The Golden One

Who the f**k Are You

I wake still naked in Michael's embrace, a dull ache in my stomach.

Fuck, we forgot about dinner.

I slowly move Michael's arm from me and slip out of bed. Grabbing one of his T-shirt's and a pair of boxers, I tip toe out of our room to find the kitchen. I didn't even check the time but it’s still dark and hopefully everyone is still in bed.

I use my sense of smell, and hungry belly, to guide me to the kitchen, but disappointment hits when another scent catches my attention; Alpha Carl, and he smells worried.

I walk into the kitchen to find him sitting at the dining table in the middle of the room, coffee cup in hand and his long hair swept into a messy bun. He doesn't look like he's been to bed yet, his eyes are dark and hooded as if deep in thought.

He doesn't speak but nods in acknowledgment of my presence. I take that as the "ok" to awkwardly shuffle further into the room.

"Sorry to disturb you Alpha Carl, I'm just hungry and was hoping to grab something to eat." I'm all of a sudden shy in his presence, his casual deep armhole tank top displays his impressive physique and it throws me off.

"Help yourself." He says in a gruff voice while gesturing to the cupboards and fridge, not really paying much attention to me.

I decide a small sandwich will hit the spot and busy myself finding the ingredients. Alpha Carl doesn't move, he just returns to staring down into his cup. Having never met him before, I'm not sure if he's the strong silent type or if he would appreciate some small talk, but I do want to address our encounter earlier as he probably thinks we are quite rude and abrupt. Clearing my throat, I turn to face him.

"I want to apologise for earlier. It's not easy for Michael and I to talk about... our situation." I pause before referring to what can only be described as "our situation" for the time being, at least until everyone else has arrived.  He chews on his lip before taking another large sip from his mug. I tug at the hem of my T-shirt in the silence and curse myself for not putting on more clothes to walk around another man's house.

He looks up at me, paying no attention to my awkwardness and stares into my eyes.

"I understand, It must be hard for Michael as he was the next in line after his father. You must be some woman to take on the role of Alpha over him. I've seen him fight." 

I sigh at his words, he thinks I bet Michael in a challenge. To become an Alpha it must be passed down from Father to Son or challenge a current Alpha to a fight, usually to the death although not always. Little does he know, neither is how I became an Alpha. And it wasn't going to go down well with everyone.

I've always enjoyed combat and training. When we were younger, Michael and I were quite evenly matched in a fight. I am deceptively strong although I wasn’t quite as strong as him, but what I lacked in strength I made up for in speed and tactics. However as we grew up and especially now that I am the Alpha, my abilities are stronger. I gain more power with the loyalty and respect my pack gives me. I win every time and deep down I think he hates it.

Alpha Carl's eyes scan over me, not lustfully, just in an inquisitive way, taking in my build. I'm tall but not excessively muscular or strong looking. I train hard and am in good shape but it's what lurk beneath that holds the real power.

"We train from ten in the morning if you want to join." He says quizzically.

I nod. It would be a good way to relieve some stress, other than s*x. I stare through Alpha Carl as I think back to earlier this evening. Michael really does know how to please me. I can feel the heat rising in me as my focus comes back to the room. My cheeks flush as I make eye contact with Alpha Carl and I cough myself out of my thoughts while he chuckles.

"Lost in thought Alpha Meila?" He says with a smirk on his face.

"Something like that." I mumble and shuffle my feet. 

Sighing, I regain my composure as the smirk falls from his face. Something is wrong.

"Is everything ok, Alpha Carl? Why are you still up?" I am soft in my approach, it's not my place to pry but something is definitely bothering him and I want to offer my support.

He stares down into his mug of coffee while chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"I'm waiting for my brother." He says in a flat tone not lifting his eyes from the mug. "He's my Beta. I sent him on some business a few days ago but I haven't heard from him since yesterday." He sighs, clearly worried for his brothers safety.

"He's not the best for communicating, but I thought he would be back by now." His eyes flick up to meet mine and I give him a soft reassuring smile.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" I ask, taking the seat across from him with my sandwich in front of me.

We both know there is nothing to do but wait at the moment, so I decide that I can sit with him for a while to distract him slightly.

We engage in polite chit chat. I have a lot of questions for him as he does for me. Thankfully he is patient when I am vague with my answers. It will be easier to explain everything when all of the Alphas are present. We chat and chuckle for an hour or so and I am surprised to see it is still dark outside.

It is nice just having a normal conversation with someone; Alpha Carl seemed like a very nice man. Although his brother, Christopher, sounds like a scoundrel from what he's told me. He seems very close with him and I envy him having that relationship with a family member. I don't have a family and I've never known them. It's strange to miss something you don't remember, but I guess I see what everyone else shares with family and I want it. Of course I have my pack and I have Michael, but no one joined by blood.

Our conversation keeps rolling on and as he is telling me another story of him and his brother in their younger days I let out a long yawn.

"That was so rude, I'm so sorry!" I blush as I speak, my hand snapping to over my mouth. I hope he doesn’t think he is boring me. Thankfully he just chuckles.

"You're tired Meila, you should rest. You've distracted me long enough." He smiles as I rub at my eyes. "Thank you for your company." He says as I nod and stand, walking wearily to the door.

"He'll be here soon." I say with one last glance in his direction. He smiles and I leave.

Back in our room Michael is still fast asleep looking as dreamy as ever, even if he has a dribble of dried drool down his chin. I giggle as I slip myself back into bed. This time I am the big spoon as I snuggle in close to him and give him a soft squeeze. I think about how much he cares for me and my stomach flips. We don't need a mate bond, we had a bond of our own. I take a big sniff of his familiar scent and drift off back to sleep with a full stomach and a full heart.

When I wake again, the sun is finally out. Although, the cause of my abrupt awakening is more alarming than last time. I'm in pain again and it's not the harmless ache of hunger. A sharp pain radiates its way through my chest. Alarmed at the pain, I sit up abruptly and check the room for danger.

Michael is still sleeping soundly and there appears to be no immediate threat to either of us, but the pain continues and as it increases slightly, I let out a soft yelp in surprise. 

What the f**k is going on?

As I take breaths to try and soothe the pain, I hear a commotion coming from down the hallway. There's stomping and shouting and I squint my eyes to adjust my hearing and make out what is being said.

"Christopher you need to stop!" Alpha Carl's voice is easy to pick out. His brother must be home.

"I'm not going to f*****g stop! I need to do something!" A strong voice bellows back. My stomach flutters slightly at the sound of the deep and commanding tone.

The voices are getting closer as the commotion continues. The pain continues to grow and I clutch at my chest trying to ease it.

"You're not going to like what you see Chris! I'm begging you, don't go in there!"

The voices appear to stop outside my door and just as everything becomes quiet there is an almighty crash as the bedroom door is kicked off its hinges and enters a tall, handsome and furious man.

I scream at the unexpected turn of events and at another sharp spike of the pain in my chest. Michael jumps up next to me, still naked from last night, and stands in front of me defensively. He growls ferociously at the enraged man in front of him, canines fully extended, fists clenched and arms tensed.

The furious man returns in kind, standing ready to pounce.

"Who the f**k are you?!" He spits in Michael's direction.

Michael snarls at him and makes a move forward. The pain in my chest is agonising but I need to put it to the back of my mind and put an end to this scene.

I tug at Michael's wrist making him fall back onto the bed. I jump around him and pounce on the intruder pushing him back into the wall, my forearm pressing against his neck. He fights against my hold and he nearly overpowers me. His rage seems to be fuelling his power and he is strong, so f*****g strong. I hear Michael growling and snapping behind me but I hold up my hand to tell him to back off; I've got this.

All the while, Alpha Carl stands in the doorway gawping at the wild scene unfolding. Confusion floods my mind as the man continues to fight against me. Why the hell was he in my bedroom and why the hell was he so angry? My breathing is ragged as I try to battle against this man’s strength and the pain forcing its way through my heart.

The pain swells in my chest as my skin comes into contact with this rogue stranger’s neck. He doesn't stop trying to fight me off and I can't keep this up much longer. What the f**k was happening? This needed to end. Now.

A swift kick to the stranger’s right knee was all it took to disarm him. Everyone hears the c***k and his leg gives way underneath him, dropping him to his knees. The man, who was feral only two seconds ago, looks up at me with sadness in his eyes. His raging black eyes have eased off to reveal the most beautiful green orbs staring deep into my soul.

I take a second to scan over him. He is truly beautiful, an Adonis.

He has golden tanned skin, glistening from sweat in the heat of his rage. His light brown hair was tousled into messy perfection on top with shaved sides. Stubble is sprinkled over his incredibly chiselled jaw while his lips looked soft and welcoming, begging to be kissed. His eyes, although sad, are wide and inviting and his brows are thick but furrowed in pain. A scar runs down the side of his perfect face onto his neck and cuts through a tattoo that starts mid neck and from what I can tell travels down his body.

The room is silent as I snap myself back to the moment. I gulp, looking down at my own hand I hadn't even realised was reaching out nearly touching him. 

What the f**k?

I snatch it back to my side and draw myself up as tall as I can. I prepare myself to speak in my best Alpha voice and choose to use his words against him.

"Who the f**k are you?" I snarl down at him, still not able to ignore the searing pain in my chest.

Silence.

No one speaks, no one moves.

"Answer me!" I roar and he flinches slightly at my tone.

He looks up at me as though tears could fall from his eyes at any second.

His lips part ready for him to speak. Nothing could have prepared me for what he had to say.

A solitary tear falls down his cheek as he speaks;

"M-mate." He stutters.

The pain in my chest hit its peak and I scream.

Then darkness...