when I felt the intensity of his gaze on me.

And I was stuck there, as if his gaze left me immobile, enveloped, I felt my breathing quicken, I felt my heart beat faster, and when Arthur moved a few inches closer, my body leaned forward too, without control. I could feel his warm breath on my forehead, and my breath caught in my throat.

Until Tommy arrived at the station to get a drink. I took a step back and saw Arthur shaking his head and walking away.

"Whiskey then Clair? Are you really a copy of your father then? Let me guess, two ice cubes?" Arthur said trying to break the ice. I smiled and nodded yes.

"Well, he's the one who taught me how to drink." I replied smiling and shrugging my shoulders.

Tommy smiled after serving himself and left before Arthur handed me my glass, our fingers touched for a second and I felt my entire body shake.

"And I overreacted yesterday too." I completed it before Arthur faced me again.

"I accept your apology Clair, and I admire anyone who recognizes their mistakes." He said and then took a sip of his whiskey without taking his eyes off mine and then followed Tommy.

What the hell was that?