His Unidentified & Untouchable Mate

Interrupted

Zahraa POV

A dance alone in a garden where the music was only faintly wafting in from the distance was a fairy tale come true – and if he truly did forget me tomorrow, it wouldn’t matter, because this moment would cement itself in my mind forever. My Cinderella moment.

“So,” he purred. “You’ve been granted at least another year for us. How are you feeling about it?”

“Relieved,” I breathed. “I mean, I had backups – it’s not too late to apply for campus housing, and I could’ve gotten a job, but all that would have cut into the time I had to search for my-” I cut myself off. This moment was a little too sweet to remind myself that I was an unfortunate orphan.

“Your family?” Jacob guessed.

I nodded.

“I hope you find them.” His grip tightened on my waist, “But I hope you never forget us.”

I swallowed. “How could I?” I asked, deflecting. “Your pack has done so much for me.”

We spun in silence for a moment, losing ourselves to the music. He felt warm though my gloves, and I wished I could close even that miniscule distance – to feel his skin on mine. Perhaps to offer him a kiss…

“Can I ask you something, without you thinking I’m crazy?” he asked, speaking so quickly he almost stumbled over his words.

“You can ask me anything,” I replied, lips curling into a mischievous smile. “But I’ll keep my right to think of you how I want to.”

He huffed a laugh. “Fair enough.” There was a pause, and for a moment, I wondered if he simply wouldn’t ask me now. He took a deep breath, “You feel… familiar. Like… like we’ve met before. And not just in passing.”

The statement stole my breath away – because I felt the same way. At the bar, when we talked for hours, then again when we were singing, it had struck me like the hardest case of déjà vu.

“Have we met, Zahraa?”

I could only shake my head because I’d already run through all of my memories checking. No, I’d met two of the alphas, several omegas, even some gammas, but not him.

Some part of me deep down knew that if I’d met him before, I would have never forgotten.

Voices came up the path, and he froze, as if he weren’t sure whether to hold me tighter or push me away.

When he saw his father, we separated quickly, like we’d been caught doing something we shouldn’t have.

“Dad,” Jacob greeted, and I could detect just the barest edge of something cold. “Rowan. Jared.”

I hid my cringe at that name. Alpha Jared was someone you didn’t speak ill of – if you could help it, you wouldn’t speak of him at all. His territory was one of warriors – gamma ranked wolves, all of which had awful tempers and had a bit too loose of a leash.

And then, there were the nasty rumors about his mate.

How he’d tracked her down, locked her up and then…

“Jacob and…” Alpha Derick looked me up and down, and then I saw the same thing I saw of every new wolf I met – the sniff and the nose wrinkle. He tried to pass his off, but I could still see the ever so slight curling of his lip. “You are?”

“Dad,” Rowan’s voice was tinged with irritation. “This is Zahraa, one of my wards.”

The High Alpha, a man known for his steely exterior, grinned at me. “Zahraa! I’ve heard a lot about you.” He reached forward for a handshake, then hesitated.

“Oh, it’s uh – it’s fine,” I stammered, reaching my hand out halfway. Too far might seem as though I were challenging his dominance. “I’m honored that you’ve heard of me.”

His eyes turned pitying, and it turned my stomach. “Yes, well. I still remember the day we brought you in. A real tragedy.”

I froze, unsure of what to do or say. No one usually brought up how I came to be with the Wild Fangs. I was still trying to work that out, when Jacob cleared his throat.

“What are you three doing here?” he asked, and I could hear the quiet, brewing resentment in his voice.

“Taking a walk, talking about…” Alpha Derick’s eyes slid to mine again. “…things. Son, why don’t you go mingle? It’s your eighteenth, you should be introducing yourself to every eligible bachelorette, not hanging out here, in the dark.”

Jacob’s hand snaked back around my waist, his hand resting on the small of my back. “I’d just asked Zahraa for a dance, is all.”

“Well, go ask someone else,” Derick’s voice wasn’t cruel, but it was firm.

Jacob held his stare for a long, awkward moment, then tsked and turned to me. “Sorry, Zahraa. We can talk later.”

Watching him turn and go, I wondered if there would ever be a later.

And then I realized I’d been left behind with three alphas.

I bowed my head. “Excuse me, Alpha Derick-”

Derick clapped Rowan’s back, and as if he hadn’t heard me at all, said to him, “Why don’t you escort your little ward here back to the festivities?” He tossed a wink at me, “Zahraa, you enjoy the party. And enjoy the next year here. We’re happy to keep you on with us.”

I wrung my hands in front of me. “Thank you so much, Alpha Derick. Alpha Rowan.”

Derick nodded, and started off. Jared looked me over like a true predator, sizing me up. He sneered, as if he’d found me wanting, then followed after his father.

Leaving me alone with Alpha Rowan, whose soft green eyes perused my body, then returned to my face. “You look lovely tonight, Zahraa.”

I smiled, feeling like I could finally exhale. “Thank you – you look good yourself, alpha.”

“Let’s drop the formalities tonight, shall we?” he offered his arm, like a gentleman in a movie, and I accepted, allowing him to lead me back up the awful pebbly path. “Did Jacob treat you well?”

I risked a glance at his face – he looked as if his jaw was clenched, his brow falling as though he was irritated.

“He treated me very well,” I replied. “He’s… nice.” It was all I could think to say, my mind skimming back to him plucking me from the ground like I was a mere flower, sitting me on the fountain.

And the strange sense of déjà vu we shared.

“That’s not what most women say about him,” Rowan huffed. “I love my little brother, of course, but he is a womanizer at heart.” His eyes slid down to me. “I only warn you, because I would hate to see you hurt, Zahraa.”

My heart, which had been light as a bird, fluttering like a butterfly, turned to stone, sinking into the darkest depths of me. “I’ve…” I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. “I’ve heard the rumors. Besides – he’ll find his mate tonight, and he’ll forget all about our little dance.”

I hope the hurt didn’t bleed into my tone.

I must have failed, because Rowan gave me a supportive squeeze. “How about I cash in that dance, then?”

I smiled, trying to ignore the biting pain of pebbles invading my shoes once more. “Sounds great,” I lied.