Alpha of the Dead

Chapter 25

(Tiernan’s P.O.V)

After I left Siobhan in the woods to finish her meditation, I went back to the hotel and sat myself down at the bar. I needed a drink after how these last few days have played out, I wasn’t expecting her to be my mate. I wasn’t expecting her absolute disdain for the mate bond, and I know that the only reason why she mated with me, at first, was because of her heat. Our “hunt” had been an experiment to her, to see if it was something she would enjoy which is what b**m is all about. Exploring your deepest desires in a safe and consensual way. I throw back my third glass of whiskey, knowing that human liquor won’t get me drunk until I’ve had at least ten more glasses, I wave to the bartender for another.

“This seat taken?” I hear a male voice ask.

I look over and it’s Anders, the vampire FBI agent that traveled here with Si.

“Sure, go ahead,” I murmur, taking my drink from the bartender.

“What’ll it be for you?” The bartender asks him.

“I’ll have a Bloody Mary.” He replies.

I couldn’t help the snort of laughter that crossed my lips at the pun he made, knowing the human bartender had no idea that he was standing across from a vampire. We sit in companionable silence for a while before he speaks again.

“Si just doesn’t know what to do with the mate bond, she’s spent so long hating men—whether she realizes it or not—that she has been on the fast track to being the old maid with a million cats.”

“Werewolves hate cats.”

“Siobhan has a cat, Cat Cobain. Please don’t ask me about his name because I don’t understand it either.”

I couldn’t help the laughter after that. It’s common knowledge that our wolves HATE cats, that’s why domestic cats or feral cats stay away from us. It’s interesting that Si would have a cat, and that cat would be okay living with a werewolf.

“She doesn’t know how to let go of her fear. She may put on the angry front or a nonchalant front when it comes to you and your bond, but deep down she’s afraid. Afraid of being hurt again, afraid of losing herself to another person, afraid of falling victim to a life she doesn’t want. She’s not the type of woman to sit around, breed pups, and play happy housewife. She can’t stay idle, she needs to be always doing something, her brain is just wired that way.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I’m telling you this because if you can’t love her for the way she is, for WHO she is, then you need to reject her now. I understand that the rejection after mating is more painful, but this needs to be sorted before we leave because I will not watch her slowly kill herself and Tala by being away from you and nor will I watch her slowly watch her fire and spirit die because she was forced into a life that she didn’t want.”

“I want Siobhan for who she is, I don’t want her to change. I love that she challenges me and that she has such unique ways of thinking. I’ve been in love with her since we were kids, but I could never act on that because she was my best friend’s little sister. I didn’t understand that this love that I had, this pull I had to her was the mate bond until I saw her on your first night here.”

“Then, woo the f**k out of her.” He says, downing his Bloody Mary and walking away.

“Oh, he forgot to pay.” The bartender says with a frown, just noticing that Anders has left.

“Put it on my tab, and then close it out,” I say as I finish my whiskey.

I get up to the suite, and Siobhan isn’t there, so I hurriedly take a shower and grab my clothes for our date, taking them into Anders’s room. Thank the Goddess he wasn’t there so I could get dressed and ready for our dinner. I picked out a black suit and a crisp white collared shirt. Classic and simple. I was taking her to a beautiful restaurant called Riva Grill on the Lake, which was situated next to Lake Tahoe, so we had a bit of a drive to get there which is why we were going to be leaving at 6. It was fifteen minutes to 6 and I was sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting for 6 o’clock to finally arrive. When it did, Siobhan came out of her room looking like a Goddess in her short dress and silver jewelry. Her hair was long and beautiful, framing her face perfectly.

“Goddess, you look amazing,” I whisper as I get up from the couch and walk over to her.

I pull her towards me, and place a gentle kiss on her mouth, making her blush ever so slightly. I place my hand around her waist and walk her out of the suite and to the car. The drive is filled with very superficial conversations, ignoring the giant elephant in the room…well, the car to be exact. I knew we were going to have to broach the subject at some point, but not now, not tonight. Tonight, was for us, to just exist with one another and spend time together. We make it to the restaurant, and we are seated immediately.

“Wow, this is beautiful Ty,” Siobhan murmurs, looking around at the lavish interior.

Our stable was next to a window that overlooked Lake Tahoe, with the sun setting in the background it was a stunning image, but not as stunning as the woman sitting in front of me. Our server brought us glasses of water before taking our orders for dinner and drinks.

“Thank you for bringing me out here tonight, Ty,” She says, taking a sip of her water.

“You’re welcome baby, we are going to have many more of these,” I promise her.

“So, are we going to talk about marking each other or are we going to ignore the subject completely?” She asks.

“I have no plans on marking you until you tell me that you want it. I already told you that I’m going to take you on dates. I’m going to woo the f**k out of you, make you fall in love with me, and let me mark you.” I say, seriously.

She laughs at me, but a slight blush spread across her cheeks at the thought of me wooing her. Our waiter comes back with our drinks and our dinners. We eat our dinners, talking and laughing, genuinely enjoying one another’s company when Siobhan abruptly stops talking and squints her eyes, staring out the window.

“What’s wrong, kitten?” I ask.

“That raven. It’s been staring at us for the past hour. Just sitting on the railing, hasn’t moved an inch.” She states.

I look over my shoulder and sure as s**t, there’s a raven on the railing and not just ANY raven.

Artemis.



Fuck.