Aaron's Mate

Prologue. DESPITE THE HUNGER clawing at his gut, Jordan took another sip of water and forced himself to remain seated. He’d eaten everything on his plate, and as much more as he could get away with, without anyone noticing. He was still starving. How did the other Omegas eat so little? How did he used to be satisfied with practically nothing in his stomach? “Can I join you?” Jordan looked up and blinked at the man standing over them. It was the new comer to Greensborough, Reagan, standing next to their table. The one they all said was linked to Grayson in some way. He looked like a Beta in size but he certainly didn’t act with any deference to the Alphas. Human. Obviously. Reagan didn’t wait for them to reply, he just sat with an abruptness that indicated that he was angry and began eating his the firemountain of food. Meat and more meat. Pasta... Damn, I wish I could eat that much! Reagan picked up a juicy chicken leg and took a big bite. “I’m Reagan. How you doin’?” Jordan stared at Reagan, comparing how he currently looked to how he’d been yesterday. He looked bigger than he had last night somehow. Taller, even. How was that possible? He glanced over at Elliot and Travis. What were they meant to say to him? Elliot cleared his throat, “I’m Elliot... I’m okay. How are you?” “Great... except for those jackasses over there.” He nodded his head towards the Alpha table, his face tight and angry. Jordan frowned at the new comer and clenched his jaw. That was no way to talk about the men who kept them all safe. Elliot trembled beside him and Jordan worked hard not to roll his eyes. Such a classic Omega. “You shouldn’t speak like that about the Alphas.” Reagan grunted and shook his head. “I’ll do whatever I want. I’m mated to Grayson now.” Oh my God, he’s what? “Excuse me...?” Elliot crept closer, his hand sneaking out across the table as though to touch Reagan. “I’m mated to Grayson. Not that I meant to of course. I didn’t know that f*****g him would make that happen.” Jordan gasped at the language and the images Reagans words invoked. That would mean that Grayson was... Reagan rolled his eyes and made a pfft style noise, his frustration obvious. Jordan’s head spun with the consequences of what this all meant. But surely it was impossible. Wasn’t it? Reagan couldn’t be mated to an Alpha. He was human, and a male! That wasn’t how it was meant to be. How would the Alpha line continue? Reagan glared at them all, angry lines appearing around his deep set eyes. “What’s your problem? Don’t like the fact one of the Alphas is gay?” Reagan tore off some more chicken with his teeth, washing it down with a nearby beer. He was awkward and big, moving as though he weren’t used to his own limbs. If only you knew. Silly human. Elliot shook his head. “Of course not, I’m... gay. If that’s what you humans, call it. That’s not a problem here; it has never been.” Unless you're my mother. She beat that message into me every day. Being gay, being born without a birthmark was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Reagan looked away for a moment, obviously struggling with something, before he turned back. Anger flared in his nostrils. “Well, Marcus sure thinks it is! He just made it very clear that I've destroyed any chance Grayson had of having a family.” His voice choked on the last words, and he cleared it with a rough cough. Poor guy. Marcus is a t**t. He had to speak up. “Reagan, I’m Jordan. You’re wrong about one thing. Marcus is a mean and selfish Alpha... that’s not why we’re so shocked. There hasn’t been an all-male Alpha pairing in generations.” Travis leant forward. “There are whispers within the Omegas that the original leaders of our pack were all males, but no one knows for sure.” Jordan turned away as Travis explained their fairy tales. It was something the Omegas clung to. The hope that they weren’t an aberration, weak or wrong. That they were an essential, and indeed strong, part of the pack. But it was a fantasy. One that his own friends bought into. The idea that a big strong Alpha might be able to love and protect them. Not him. He didn’t believe any of it. Why would my mother hate me so much if those stories were really true? Reagan’s eyes went wide as he looked around their small circle. “Really? Do you know if any of the other guys are male paired too?” Not in the Alphas. And if I have any control over my destiny, there won’t be any more. Jordan looked away and stared down at his hands. This was getting harder not to react to. “Ah no.” He couldn’t look up. If only they knew that one of the other Alphas was destined to be mated to a male, too. How horrible the pack would think that was! “What’s with that?” Reagan poked him in the arm with his finger. What? He didn’t respond outside, but inside his stomach churned and acid burned the back of his throat. What could he say to Reagan about this? “Jordan’s got a secret.” His head snapped up and he glared at his friend. Traitor! “Shut up, Travis.” Reagan looked between them both. “Shut up about what? What’s going on?” “Show him, Jordan,” Elliot said, nudging him with his elbow. “No,” Jordan barked at his friends. How dare they betray him with the one thing he couldn’t share? And when they promised they’d never tell. He took a deep breath to steady himself. He didn’t have to tell this stranger anything. Ridiculous notion. He pushed himself to his feet and prepared to leave and get away from a man who was mated to one of their Alphas. It was far too upsetting. He’d tried so hard to hold back, despite the deep ache, the pain. Just so the man who was meant to be his mate could move on, find a suitable woman. He hadn’t wanted to weaken the line, and yet here it was. Fate come to kick him in the arse again. Grayson was male mated, too! “Hey, come here for a sec.” Reagan reached over and grabbed him by the arm, the pressure hard and tight. Un-breakingly strong. What the fuck...? Jordan grabbed at Reagan’s hand to push him off, but the bigger man just pulled him closer and yanked up the hem of his grey t-shirt. No! Reagan stared at Jordan’s chest with wide, unblinking eye. Heat flamed in his cheeks. He was totally exposed. As was his secret. Maybe the human wouldn’t know what it was? “What the...” Reagan’s gaze flicked up to him and Jordan saw the dawning of understanding. The human recognised the mark? Oh s**t! “Hey! Leave me alone!” Jordan clenched his fingers tightly into a ball and slammed his fist into Reagan’s shoulder as hard as he could. “Ow.” The Alpha’s mate let him go and he spun on the ball of his foot, sprinting through the Hall and out into the cool air. His heart raced and his breathing was too fast. He was practically panting as his throat burned. He’d known this day would come, and he hadn’t planned for it. What an i***t! What on earth was he going to do? Reagan had seen his mark. The huge, dark, sprawling mass that spread over his chest and abdomen. It was still relatively new to him, too. He’d been born without a birthmark. Unusual, but not unheard of for a Omega, homosexual wolf. Despite people saying it was still normal, his mother had not liked it. She had beat him regularly, reminding him of how unworthy he was of being a wolf. How she should have birthed a girl. His mother had died when he was a teenager, and how ironic it had been that a few years after her death, on his twenty-first birthday, he had begun to develop his mark. Just as their females did. How right his mother had been. He was wrong, oh so wrong. But no one had seen it and luckily, unlike the women, no one had looked for it on him. He took every precaution to keep his mark covered, or bandaged. Anything to make sure no one recognised it for what it was. Because if someone saw it and told the man who had the matching mark, he’d have to bond with him. And that couldn’t happen. Fate had made a mistake. A HUGE mistake. He couldn’t be fated to be mated to... him. Jordan gulped down the fear that was threatening to strangle him and ran straight to his share house. He frantically searched the house, looking around for anything he might need. Clothes! He begun stuffing his few pairs of jeans into a bag. A tank and a long sleeved top. The only one he had. Socks. He had one jumper. He grabbed it and pulled on over his head. He had to get out of here. If the legends were true, and everyone in town believed them to be so, then he was the destined mate of Aaron Tanner. The oldest, most thoughtful and strong of the five Alphas in his generation. Jordan zipped up the tote bag and let a long sigh release from his lips as he thought about the cruel situation he’d been put it. He ached for Aaron. Like the earth needed the sun. But it was not meant to be. Someone had seriously f****d up if they thought he had what it took to be an Alpha’s mate. Jordan grabbed his bag, all the money he had and the keys to an old car they shared. Hopefully the guys would forgive him for leaving like this. He’d make it up to them somehow. He stole into the night, got in his car and drove away as fast as he could. Away from Greensborough. Away from his pack. And away from the mate that he’d never know.