Save Me Mr. Alpha

“I would find you. I will always find you. Now that I have you, I’m not letting you go ever again.”

Tyson’s word cut deep, and I begin to drive, his words swirling around in my head. I drive, further and further away from the safety of my house and my brothers. We don’t talk like I was expecting, instead, Tyson drums his fingers next to me. If he expects me to break and speak first, he was wrong.

“Tell me about yourself.” He finally gives in, lacing his fingers together and twiddling his thumbs nervously.

“My name is Cassie Meyers, I hold degrees in Business Management and Literature from a small private school. I’m a diehard Harry Potter fan, I’m lactose-intolerant, I have two younger brothers who I would kill for. I enjoy cooking and walking in the woods; and I have no idea what my life has just transformed into, soap opera or reality TV with werewolves. I’m not 100% sure that the reality of werewolves has really set in or if this is just trauma from the car accident.” I finish.

Tyson lets out a chuckle.

“Reality show with hopefully a better plot line.” He answers. I hold in a smile at his humor and start to slow the car down. I see a familiar gravel road and I take a turn onto it. Tyson winces as gravel is kicked up from his car’s tires and a piece hits the bumper with a ping!

“Now what?” I ask.

“What do you mean, Princess?”

“What now, what happens to me now that primavera has set in?” I ask, ignoring the stupid nickname, but it was better than Luna at least.

“It’s Primo aspect, or first sight, it means that the Mating Bond has set in.”

“What if I don’t want the mating bond to set in?” I ask, pulling the car over.

“It’s not really a choice...”

“So I can’t just reject you, go on to live my life like a normal, HUMAN being?” I demand. I shut the engine off, climb out of the car and step onto the wet grass. I start walking up the hill, Tyson lets out a sigh.

“You’re a human, I don’t think it will work like that like it does for us norm—”

“Normal? You think you’re normal, that we humans are weak and oddities, freaks perhaps, and we think you’re fiction, that we’re normal, and now that I know you exist I think you’re a freak, some mutant sent here to make my life potentially more difficult than it already is, raising two boys by myself, trying to survive in this small little town.”

“I’m sorry that this is difficult for you.” Tyson says softly, almost a whisper. “But I’m sorry that I can’t sympathize for your newfound pain.”

“And why not? Is this a joke for you? Some sick twisted game, where’s Ashton, am I being punked?” I yell at the trees, not stopping my pace.

“You aren’t being punked, or tricked, or messed with. You don’t understand, I finally found you, the one I’m meant to spend my life with, the one to rule by my side.” Tyson is calm, but I can’t help, but feel anger and happiness in my chest, and I was feeling only one of those emotions.

“Ugh!” I scream. “What is going on, I’m not happy, I’m pissed and yet I feel as though someone told me that Robin Williams was alive again!”

“That’s because now that we kissed—”

“You kissed me.” I correct.

“Now that our lips touched the mating steps are beginning. First the headache, but the kiss fixed that. Next you’ll begin feeling my emotions, and I’ll be feeling yours, possibly stronger than my own in fact, its been difficult to keep my anger in check since we started this walk.”

“What’s next?”

Tyson shifts awkwardly. “Heat.”

“Excuse me?” I quirk an eyebrow at him. “What did you just say?”

“Heat, imagine you’ve been starved for your entire life, then someone throws you a perfectly cooked steak, you wait, scared of it, testing it out, then you lunge and eat it in one bite.”

“And you’re supposed to be this perfectly cooked steak?” I ask.

He grins. “Am I not a perfectly cooked steak?”

I stop to look him up and down. My father was a big man, but Tyson’s muscular thighs stretch the shorts until they’re almost too tight. His arms are crossed over his shirtless chest where thick pectorals and abs are exposed. He has fine, almost blonde hair, leading from his navel and further...south. My eyes trail back into safer territory where I eye muscular shoulders, a favorite trait of mine and to a well angled jaw, a perfect set of full, pink lips, and clean, white teeth. A straight nose, hazel eyes that put butterflies in my stomach and light hair that looks as though fingers have been running through it too many times finish the ensemble.

“I’ve seen better.” I lie. I continue walking, feeling a mix of jealousy and satisfaction in my stomach, neither emotion my own.

“You’re lying.”

“And why do you think that?” I throw out.

“Because I can feel it, the offhandedness of the comment, and the fact that you need to lie tells me something.”

“And what exactly does it tell you?” I ask, finally stopping and arriving at my destination. I put a hand on a familiar tree and take a deep breath, the hike had tired me out.

Tyson grabs my shoulders, and forces me against the tree. He gets close, his body next to mine, his breath mingling with my own.

“It tells me that not only am I your version of a perfectly cooked piece of steak, but that you’re gonna fight me every step of the way. And when I get you, when you bite into me, you’re never going to let go, you’ll fight to keep me every step of the way. You’ll fight for me, for your brothers, for our pack, you’ll fight for our future pups, and grandpups, and every person that you come to love. And I’m gonna love chasing after you, and most definitely love biting into you as well. Right here.” He lowers his lips onto my neck, hitting a spot between my neck and shoulder. I gasp as I feel fire ignite, almost painfully, until my whole body starts to burn.

I push him away, touching my neck, sending him a murderous look.

“What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything, Princess. It’s the heat, it’s started. Get ready to feel starved.”

I ignore the new sensation running through my veins. Tyson follows me through the clearing, a smirk evident on his face. “Come on.” I mutter.

“So what do you want to know?” he asks as we walk across.

“Nothing.” I mutter. “I just want to go back to my old life, in the confines of my small town life, my white picket fence, and when the boys graduate, follow my original plan, but I’m sure now that you’re here that’s not gonna happen is it?”

“Depends, what was your plan?” he asks.

“Move back to Iowa, start working in a town where I can actually get promoted, work my way up the chain of command.”

Tyson is quiet. He starts to open his mouth, but then he freezes, stiffening up, grabbing my arm and stopping me. He starts to smell the air, then he lets out a loud growl. Birds fly from their perches and it feels as though the world is shaking as his growl reverberates through my chest. I hear a rustle in the bushes, in the direction of where we were headed.

Out steps a man, he wears light jeans, roughed up boots, a worn button down, and a lazy smile. He shoots me a wink and I grin at him as Tyson snarls from beside me.

“Who are you?” the man asks Tyson.

“He’s no one, Babe.” I call out. Tyson growls louder, glaring at me. He snatches me up.

“Mine.” He snaps.

“Tyson, let go.” I demand, rolling my eyes at his possessiveness.

“He’s dangerous, Princess. You need to run back to the car, I’ll handle him.”

“What? No, he’s not dangerous. Tyson, let me go!” I protest, wiggling in his arms. “I will kick you in the gonads again.” I swear. Tyson looks at me and I feel his anger bubbling up in my stomach, as well as his jealousy, or maybe it was my anger, I couldn’t tell at this point.

“LET. ME. GO.” I say slowly.

“I’d advise listening to the woman.” The man calls.

“No.” Tyson snaps. His eyes flash from their comforting hazel to a dark, dangerous black. Back and forth they flicker. “Stop it!” he snaps, seeming to speak to himself. “She’ll get hurt if you shift!” He seems to say.

That’s when I realize his lips didn’t move. His words were in my head.

“Tyson, it’s ok, he’s not dangerous.” I whisper. Tyson doesn’t seem to hear me as he rages his battle within his mind. Swears and various words fly into my mind.

“Cassie, kiss him!” the man calls.

“What? No!” I protest. “Babe, that’s insane.”

“Kiss him or he will hurt you!”

I look at Tyson who seems trapped inside his own head. I shake my head, closing my eyes tight, before planting my lips on Tyson’s. He freezes, before responding and getting into the kiss.

He deepens the kiss and my body seems to float as Tyson’s lips make mine tingle. I pull away quickly, realizing what I was doing. Tyson seems a bit dazed, but he grins at me.

“How was your first taste of steak?” he asks; his mischievous grin makes me want to slap him.

“Good job, Cass, that was impressive.” The man has gotten much closer, within five feet of Tyson and I, and I grin at him. Tyson growls at the man and I smack his arm.

Tyson releases my arm in surprise. I turn to the man. He holds out his arms and I hug him tightly. “Thanks for the help, Babe. How are you?”

“I’ve been well; the forest has had a very lush year.”

“Perfect.”

“Cassie, who is this man before I rip him limb from limb and leave his carcass to rot?” Tyson snarls, he grabs my arm and pulls me back to him, pushing me behind his body protectively.

“Careful, Mr. Alpha.” Babe says aloud. I stare at him in shock as the foreign word leaves my friend’s mouth. “Your jealousy makes you vulnerable.”

“Who are you?” Tyson demands.

“Wilbur Cornelius Webster, or to my friends, Babe because of the first name, and last name and the book Charlotte’s Web.” He grins. “And you are Tyson Bergson, the Alpha of Pack A1-B, a very high ranking Alpha at such a young age. Probably due to your defeat of the Rogue pack two years ago before you moved to our small town.”

“Babe, what is going on?” I demand, my jaw dropping at his mysterious knowledge.

“I wouldn’t call me Babe around Mr. Alpha, Alpha’s are very possessive with their mates, known to be jealous and short-tempered, call me Corny like your brothers do until you’re fully mated to him.”

“How do you know I’m not? How do you know what he is, what in the hell is going on?”

Babe grins. “You’d be a lot different if you were fully mated to such a powerful alpha, and I know what he is, because I am one as well, and your mate apparently hasn’t informed you of who he is quite yet it seems.”

Tyson stiffens, glaring at Babe. “I was about to tell her when you showed up, Mr. Webster.”

“Tell me what? I’ve already discovered that werewolves exist, that I’m apparently mated to one, and that one of my dearest friends is a fucking werewolf, what else is there?” I demand.

“Well, due to his high ranking, and his predecessors, well maybe you should tell her.”

I look to Tyson. “Princess—” Babe laughs and Tyson glares at him. “Cassie, in our world there is a Royal family and I happen to fall into the line of that because of some events that occurred before I met you.” He scratches his neck awkwardly. “Because of those events, my father, and my uncle’s entire family passed away.”

My heart reached out to him as I felt his grief enter my chest.

“What are you saying?” I demand, crossing my arms over my chest.

Tyson opens his mouth slowly.

“He’s a Prince, next in line for the throne, you’re a Princess and about to become Queen over about 10 million werewolves.” Babe inserts.

That’s when I start screaming.

After screaming myself hoarse, swear words exciting my mouth every other word, my throat protesting, Babe starts getting questioned by Tyson. Tyson’s jealousy reaches into my mind and I can practically feel his suspicion of my friend crawling on my skin.

“Why are you a Rogue?”

“Family problems.”

“What rank were you previously?”

“Beta.”

“Have you ever murdered a human?”

“No.”

“Have you ever had romantic inclinations for Cassie?”

“No.” I protest at this question, but Tyson continues his barrage of questions.

“Have you ever touched my Mate, prior to the hug you two shared?”

Babe doesn’t answer and I meet his gaze.

“Yes.”

Tyson is quiet. His gaze is hard and firm on me and my stomach starts to heat up with a feeling I can’t identify.

“Why?” He demands.

“He saved my life.” I mumble.

Tyson freezes.

“What happened?”

A howl is let through the woods and I realize how dark it is out.

“A story for another time perhaps, it was lovely seeing you my Friend, Your Highness, nice to meet you, but I must go and close my home before the strays and the Naturals come out.”

Tyson nods and Babe runs off, his boots thudding on the field.

“What are Naturals?” I ask Tyson.

“Wolves, normal wolves, we are not to interact unless we are in wolf form or to protect a human like yourself from harm.”

“Alright.” I respond.

“We should go.” Tyson tenses once again. I shake my head in disagreement.

“No, lets keep going, I came here for a reason.” I continue walking across the clearing, Tyson follows quickly behind me, his muscular arms grabbing me every once in a while when a howl is released into the night.

“Here we are.” I stop in front of a large pine tree and Tyson looks around in confusion.

“Where is here?”

“Look up.” I roll my eyes and we both look up to see a rope ladder and a small treehouse nestled in the branches.

“How long has this been here?” he asks in surprise. “I run this land all the time and I’ve never noticed it before.”

“Probably ten years. My dad built it for my brothers and I.” I explain.

“It’s nice.” I reach for the ladder, but my short arms are no match for the tree.

“Let me.” Tyson reaches up and easily snags the ladder and pulls it down. “Ladies first.” He holds the ladder steady and I begin to climb up the swinging ladder. Tyson whistles about halfway up and I realize the view I was giving him. My face turns bright red and I grab a loose pinecone and throw it down at him.

“Ouch!” he rubs his head and glares playfully at me as I look at the mark where I hit him. I smirk and continue my climb up to the treehouse. Tyson quickly follows as another howl is let out into the air. The wind picks up and the pine needles rustle, shaking against one another in the wind.

I sit in the corner of the treehouse and suddenly it feels small, incredibly small. I had forgotten how large Tyson was and he was forced to be next to me, his body touching mine, tingles and veins of fire flowed through my body where Tyson was touching. He wasn’t disappointed by it though; he was thrilled by this development. I pull my knees to my chest, trying to limit our connection. Tyson’s eyes flash a wave of pain and hurt that hits me in the chest, but I promptly ignore it.

“Princess—”

“Do not call me that ridiculous name.” I snap. “Especially not now, you Beast.”

“If that makes you Beauty, I’d say that’s pretty accurate.” He jokes. I shake my head at his attempt to make me laugh, but it wasn’t working.

I’m silent and I feel Tyson’s pain in my chest again, the awkward tension in the air. That’s when I start to hear the pitter patter of rain. The consistent tone of water hitting a metal roof. I groan.

“What do you want to know?” Tyson finally breaks the silence in the air.

“Why me?” I ask. Tyson is silent and I can practically hear his reasoning in my head. Then I realized that it was most likely his thoughts running through my head.

“Your soul, who you are, perfectly matches with my own. That does not mean that we are one in the same. For some they are one in the same, I get the feeling that with us that will not be the case. We are halves of a whole, two perfect pieces of a puzzle designed to fit together, we were destined to be find one another. Whether it be now or in 50 years when you are an old woman, and I am still searching for my mate.”

“What do you mean, old woman?” I snap.

He shifts nervously.

“Now that we’ve met, you’ll never age, not as long as you don’t want to. You can live for pretty much as long as you want, had we not met, you would continue to age, and when I found you, you would still see me for how I appear today. Handsome, charming, devilishly attractive.” He winks at me, but I feel my stomach curl.

“So your mate would be much older than you? You would never be able to have children normally, I would probably be married, have a family of my own, I would die before you had even finished living.” I say in horror.

Tyson growls at the word married and his voice snaps out Mine! in my head.

“Stop talking in my head.” I snap.

He calms down and sends me a curious look.

“You can hear that?” he asks in surprise.

“Bits and pieces.”

“Alrighty then. And to answer your question, I would have to chose, let you go, live without my true mate, or allow myself to age and lose my wolf.” He responds.

“Lose your wolf?”

“I would no longer be a werewolf fully. No shifting. I would have my skills and senses, but I wouldn’t be able to shift into my other form. Most wolves don’t choose that path.”

“Why not?”

“It is like having an arm or leg caught off, something you’ve grown so used to and accustomed to. The mental pain is usually more unbearable that the physical pain.”

I pause.

“If I was 70 years old, what would you do?” I ask.

He looks sad. “I would have no heir, if my family wasn’t gone, I would choose to age, to lose my wolf, but I am not allowed that luxury, to decide my own fate. I must put my pack first, even if that means losing something more important than life to me.”

“What is that?” I ask in confusion.

“The chance to love someone, to be loved by someone. To make and have a family. I have my sister and my brothers, but it is different. I have seen them deny their mates, or worse, grow happy with their mates while I have stayed in charge of the pack. I have always watched and envied the one thing I never had before: the chance to be happy, to be fully in love and committed.”

I suck in my breath, pulling my legs tighter to my chest.

“And now you have that chance?”

“Now we have that chance.” He answers. He scoots closer to me, his face inches from my own. “That is, if you’ll give us, give me, the chance to prove to you just how happy we can be.” He whispers. Tyson’s voice is deep and I feel myself getting lost in his words. Words, emotions, and everything in between swirl in my head as I try and think up a response to him.

I look into his deep hazel eyes, noticing the gold flecks in the corners.

“I will try.”