My Enemy, My Mate

Chapter 16

The forest between the two pack territories has always been a beautiful but eerie place. I had always been in awe of it. The idea of being able to run free in wolf form without any worries is thrilling. Shay gets so excited whenever we are close by. Knowing it would be her opportunity to stretch her legs. Humans were too frightened and wary to enter the forest even if they were close by. It has never been an issue. It is easy to just say that the humans were seeing things or it must be a haunted forest to cover our backs in the unlikely event a human gained enough courage to enter. Kip was walking beside me happily, completely unaware of where we were going and not caring at all.

I walked through the bottlebrush bushes and pushed the branches apart to get through. Only a few scratches later, I could see the waterfall. It was like a dream. Every time I saw it, it took my breath away. To make it even better, there was Grey, with no shirt on, washing his face in the water. He must have run here in wolf-form. He hears my footsteps and stands up to greet me with a huge smile on his face.

"I was worried you were a no-show." Grey laughed, shaking some of the excess water off of his hair. I admired the drops of water dripping down his bare chest.

"Sorry, I ran into my parents. They found out Goliath pack members were at the party last night..." I reply. I hesitate, "...and you."

Grey frowns but walks towards me.

"I'm happy you still came." He whispered, unsure of where my head was.

I stepped towards him, "Me too." I respond shyly.

"What are we going to do?" He sighs and sits on the rock beside me. I sit beside him. The feel of our arms touching sends shivers up my spine. In a good way.

"I don't know." I say, keeping my eyes on the waterfall in front of us. "I have always loved this place." I murmur.

"Same. I used to come here a lot." Grey answered. I turn to see him gazing at me with a worried look.

"Are you OK?" I ask warily.

Grey entwines his fingers in mine and sighs.

"I really don't want this not to end well." He says honestly. I felt the tears prick behind my eyes.

"I know." I whisper. Kip put her head on my knees. Its amazing how dogs always know when you need them.

"Oh, hello!" Grey laughs and pats Kip on the head.

"This is Kip." I sniffle. Grey starts baby talking to Kip and tickling her behind the ear. Kip instantly responds by jumping all over him. Something my Grandma always used to say plays in my head, 'A dog is the best judge of character'. Looks like Kip approves.

"I think I want to do this. I don't want to complete the mate bond yet, but I want to try being mates." I state. I try to sound full of confidence, but I am shitting myself internally.

Grey looks up at me surprised. His face splits into his huge grin that makes my heart beat faster and stop all at the same time.

"Really?!" He asks, his voice squeaky from his excitement. I nod my head because no words were coming out. Shay was finally back - if she could take control and jump around from happiness she would.

Grey wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into him. His lips crash onto mine as my heart races. His hands slide up my back and around to cup my face. He pulls away and looks me in the eye. Still panting and holding his face gently in his hands.

"You won't regret it. I promise." He whispers before lightly kissing me again. I am completely putty in his hands. My body feels like it is covered in tiny fireworks that fill a giant ball of desire and lust within me.

Kip starts barking at something in the bushes behind us. Grey immediately stands in front of me to guard me from whatever is there. Kip is pulling at the lead, growling and barking at whoever/whatever is there.

We hear a snap of a twig as someone moves in the brush.

"Who is there?" Grey calls out. His voice was full of Alpha importance. I am in awe of him as I hide, like a pathetic child, behind him.

We hear a chuckle from behind the gum tree.

"What a position you have been found in!" The voice calls out.

I shuffle from foot to foot nervously while holding Kip's lead tightly.

"Who are you?" Grey repeats.

"The future Alpha of Goliath Pack and daughter of the Red Woods Alpha..." the person tuts, still not revealing themselves.

"I am warning you, reveal yourself!" Grey demands. I step closer to him, needing his touch to calm my nerves and give me some courage.

"Alright, alright!" The voice sighs, "Don't go all Alpha on us now, Loverboy!" I recognized the voice but just couldn't picture where it was from. The sound of the wind and my thumping heart in my ears was distracting as well.

A guy, of a similar age to Grey, stepped out from behind the tree. He was wearing just a pair of shorts (there must be a hiding place around here for clothes when you phase from wolf to human form). His blonde hair was messy with bits of leaves and twigs stuck in it.

Grey visibly relaxed in front of me when the guy came into view. Clearly, they know each other and I am the last to the party.

"Jonah!" Grey laughs when they get closer.

"Grey! What the hell are you doing out here?" Jonah asks, eyeing me off.

Grey growls as he does. I put my hand on his shoulder to calm him down. Jonah's eyes widen at the action.

"Mates?" He asks, surprised. Grey nods in response.

"Woah, dude! Thats awesome!" Jonah congratulated, smiling at me from a distance given Grey's reaction to him sussing me out earlier.

"It's rather complicated." I add, looking up at Grey.

"Clearly!" Jonah laughed. "So am I the only one to know?"

I look at Grey, "I don't mean to offend," I smile politely to Jonah, "But should we be telling him?" I ask guiltily. Jonah laughs and i relax.

"Jonah is to be my Beta." Grey responds. "I trust him." That was enough for me.

I nod once and turn to Jonah, "Nice to meet you Jonah." I smile.

"And you, Willow." Jonah grinned back. "Or should I say Luna?" he teased. Grey punched him playfully in the arm.

"We are going to try being mates and see how we go." Grey states honestly.

"And to gauge reactions..." I grimace. Jonah looks confused.

"Willows parents have forbidden her to have anything to do with me." Grey fills him in. Jonah burst out with laughter. I just stand there confused.

"Well, I wonder what they would think about what you were doing about ten minutes ago!" He chuckles. Grey runs his hand through his hair guiltily while I feel my entire face flush red.

"No stress - your secret is safe with me." Jonah says seriously, "I better go. Dad wants to go fishing, was just trying to fit in a run." He says as he turns to head back through the brush. "I am really happy for you guys." He calls from the other side of the bushes before we hear the cracking of bones indicating he was phasing into his wolf.

Grey turns to me and smiles, "I should probably go too. Pack BBQ tonight." He says while pushing a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Me too. My parents will be wondering where I am." I shrug.

"I'll message you later?" Grey asks.

I nod back before reaching up on my tip toes to peck him on the cheek. He gives Kip a pat before we head off through the forest and back to Red Woods territory.