The Beta’s Alpha Mate

Six

Grayson’s POV

“So, wanna bet on how long it will take Kade and Brea to mark each other?” I asked Julien.

We were sitting across from each other at Silvio’s, the best steakhouse in the closest town. Ironically, we could probably have gotten better steaks at the packhouse from our omega chefs, but it’s the principle of buying me dinner that counts.

Julien took a swig of his beer and laughed. “If it were up to Kade, I’d say they’d be marked already. I think Brea will make him work for it, but he’ll get her to cave in less than a week.”

“Eh, fifty bucks says it will take at least two weeks,” I guessed.

“Deal.” We shook on it.

“I bet you’d have your mate marked the very same day you met, just like Helix and Marcos,” I chuckled.

His smile faltered for a second, but quickly reappeared. “Juno will never shut up about it if I fail to mark my mate right away. Mangy mutt.”

Our server reappeared just then with our meals and fresh beers. I thanked him with a smile, and he winked back in return. He was pretty cute. Human, but cute. Blonde hair, blue eyes, not particularly tall but seemingly confident about himself. Hmm. I could work with that.

Being wolves with ravenous appetites, we ate quickly and were soon ready to leave.

“Can I get you two anything else?” The server was back, grinning at me with those big blue eyes.

“Maybe your name and number,” I winked at him. He blushed.

“He’s joking, neither of those are needed. Just give me the check, please,” Julien growled, suddenly irritated. Well, damn, Juls, way to cockblock a friend.

My cute server friend scowled at him but left and returned with the bill, which Julien promptly paid.

“Rude,” I complained, as we got in the car.

He flashed me a grin. “Can’t have you messing around on Danny boy, not after I promised Sierra I’d watch out for him.”

“Daniel and I are not exclusive,” I said.

“Yeah, but at least he’s a wolf. And he’s cuter than that guy. Don’t settle,” Julien lectured.

I snorted. “Thanks, wise Alpha.”

Soon we were back at the packhouse, and to my surprise, Julien followed me up to my room.

“Are you lost?” I asked him teasingly.

“I wanna play video games. The night is young,” he joked.

Well, there go my plans of calling Daniel, I thought. But I didn’t really mind that much. He probably needed the rest anyway, after our last couple of sessions.

Julien sat down on my bed, leaning back against the headboard. His long legs were stretched out in front of him, one ankle crossed over the other. He stared at me expectantly as I powered on the console.

“What are you looking at?” I asked.

His eyes snapped to mine. “You’re just being slow. How long does it take to set up a game?”

“d**k,” I muttered. I whipped the controller at him, but he was too fast and flung his arm up to catch it. He grinned cockily at me. “Told you, you’re slow.”

Rolling my eyes, I sat next to him on the bed as we waited on Madden to load. I brought my legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, resting my chin on my knees. Turning my head slightly, I looked at Julien. He was staring at me again, and his face flushed when I caught him. Quickly, he looked the other way.

Whatever, I told Fang. He’ll just deny being weird if I ask about it anyway.

We selected our teams and started our game. Soon, he had beaten me.

“Ha! I win!” Julien yelled triumphantly. I shook my head at his obnoxiousness. He was such a child sometimes.

“Grayson,” he said, and I turned to look at him. He was leaning towards me, his eyes mischievous even though his expression was hard to read. “I won.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t rub it in, man,” I replied. I only saw him have a couple beers, but he was acting totally off.

He smirked at me. “We had a deal.”

My mind went to work trying to figure out what he meant, but I was coming up empty. We had bet on Kade and Brea, but that was all.

His smirk grew wider the longer I was silent. “You win, I buy dinner. I win, and...”

It clicked. Our conversation yesterday, me offering to be the test subject for him to explore his feelings towards other guys. My mouth hung open. “That was yesterday! That doesn’t count today”

Julien frowned. “We didn’t specify when that bet ended. I won, it’s only fair.”

Now I was annoyed. I don’t know what his sudden interest in this was. We’d been friends a long time, and suddenly he wants to try adding some benefits to our relationship?

“Don’t mess with me, man, come on. Don’t be weird,” I growled at him.

“What?” Julien’s eyebrows furrowed. “I’m not messing with you.”

“Is this because we’re about to take over the pack and you’re testing me somehow?”

He looked at me, annoyed. “I legitimately am interested in learning about dating guys and you offered to help so I was taking you up on it. Are you revoking the offer? Were you just making fun of me?”

I sighed. Maybe he was just confused? I really couldn’t figure out where he was coming from, but Julien really didn’t make rash decisions very often. In fact, he was more likely to overthink things. If he was asking me to do this, he had probably spent more than one sleepless night rehearsing it in his head and considering all the possible outcomes.

“No, man, I wasn’t making fun of you,” I said. “And I still wouldn’t mind, if you’re serious, it’s jus- l”

“Good,” he interrupted.

And then suddenly, I felt Julien’s mouth on mine. My heart stopped for a brief moment, but soon it was racing faster than ever. Julien’s lips were so inexplicably soft, and so perfect. He nipped at my lower lip, making me shiver all over my body. His right hand slipped up to brush my cheek before tangling in my straight black hair, while his left hand pressed against my lower back to pull me closer to him. When his tongue invaded my mouth, I couldn’t help but let out a moan, which seemed to send Julien into a frenzy.

My hands were now just as preoccupied as his, one wrapped around the back of his neck and the other gripping his hip as he pulled me onto the bed with him. Oh goddess. What was happening? All of my thoughts were so hazy.

“f**k, Juls,” I whispered, feeling half-drunk as he kissed and licked my neck before biting my collarbone. He was being so… un-Julien-like. What did they teach him at Alpha school, exactly? Also, why did he taste so delicious? It was intoxicating, being this close to him.

“Grayson,” he growled softly in my ear in that deep voice of his, and I felt like I might come undone right then. I wanted him, needed to feel more of him. I slid my hand under his shirt and relished in the sensation of finally touching his hard, smooth muscles, which have always been so tempting to look at during training. I nipped right on his marking spot, sliding my tongue over it, watching those dark blue eyes close in intense pleasure. He pulled away, trying to refocus his eyes and calm himself.

Julien brought his lips back to mine for another long kiss, and then just as suddenly as it all started, he stopped and scooted to the otherside of the bed like he’d been shocked.

“Um, I better get back to my room, it’s getting late,” he muttered.

Fang, who had been abnormally quiet about all of this, suddenly whimpered at the loss of contact.

Yeah, well, how do you think I feel, mutt? I snapped back.

“Oh,” I said. “True. Well, see you some other time. Night, Juls.”

“Night, Grays,” he mumbled, shutting the door gently behind him.

So that was weird, I said to Fang.

I like him, Fang responded. Better than the others, at least. But you have a mate.

You’re just saying that because he’s your Alpha, I reminded him.

Better to please him than some random wolf.

Well, your Alpha doesn’t understand that it’s impolite to make out with someone for your own curiosity and then leave them hanging, so I’m going to contact a wolf who does, I complained. Then, I texted Daniel.

‘Are you busy?’ I texted the Omega. ‘If not, I’m free. My room in 15?’

He sent me back a thumbs up, so I quickly showered and changed, getting the scent of Julien off of me.

As I waited, I heard a loud bang in the hallway. I was about to go investigate, but then Daniel knocked on the door.

“Hey, little one, is everything alright?” I asked.

“Yes, no idea who that was, but there’s a giant hole in the wall over there,” he replied, pointing. The wall adjacent to my room was sporting a new look after being punched, hard, by someone. This wasn’t the first time - werewolves weren’t known for their great temperaments.

“Haha, probably someone saw what a cute little wolf you are and got jealous that you were coming to my room and not theirs,” I teased him, ruffling his hair.

He rolled his eyes. “Probably someone who spent time making themselves cute for their lover only to have this happen.” Daniel pointed at my hand in his now-messy hair before smirking at me.

“Feeling sassy tonight, little one? I can work with that,” I grinned at him and shut the door as he hooked his arm around me to pull me down for a kiss.

Fang growled in my head. We have a mate. We could even be with our Alpha.

Well my mate doesn’t want me, and neither does Julien, but Daniel does, so go to sleep if you don’t want to watch me enjoy myself, I instructed my wolf.

Daniel had already undressed, so I scooped my Omega up and tossed him on the bed. He was my prey tonight, just waiting to be devoured, and he was going to enjoy every minute of it.