Rejecting the Alpha

"Caught you. What's my prize?" I asked her as she struggled playfully in my arms, her back against my chest and ass against a very interested part of me.

"Oh, I don't know. What do you think your prize should be?" she responded, looking back at me mischievously over her shoulder.

"I can think of a few things. They all involve this," I said, freeing an arm and bringing it to her mouth, "Or this," I continued, running my hand down her torso to where her wet heat awaited me. She shivered against me, her play pretense of resistance melting before my hands.

After a moment I brushed her hair out of the way of her shoulder. "Or this," I said, bringing my mouth down to kiss the old mark on her shoulder.

"Do it," she said, her breathing ragged.

My wolf howled his agreement in the back of my head, and I pushed away my misgivings. I kissed it again, and then I bit down with my canines, right over and around where her abusive first mate had already marked her. She whimpered, but I couldn't stop now that I had started, pushing my canines deeper down into her tender flesh.

I pulled my teeth out and licked the wound clean, hoping that I hadn't made her life more difficult than ever. I turned her so that I could see her face. "Are you okay, Kylie?"

There was a slight tear in the corner of her eye and I cursed myself for it. She smiled at me tremulously. "I am."

"Are you sure?" Her feelings were coming at me hard, not the simple leaking that I had felt though the pack bond before, and I knew that it had hurt her, but I could also feel her happiness.

"Well, there is something that could make me feel even better, I think," she said, reaching between us and grabbing my length with her hand. I couldn't suppress my encouraging groan at her teasing grip, and the fact that I could feel her interest did nothing to calm me down.

I pulled her closer until she was pressed up hard against me, nothing between us, just the softness of her silky skin rubbing against my own. I wanted to explore every inch of her body, but for now I picked her up in the water and she wrapped her legs around my waist, teasing me with the proximity of where we were nearly joined.

Next to the waterfall our mouths searched each other, and my hands roamed until she reached between us and guided me into her. I groaned, deep in my throat, and moved closer to the wall of rock, bracing myself against it as I plunged into her. She whimpered encouragingly.

She contracted around me, and I whispered in her ear, "Mark me, too, Kylie."

She paused, surprise leaking towards me, but then she did it with determination, digging her canines into my shoulder the same way I had into hers. Caught in the mixture of pain and pleasure, I released inside her as she did it, satisfied that I had claimed and been claimed by my mate in every way possible.

I was hers, and she was mine. Not his, and I would never allow him to have her again while there was strength in my body.

I carried her out of the water and we lay together on the grassy ground. Belatedly I realized I should have brought something for us to lie on, but she did not complain. She looked at me with adoring eyes. "I really do love you. I didn't know it could be this good before I met you."

I kissed her again, and pulled her close. She was quickly becoming my world, and I would do whatever it took to provide for her and keep her safe.

After we rested together for a while, we shifted back and ran back to my car. She kept smiling at me and shooting me secretive little glances. We were more connected than ever, and I was beyond pleased at the contentment I felt both internally and radiating through our bond.

That happiness stretched from that evening into weeks, and then months. There were moments of sadness like when she thought about everyone she had lost, but most of the time Kylie and I worked together well, a perfect mixture of teasing and mutual pleasure. There seemed to be no adverse consequences to the fact I had marked her, even though his claim also had not faded.

We ignored the wider problems in the world outside Lightwood and lived as if nothing could touch us.

I continued to work remotely with Jack, and also doing my delta duties. I only ran patrols occasionally when needed, like that first time I had met Kylie, but unfortunately it had been a bad week. One of our warriors had broken his leg, one had already booked vacation to visit their family in another pack, and another was on maternity leave, leaving us shorthanded. Instead of stretching the guards thinner, I took over a night shift, leaving my beautiful mate at home for the night.

She kissed me goodbye passionately before I left. "Come back to me safely," she said.

"Of course," I said, before I dashed off to take my spot on the line.

The night shift was fairly uneventful. A few rogues had been scented on the western border, but they had caused no further difficulties. I was glad, because all I wanted was to get back to my mate.

Nothing looked amiss when I reached the house, although everything was quiet. Usually Kylie was already up at that time, but she might have slept in.

"Kylie? I'm home," I called, and my nagging feeling was confirmed when no sound met my ears. Heart pumping, I hurried inside, my senses on the alert. Our home smelled like her, but the scent was fading. She hadn't been here in hours.

The hair on the back of my neck prickled as I was met with the nearly undetectable but unmistakeable scent of rogue. I swore, and I linked Alpha Timothy with my fears and my horrifying realization.

Kylie was gone.