Alpha Gideon’s deception

A second encounter

It's become a daily habit for Sam to travel to the forest early in the morning, sit by the lake, read a book or entertain himself, and chill for around five hours before heading back. He would prefer to stay longer, but his pack needs him still and he can’t abscond his responsibilities for the sake of romance. The time spent in the forest tends to be quite dull, but it keeps the hope of seeing Jesse again alive for him. He's grown fond of the quietude, too.

Today is shaping up much like any of the others. Sam gets his breakfast out and bites into an apple. He is about to grab a book out of his satchel, when the smell hits him from afar.

It's her. Her scent is undeniable. It reawakens all of his memories of her. Her beauty, her strength, her breathtakingly lovely smile.

Sam jumps up excitedly, looking out. He doesn't see her yet, but he can tell by her scent that she’s approaching him rapidly, faster than before. Straining to hear her, he notices the slight whirring of an engine. She's riding a bike, he realises, smiling at the discovery. He has to take a moment to compose himself, remembering this is an encounter between strangers, not a heartfelt reunion between two mates. She doesn't know. He can't let her know, not until she is ready.

He sits down, taking out his book, and tries to quiet his breathing. Act friendly, but casually, he reminds himself. Befriend her, but don’t pressure her. If he wants to stand a chance with her, he must get to know her first. Start simple. Start with hello.

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Staring at the figure opposite the lake, Jesse is convinced it’s him, but she doesn’t want to get her hopes up. Trying her best to stay calm, she continues to ride, taking the long way around the lake. It takes a lot longer, but it’s far less risky that way. The ground here is flat, with not a lot of trees around, so she can pick up speed, gliding through the sandy dirt with ease. As she gets closer to the figure, she recognises his dark curls and his tall frame. He’s just as handsome as she remembered. He doesn’t seem to have noticed her just yet, immersed into a book he’s reading, so she allows herself a giddy smile as she watches him from a little while away.

She slows down as she approaches him, jumping off her bike with ease. He looks up at her now, giving her a happy, somewhat flirty smile.

“Hey stranger.”

Jesse can see the dimples in his cheek as he smiles. She can’t help but melt at the sight of them. God, he’s charming.

“Sam!” It comes out more enthusiastic than she intended. Oops.

He grins. “Didn’t bring any bears with you this time? How boring.”

She rolls her eyes at him playfully. “I know, right? I’ll bring a grizzly for you to play with next time.”

He admires her bike as she carefully parks it against a tree.

“Great ride you’ve got with you. That’s a Triumph, right?”

Jesse is pleasantly surprised at his recognition. “Yeah, it is. My first time taking her into the woods with me, but she did just fine. Do you ride too?”

Samuel nods towards the back, where his motorcycle is locked and secured against a tree.

“Not quite as flashy as yours, but it does fantastic on rough terrain. I love taking her out to go exploring, it’s quite the thrill.”

He smiles gently, adding: “Maybe you’d like to go dirt biking together some day? I reckon yours could handle it, if you’re up for the challenge.”

Jesse’s heart flutters at the invitation to see him again. She doesn’t hesitate for a moment. “Yeah, I’d like that. Sounds like fun.”

Small talk out of the way and the ice broken, they can both relax a little. Jesse sits down next to him on the grass. She’s acutely aware of the distance between the two of them — not too far apart, but not too close for it to be uncomfortable for him, either. If it was up to her, she’d go straight in for a hug, but she doesn’t want to scare him off. The beginnings of a friendship are starting to form, but it’s all so fragile still.

She coughs gently, trying to change the topic to a more serious one.

“I’m glad I bumped into you again. I never got to say thank you properly for saving my life. If there’s any way I can repay you for what you did, just say the word. I mean it.”

Sam hesitates, considering his answer.

He’s never helped anyone on a quid pro quo basis. His aid is given freely and willingly, without a need for it to be repaid in any way. He didn’t rescue her just because she’s his mate, he simply acted because it was the right thing to do. He would have done the same for anyone else.

His natural instinct is telling him to refuse the offer of pay back and reassure her she owes him nothing at all. However, he does need something from her. Nigel has made it very clear that they can’t uncover anything more until he learns more about Jesse. He needs to find out why her wolf went missing, and he needs her to share it willingly.

Perhaps he could ask her to repay him with information. That wouldn’t be too much to ask for, would it?

He runs his hand through his hair sheepishly.

“Well… I understand if you don’t want to talk about it, but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been curious why you needed my help. Can you tell me why you didn’t shift?”

Jesse looks down, turning red. Of course. She should have seen this coming. But somehow the question still hits her like a brick. She’s tried so hard for the last two weeks to forget about the loss of Amethyst. She almost succeeded, too, pushing the fear and sadness to the back of her mind. Now his question brings all those unwelcome emotions right back up.

She takes a deep breath.

“I need this information to stay between the two of us. My pack doesn’t know, even my parents don’t. I’m not ready to tell them.”

Sam nods slowly. “I understand. I promise nobody in your pack will ever hear this from me. Even if I wanted to, when would I have the opportunity? I rarely visit your pack.”

Jesse smiles, feeling somewhat reassured. He’s right. The odds of a secret traveling from the stranger in the woods to her parents are fairly slim.

“Okay. Here it is. I’ve lost my wolf.”

She hasn’t said it out loud before. It feels oddly cathartic to do so. Now it’s out there, discussed openly, it feels less daunting somehow.

Samuel looks at her with concern in his eyes.

“How did it happen? Has it been missing for a long time? Or were you born without one?”

Jesse shakes her head resolutely. “Oh no, I have a wolf. Amethyst has been with me for most of my life. She’s strong, and amazing, my best friend.”

“I don’t know what happened, exactly. About a month ago, she just… vanished. No rhyme or reason — one day she was there, the next day she was gone. I can’t shift, I can’t talk to her, I can’t smell or hear properly any more, all my senses are weakened without her.”

Tears form in her eyes as she voices her distress. She hasn’t acknowledged the trauma up until now, not even to herself. Facing it for the first time, she finds it hard to remain calm. Even talking about it is painful.

“She has to return. I can’t imagine life without her. I don’t know why she went missing but she has to return.”

Seeing his mate crying is too much for Sam to bear. Almost without thinking, instinct taking over, he moves over and wraps her into his arms, rubbing her back gently. Jesse allows herself to relax into his embrace, crying into his shoulder as she releases the pain. For so long she’s kept it a secret from everyone, trying not to think about it. Now the dam of emotions is breaking and there’s no controlling them. Safe in Sam’s arms, the tears keep coming.

After a while she calms down. She wipes at her eyes, trying to steady her breathing. Thinking more rationally now, she is suddenly all too aware of the physical intimacy between them. He’s so close to her that she can feel his body heat and take in the subtle odour of his body; another reminder of her attraction to him.

Sam seems to have noticed too – he moves away from her in a somewhat awkward fashion. But even as he creates some space between them, he holds her hand, rubbing it in a reassuring manner. He’s still trying to comfort her.

“It will be okay. I can help you get your wolf back. My pack has a really good doctor, he’s dealt with this kind of thing before.”

Jesse looks up at him hopefully. “Do you think a doctor can help? Wouldn’t he need to know why she went missing in the first place?”

Sam frowns, contemplating the question. “Do you know how long ago your wolf vanished? Did anything at all unusual happen that you can think of?”

She tries to think back about the last few weeks, furrowing her brow in concentration. “It’s hard to pinpoint exactly. It was before I met Gideon, Amethyst wasn’t around when I did. But around that time. I last shifted a day or two before I met him. So around two weeks or so ago? Maybe more. Nothing out of the ordinary happened — she seemed to be doing just fine. Amethyst would tell me if something was wrong.“

So Nigel was right, Sam thinks to himself. Her mate must have used her lack of wolf to his advantage. He feels his anger rising, but he knows he has to hide his emotions from her. She might think his irritation is directed at her.

Doing his best to sound calm and composed, he asks her: “How did you know he was your mate, without your wolf there to make it clear?”

She sighs, biting her lip. “I didn’t. Gideon had to tell me.”

Sam nods slowly as he processes his thoughts. “That must have been a strange experience.”

Jesse nods, flushing a little. “It was. I have to confess it wasn’t that pleasant. It all went so fast, I really didn’t feel I was ready for it. Maybe if Amethyst had been there, it would have been easier.”

Sam gazes at her quite intensely. “Do you love him? Your mate?”

Jesse looks down. “My fiancé. We’re engaged now.”

She pauses for a moment before continuing. “I’m supposed to love him. He’s my mate, everyone keeps telling me he’s perfect for me. I want to love him, I do. It’s just been hard to feel it without Amethyst there. Some days, I’m not even sure I really like him.”

Sam takes a deep breath, trying his best to ignore the agony he feels as she speaks about another man claiming her as his. They’re engaged now. What if this Gideon guy marries her and steals her away from him forever? The thought is too much to bear. He has to make a conscious effort to push back the pain, trying his best to stay composed and keep a neutral expression. Putting on his best poker face, he continues their conversation.

“You’re talking about other people, their expectations. What you’re supposed to do. What do you want to do? Do you want to marry this man?”

Jesse frowns, staring at the ground as she picks at a few stalks of grass absentmindedly.

“It’s not that simple. I can’t ignore what other people think. I’m the Alpha’s daughter, I have always been told the pack would be mine to lead one day. Marrying Gideon means I get to lead both packs, mine and his. Their needs have to come before mine. I can’t just disregard that responsibility for selfish reasons. The pack merge will benefit everyone. Nothing else matters.”

Samuel smiles a little to himself. He’d suspected all along that Jesse had Alpha blood running through her veins. Oh, how well the Moon Goddess has chosen. She’s a strong and capable Alpha with a desire to rule. Everything he could wish for in a mate.

If only he could tell her he can offer her all that and more. If only he could show her how foul her so-called ‘mate’ has been treating her. If only… but he knows he can’t, not without her wolf there with her. Once before, another man assured her he’s her mate and asked her to take his word for it. Sam can’t do that to her a second time. She has to make that discovery on her own.

Keeping his inner monologue to himself, he merely offers her gentle reassurance, trying to steer her in the right direction still.

“I understand. Trust me, I do — I’m the Alpha of my own pack. That responsibility is a heavy burden to carry. I know you’ll experience that too once you become Luna.“

He pauses for a moment, trying to find the right words to convince her.

“But you can’t set yourself on fire simply to keep your pack warm. Your happiness matters. An unhappy marriage will affect the dynamics in your pack, no matter how hard you try to avoid that. The best leaders are those who love each other as much as they love the pack.”

Jesse nods slowly, thinking it over. “Maybe you’re right.”

She smiles coyly at him. “You must love your Luna very much.”

Sam can’t help but blush at the remark. Is she trying to check if he’s single? He tries not to read into it too much, but it does please him. Maybe it means she fancies him a little?

“No Luna. I’m single, but I think I’ve been doing a decent job leading the pack by myself.”

Jesse can’t help but feel satisfied with his answer. She knows full well it’s a fool's errand to consider dating him, but she is still pleased to know he’s available.

She sighs slowly. “If only that was an option. I think I’d be more than capable of leading them as a sole Alpha, but my parents aren’t convinced.”

Sam gives her an encouraging smile. “Give it time. You may be able to turn them around. Don’t give up hope just yet. You can get your wolf back and you can lead your pack with or without Gideon. Choose the things you want, don’t just settle for what others expect from you. Your pack will be fine one way or another, I can guarantee you that.”

Jesse leans in and gives him a quick hug. Their contact is minimal, but Sam can’t help but feel a little jolt of electricity at the feeling of her skin on his. Her eyes sparkle a little as she looks at him, making eye contact.

“Thank you. I really needed that peptalk. Are you always this optimistic?”

Sam grins, his dimples appearing as his smile widens. “Not always. But I am when my friends need me to be.”

Jesse hesitates, biting her lip. Hearing him refer to her as a friend is making her hopeful she won’t be intruding on him too much if she pushes for more contact. “Would you like to stay in touch? I could do with hearing pep talks more often.”

Jumping at the opportunity to connect to her, Sam pulls out his phone and hands it to her. They both exchange numbers. Jesse feels a little flustered, knowing full well Gideon will be upset if he finds out she stayed in touch with the handsome stranger. But she knows Sam is right, she has to prioritise her own happiness a little more. Right now, he’s just about the only person she feels she can fully confide in. She needs emotional support — Sam can provide it, Gideon most definitely cannot.

They say their goodbyes shortly afterwards.

Jesse didn’t come here with a plan or an agenda, but somehow, she still feels certain she got what she came here for. A new friend — one she can trust — and the feeling like a weight has been lifted off her chest.

Riding back through the forest, Sam’s image still firmly rooted in her head, she feels lighter. Yet at the same time, her doubts and concerns about Gideon and her upcoming nuptials have never been more present.

What if Sam is right? What if the only way forward is a step back? Is she making the biggest mistake of her life agreeing to marry a man she lacks passionate love for?

How is she going to get out of the mess she made?