Fated Mates: The Alpha

Wyatt: Chapter Four

Wyatt

We walked quietly through the woods behind the older men, looking for our prey. Scarr yearned to get out, but we weren't hunting as wolves. My dad's favorite time was when we hunted with guns.

I watched them ahead of us, chatting quietly about their women and what their pups have gotten into lately. Alpha Matt was quiet most of the time though. He would smile and laugh at all of the right times, but he wasn't really participating.

His eyes were hard as he looked around and I could tell he was in a different place than everyone else, mentally.

"Dude, these suits are squeezing the life out of my balls." Ro pulled at his crotch, the black skin suit he wore, riding up his crotch. Mine was doing the same, but I tried not to think about it.

Ford, his dad, looked back at us with a smirk and shook his head. "You never get used to them. I've tried to get the Alphas to retire them, but they're too damn useful."

Ro sighed and continued digging at his crotch, his face twisted in discomfort.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure they don't really bother the women as much. I imagine it might actually feel good for them."

My uncle Josh snorts and grins. "Ro, you're the dirtiest-minded pup I've ever met."

"Yeah, well when you have two dads railing your mom, it's bound to happen."

Ford laughs and my dad elbows him as a doe runs from where we tracked her.

"Dude, not cool. We almost had her."

I laugh quietly and Alpha Matt shakes his head with a small smile. I can't stop watching him. After the twins told me about him feeling off, I've been looking forward to the hunting trip to see for myself. I wanted to know if he would say anything aloud to the guys or if he was hiding it.

I was also afraid of getting too close. My uncle Wes is quiet today too. He's looking around, his dark eyes surveying the area. But it's not a surprise. Uncle Wes is always quiet unless my Aunt Fiona is around. Or when he's arguing over my grandma and my mom treating him like a pup even though he's in his thirties.

"Something is up." Alpha Matt said after a while. Everyone perked up and looked around. I had heard of all of the bad sh*t that had happened in the past. I heard about the Council and the dragon, long before I came to the pack. I heard about the human war that almost wiped out our entire pack and the rogues banding together to attack my aunt Fiona's pack before she came to live in ours.

It's not like I ever wanted something like that to happen again, but the adrenaline that shot through my body as we looked around was intoxicating.

"No, guys, relax. I meant...with me. I...I've been feeling off."

My uncles looked at Matt and Ford patted his back. My dad was still looking around, his gun at the ready in his arms. Ro kicked at some twigs by our feet, completely checked out of the conversation, pulling a wedgie out of his crack.

"Off how?" Josh asked him. Ro took a seat on a tree stump and I leaned against the tree next to him.

"I don't know exactly."

"ED?" Ronan asks as he looks up at Alpha Matt.

Wes cracks a smile and Dad pats Matt's back with a sympathetic look. "I still haven't gone through erectile dysfunction, but... there are pills for that. You'll be fine."

Ford kicks Ro's shin as he begins to crack up and I hide a smirk as I turn away from them all. Alpha Matt smacks my dad's hand off of him and glares at Ro.

"No, my d**k is just fine. It's my body. Like...I feel like I'm getting tired faster than I'm used to. And Axle is getting weaker."

I perk up and glance at all of the men. Josh is furrowing his eyebrows and Wes perks one of his own. Ford frowns and my dad shrugs and looks around again, clearly not interested since he doesn't have a wolf.

Ro starts twirling his fingers, lifting pebbles with a tiny tornado in between his legs, but I can tell he's listening because he glances up at the men for a fraction of a second before concentrating on his magic.

"Do you think it's old age?" Wes asks.

Josh snickers as Matt throws them dirty looks. My dad turns and raises his eyebrows. "It's not an invalid question."

"No. I...I shouldn't be getting weaker. And don't get me wrong, I'm still strong, but some of my strength has been waning a little."

"How long?" Josh asks. I bite my lip and cross my arms as I continue to watch Ro, hoping to seem uninterested in their conversation.

"About two almost three months now."

It feels like a lead ball has dropped in my stomach and I take a deep breath and squat next to Ro. Ronan looks up at me behind the small curtain of white hair. His emerald eyes looked at me with the panic I felt on the inside. I grit my teeth and look down at the mini tornado he still has going.

"How's Alpha Meredith? Is she doing okay, Ford?"

"Yeah. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just dealing with Paisley's attitude problem and Peyton's magic use at school. Nothing like you've described."

I glance back at Matt. He sets his rifle against the tree he's standing next to and sits down. My dad takes his backpack off takes out some water bottles and starts handing them out. Then he gets the sandwiches mom made and sits down next to the Alpha.

Ro and I take our food and sit a little further away from the older men.

"Do you think it's because of you?" Ronan whispers as he pretends to clear a spot to set his food down.

"I don't know." I sit next to him and glance back at the men. They started talking about the pups again and how Ronan's younger brother had been using his Fae magic to torment the other pups at school.

"Should we say something?"

"Say something about what?" We both look up as my Uncle Wes comes up to us with a couple of chocolate bars. I shoot a look at Ronan to shut his mouth.

"Nothing. I flushed some plastic gloves at work and Ronan was worried Mom was going to find out by a toilet leakage."

Wes quirks an eyebrow and shakes his head. "That's a colorful story. But...that's all it is, huh? A story. What are you keeping a secret?"

Wes, out of everyone else in my family, was probably the only person I felt like I could tell without him betraying my trust. I just...was scared. I didn't know if it was going to affect my life the way it was now. I didn't want to get kicked out of the pack. I didn't want to uproot my mom and dad's lives just because I had Alpha blood in me.

Or...what if Mom and Dad didn't want to leave the pack with me? Mom had her own business and Dad was one of the lead warriors that taught wolves about guns.

I swallow hard and beckon Wes closer. He sits in the dirt across from Ronan and I and hands us each a candy bar.

"Alright, spill. You've been quiet the entire hunting trip and we're usually having to tell you and Ro to shut your traps. You've also been staring at the Alpha all day."

I sigh and shake my head. I should have known that Wes would notice something. The quiet ones always notice sh*t they shouldn't.

"My aura is growing. I'm getting stronger and Scarr...he's grown. Like...a lot."

Wes raises his eyebrows and turns to look at the other men as he scoots closer.

"Since when?"

"My birthday." I breathe as I watch Ford get up to go take a piss.

He runs a hand through his hair and nods. "Does your mom know?"

I shake my head and look down at my untouched food.

"Good. Don't tell her anything until I've talked to Josh. He will know more about what's happening and what can be done."

I shake my head quickly and stare at Wes with wide eyes. "He'll tell the Alpha. They're going to kick me out. I...Evie says I should submit but...I can't. Scarr doesn't want that. And Maddy thinks he will want to fight me. I can't take him on. He's going to kill me."

Wes sighs deeply and bites his lip. "Ride home with your uncle and I. We can talk about it. And Josh isn't going to say anything. Yeah, he's loyal to the pack, but he's also loyal to your mom. And he won't do anything that will hurt her."

I smile and nod slowly. "Alright."

He nods and leans back. "How are things with the twins?"

I turn to look back at Alpha Matthew and bite my lip. "Same as always."

Ronan snorts a laugh and I elbow him hard. He spits out his water and catches it with his magic into a small orb of water.

Wes quirks an eyebrow and smirks before he dusts himself off and makes his way back to the older men.

"You know my mom hopes that the twins are my mates."

I growl and turn to look at Ronan. "And what do you want?"

He wrinkles his nose and presses his lips together.

"There's this girl from Blue Ridge. Hot as f*ck, but she's like four years older than me and she doesn't give me the time of day when we visit."

I frown at Ro, surprised at how serious he's being. Both of us had a reputation for being loud and sometimes obnoxious.

"Well, maybe she will be your mate."

He snorts and shakes his head. "Honestly, I'm good. I don't want a woman dictating everything I say or do."

"You're the next Alpha, Ro. No one is going to tell you what to say or do."

"Bullsh*t. Have you seen how whipped Alpha Matt is?"

We laugh as we look over at him and he turns to look at us. His blue eyes are piercing as they meet mine and my stomach clenches in fear. I turn away quickly and elbow Ro.

"Party tomorrow night at the stream. You in?"

Ronan groans and runs a hand over his face. "No. I've got to go to see the Fae. My training has been getting harder. Once I turn eighteen they want me to spend more than twelve weeks a year with them. They say it's no where near enough time for me to learn everything I'm capable of."

I raise my eyebrows. "But you can do a lot. There's more?"

Ronan scoffs and nods, tossing the pebbles he was playing with away from us. "A lot more. My dad nearly jizzes himself every time the start teaching us something new. And don't get me started on all of the books they send home for me to study before I see them again. I can't even get a job because Dad wants to make sure I study everything I can. Peyton is getting good at wielding from the earth too. But his air magic beats mine."

I nod and glance back at the older men as they begin getting up. Alpha Matthew is still looking at me and I feel my face heat under his scrutiny.

"You know," He says as he lays his big meaty palm on my shoulder. I'm surprised to see that he no longer towers over me, but we're eye to eye now. "You smell like mint and leather."

I raise my eyebrows. "Thank you?"

Alpha Matthew's eyes narrow as he looks over my face and he pats me hard on the shoulder. "The smell is familiar is all. You're keeping your hands to yourself when my girls are around you, right Wyatt?"

I can't help the smirk as I nod and shrug. "Yes Alpha, I am. Now...if the girls aren't, that's a different story."

His eyes harden and he growls. "Watch it, Wyatt."

He walks away and Scarr surprises me by growling ferociously at his back. I have to close my eyes to calm him down so he doesn't go popping out of my skin.

Wes pats my back and we stand a few feet away as everyone goes to follow the Alpha into the woods. "Watch your temper. Don't let him get to you. You've got your mom's patience. Keep it in check."

I swallow hard and nod. clenching my fists as I grab my rifle and follow everyone. I don't know how I'm going to deal with all of this, but I hope I can figure it out soon enough.