Fated Mates: The Alphas's Choice

Matthew: Chapter Seven

Matthew

As much as I wished it were true, you really can't run away from your problems. I ran for hours on my treadmill in the pack house gym. I couldn't stop thinking about Elena. The immense guilt I felt seeing her swollen, red eyes and the jealousy and pain radiate off of her every time I touched Jocelyn ate at me.

Just being around her for an afternoon ruined me. Giving Jocelyn the ultimatum was me losing my patience with her. I still had feelings for her but I could feel them dissipating every time I laid eyes on Elena. Even when I gave her the ultimatum I had hoped that she would choose to break up so that I could explore the bond a little more with Elena.

I closed my eyes thinking about the tingling sensation that I felt throughout my entire body just by tracing my finger over her wrist. I could only imagine what it would feel like to really touch her; to taste her. I could feel my erection tight against my shorts and I sighed. A wrist. I was getting hard over a f*cking wrist. Could this get any more ridiculous?

We didn't hash over details. All I knew was that we had agreed that she would start travelling to neighboring packs to see if she was able to find her mate.Elena didn't have much to add to the conversation after I forced Jocelyn to choose. She just sat next to me and let me touch her wrist. I knew at some point that Joss had noticed the wrist action I was giving Elena, but she didn't say anything about it.

It was difficult maneuvering through all of the emotional bullsh*t, but at the end of it all I'll get the girl that I need, I hoped.

I stopped the treadmill and wiped my forehead with a towel. I ran for four hours and beat my record of thirty miles by six.

"Hard day," Joshua teased next to me, noticing the tent in my shorts. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Kind of."

"Is my sister giving you hell?"

If only it were just that. I nodded and wiped the back of my head with the towel.

"Do you still have eyes on Elena?"

Josh gave me a strange look and nodded. he ran his hand over his short, cropped , brown hair and scoped the gym quickly. He wrapped the towel around his neck and walked beside me as I made my way to the weight benches.

"Why are you watching over the pipsqueak? Is she causing trouble?"

I narrowed my eyes at him and ignored his question. At this point it was easier than letting him take part in my girl drama. Especially since it involved his sister. Also there was part of me that wanted to keep Elena a secret until I knew what in the hell was going to happen with her.

" Don't call her that,"I grumbled as I took a seat on the bench. He kept a stoic look on his face but I knew that he wasn't going to let it go.

"Okay then. " he said quietly as he stood over me, spotting me. "Are you sending anyone with her and Joss when they go to Wolf Ridge?"

I set the bar back up and sat up.

"Who?"

"Lainey and Joss. Dad said that Joss is going to Wolf Ridge to visit a friend and Lainey is going with. Are we sending someone with them to keep tabs on Lainey or...?"

"Lainey isn't going." I got up and stormed out of the gym. I needed to find Elena. There was no way she was leaving the pack lands. Anything could happen to her and then what? Jocelyn probably wanted Elena to go with her to keep her away from me. I'm pretty sure she hatched the plan with Elena after I left her bedroom yesterday.

In my bedroom I quickly showered and then made my way out of the pack house. I needed to make sure Elena knew she wasn't going anywhere without telling me. I got into my black pickup truck and gunned it to Elena's house.

Elena and her mom live in the middle of town in Blue Crescent. She lives in a small two bedroom house that needs some work done to it if I had to be honest. When I pulled in her driveway behind her mini Cooper I noticed that their front gate was hanging from the top hinge and the address numbers were askew. The white paint on the home was peeling and in some places completely missing and there was duct tape substituting a pane in their front window.

I'd have to get someone out here to fix all of this up, I thought to myself. I knocked on the front door and waited . If I was being honest, I felt excited to get to see her again so soon. I knew she was avoiding me because of Jocelyn and I was avoiding her for the same reason, but I was glad to have a legitimate excuse to see her beautiful face.

An older woman answered the door.She had Elena's eyes and blonde hair, but her skin was gaunt and she looked like she was missing a decades worth of sleep. She had gigantic bags under her green eyes and when she smiled at me it seemed broken somehow. Would this be Elena's future if I decided to go through with the rejection? Would she look like an empty shell of herself like her mother? As soon as the woman recognized who I was she lowered her eyes and bared her throat in respect.

"Hello Alpha Matthew. How can I help you?"

"Not Alpha yet, Ms. Evans, but you can call me Matthew. "

"Okay, Matthew, to what do I owe the pleasure?"she asked me, still baring her throat to me.

"I was wondering if I could talk to Elena?"

"Yes, my Alph- I mean Matthew. Come in. She's in her bedroom. Please excuse the mess."

She led me inside her home. Elena's scent was everywhere. It was intoxicating. Once inside, she led me through a clean, quaint living room, down a narrow hallway with a wall full of pictures of Elena and to a doorway on the right side of the hallway.

She knocked gently. "She may be asleep. She's been running in her wolf form a lot lately." I furrowed my eyebrows. Josh never told me she was running. Why not? I'd have to ask him when I got back to the pack house.

There was rustling behind her door and then it opened . Elena stood in nothing but a thin, purple tank top and some floral panties. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes then gasped when she realized I was there. She slammed her bedroom door shut.

The image of her in those clothes was burned in my brain. How did I never notice how beautiful her body was? She was so curvy and voluptuous. I also wondered if her floral panties held her floral scent. My mouth began watering just thinking about it.

"Mom! Why didn't you tell me we have company?" she called through the door. I couldn't help the smile on my face. Elena's mom smiled sheepishly up at me and shrugged in an 'oops' sort of manner.

"Sorry, honey. I thought you'd be asleep."

"Yeah, I was!'

"Well, Matthew is here, so..."

"I know! I'm getting dressed. Just...just go wait in the living room! "

Elena's mom's eyes widened, afraid that I'd be upset that Elena had yelled a command at me. I just smiled and shook my head.

"I'll wait right here." I called to her. There were a few more bangs around her room and then she flung open her door and glared at her mom.

" A warning would have been nice."She muttered at her mom.

"Sorry," her mom said. "I'll leave you now. If you need anything , Matthew, just give me a call. I'm right down the hall."

"Yes, Ms. Evans. Thank you! " I glanced down at her, catching her eyes move up my body slowly. I smirked. This was going to be interesting.