The Replacement Aplha

Thomas's Mate

The song ended and as Thomas’s warm hands left my body, I felt as if he was letting me go for the last time. Quite possibly, we would never listen to that song together again. When Thomas mated, he’d likely abandon the Frank Sinatra song for one that he could share with his future Luna.

Davey and Quinn pushed themselves through the crowd towards Thomas and I. Davey slapped Thomas’s shoulder and whispered something into his ear.

The DJ managed to organize the drunken party guests so that everyone was participating in the 10 second countdown.

Justin and Alex appeared beside Thomas as well, both giving Thomas an encouraging punch on the arm. Somehow, Emily had managed to weasel her way into the group. She threw herself into Thomas’s arms and gave him a hug that lasted much too long.

“5…” the crowd shouted in unison.

“4…”

“3…”

“2…”

“1…”

Suddenly, the mass of guests faded away and I was only aware of two things. Firstly, my heart, which was pounding so hard I could literally feel each time the thick muscular walls of the ventricles contracted and dilated. Secondly, a smell so wonderfully powerful that it hypnotized me into some sort of trance.

It smelled of forest. Fresh pine and spicy wood mixed together and created the best aroma I had ever experienced.

And it was coming from Thomas.

We both looked at each other in a way that we never had before. As I gazed into his hazel eyes, and like a magnet, I felt them draw me in closer.

Thomas, unable to control himself any longer, took a giant stride towards me and grasped the back of my head to tilt it up towards him. He paused, and after I gave him a gentle smile, brought his lips to mine.

The kiss was so intense and so comforting that I never wanted it to end. When he did finally pull away, time was such an abstract concept that I had no idea how many seconds, or minutes, had gone by.

We looked at each other for another beautiful moment, both completely understanding one clear fact.

We were mates.

He was mine.

And I was his.

My peripheral vision returned, and I became conscious of the silent group of party guests staring, astonished, at the two of us.

I locked eyes with Quinn and her shocked expression melted into an elated one.

She raced up to me and embraced me affectionately.

“You and Thomas!” she cried out, “I’m so incredibly happy. After all the years of friendship… you were destined to be his mate all along!”

Davey began to cheer, and slowly, the majority of the guests did as well. Some of the girls, including Emily, rather than celebrating, shot bitter looks in my direction.

Thomas and I stood awkwardly, both unsure what to make of the situation. More than anything, I wanted to escape as, once again, I was the centre of attention.

I grasped Thomas’s hand and looked up at him with a pleading expression. Thomas seemed to understand and cleared his throat in preparation to make a speech. The cheering died down, allowing Thomas the silence he needed.

“Thanks everyone for your support,” he said in a vibrant, confident voice, “I appreciate all of you for attending my coming-of-age party, and I look forward to seeing you, hopefully less intoxicated, at my shifting ceremony in two weeks. Don’t think that this is me telling you that the party has ended. It hasn’t. However, I hope you can all understand, especially those of you with mates, that I am going to… turn in for the night.”

A few males whistled at this last statement of his and I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment.

Thomas frowned and opened his mouth, ready to defend my honour, but I stopped him.

“Thomas, it doesn’t matter. I’m just anxious to get out of here,” I whispered into his ear. “And besides, we have a lot of catching up to do.”

“s**t, Thom, this is your car?” I exclaimed as we approached a black antique convertible.

Thomas almost looked ashamed as he told me that Luna Evelynn thought that he needed to make a good impression everywhere he went.

I delicately rested my hand on the sleek hood of the car.

“What’s the make of it?” I asked.

“It’s a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette.”

“And how much did it cost?” I questioned boldly.

He just shook his head and said, “You don’t want to know.”

I walked around to the passenger door, but Thomas stopped me and threw the keys in my direction.

“You drive. I’m pretty sober now, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

“Me?” I almost started arguing with him. A car like this was worth more than the house Dad and I lived in. I didn’t want to risk the chance of damaging such a precious piece of machinery.  

However, since drinking and driving was such a sore spot, I bit my tongue.

“You still remember how to drive stick, right?” Thomas asked.

“Of course.”

He opened the driver door for me, and I slid into the sky-blue leather seat. Once Thomas had hoped over into the passenger side, I turned the ignition.

The powerful engine rumbled.

“Only 1500 miles on this thing? How is that even possible?”

“I take good care of my girl here,” he said, slapping his hand down on the dashboard. “And I suppose that goes for you as well. I’m going to take good care of you.”

He traced a finger along my cheek which sent waves of shivers down my spine. My heart leapt, but I remained composed.

“Oh, so you’re comparing me to a car?”

He dropped his finger. “Yikes, I guess that does sound bad when you put it like that.”

I laughed. “So, Thom, what’s the plan? Where are we going?”

He ran his hands through his dark hair. “Well… there is one place we can go. Please try not to freak out, but Luna Evelynn was really hoping that I would find my mate tonight. So, she…”

“What, rented a motel?” I inquired, only half-joking.

“No, no, nothing like that. But she did force me to make a plan. Trust me, though, she had no other involvement in it. I set it up completely on my own. It’s a spot down in the Old Forest. I think you are going to like it.”

I didn’t respond right away. It was an odd situation, as Thomas would have arranged the romantic randevu location not knowing who exactly his mate was going to be.

“Alright. Let’s go,” I said. Thomas smiled, exposing his perfect, white teeth. A deep longing arose in me, deep in my stomach, or possibly even lower.

To distract myself, I put the car into drive mode and ripped onto the gravel road.

The Old Forest was a familiar spot to most of the pack members, so I had no issues getting to it without any directions from Thomas.

The car cut through the evening air and I shouted out into the black of the night, half laughing, half shrieking. To any pedestrian we passed, I might have sounded crazy. With my hands on the wheel, an intense sense of confidence and exhilaration sparked in me, almost as if the power of the engine had relocated into my body.

Is it the car? I thought to myself. Or is the whirlwind of emotions you’re feeling due to the handsome passenger riding shotgun beside you? 

I stole a glance at Thomas. My energy must have been infectious, as he appeared to be as thrilled as I was. The bright moonlight illuminated his strong, straight jawline and the wind whipped his dark hair in every direction. I desperately wanted to reach out and run my hands through his thick locks.

Had I always wanted to find out just how soft his hair felt between my fingers?

I pushed that thought out of my mind. It had to be addressed, but not tonight.

“Scar, you were supposed to take a left back there!” Thomas shouted through the sound of the airstream.

I raced past our old high school, pressing on the accelerator and shifting gears until the convertible reached a dizzyingly fast speed. The forestry on either side of the road became a green blur and I could almost smell the burning rubber of the tires.

I beamed at Thomas, who looked extremely baffled.

“Don’t worry Thom,” I said, “we’ll get there eventually. There’s just one stop I want to make first.” 

SR