The Alpha’s Hidden Mate

Chapter 8 Mae

I’m alone in the woods at night, sitting along the edge of a beautiful, clear lake. A full moon’s light is glistening off the lake and providing a glow to the rest of the forest. Suddenly I see movement. The large white wolf from my dreams is walking towards me, her bright yellow eyes peering into mine.

I’m not afraid, though part of my mind registers that she could end my life in the blink of an eye. Instead, I feel comfort and warmth seeing her, like I’m greeting an old friend. She stops in front of me and lowers herself to the ground so that our eyes are almost level.

“Mae, my name is Pearl. I am your wolf.” When she spoke it was not out loud with words but rather a voice in my head. I replied the same way.

“My wolf? Like, I have a pet wolf?” I felt her hot breath hit my face as she snorted, like a laugh.

“No, I am a part of you. You are me and I am you. Folklore has named us werewolves. We are descendants of the Moon Goddess, blessed with strength, speed, heightened senses, and in our case, power.”

“Power? What kind of power?” Again, part of my mind registered that this is crazy, but I felt at ease, like this made perfect sense and was a missing puzzle piece to my life.

“That is something we will explore together in the future. For now, we will get used to each other. And you will learn about this new world. I know it will be hard, but you need to trust Liam. We are fated to him, and we have a destiny to fulfill together.” With that she stood up, and started to walk away.

“Wait, what kind of destiny? How will I talk to you again?” I tried to go after her but my vision was getting darker, and I started to hear a soft beeping in the distance.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I was back in my bed. I had a slight headache and my throat felt dry, like I had a small hangover. I couldn’t bring myself to open my eyes just yet.

“Another wolf dream,” I thought to myself.

Then I smelled something amazing. It was like cedar wood and freshly cut grass. I wanted to bathe in it. Where was it coming from?

I opened my eyes. Oh. Not my bed. A hospital? The beeping was actually a monitor that seemed to be checking my vitals. Then it all came rushing back to me; meeting with Liam, checking out the building site, the headache and then passing out.

Oh my god did I seriously pass out in front of Liam?

I started to sit up and saw Liam sitting in the corner typing on his phone. Another woman who looked vaguely familiar but I couldn’t quite place was sitting in another corner, also typing on her phone. They heard me and Liam stood up and quickly came to my side.

“Mae, how are you feeling? Are you alright?” There was a look of intense genuine concern. All I felt was pure embarrassment.

“Liam, I’m so sorry. I know you’re probably so busy and have a million other things to do right now -“

“Mae, it’s ok, really. I was just so worried about you.” He reached over to touch my hand. Wonderfully pleasant sparks erupted where our skin touched. I pulled my hand away quickly out of shock, and saw a flash of hurt in Liam’s eyes.

“What was that?” I whispered. It had felt amazing but I was also incredibly confused.

Liam lifted a hand to the back of his neck and scratched the back of his head, trying to find the words.

“Ok. This is going to be a lot but please just stick with me. You are a werewolf. You have a wolf that is part of who you are, part of your identity. The necklace you were wearing was blocking your wolf. I am also a werewolf. I am the Alpha of the Quartz Moon Pack, which means I am in charge. You and I are mates, destined to be together.” He kept his tone even and confident, like he was stating facts found in a biology book. His eyes were searching my face for a reaction.

I remembered the dream I had before I woke up. This is exactly what Pearl had told me. But that was just a dream, right?

“Liam, this - this is crazy. I would know if I were a werewolf. Wouldn’t the world know if there where werewolves? And if there is supposedly a wolf that is part of my identity, where is it?” My thoughts were spilling out, a little jumbled.

“Hello again,” said a voice in my head. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“Who said that?!” I panicked and started looking around.

“That is your wolf,” said Liam. He pulled a chair that was sitting against the wall and sat down next to my bed. “Just take a deep breath for a minute and calm your mind for a minute.”

Something about Liam being near me made me start to calm, so I took a deep breath to steady my racing heart and closed my eyes. And there in the back of my mind I sensed her. Pearl. I could feel her emotions, her movements, and her thoughts. But my head didn’t feel crowded, it was like a room that I didn’t know was in my mind had finally been opened. I could tell she was trying to be still, not wanting make too much noise so that I could sort out what was happening.

I opened my eyes and saw Liam giving me a small encourage smile. I didn’t know what to say.

“Ok. Why is she all of the sudden here?” I asked.

“The necklace that you were wearing, the one that was left with you as a baby, was hiding your wolf. We think someone was trying to hide you.” Liam was still keeping his tone calm and even, but there was a longing in his eyes. I sat with what he was saying for a moment.

“Speaking of hiding, where am I?” It occurred to me that I had no idea where I was or how long it had been since we originally arrived. Panic was starting to bubble up in my chest.

“You are at the pack hospital that we have on our pack lands. I brought you here after you passed out.” He started to reach for my hand again but I was starting to spiral and pulled away.

“Am I your prisoner?” I asked in a small voice. Surprise and hurt flash across his face.

“Prisoner? No! Of course not. If you want to leave you are free to go,” said Liam. He stood up and took a step back. I felt a tug in my chest, I didn’t want him to move away from me. But I was starting to get light headed with all this information, my breath was speeding up. I was on the verge of a panic attack.

“Alpha, if I may, I think this might be a good time for me to speak with Mae. Maybe you could wait outside for just a moment?” The woman who had been sitting in the corner spoke. I had completely forgotten she was there.

Liam’s jaw tightened and then he gave a little nod and threw me a glance as he walked out the door. The woman walked to my bedside with a warm smile. She was older than me, probably in her 30s. She had strawberry blonde hair that went just below her shoulders and striking bright blue eyes.

“Hi Mae. I’m Julie. We haven’t met, but you know my father. Jed James?” Now I recognized her. I had seen her photo in Professor James’ office half a million times over the years.

“Yes! I knew you were familiar. What are you doing here?” She was right, we hadn’t met, but having someone from my regular life grounded me and I started to feel a bit better.

“I am part of Alpha Liam’s pack. I am human, was human, until I met Danny, my mate. Now I am part of the pack and live and work here.” She motioned around vaguely to indicate the area we were in.

“Wait, what do you mean you were human?” That was not something to blow over.

“Well it is possible for humans to turn into wolves. It’s not a particularly pleasant experience, but I changed 15 years ago and never looked back.”

“Ok, we may need to revisit that. But you said you met your mate? What is a mate?” Liam had said that about me and him. It sounded a little archaic.

“Wolves are descendants of the Moon Goddess. She gifts us with our perfect match. When we meet, the mate bond is formed, and no one else will ever compare to the love and connection you and your mate have for each other. You may have noticed that already with Alpha Liam. As time goes on, the bond will become stronger,” said Julie.

I felt myself blush a little. I had always felt a pull towards Liam, but who wouldn’t? He is gorgeous, and smart, and kind, and successful. Suddenly I felt Pearl wagging her tail in my head. She loved to think about Liam. This was going to take some getting used to.

“Ok. Thank you for answering my questions. This seems crazy, but I can’t deny that there seems to be a wolf in my head. So I think maybe I should talk to Liam for a little bit. Are you going to be around?” I feel like I still had a lot of things to ask Julie, but I wanted to see Liam again. Is this the mate bond?

“Yes, you can talk to me any time you want. I’ll be around,” Julie said with a smile. “I know this is a lot, but Alpha Liam is a good man. He is highly respected, but also known for his kindness. You could do a lot worse,” she said with a little wink.

She walked to the door and motioned for Liam to come in. As he entered, Julie gave me a little wave and shut the door. Liam stood by the door, radiating nervous energy.

“I have a lot of questions, and I’d like you to be the one that answers them,” I said. “But do you think we could get out of this hospital? Maybe go sit some where else together?”

Liam broke out into a large smile.

“Of course, yes! Let’s get out of here and talk.”

Damn, I could really get used to that smile.