Claimed By The Protective Alpha

Chapter 12 Meeting Lila

CAIN'S POV

It took everything in me not to follow her out right this second, but she was human, and she wouldn't understand how strong the pull was from my side.

As I made my way to my truck, I caught a whiff of my mate's scent. She smelled sweet, like honey suckle and vanilla. The closer I got to my truck, the stronger her scent got. My heart started pacing faster, wondering. Was she waiting for me? Did she feel the pull between us?

Once I reached my truck, there she was standing by her car's trunk on her phone. I couldn't help but glance at her phone and saw she was looking for discounted clothing shops. I decided to help her one last time. I told her where to go to get cheap, reused clothes in hopes she would find more of her size. After that, I got in my truck and practically forced myself to drive away.

The further I got from my mate, the more my wolf wanted to rage out.

"Why are you leaving mate behind? She needs us! Go back to her," Titan said angrily.

I pulled over and tightened my hands on the steering wheel, trying to keep my composure. I opened up a mind-link to Kelly and said, "Kelly, there is a human woman coming to your store to do me a favor and give her a big discount on her clothes. I'll pay the difference later."

"Of course, alpha, that's no problem, but is there a reason?" Kelly asked.

"She just looks like she's having a hard time as the sheriff. I can't just look away," I stated simply. After that, I cut off the link and was left alone with my raging wolf.

"Did you see how tired she looked?" I asked Titan.

"Yes, but we can fix that. We can fix anything mate needs," he said confidently.

"And what if we can't? She's human. What if we end up bringing more problems for her?" I said back bitterly.

"But we can protect her. We can be good mates," he said with a whimper.

I sighed, tilting my head back on the headrest before saying, "As much as I wish, we could claim her. I also don't want to make her life even harder. She's our mate. We want the best for her and, unfortunately, that isn't next to us."

Titan let out a small whine before walking back to the deepest part of my mind. As much pain as it brings me to say that we would end up causing more problems for our mate, I had to let him know. I have been looking for my mate since I turned 16. There is no one who has wanted their mate as much as we do. Being able to finally meet her, a tinge of disappointment hit me. Not in the fact that she was human, but in the fact that she already looked like she had been put through the wringer. Looking into the eyes of my small, fragile mate, I saw the light dimming as if she had been fighting against darkness for years. When she kept refusing my help, it tugged at my heart, but even more than the refusal, it was how she looked genuinely shocked that someone wanted to help her.

As I sat there, I hardened my resolve. What my mate needs is happiness, not being dragged into a world where humans are looked down on. I hope wherever she goes, she'll find real happiness, even if it's without me. While thinking that my heart ached, I could feel Titan's sadness, but he knew that I was right.

Finally, in agreement, I turned the car back on to the road to head back to my house to get ready for dinner. After getting ready for dinner in a white and beige stripped button down tucked into my dark blue jeans, I made my way to my parent's house. As I got on to the porch, my father was sitting outside waiting for me.

"Son, can you do us a favor and go bring little Lila. She's in the back cottage. Isabelle told her when to come, but I don't want her walking back there alone," he said to me in a no-question tone.

I nodded and walked back down the porch going around the house. Although we lived on a farm, we did keep a massive part of the woods behind the house so we could hide our wolves.

The cottage Sonia's friend Lila was staying in was located a little into those woods. As I reached the front door of the cottage, I caught the tiniest hint of vanilla. My mind began to go haywire, but I forced myself to stay calm as I knocked on the door. When she didn't come after a few minutes, I decided to try the door. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked on one hand. This helped me, but in the other hand I couldn't help but think how unsafe that is.

Once I entered the cottage, the scent hit me in one massive wave. This was my mate's scent. My heart began to race, and Titan began to bounce around again. I shook my head, reminding him what we had decided. That made him bow his head in sadness, but I could still see his tail wagging.

Instinctively, I began to follow the scent of my mate. It led me to the back room.

As I entered, I could feel her scent swirling around my body, my eyes landing on her clothes lying out. Before I could leave, I heard the bathroom door open behind me. My body stiffened as I heard wet footsteps making their way towards this room.

I tried taking deep breathes to calm myself, but I just kept smelling my mate. As I shut my eyes, trying to remind myself of my resolve, when I felt something wet hit my back. At that second, everything left my mind, and I turned around quickly, my hand flying to grab her waist. That's when I noticed she was naked, her voluptuous body on full display.

I gritted my teeth together to keep my face neutral when I felt her hand on my arm, setting my skin a blaze. I had to let go right that second, or I wouldn't be able to stop myself from tossing her onto the bed and fu.cking her until she was screaming my name.

I glanced down and noticed the towel. I decided to pick the towel for her as I couldn't bring myself to make eye contact, or I'd lose control.

After giving her the towel, I told her I would be waiting outside for her. I needed to get out of this house, or I would do something she'd hate.

Once I got outside, I breathed in the fresh air while balling my fists, sinking my claws into my palm while thinking, "I must protect us both, no matter how strong the pull is. No matter how badly I want to sink my teeth into her pale collarbone and mark her as mine. Or how I want to grip her waist, so tightly that my fingertips bruise into her soft skin as I pound into her chubby body. How I want to kiss and caress every roll she has. She was perfect, but I can't have her."