Mated to the Alpha

Rylan We’re all sitting in the fire truck waiting for Blake as the alarm screeches in our ears. “Bye, lover,” Kimberly says as she climbs onto the truck and gives her mate Westin a kiss. I have to turn away. I’m happy for Westin but it’s hard to see all the happy couples around here when I’m pinning for my mate. Every kiss, every holding of hands, every look, and every smile—each one is like a knife through my heart that twists and twists and twists. “You’re not allowed on the truck,” I snap at her when the kiss goes on longer than I can handle. Kimberly pulls away and looks at me funny. “I was just saying goodbye.” I know I should just shut up. Let them enjoy their love. Not be a total d**k. But I can’t. It’s been torture around here with all of the mates showing up. First Ethan and Chloe, then it was Carter and Aubrey, and now Westin and Kimberly. I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do if Blake finds his mate before me. I’ve been feeling lonelier than ever and it’s starting to make me miserable. I hate that I’m like this, but the pain has to come out somehow. “The alarm is going,” I tell her. “That means there’s an active fire. That means we’re technically in the field. That means no kissing.” It’s an asshole move, but I just can’t handle watching anymore mate-love. I’m spared from having to deal with it when we’re on a job. It’s the only time I can get some peace. Blake comes charging into the fire hall and leaps into the truck. Carter is behind the wheel and takes off before our fire chief Blake can even close the door. I glance out the window at Kimberly and she gives me the finger. She looks annoyed and I feel bad. I like Kimberly, I really do, but I just can’t handle seeing her and Westin so happy this morning. My inner grizzly bear has been extra agitated lately. I was up again all last night with him pacing around and acting all grumpy. He wants our mate here by our side with our mark on her neck and with my c**k buried between her legs. I want the same thing as well, but it’s not in my control. I try to tell him that, but the furry fucker can’t get it through his thick skull. So, he drives me crazy instead. “What the hell was that, Rylan?” Westin asks as his eyes narrow on me. We’re sitting in the back with Ethan. Carter is driving and Blake is beside him up front. “I can’t give my mate a kiss before we head out on a job?” I grit my teeth as I stare out the window. The fall is here and the leaves are starting to change colors. It’s gorgeous in Montana during these colorful weeks but all I’m seeing is death and decay. The leaves aren’t changing colors. They’re dying. The selfish tree is sucking the nutrients back and the leaves are shriveling up and suffering a slow painful death. Westin kicks my boot. “I’m talking to you, asshole.” My eyes dart over to his. “The alarm was on.” “So?” “So, it’s protocol. We have to stay focused on the task at hand.” “Waiting for Blake to get out of the bathroom?” Blake turns around with the mention of his name. “What happened?” Ethan chuckles beside me. “Kimberly was giving Westin a kiss goodbye, but Rylan didn’t like it.” “He should be focused on the job,” I say with a little too much force in my voice. Really, I should just shut up. “And not on his mate’s tonsils.” “f**k you, man,” Westin snaps. I think I might have gone too far. “I’m always focused on every job. It’s not like we’re headed to a five-alarm fire. It’s a car accident.” “Whatever,” I mutter as I turn back to the window. I should have just kept my mouth shut. My bear starts grumbling inside me as we pull onto the two-lane expressway. Carter is speeding with the alarm blaring and we get there in no time. Shit. It’s a big nothing burger. I was hoping for an intense fire, a radioactive spill, anything to get my blood pumping and my mind focused on something other than the fact that my mate is not in my life and may not be for another few decades. But instead, I got this. A motorcyclist skidded off the road. His bike is flipped over in the dirt and he’s sitting on the side of the two-lane expressway with a few people around him. Traffic is a mess. There are four cars parked on the shoulder and everyone keeps slowing down in both directions to see what happened. “Rylan,” Blake shouts as we all pour out of the truck. “You can take traffic duty. Maybe that will calm you down.” He gives me a look and I just shake my head as I walk over to the oncoming cars. I start waving them through but they keep slowing down anyway to get a glimpse of the upside-down motorcycle. They all want to see the wreck. The disaster. If they want to see a real wreck, they should be looking at me. Having all these mates around has really started to mess with me. Even now on the job, when there’s no possible way I’ll find my mate, my bear is getting all amped up and crazy. He’s spinning in circles inside me and growling so loud that my chest is vibrating. “Shut the f**k up,” I hiss through my clenched teeth as I wave another car on. It’s bumper-to-bumper traffic in both directions along the two-lane expressway now. My throat starts tingling and then it quickly builds to a burning. I clear my throat as my eyes start watering. What the f**k? Who the hell needs a new car? This smoke is killing me.