The Alpha's Cursed Mate

Chapter 6

The Arizona sun beat down and drenched the back of Kelly’s light blue tank with sweat as she loaded the back of her car with a couple of boxes of things that she wouldn’t need for the rest of the month. Bending down to grab the last box, she grunted as she hoisted it up. Groaning, she slid the box in beside the other two boxes and then shut the trunk.

Glancing down at her phone, she pulled her keys out of the back pockets of her denim shorts as she checked the time. It was already close to eleven. She needed to get going.

Sliding into her hot car, she quickly turned it on and cranked the AC up. She fiddled with the radio as the car slowly cooled, not sure if she really wanted to listen to anything. Her phone buzzed as a text came in. Tate. She hadn’t even told him she was heading out tonight.

Good morning, beautiful. I know it’s your day off, and I had plans to spend it with you, but I’ll be stuck at the packhouse all day. Paperwork. I’ll see you tonight. XOXO.

Kelly groaned. That man was head over heels in love with her and she… well, she wasn’t sure how she felt yet. She was fond of him, yes, but she wouldn’t call it love.

I’ll be out and about today, she texted back. Have fun with the paperwork.

She set the phone in a cup holder and pulled the seatbelt across her chest before shifting her car into reverse. Her phone buzzed again as she crossed out of the pack's territory. She glanced at it briefly, but then shook her head. It could wait.

All too soon, Kelly pulled up to her cabin. Ever since she had heard Tate refer to it as her cabin, she had started seeing it more as hers rather than her parents’. There was nothing around the cabin to remind her of her parents anymore, either. It was all her.

She gazed at the cabin fondly. This was home. She pulled the key out of the ignition, anxious to go inside and crank on the AC, when her phone buzzed again. Sighing, she picked her phone up. Tate, again.

Where are you off to today?

I can’t sense you anymore. Did you head up to the cabin?

Since you aren’t answering, I had to ask your dad. Please be careful up there. I’ll be up there tonight to check on you.

Kelly rolled her eyes as she scrolled through Tate’s text messages. What was with him? He was bordering on becoming overprotective. She wondered if he would get worse as their bond strengthened and if this was normal.

Ever heard of not texting and driving? Kelly texted back, slightly irritated.

Sorry. I know, I worry too much, Tate sent back less than a minute later.

It’s cool. Just chill next time, K? I made it safely. I have some cleaning and shopping to do, so I’ll text you when I can, so don’t freak out on me if I don’t respond right away, she sent repentantly.

Slipping her phone into her back pocket as she stepped out of the car. Lazily, she unlocked the cabin door and swung the door open before heading to the trunk to grab the first of the boxes. Slowly and carefully, watching each step so she didn’t step into a hole, she carried each box in and set it on the floor next to the sofa, the bed still pulled out. Grumbling to herself, she went back out, closed her trunk and locked the car, and then came back in to survey what needed to be done.

A couple of hours later, still sweaty and hot, Kelly sank into one of the kitchen chairs, an icy coke in her hands. She glared at the mess in front of her. After two hours of cleaning, instead of looking clean, it looked like a bomb had gone off. Taking a sip of her coke, she formulated a game plan to conquer the disaster in front of her.

Two hours later found Kelly heaving a heavy box onto a kitchen counter. As she folded the kitchen towels and carefully put them away, she ran a list of things she still needed to get through her head. Most of what she needed was food.

Stomach grumbling, Kelly set the now empty box down on the floor and headed to the now-empty living room. The bed was still pulled out, but it wouldn’t be for long. Grunting, she folded the mattress in on itself and pushed the bed into its small compartment. Dusting her hands off on her shorts, she smiled proudly at the mostly clean room and then headed back out to her car.

The drive to the store was a short one, only about 20 minutes, but it was long enough for Tate to call and inform her that he was on his way out. Kelly rolled her eyes as she hung up and pulled into the parking lot of Target. Grabbing a cart as she walked in, Kelly headed towards the back, where she knew she would find the milk and perhaps some meat.

She cut through the electronics section as she wound her way through the store, but stopped short when she saw the price of a 40-inch TV. Just over $100 wasn’t bad, especially for a smart TV. She hesitated, not sure is she should get it. f**k it, she thought to herself. Might as well. Before she could talk herself out of it, she hoisted the TV into the cart and continued on her way to the food.

An hour and a half later, Kelly was lounging on the couch, a steaming bowl of chicken Alfredo on her lap as she played around with the new TV. Opening up Netflix as she took a bite of her Alfredo, she looked for something to watch, eventually settling on a gardening show.

She had just started Kiss The Ground when Tate knocked on the door and walked in.

“There’s a bowl of Alfredo for you in the fridge,” Kelly said, tearing her eyes away from the TV. “All you need to do is pop it in the microwave for about a minute. Make sure you cover it though. It’ll splatter.”

“Smells wonderful,” Tate murmured, kissing the top of Kelly’s head before heading to the kitchen.

“Why do you do that?” Kelly asked. She could still feel his warm lips on the top of her head.

“Do what?” Tate asked warily, turning away from the microwave to look at Kelly.

“Kiss me on the head or the cheek when you arrive and before you leave,” she explained. “You’ve done it since you brought me dinner for the first time a couple of weeks ago.”

“Umm,” he hesitated, looking away as if embarrassed. “It gives me a chance to smell you better.”

“Smell me better?” she asked incredulously.

“You smell like heaven,” Tate explained quietly as he grabbed his bowl of Alfredo out of the microwave and came to sit next to her. “It’s hard to resist.”

Kelly looked away to hide the little smile that played on her lips.

“So,” he said, nudging her in the side with an elbow, “how was your day?”

“I cleaned,” she grumped. “I’m still not done either. I can’t believe it took me over four hours to unpack those boxes and put everything away.”

“What do you still need to do?” he asked, eyeing the room. “It looks pretty clean to me.”

“You’re not serious?” Kelly snapped. “You don’t see all the dirt on the floor or the layer of dust on everything?”

“I do now,” Tate replied, holding his hands up in front of him. “Don’t get angry at me for not noticing, though. I’m a guy. I don’t usually look to see if there’s dust before declaring a room clean.”

Kelly frowned at him before turning back to the TV. Not another word was said until Kelly turned the TV off at the end of the show.

Unsure of how she felt about Tate being there with her at the cabin again, she quickly grabbed the bowls and headed to the kitchen before Tate could start asking questions again. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as she rinsed the dishes and put them into the dishwasher. She had half expected him to follow her into the kitchen. Instead, he had stood up and turned to the window and was peering out of it. She knew what he was doing as she watched him cross to the window behind the dining table.

“Any enemies, general?” she called with amusement.

Tate shook his head as he came to join her in the kitchen.

“The food was good,” he said blandly, leaning against the counter behind her.

Kelly frowned before turning to look at him, giving him a once-over. His eyes were darker than normal, either from exhaustion or stress, perhaps both. His black hair was messy, as if he had run his hands through it in exasperation at least a dozen times that day. The muscles in his jaw were tense, as were his shoulders.

“Did you have a long day?” she asked, concern coloring her voice.

Tate shrugged as he watched her with guarded eyes.

Kelly arched an eyebrow at him before sighing and turning back to the dishes. She only had the roasting pan and the pot she had boiled the noodles in left.

“Wanna dry?” she asked, holding out a towel.

Tate stepped forward, took the towel, and waited for her to finish rinsing the pot.

“So,” she said lightly, “I've decided I’m going to put in a garden next year. The only problem is, I need a greenhouse. Know anyone that could build one for me?”

“I know a few,” he said simply.

“Do you think they would mind coming out sometime to do that?” she asked, trying not to smack him with the towel before telling him to knock the attitude off.

“I’d have to ask.”

“Okay,” she sighed, handing him the roasting pan before leaning against the counter to watch him, worry creasing her brow.

“You don’t have to look at me like that,” he grumbled.

“Yes I do,” she retorted. “You won’t tell me what’s wrong.”

Setting the pot down, Tate turned to face her, his eyes still guarded. Before she knew what was happening, Tate had taken a step towards her, closing the gap between them, and hoisted her onto the counter.

“What…?”

Tate’s lips pressed against hers, firm but soft. Gasping in surprise, she pulled away, her eyes wide with shock. Tate, not saying anything, raised an eyebrow. Breathing heavily, her mind blank, Kelly found herself leaning back in for another kiss. Tate’s hand wound into the hair behind her neck as he deepened the kiss. Her hands, no longer holding onto the edge of the counter, rested lightly on his chest. She felt his tongue caress her lips, asking for entrance. Sighing slightly, she parted her lips and let her tongue dance with his for a moment before pulling away.

“Tate…” she gasped, her mind completely scrambled.

“Yes?” he asked, his voice husky.

She scooted further back on the counter, further away from Tate. His smell filled her nostrils, his taste lingered on her tongue. She needed to get away, needed to clear her head. Images of what she might do with Tate if she let herself lose what little control she had left flooded her head. She tried to will herself off the counter but instead found herself leaning towards him. Goddess, this bond was cruel.

“Tate…” she gasped again. “I need some air.”

Tate stepped back, the spell broken.

“Of course,” he said politely, helping her off the counter, his eyes still guarded.

Kelly hesitated for a moment, torn between wanting to ask what was wrong again and wanting some space. She chose the latter and practically ran for the door, taking deep breaths of cold air as she closed the door behind her and sank onto the stoop. As her mind cleared, she knew what was wrong. She had seen it a couple of times now. Alpha Tate had come to play.

Kelly buried her head in her hands. Most of the time, all it took was feigning not feeling well to snap Tate out of it. His wolf seemed to hate taking care of her and usually disappeared in a heartbeat. Only once had playing sick not worked. Thankfully, Mark and Colleen had gotten back from their date early and Mark, sensing what was going on, had boldly thrown Tate out the door before shutting it in his face. She didn’t have Mark to save her tonight, though.

There was no way Tate would stay on the sofa bed while his wolf was in charge and, unfortunately, she didn’t have a door she could lock to keep him out. She sagged against the door as she contemplated her options. She could stay in the cabin and run the risk of having Tate force himself on her, she could sleep in her car, or she could head into town to see if they had any rooms at one of the hotels. She stood up, an idea popping into her head. She could also hoist the ladder into the loft with her.

Kelly grinned at Tate as she walked in, bade him good night, climbed up the ladder, and then hauled it up after her before he could follow.