The Alphas Want Me

The Truth Comes Out

I quickly scrambled to get dressed as Gage waited for me outside of the door. After struggling to stretch the new clothes over my curves, I exited the room to see Gage looking over the banister at the living room below. 

"What do you have planned for me today, mister Alpha?" I said with a smirk, staring at Gage's toned back. 

He turned to face me and his eyes were dark. His face had twisted into a deep scowl. 

"What did I tell you about calling me Alpha?" He strode over to me with powerful steps, making me shake slightly as he towered over me. 

"I'm sorry," I whispered quietly, dropping my gaze to the carpet beneath us. 

"No!" He bellowed, grabbing my chin to reconnect our eyes. "Do not lower your stare like some pup. You are not beneath me." His voice was low, it felt as though it was rumbling through me rather than passing through my ears. 

He ran a hand down his face before grabbing my wrist, pulling me forcefully toward the end of the hall. 

"Where are we going?" I asked, trying desperately to keep myself from tripping. 

"I need to show you something important. Obviously, our relationship depends on understanding." 

My eyebrow knit together at his choice of words. 

Relationship.

Technically, we weren't together. He hadn't asked me to be his mate or even asked me to come with him to his house. He just kidn*pped me!

My eyes widened in realization as he pulled me with him up a steep flight of spiral stairs. 

As he pulled me, my mind continued to pull pieces of our story together. 

I was about to become Elliot's mate. He may be quiet, but he was gentle with me. He is a good man. 

But I never felt any sparks with Elliot. He was comforting. Gage is exciting. 

I hated myself for comparing the two men. One thing I knew for sure was that Elliot had earned my respect, whereas Gage was taking whatever he wanted. He had no regard for my personal space or my desires. 

We finally reached the top of the stairs and Gage slowly pushed open the large door at the landing. I instantly felt a cool breeze as we stepped out onto the roof. 

Immediately, I could see all of the buildings in the pack. The trees stood tall below us, their leaves fluttering in the breeze. 

People were scattered across the grounds, resembling tiny pawns on a gameboard. 

"Adi," Gage said lowly, placing his arm around my hips, pulling me into his side. "All of this is ours." He spoke slowly, his head turning to fully absorb the view. 

"It isn't mine alone. We are to share this because we are equals." He emphasized the last word to me. 

I wanted to look at his face to see his expression, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the view. 

"Please, my love. Do not act as though I own you. You are not my possession, you are my mate." 

I stood back from his side quickly, my face littered with confusion. 

"Mate?" I said loudly, obviously catching him off guard. "I'm not your mate, you never asked me! You can't just swoop in here with your magic and assume I'm going to fall for your trap."

His mouth opened slightly before he let out a hearty laugh. It was so loud that it rattled through my body, it felt as though it was shaking my bones. 

"My love," he started slowly, turning to face me entirely. "Where you come from, they have abandoned tradition and the true wolf hierarchy." 

I tilted my head in confusion. Hierarchy? Everyone chose their mates. That was our tradition. 

"But in reality, the Goddess has chosen your mate already." He says, looking directly into my eyes. "Every wolf on this earth has someone who was made just for them. They are perfect equals: powerful and inseparable. They have a bond unlike anything this world has known." 

He steps toward me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You were made just for me. You are my greatest blessing. You are an endless reward that I am not worthy of having."

"Those sparks I feel when we touch, is that part of it?" I ask quietly, looking directly into his eyes.

He smiles lightly, looking at me with a gaze of adoration. "Yes. The sparks, the pleasure of being with your one true mate, is a gift from the Goddess. It cannot be replicated or faked."

I nodded my head lightly, beginning to make sense of it all. 

"Why doesn't my pack do this? Why do they just choose their mates?" I asked quietly, feeling disappointed in myself for not knowing. 

Gage sighs heavily, letting his shoulders relax. "Your pack abandoned the Goddess long ago. They stopped believing in her, and decided to reproduce for power." 

My eyebrows drew together once more. Power? Not a single person in my pack seemed powerful. We were peaceful people, almost replicating human life. We didn't have an Alpha or any leaders from what I knew. 

"How can they breed for power if our pack doesn't have any need for it?" I trailed off, seeing a flock of distant brown streaks to the west. I knew they were wolves, following behind a line of humans.

"Adi, they didn't tell you everything," Gage says, not seeing what I was seeing. "Do you want to know the truth?" He asks lowly. I nod my head quickly, needing an answer before I tell him of his visitors. 

"Your pack is where betas and other higher-ups are bred. They choose mates, breed them with Alphas, and then ship off the children to be trained by other packs." 

My mouth dropped instantly. "Elliot is an Alpha too? That's what they were going to use me for?" My voice was barely a whisper. 

Gage laughed, but it held no humor in it. He wasn't amused. "Elliot is an Alpha, but he isn't the Alpha." 

I tilted my head, looking up at him in confusion once more. 

"Compared to me, he is a pup. He is garbage, a quarter of a real man. I am the Alpha." His shoulders straightened as he announced his title to me, pride swelling his features. 

"What does that mean?" I asked sheepishly. I have never felt so uninformed, so naïve, so stupid. 

"I control everything. All of the packs in North America fall under my reign."

My whole world shattered at that moment. I have heard very few conversations regarding an Alpha King, mere speculation of his power, but now I knew it was true. And he was my mate. 

He leaned forward, connecting our eyes in an intense stare. 

"And now you know, you've got the real deal. You should be ecstatic." 

A smirk rose on his features and his eyes flashed with those light blue streaks once more, almost resembling lightning. I gasped, jumping back from him in shock. 

He reached out to pull me back into our close proximity when suddenly his eyes glazed over. He stopped looking at me, quickly whipping his head to the west, observing the field that I once saw. 

"You're kidding me." 

Gage turned to me once more, a sinister smirk stretching across his face once more. 

"My love, you must have some magic p*ssy to make a man stand up to the King." He said harshly, making me wince at his vulgarity. He chuckled lightly before coming to me, placing a kiss on my forehead. 

"Sorry, I need to control my mouth." 

He looked off to the border, where now it was clear that Elliot and a large group of wolves were approaching. Elliot stared directly at me, and at that moment it felt as if he was standing right in front of me. 

"Adi, don't let that bastard touch you. I'm coming."  Elliot's voice was in my head in an instant, giving me a pulsating headache. 

"What's wrong?" Gage said, his voice dropping low. 

"I just heard Elliot talk to me." 

Gage's eyes flew open wide, obviously coming to some realization. He quickly pulled me close to him and backed away from the landing, pulling me into the top of the stairwell. 

"Adi, don't question me. I need you to take off your shirt, now."

His voice vibrated through my body, scaring the absolute s**t out of me. I complied, quickly removing my blouse before his hands were all over me.

"Son of a bitch." He says in a low voice, staring at the back of my shoulder. I tried to crane my neck to see what he was seeing, but it was out of sight. 

Gage's hand lifted to the center of my spine and lightly touched a sore spot, making me wince in pain. 

"He marked you." He says low, a growl reverberating through the enclosed space. 

I felt the blood quickly rush out of my face as Gage's eyes sunk into a dark black color, then the blue flashes returned. 

He looked as though he was ready to kill me.