Fate of the Alpha's Mate

Chapter 8

Esme

I was surrounded by warmth as my body slowly pulled from a deep sleep. I haven’t slept that well in a long time. Suddenly, I realized that I was wrapped in someone’s arms. Taking a deep breath, I was surrounded by the cedar leaf and musky amber that is Lucas. A smile pulled at my lips remembering last night. We didn’t even talk, but he held me and let me cry. I have been so busy trying to pretend that I'm okay that I don’t think I have actually let myself feel all of the things since the night my dad died. Today I feel a little better after letting it all out last night and finally getting a full night’s sleep.

I moved his arm to reach for my phone to check the time. He groaned loudly, pulling me back toward him. I smiled but still pulled away and reached for my phone again. The time lit up on my screen 1:23 pm. I jumped quickly and swiped the phone open. Something must be wrong. There is no way that I slept this late. Sure enough, the time read after one in the afternoon. There were little indicators all over my phone showing missed notifications, two missed calls from Kenzie, and a text from my mom saying she would be out for the day.

“Lucas!” I yelled, turning to him to wake him up. “It’s after one in the afternoon. You have to get up.” His eyes flew open, and he looked at my phone in my hand, confirming the time. He reached for the phone, laid it back on the small table by my bed, and grabbed around my waist, pulling me back to him.

“I don’t care. Just stay with me. Reality will come back all too soon,” he grumbled, his voice muffled by my hair. My phone vibrated against the table. I reached for it again, swiped it open again, and saw a message from Kenzie.

Kenzie: Emily's looking for Lucas. Your mom says he is with you. Thought you should know. Your link is blocked.

Well, there's reality. I turned over, staying wrapped in his arms, and looked up at him. His hard chest now right up against me sent a shiver of desire through me. “Emily is looking for you. Welcome back to reality.” I sighed and pulled away to sit up. He sat up and scooted next to me.

“I guess I should go," he said, running his hand over his face.

“Yeah, probably.” I encouraged him, though everything in me was begging him to stay. Almost twelve straight hours of sleep and no nightmares had not been a reality for me for way too long.

“Esme,” he began.

“Don’t, Luke. Just don’t. I’m okay,” I insisted. I didn’t want to hear what he had to say. It would probably ruin the time I had. I saw him nod his head just slightly before standing up.

“I love you, Esme. I’m here for you. That hasn’t changed.” He rushed out and turned to the door. I sat, speechless as the door clicked behind him.

He’s on his way. I linked Kenzie, not quite sure where he was heading.

I think she knows he was with you, she linked back. Not my problem, he will have to deal with her.

Are you home? I’m hungry, I asked when my stomach grumbled. I slept through breakfast this morning and missed dinner last night.

Heading to the dining hall now, meet you there, she replied all too eagerly.

I stood up and moved to my bag of clothes in the corner. I only brought a few things over to begin with, thinking I would only be here a few days. My choices were slim. I grabbed a pair of leggings and pulled them on over my panties and realized that was all I had on all night while I was with Lucas. I could feel heat rush to my cheeks at the thought. I quickly changed into my shirt and went to the bathroom mirror to try to clean up my makeup as much as possible and brushed my teeth quickly. My mind kept flashing back to how Lucas held me all night while I wore next to nothing. He had seen me naked a thousand times, it was just a part of who we were as wolves. But there was something more intimate about this and it left me with feelings I wasn't sure how to work out. I blushed remembering the feeling of his hard c**k against me. We are supposed to find a way to be friends, but I don’t know how I'm just supposed to shut down those feelings.

I sighed as I made my way down to the main house and then to the dining hall. Walking in, I saw Kenzie waiting just inside the door for me. The room was large, with thirty large tables spread out to accommodate anyone who chose to eat there. Breakfast and lunch were served buffet style and there were tables of food lining the front wall, constantly being replenished.

“Hey,” I said, grabbing her attention from her phone.

“Hey, yourself,” she smiled at me mischievously. “You look,” she paused, looking me over. “Refreshed,” she giggled, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

“I slept well last night,” I teased her without giving her anything else. Two can play this game. I started walking over to the food with a smirk.

“I bet you did,” she giggled again, wiggling her eyebrows and reaching for a plate.

“Nothing happened,” I finally told her as I stacked my plate with a sandwich, some pasta and grabbed a bottle of water.

“You reek of him. You do know that, right?” She tossed me a knowing smile with a look of doubt as she piled food on her plate. I just side-eyed her and continued to look for a place to sit, away from everyone else.

“Nothing happened,” I repeated as I took a seat with as much privacy as possible. “I needed him. He came, he stayed with me, and we slept.” It was the truth. It should be very simple and clear-cut. It was nothing more than a friend being there for a friend. If the same situation would have happened with Kenzie, no one would have batted an eye. Why did there have to be so much tension between us still?

“You slept with him. On your twin-sized bed. You realize you guys aren’t eight anymore, right?” She tossed back with a smirk.

“I do. I don’t even remember falling asleep. It just happened,” I tried to explain.

“And when was the last time that he just came to you?” she asked, raising her eyebrows in question. Kenzie was there for me through everything. She was the one who cried with me the day he walked away. She binged ice cream and Netflix with me as I tried to process the changes. She helped me work through applying to the universities and making the decision to leave. Downplaying things with her just wouldn’t work. But I also don’t want to allow myself to believe it was anything more than what it was. I'm grieving, he felt responsible. We fell into an old habit, and we woke back up to our reality. In reality, we are barely friends, much less anything more. I can’t allow myself to even go down that road. I know it will only end in heartache and I have wasted enough time grieving Lucas.

I looked up and saw Emily marching toward our table. She looked furious and was heading straight for us. I braced myself for the inevitable argument and continued to eat my food like I didn’t notice her. I really didn’t want to deal with her.

“Where is he?” she demanded before she even reached our table, her perfectly manicured hands on her hips. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, not a hair out of place. Her eyes threw daggers at me, and I could see tension in her jaw. Coming at me full of anger and accusations was not the way to get my cooperation. Not that I knew where he went, I assumed he went straight to her to explain. I still couldn’t figure out their relationship. It seemed very strange. I've never seen them touch or even look at each other with anything other than disdain. Wolves tend to be a pretty passionate breed, we touch often. It's strange to see their interactions.

“Did you lose someone?” I asked innocently. I owed her absolutely nothing. I don’t even know this girl. Maybe if she had asked nicely, I would have obliged. Probably not though, since she was such a peach the last time we spoke.

“I know he was with you,” she snapped back at me with a glare. I'm certain she smelled him all over me as I made no attempt to shower or hide his scent, but I decided to go the petty route with her.

I looked around my table and across to Kenzie and then back up to Emily. “Looks like it’s just Kenzie here.” I shrugged my shoulders. I couldn’t bring myself to care about her feelings. Maybe it was her attitude, but it was also a little bit of jealousy. She moved around the table and pulled at my arm to try to make me stand and face her. “I would watch it if I were you,” I snarled. She was definitely bolder than I gave her credit for. I pulled my arm out of her grasp and stood in front of her.

“I can smell him all over you,” she sneered.

“I think you need to speak to your boyfriend and keep your hands to yourself,” I snarled back. I don’t want to cause problems for Lucas, but I also don’t want to deal with his problems either.

“You had your chance. You didn’t want it. Leave him alone,” she demanded and squared her shoulders to try to intimidate me. Little did she know I could rip her to shreds before she had the chance to even raise her claws. And what the f**k does she mean I had my chance? She obviously knows nothing about our relationship. I noticed Lucas walk into the room behind her and gratitude filled me that I could be done with her.

“I think he came to me if I remember right,” I smugly threw it back in her face, knowing it wasn’t fair. I didn’t usually allow myself to go down to this level, but I had enough. My words had the intended impact, and she launched herself at me just as Lucas wrapped his hands around her waist and put her back on the ground. He pushed her behind him and his eyes moved over me. I could see him vibrating with anger. My stomach sank thinking about how angry he probably was at me. I could have defused the situation but I only egged her on in front of a room full of curious eyes. If there was one thing Lucas hated, it was drama. Even more so when it involved him.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly, studying my face. I was shocked by his tone. I nodded my head and saw Emily peeking out around him, glaring at me.

“I’m fine,” I answered and sat back in my seat. I could feel the eyes of every wolf in the room staring at us.

He turned swiftly and his body visibly showed the anger he was barely hanging on to. “What in the f**k is going on here?” he demanded of her as she shrunk back.

“She,” Emily began before Lucas cut her off.

“I dare you to stand in front of me and blame my best friend that just lost her f*****g father for your behavior right now.” He growled at her, her eyes darted between us. I was shocked that his anger was towards her, but I was grateful.

His best friend? Since when? Selene scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“I’ve been looking for you!” She whined and moved toward him, reaching for his hand. He stepped back and glared at her.

“My link was closed. My phone was off. I obviously didn’t want to be found,” he growled again at her.

“I woke up and you weren’t there. I was worried,” she whimpered. Her words stung. Knowing she was the one who was used to waking up with him, she expected him to be there when she woke up.

“Were you expecting me to be there?” he asked and I could hear the confusion in his tone. “You probably didn’t even notice that I wasn’t there until Jackson questioned why I didn’t show up for training.”

“I know you were with her. Her scent is all over you. I won’t share, Lucas,” she snapped at him with a sudden burst of confidence. I was amazed at how she went from teary-eyed and hurt to this so quickly.

“And you think that gave you permission to confront her instead of me? Do you even hear yourself? Are you that self-centered and petty?” Anger was vibrating through his voice still, he was protecting me because of the state he found me in last night. That's why the anger was directed at her rather than me. I reached up and put my hand on his back in an attempt to calm him. It always worked when we were younger.

“Luke, it’s fine. I handled it,” I tried to soothe him. There were at least fifty wolves in the hall right now and they were all watching the scene unfold in front of them. I felt him inhale deeply and turn back to me.

“Emily, go wait in my office,” he demanded without even glancing at her. He sat in the chair next to me and pulled my hand in his as Emily scurried off to his office with a glare. “Are you sure that you’re okay?” he asked gently.

“I’m fine, I promise. I was taunting her to be fair.” I gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand. This was the Lucas I knew, the Lucas I needed. He was always so gentle and generous with me. Not many people got to see that side of him, and I wasn’t sure I ever would again. It was nice to have it again, even for a little while.

“I’m sure she was asking for it. I’ll see you later. I need to take care of her,” he answered before kissing my forehead and following Emily out of the hall.

“I’m sure that was nothing too,” Kenzie’s eyes got big as they followed him out the door and looked at me.

“Kenzie, please. It wasn’t. That was Lucas feeling guilty about my dad. I’m sure it won’t last long.” I sighed and went back to my food. I felt Kenzie watching me and I knew she was debating on pushing it. I was glad when she went back to eating her food quietly. “So, you think your mom will be able to get my mom to go stay with her for a while?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“She seems to think so. She’s going over tonight to talk to her again.” She smiled at me.

“Good, I need to come home. That bed is not exactly comfortable anymore.” I laughed, trying to lighten the mood some.

“Especially not for two,” she smirked. I rolled my eyes and went back to my food. “Are you going to be up for the gala this weekend?” she asked hesitantly. I had completely forgotten about it and now it was only a few days away.

“I know you really wanted to go,” I sighed and moved food around my plate trying to convince myself to eat some more.

“I do, but I would totally understand if you changed your mind,” she shrugged.

“No, we should go. It will be fun.” I smiled at her, though I knew she knew it wasn’t genuine. I don’t want to go if I’m honest. I don't really want to pretend to be happy and smile at people. I know my dad really wanted me to go though, he was thrilled when I said I planned to. So, for him, I need to do it.