She’s the Alpha

He took a step back like he'd been punched in the gut. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of me as my chest aches. I felt tears roll down my cheeks.

I had no idea what I was doing. I was being selfish and I knew it but I couldn't stop myself. He stepped forward and grabbed my arm. I still felt the sparks. I was so confused. I rejected him; why did I still feel that way? I looked at him confused.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" he asked. "Rejecting me out loud like that only puts us through physical pain for a little while, but you're still my mate," he explained. I shook my head and stepped away from him.

"Are you enjoying this? Does this amuse you? You want to ruin my life and you think it's funny. I was born to be a Goddamn Alpha... not your pup machine, got it?" I said getting angry. He pulled me into him and sunk his teeth into my neck. I was too shocked to move. He marked me. When he pulled away, there was no regret in his eyes. I pushed him away from me before I took a step back.

"Leave," I gritted through my teeth. "Get out of my house and off my land. I never want to see you again," I said quietly. I turned and took off into the woods. I pulled my shorts off and my bra and shifted into my fiery red wolf. I took off running I slowed when I felt another wolf running next to me. One touch and I knew it was Kai, prompting me to run faster. I came up short when I realized that he was matching pace with me easily. He just wouldn't leave me alone. I shifted back and glared at him, too heated to care that I was completely naked.

"What is your problem?! Why won't you just let this go?" I yelled at him. He shifted as well and my breath caught in my throat at the sight of his muscular body. Leave it to my mate to make me feel embarrassed and mad at the same time. I looked away from him as my face grew hot.

"Because you're my mate! Is that what you want to hear? I've been looking for you everywhere! I finally find you and you want nothing to do with me. I'm not giving up that easily. I'm not giving up on you that easily, no matter how stubborn you insist on being," he said. He took a deep break and ran his fingers through his long hair. I covered my arms over my chest and sighed.

"You don't understand. If I go back with you, this would have all been for nothing," I said as tears streaked my face. Kai sighed and looked away from my face.

"Come on, I'll take you home," he said defeatedly. I shifted into my wolf and waited for him. He shifted and we walked back home. My dad was standing on the front porch. Kai stopped and rubbed the side of his head along mine. I growled at him in embarrassment. He licked the side of my face happily causing me to snap my teeth at him before he trotted back into the forest. I grumbled under my breath and I went to get my discarded clothes.

I shifted back and put them back on before I went to the front door. My dad was still there waiting on me with his arms crossed.

"Good to see you're giving Kai a chance," he said honestly, pulling me into the house. I rolled my eyes and scoffed.

"No. I tried to reject him and instead, he marked me," I explained. My dad chuckled.

"Like mother like daughter, then. And let me guess; you're pissed?" he asked. I turned on my heels and glared at him.

"Of course I'm pissed!" I yelled. "And I have this... stupid mark on my neck. What am I supposed to do about this? There's no way I can be with him," I ranted.

"You can," he said. "You know, you're mother refused to be with me for the first year and almost a half. Stubborn woman didn't even accept being Luna until she was almost five months pregnant. Even after we fully mated, she ran away to her Alpha Mason, who she saw as her boyfriend at the time before he met Luna Jessica," my dad explained. I didn't know what to say. I always thought that the way they acted, mom and dad fell in love with each other right off the bat. I sighed and shook my head. That was different though; mom didn't know about werewolves when she met dad.

"I'm going to bed," I grumbled. I went straight to my room. I sighed as I was finally able to breath. I touched my neck gently as I looked at it in my vanity mirror. The stupid thing had already healed and created a steam with a leaf on it. There was always two parts of a mark. The first portion was only a fragment of the full picture. The mark completed itself when fully mated. If a true mate did it, the mark was silver like mine was now. If a chosen mate did it, the mark was black, like a tattoo. Currently, silver inked my skin. Kai actually marked me. There was a soft knock on my door. I opened it and sighed in relief when I saw it was Jessie. I pulled him into the room and shut the door behind him quickly.

"Jess, you love me right?" I asked, cutting straight to the point. Jessie nodded curiously.

"Of course I love you, Kenny. Why would you even-" Jessie froze before his nose was in the air. I caught my bottom lip between my teeth as I watched him carefully. He looked at me shocked before he looked at my neck.

"You're marked... by your mate. You found your mate. When did this happen? Wait but if you found your mate he's probably here and an Alpha. You let him mark you?" Jessie asked confused. I shook my head as my eyes watered.

"He caught up to me and just... get rid of it, please?" I begged him as I grabbed his shirt gently. Jessie took my hands in his and just held them.

"Is it Kai?" Jessie asked quietly. I nodded as one stubborn tear escaped. He sighed and pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry, Kenny." He said sincerely.

"Jess, get rid of it... please," I begged again. There was really only one way to get rid of a mark, and that was to cover it up with another, and even then, the true mate could still reclaim his mate from the chosen. Jessie pulled away from me just enough to look me in the eye.

"Are you sure about this? You would be my mate. Are you okay with that?" he asked. I smiled lightly.

"We promised each other. I love you, Jessie. You're my best friend, and I wouldn't have lasted this long without you. Either way, I need you. I'm 110% okay with being your mate," I assured him. Jessie sighed and glanced at my mark before he kissed the spot. It heated slightly at the touch.

"Only because I'm already madly in love with you, Kenny," he said softly before his teeth sunk into my neck. I gasped in pain, but I also welcomed it. Jessie's arms caught my waist and held me up as his teeth sunk deeper. I groaned as a howl was heard in the distance. I knew it was Kai, but I didn't care. Jessie pulled away breathless. I opened my eyes to see him standing close to me. His cheeks were rosy. I reached up and brushed a bit of blood from the corner of his lip. He smiled gently before he held his wrist out to me.

"Here, this should help," he offered. I knew what he meant.

The blood bond. It was another way of connecting with a person. I sank my teeth into his wrist and drank until I felt the remains of Kai's mark deep away. I sighed as I wiped my mouth clean.

"He can still claim you back," Jessie reminded me.

"I won't let him," I said with determination. Jessie held my cheek gently and lowered his head to mine. Our lips met in the middle gently. We kissed tenderly before it slowly grew more feverish. Jessie pulled me closer to him.

This is what I wanted.

"What about your mate?" I asked as I pulled away quickly. "I'm so sorry, Jess. I didn't even think that you might actually love your mate and want to be with her and-"

Jessie cut off my rambling with a quick kiss.

"It's okay, Kenny. I don't think I was going to find my mate anyway. Plus, I've loved you since we were ten. You're my best friend and you already know everything about me," he said. I smiled gently and kissed him again.

"I love you, Jess, and I mean it," I said grateful that I had a best friend who would go along with my crazy ideas.

"I love you too, Kenny," he said. "Come on, you're probably tired," he said. I took a quick shower and got ready for bed. Jessie was already showered and in his pajama pants waiting on me. I hopped in the bed quickly and snuggled into Jessie's arms.

"Get some sleep," he said quietly. I closed my eyes, fully exhausted and ready to sleep, but my stomach and brain were unsettled. Jessie breathed easily beside me as he slept. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore. I got up and headed outside to the forest. I eventually ran into Kai in a clearing. I leaned against a tree and just watched him for a little bit. I couldn't deny that I felt extremely guilty for what I was doing, but I'd worked too hard to let someone just take Alpha from me. I stepped out into the clearing where Kai could see me.

"I tried to warn you. If you push, all I'll do is push back. That's just how I am," I said after a moment.

"I get it, okay? You win," he snapped defeatedly.

"I tried to warn you to leave," I reminded. He shrugged.

"I still would have felt it," he practically whispered. I sighed and dropped my arms.

"Look, pull a stunt like that again and I'll kill you. You have no part in my plan. It's nothing personal," I tried to explain. Kai scoffed and stood to face me. He stalked towards me with a glare.

"Nothing personal? You're fucking heartless, you know that? Mates are nothing but personal," he growled. I crossed my arms again and refused to back down.

"Just goes to show that you don't know me at all. I'm not heartless. I care about my family and I care about my pack. That's all I care about," I said stubbornly. He hesitantly touched my hand before letting go. Although dull, I could still feel the sparks.

"Don't be so sure of yourself. You're still ignorant to what's going on around you," he glared at me in warning. He closed his eyes with a sigh before backing down. "You won't have to worry about me getting in your way. I won't interfere. I'm leaving first thing tomorrow," he said before he walked away. I couldn't help but think about his words. I knew deep down he was right.

I was fucking heartless.