The Wanted Alpha

April

A complete darkness encompassed everything, like a warm embrace. It all felt so…fuzzy, so unclear.

What happened?

‘April…I think we died…’ August spoke quietly.

I was so used to her voice inside my head, now she felt as though she was all around.

…The battle.

…Nicholas.

…The shooter.

All the events came rushing back…along with Ethan’s face…his distraught expression…

No, it can’t be…I was sure I had just seen him…he had looked so sad. I remember whispering something to him and it made him smile, I was so sure…

‘You did.’

A voice echoed all around as a figure came into view, bathed in a white light. There were no discernible features, just a body of pure light. The voice didn’t seem to come from one particular place, nor did it sound as though it came from one person. It was both feminine and masculine, like a chorus of people speaking all at once in perfect synchronicity that reverberated throughout whatever this void was.

‘Who are you? What is this place?’ I asked. Like August and whoever this figure was, my voice seemed to echo from all around.

The voice laughed melodically, in good humour.

‘It is always amusing when my children don’t recognise their creator.’

The realisation hit like a weight…this was the moon goddess?!

‘August! What do we do? Do we bow?!’

‘Bow? We don’t even have bodies…’ my wolf sassed back.

‘Your wolf is correct, April,’ the voice of the moon goddess spoke with a chuckle, as their warm figure approached further.

‘So…I really am…gone?’ I felt myself becoming overwhelmed.

I didn’t want to be gone! I had only just found peace, a home…my mate…I couldn’t leave him. His exterior was so stern and intimidating, but it was all a façade. The reality of Ethan was so gentle…so fragile…this would devastate him.

‘I’m afraid so. Though, you took your time to return to me. Your spirit clung to your mates, whispering comfort to them for the longest time, longer than I have seen anyone’s hold on…’

‘Wait! That was real?!’ I exclaimed, feeling instantly mortified that I had just interrupted the moon goddess!

She simply laughed at my bashful state, before returning to a sombre and comforting tone. ‘Yes, your words kept the darkness from his heart…but you were not meant to join me, not yet…’ the shining figure sighed, as if weary from something they knew, something they could see. ‘…So many futures but they all lead to the same point…some of my wayward wolves do not know the damage they will cause…’

‘Why don’t you stop them? You made them.’

Wasn’t the moon goddess all powerful? She created werewolves, wiccans and vampires, surely she could just ‘tell’ them to stop?

‘I do not control the will of others, their decisions and choices are their own…I bestow a gift that has the potential to unleash the greatness that lies within each of my children, but it is ultimately up to them to accept it or not.’

‘Oh…that must get a little frustrating when we do something you know is pretty dumb?’ The goddess’s head seemed to nod in agreement to my words.

‘I truly do love my creations, but some of them test that love…you on the other hand. You are one of the few I have my eye on, such a pure soul despite everything. Your mate will never accept another…he will mourn you till his last breath, that kind of pure love is rare. So I am blessing you with a special gift, a second chance…I have not granted this in an age. Luckily, you returned to me when my power is strongest on earth, when my celestial body is closest…and something does feel so fitting for this to fall on a Solstice night with a full moon wouldn’t you say?’ The moon goddess spoke with humour in their voice.

The white light grew brighter, almost to the point where I couldn’t stand it. But I had no choice except to allow myself and August to submit to its raw power, feeling electricity and heat rush throughout what felt like my body…

———-

Floating in a cool darkness, my eyes opened to a murky depth that no light seemed to penetrate.

‘Swim…we need to swim,’ a voice called out…I knew that voice…August…my wolf.

That’s right, we were a werewolf.

Taking on her instructions, I kicked my legs propelling us towards the surface. I took a huge gulp of air, my lungs burning as though it was the first time they’d tasted oxygen. My feet and legs felt unsteady as they touched the ground and the water I now realised I was in, lapped at my waist.

I heard a huge splash, but it was the feeling of large, warm hands that caught my attention. They made my entire skin and body feel alive with tingles and heat. My heart beat frantically while August howled, in delight, the word mate.

Mate.

That was right, we had a mate. A wolf made just for me and I for him.

He held me against a hot and solid chest, thick with muscle, as he brought my face up to look at him. The depth of emotion that shone in his dark eyes, almost drove the breath from my body. Who was this beautiful man? His face seemed so familiar…memories began to surface and the face peering down at me now, looked to have changed slightly, hardened, as though they were haunted by a profound event.

I smiled as the pleasant memories swirled, reminding me who this person was. August felt as though she was reaching out to someone, nuzzling against them in my mind.

I traced my hand along the beard of his jaw, this feature was new to me.

“I know you…” I whispered, my voice feeling a little alien in my throat.

His eyes glistened heavily at the sound of my voice. Wave after wave of emotion flowed through me, but I knew they weren’t my own…they were his. The pain and relief I felt was enough to break me several times over.

“…April?” His voice broke, as the first tear slid down his cheek.

“Ethan…that was your name?”

The more the memories stirred and flowed, the more I realised how precious this man was to me. He made no attempt to hide the tears that flowed and disappeared into his beard. I could see the little indentations of his dimples through it. I remember they used to be more defined…this beard may have to go…I wanted my dimples back.

He buried his face against my own and his hands traced along every inch of my skin, leaving an incredible hot, tingling wake everywhere they touched. I remembered the feeling…but this felt much more intense. Being so close to him now his scent invaded my nose, peppery citrus. There was nothing existing that could rival his scent.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he cried softly.

How long had it been? He looked so much the same but there was a marked difference in him. Is this what my absence had caused?

“I went away…? Where did I go?”

“I don’t know. But you came back to me…that’s all I care about.”

Even though I could feel his tears were those of happiness, it still pained me to see them…to know I was the cause. I remembered the words he spoke to me once, ones that melted my heart so long ago.

“Please don’t cry. I don’t want to see you cry because of me, ever…Mr. Alpha,” I whispered, cupping his face and wiping his cheeks.

His gentle laughter wrapped around me like silk, just like it used to.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it!” He smiled. “I never stopped loving you, not for a single second, of a single day,” he punctuated each word with k****s all over my face, making me giggle.

“Goddess, I’ve missed that sound!”

He captured my lips with such heat and desire that made my chest and stomach ignite with a want I don’t ever remember feeling, one so strong that all I wanted was him…and now. Without warning he lifted me up into his arms, carrying me to the bank and placing me down in the long grass. I shivered as his arms left my skin, but his body remained, hovering over mine.

“…Are you cold?” He asked, swallowing hard with darkening eyes.

“No,” I answered instantly, I was far from cold.

Ever since his skin had touched my own, a heat had settled in my lower stomach and had begun rapidly expanding. My fingers trailed underneath his t-shirt, reacquainting myself with each hardened muscle of his stomach.

He grasped my hand taking deep, ragged breaths, his obsidian eyes pinning me to the ground under him.

“Sweet…I’m already struggling with your scent…if you keep this up…”

“I want it,” I growled, cutting him off.

Where had that come from…I don’t think I ever felt this…insatiable. My eyes zeroed in on his neck.

“My mark, it’s gone!” I almost snarled. That’s what made him mine!

I blanched back a little, realising the overreaction of my extreme anger. He grasped my hand, his free hand trailing over my neck where his mark hopefully still lay. The contact of his fingertips sending a shuddering shiver down to my core confirmed, his mark was definitely still there.

“I hated watching it heal each day,” his voice hitched again while he pressed his forehead to mine.

My hands continued to tug up his shirt and over his head, the side of his neck called to me, my canines ached to sink into his flesh. My eyes widened taking in his bare chest…he seemed broader, more defined…and I wanted to mark every inch of him.

“Can I put it back?” I breathed against his ear, nipping at the skin just above.

He g*****d and trembled under the contact, baring his neck further to my teeth. I trailed my nose down to the site where his scent was strongest and without wasting another moment, I sunk my teeth so deeply into his neck I would mark his very soul…nothing would erase it this time. Sealing my mark and looking back into his eyes, it was as though he was seeing stars. Pressing my lips to his seemed to bring him back to me, goddess, his taste was better than I remembered.

I hastily reached for his pants, he didn’t try to stop me as I pushed them off of his h**s. The feeling of his length pressing against me only made my skin burn hotter and my body convulse with a primal need for him. He didn’t hold back as he thrust deep within me and caught my cry with his hot tongue. Something had taken over him, a hungry beast and I was no better. Each savage movement of h**s left me wanting more…needing more. I didn’t know how long I’d been gone, what had changed…but what we had, between Ethan and I, hadn’t. One thing that was apparent, however long my absence was, had left its own mark on him. I felt it in his every movement, his every look and k**s. I clung to his shoulders, pressing myself as close as possible to him so he knew I was real, that this was real. I wasn’t going anywhere this time.

His final thrusts triggered that all too familiar delicious pleasure to explode inside, that rippled from the tips of my toes to my eyes making them roll back and flutter closed as he finished deep within me. Still panting and heaving from the intensity, I held him close not wanting to part with him ever again, placing tired and sloppy k****s along his lips and jaw.

“If this really is a dream, I just want to stay here with you forever,” he said softly while nuzzling against my nose.

“I’m pretty sure it’s real…I still don’t remember things properly yet,” I scrunched my face together trying to remember where I had been, how I came to be here. “But I’m not leaving you again, I want you forever.”

“I could never want anyone more than you, just you. My Luna. My Alpha.”