Trapped by my Alpha Mate

Chapter 3: Confusion and Some Light Stalking

Lane

As I lie on the ground cradling my baby-making tools, two things are running through my mind. Firstly, why? Couldn’t she feel the tingles when they touched? Didn’t she feel the pull of the mate bond? I know I did. It was incredibly strong I almost couldn’t hold my wolf back from doing all sorts of things to her. It’s clear she didn’t want to be kissed though. I have kissed a lot of women in my life and none of them have ever torpedoed their knee into my family jewels. Normally they say, no thank you and that’s enough. Even a nudge to the chest would have done it. Not this girl though, not my mate. Apparently, if my mate feels threatened at all she knows how to defend herself, which leads to the second thing: pride. She will make a good Luna. That is, if I can convince her I would be good to her. Based on her reaction to me trying to kiss her, I don’t think she is thrilled at the idea of having a mate. Or maybe she doesn’t find me to be up to the standard of what she wants in a mate. Either way, I need to find out more about her before I see her again.

When my Beta, Miles dragged me away from my desk to come with him on a visit to his sister and her mate I wasn’t exactly excited. It’s not that I don’t love his family, I do. I still go to Ilsa, Mile’s sister, whenever I need a female point of view on something and I am not someone who believes all opinions are created equal. My seeking advice from her is a sign I have real respect for her and that’s not something I can say about more than about five people.

The real issue is that I am just so busy. Running the largest pack in the nation comes with a ton of labor, paperwork, and meetings. My God, the meetings make me want to tear my hair out. It’s much worse without a Luna working by my side. I have been running the pack since I was thirteen, and if there is one thing I have learned it’s that there is always more work to be done. So, the idea of a few days away from my pack on a personal visit didn’t appeal much to me. Especially when the odds of me finding my mate in a small human town are extremely slim. At least that’s what I thought. Who knew there was another wolf living in town? And what are the odds that the wolf ends up my mate? I must remember to thank Miles for making me come here with him. Speaking of Miles, I mind-link him to meet me in the park.

About five minutes pass before I hear him jog up, “Hey Lane what’s up? It sounded urgent.” He glances down, “And why is your hand on your junk?”

“I just met my mate.”

“Oh, that’s great Lane! Where is she? I'm surprised you haven’t brought her back to the hotel by now.” He smirks.

“Well, that’s the thing. I don’t think she is all that excited about having a mate. She kneed me in the nuts and ran off.”

Miles honestly tries his best to hold it in. I can see the struggle on his face but he ultimately fails and doubles over laughing so hard I see tears pebbling the corner of his eyes. “Oh my god! I like her already.”

“Yeah ha ha but seriously, I think something is wrong. I am going to follow her scent to learn more about her, can you ask Levi if he knows anything about her? She looked maybe seventeen or eighteen, had light chestnut hair that reached her breasts, pale skin, and hazel eyes. Also, the cutest spattering of freckles on her nose and cheeks.” I find myself smiling and Miles chuckles.

“Sounds like you’re already whipped. I will ask Levi if he knows anything about your girl. Try not to scare her off in the meantime.”

“Who would be scared of someone this good-looking?” I gesture toward my face and flex my arms a little bit.

“Maybe the same girl who just flattened your balls with her knee a little while ago?”

“Yeah, fair point,” I mumble before walking over to the tree I just had my mate against and inhaling to catch her glorious scent. She smells like cinnamon apples and roses. “Let me know what Levi says.” I throw over my shoulder as I jog in the direction she went, following her scent.

Her trail leads me to a three-story building at the very edge of town that luckily for me is almost completely surrounded by woods. I make my way into the woods but not before I catch the wording on the building that reads St. Francis Orphanage. My chest aches as I shift, the knowledge that my mate is an orphan burns my insides a bit. It’s a terrible way to grow up that I wish my mate never had to experience. Once I’m in my wolf form, I make my way to the edge of the woods behind the building and scan the windows, wondering which one holds my mate’s sleeping form.

I hope she’s comfortable. I hope she dreams of me. Good dreams though. Like about how handsome I am or of me protecting her from everything that could possibly harm her. Oooh, maybe a wet dream about all the naughty things I plan to do to her once she becomes my Luna. I am mulling over all the things I want to do with her when my eyes reach the top floor and I see my mate standing in the window staring at me. My mind goes blank for a second and all I can think about is how beautiful she looks. There are bags under her tired squinting eyes, her sleep shirt is discombobulated, pulled all the way to one side, and her hair is a mass of frizz surrounding her face, yet she is still the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. I can only imagine what her wolf looks like.

I step into the clearing to get a better look at her and the moment I do, those amazing hazel eyes of hers fill with terror before she drops down out of my view. I stay in place, watching her window for a few minutes but she never reappears. Shifting and putting my clothes back on, I begin making my way back to the hotel Miles and I are staying at while in town. It’s about an hour's walk back and the entire time only one thought was going through my head: something is seriously wrong.

I get back to the hotel and tell Miles that I learned my mate is an orphan. He shoots me a knowing look but doesn’t comment on it.

“Levi says her name is Sofain Wynter. Everybody calls her Fey. Her parents are dead but there are no records of what happened. She goes to the local public high school and seems to get good grades but other than that nobody has much to say about her. Apparently, she keeps to herself. Also, she broke some kid’s nose about two years back and has court-ordered therapy on Mondays and Wednesdays every week. That’s all I have on her.”

I can’t help but smile when Miles mentions she broke someone’s nose. My mate is a fighter. But then I think about how she hid from me when she saw me tonight and how different she was, from when she attacked me. There’s something I am missing and I hate it. I tell Miles where the orphanage is and ask him to tail her for the next couple of days to try and get more information.

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I spend the next two days twiddling my thumbs waiting for updates from Miles and it is driving me insane. Every second of every day I feel this near-overwhelming pull to be with her, near her, to touch her. It’s torturous. My only solace is that I can trust Miles to make sure no harm comes to her. I know she is safe. According to Miles, the day after she saw my wolf, she missed school, sick apparently. I spent the day worried about her, hoping she was getting sufficient fluids and eating. And the next day when she does the same, I consider knocking on the door to the orphanage to check on her. I don’t, but just barely.

In the evening, Miles tells me she is leaving the house, probably for her therapy appointment. He tells me that she doesn’t appear sick at all which lightens the worry in my chest. I ask him to listen into her therapy session to see if he can find any insight into why she is so against having a mate and I wait very impatiently for an update. About twenty minutes later he tells me that she is planning to leave the state when she turns eighteen. For Florida of all places. When I asked why Florida, he tells me she specifically said she wanted to be away from wolves. That she has a phobia of wolves.

The idea of her fleeing the state, of being hundreds of miles away from her makes me sick to my stomach. I need to talk to her. Explain to her our bond. Explain she is going to be a Luna, a ruler. Explain to her how I will be a great mate to her. Explain to her I am not scary, that I won’t ever hurt her. I tell Miles to get out of there and call Levi myself.

“Hello?” He says, probably confused because he doesn’t have my number.

“Levi it's Lane. I need you to do something for me.” I get right to the point, I don’t want to give my mate any more time to leave.

“Oh Mr. Clyner, what do you need?” I like Levi, I have never told him this but allowing Ilsa to live off pack land with him should be enough to show I have respect for the guy. And he has it for me, he calls me Mr. Clyner because alpha is weird to him, being a human. Calling me mister is his way of showing me respect and I appreciate it.

“I need you to set up a meeting between me and my mate, Sofain Wynter. At the police station, so she feels safe, but somewhere I can talk to her privately. And I need the meeting as soon as possible. Right now, actually. She is currently at her therapist's office.”

“Fey is your mate? Miles didn’t tell me that. I can do that for you but I can only do it once. Anything more and people will start to ask questions. I’ll meet her when she comes out of the office. Give me half an hour.” He hangs up and I do the same.

I pace the hotel room for ten minutes before grabbing my keys and on the way out, I catch my reflection in the mirror mounted on the wall, immediately dropping my keys, and heading for the bathroom. After putting product in my hair and taking a comb through it a few times, I change into some grey chucks, dark blue jeans, and a silk charcoal button-up before rechecking my reflection. Satisfied I look good for my beautiful mate, I grab my keys, slip into my truck, and head off to the Sheriff’s department. Parking in front of the building I check my appearance one more time in the vanity mirror, smirking. Looking this good there is no way she can reject me.