Be Mine, Alpha

Three

Daphne's POV

The usual creak of the door was now annoying as I pushed open the oak mahogany door with brown finishing. Without even giving it a second thought or any thoughts at all, I slumped onto the couch dejectedly, my backpack hitting the soft cushion first before my body.

The familiar comfort of the comfy couch eased my sadness a bit until I noticed something else, a delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen.

What was that? Was mum home? Mother never made any special dishes on my birthday so what changed now? Or perhaps-

"Surprisseeeeeeee!" Harper's cherry voice filled the room almost instantly, cutting me off from asking my subconscious questions it obviously didn't have answers to. "You're home."

"What's going on?" I asked, perking up the more as I caught sight of Conan trailing behind Harper, obviously using my sister as a shield to hide something. "What's Conan doing here?"

"First of all, ouch." Harper finally stepped aside to reveal a beautiful birthday cake that Conan set on the living room table. It was a huge cake, with all my favorite shades of purple shining under the living room light.

Just at the top, it read "Happy Birthday Daphne," in beautiful gold letters with a couple of edible stars and chocolate to go around. "Second of all, happy birthday once again."

"I'm making all of your favorites just for you." I smiled but it didn't quite reach my eyes. It didn't reach anywhere, to be honest. I was smiling, but crying on the inside. "Where have you even been? You're late." Harper pouted as she sat beside me.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." I chuckled awkwardly. "I just had to run through some things with Mr. Rogers after school today, that's why I was late."

"Making you work on your birthday, he's so mean." She scoffed but it wasn't for long, as she sprouted an even wider grin. "But that doesn't matter now. Mom's not coming home tonight so we have the whole house to ourselves. It's going to be so fun!!!"

"Of course." I shrugged, hoping my smile would fool Harper all the more. I locked eyes with Conan for a while before I tore my gaze away. If anyone could tell how I truly felt, it was Conan. "I'll just head up to my room real quick."

"Okay." Harper was still giddy. "I'll just wrap things up in the kitchen and call you down."

"Of course." It was barely a whisper as I jogged up the stairs and into my room. The first thing I did after getting into my mini sanctuary was toss my shoes to the side and flex my toes a bit. I guess running in school shoes wasn't exactly a good idea.

After my conversation with Nikolai at the school parking lot, I was dumbfounded. For a full two minutes, I was sure I'd lost the ability to speak. I was staring at Nikola but I couldn't make out one feature from his entire existence.

Nikolai on the other hand, definitely couldn't care less. His incoherent mumbles filled my ear before he drove away, leaving me to swallow dust. I couldn't go home after that, for a while even, I was sure I couldn't remember the way that led home, so I did the reasonable thing at that point; run. Where I was running to or how I was able to pump my feet up around town, I had no idea but I ran.

I kept on running as though with each step I took, the farther this whole Nikolai problem would be away from me. But I couldn't be more wrong, it was with me for life.

A groan reached my ears and I found my heart breaking all the more. It was Mia. I couldn't even begin to fathom how she must be feeling right now. We were both rejected and right now, all I wanted to do was to curl into my bed and cry my eyes out till eternity.

"Yo, Daphne…" Conan stopped the moment I turned to him. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." I sniffed before wearing another smile. "I'm fine. Did you want something? Why are you-"

"It's about Nikolai isn't it?" Conan cut me off and I paled instantly. "It's him right? What did he say?"

"Say?" I chorused again. "He didn't say anything. Why would you think that?"

"I know you, Daphne." I watched Conan step closer. "You're my best friend and I know when something's wrong. Just tell me, what happened?"

"I'm worried about Camilla," I spoke up, hoping he would buy the lie. "Where is she? She isn't missing the party, is she?"

"Of course not, Camilla's coming." Conan's voice was far from the cheery one I knew. "She just had to see Xavier real quick. She's actually going to sleep over tonight."

"Good…"

"Did you see how I answered you honestly?" Conan interrupted me again. "Now, you'll have to do the same. What did Nikolai say to you?"

"I'm not his mate." I had no idea how long I'd been holding the tears in, but it didn't take much effort for the dam to burst open. I watched my vision blur but I continued. "He said I wasn't his mate."

"What?" Conan's voice held a mixture of anger and shock. "What does he mean by that? But you said-"

"Yes, Conan. I-i don't know anymore. I really don't,"

"How dare he?" Conan was mad, really mad. "That's so unfair and he has absolutely no right to do that. I'll-"

"You'll do nothing." I cut him short, sniffling. "I just need some time alone. I'll meet you back downstairs."

Surprisingly, Conan gave a small nod before walking out of my room. It didn't take long for my eyes to get wet again.

"Why would he do that to me?" I muttered out loud. 'Why did he have to raise my hopes so high just to smash them into a million pieces? If he didn't want to accept me, was it really necessary to make a scene in class today?"

I groaned at the ache that had appeared in my head. I wasn't sure of the next step to take in I and Nikolai's story but I was sure a bath would help. Maybe I could drown myself in my tears. All this wasn't really necessary.

All Nikolai had to do was officially reject me as his mate, maybe that would have been better. I swallowed at the thought of that and it really was a heavy piece to swallow. Shaking my head slowly, I walked into the bathroom to at least try to cry out the day's sorrows.

***

The bath really did help if I was being honest. Maybe I might have spent an unhealthy amount of time in there but it didn't matter. Adjusting the big vintage shirt I was wearing, I took small steps down to the living room. The shirt wasn't mine, it was Conan's and I'd successfully snagged it the last time I was at his house.

Camilla had always joked that it would look good with my jean shorts so I decided to try the pairing today and boy was Camilla right.

"Hey, you." Harper drawled from the couch as she turned to get a good look at me. "You finally decided to join us."

"We almost thought you'd…" Conan trailed off as the patterns on my shirt ignited something in him. " Wait, isn't that my shirt?"

"No, it's my shirt now." I grinned as I sat next to him on the couch. "It goes so well with my shorts, right?"

"Totally." Harper's support only made Conan pout. "You're okay, right Daphne?"

"Yes, yeah, I'm fine." Harper couldn't find out. She just couldn't. "I just spent too much time in the bathtub. Where's Camilla anyway? Isn't she here yet?"

"She's not and I thought Conan would be the late one." We all laughed at Harper's joke. " I'll be right back. I need to get something from my room."

"I'm so jealous." Conan started immediately Harper was out of earshot. "Ever since Camilla found her mate, she's been walking on rainbows. Literally."

"Well you can't blame her for that, Xavier's a nice guy." I smiled cheekily. "He loves her."

"I agree but we knew her first." It was cute when Conan was jealous or was being protective about our friend circle. "She has to make time for us too. Because of him, she'll be arriving late."

"Well, we won't let her off easy when she gets here. I will personally-" The doorbell ringing caused me to stop. "There she is. I'll go get it.

Before Conan could object I was already on my feet and heading to the door.

"Camilla, is the right time to come to your best friend's birthday…" The rest of the words died in my throat at the sight of the person in front of me.

Suddenly I felt hot and Mia's restlessness only proved that I wasn't hallucinating or anything, Nikolai was here, at my front door. I had seen him countless times but I still wanted to run my hands through his chocolate-brown hair.

Dark blue eyes stood out, making him look like the goddess's favorite. His perfectly chiseled jaw held his full lips that I found myself drawn to and his signature black-on-black ensemble was just totally hot.

What was wrong with me? I berated myself immediately as I avoided his gaze. I knew all too well whom he was here for. If I hadn't felt it for myself, I would have thought I had imagined it all.

Just as I was about to pull away, I felt Nikolai's rough hands on my waist. In one swift motion, he pulled me flush against him before his lips landed on mine. It felt like heaven.

Staring at his lips was satisfying but this was a million times better. I wasn't sure if I was dreaming, but the moment I parted my lips for Nikolai, every reality I knew was altered instantly. His kiss was hot and fiery, with a passion I just couldn't explain.

A groan slid past my lips as he trapped my lower lip in his mouth, tugging slightly. Involuntary, my hands moved to his hair and he grunted in what I took as approval.

I snuck my tongue into his mouth and he accepted the sexy gesture as his grip on me tightened. The world around me faded, until something cut clearly through it.

"Nikolai." It was a whisper, barely audible but I heard it and something dropped in the pit of my stomach.