The Alpha's Cursed Mate

Chapter 2

Tate

Tate slowly eased his old Chevy step side up the gravel drive, stopped inches from Kelly’s back bumper, and cut the engine. Feeling uneasy, he got out and closed the door silently behind him. He sniffed the air gingerly to see if he could smell anyone other than Kelly.

As soon as Kelly had crossed the pack’s boundaries, Tate had felt it while he had been in his wolf form. He hadn’t needed his beta, Greg, to alert him like he'd asked. But it was nice, having someone keep an eye on her when he couldn’t. It had allowed him to give Greg permission to step over the boundary line and follow her for a short while.

He hadn’t expected her to go as far as she had, so when Greg had told him she had crossed into Blackfur territory; he had panicked. His heart was still pounding. Running a hand through his short, tousled black hair, he turned to the cabin. The windows were bright, but it was silent. Too silent.

Taking a deep breath, Tate stalked to the door and tried the handle. Locked. He had never been here before, so he was unsure if there was another way in. Quickly, he glanced at the two windows on either side of the door. Both were also locked, and there were no signs of forced entry. Biting his lip, he decided to take a turn around the perimeter of the cabin, just to make sure they were alone and safe.

As Tate started his perimeter sweep, he thought back to that fateful night when Kelly had been brought in.

He had been left at the packhouse that night. Anxious, he had headed to his father’s study and gotten to work on some of the extra paperwork that his father had asked him do. Halfway through, he remembered looking up at the door as the applause had started, signaling the victorious return of his pack.

He had gotten up to go greet them when the door to the study had burst open, his father standing proudly in the doorway with Kelly’s parents' heads wrapped in bloodstained cloth and tied to his belt. He remembered feeling sick to his stomach when his father had sauntered in and dropped his trophies on the desk in front of him, right on top of the paperwork he was attempting to finish. He had felt like throwing up as he watched the blood stain the papers on the desk.

And then the little girl had been ushered in. Kelly.

Her silver-blue eyes had been wide with horror, barely hidden under a mop of light blonde hair that had probably freed itself from the straggly braid attempting to keep it held back. His heart had dropped to his stomach upon seeing her. If his father had been merciful, he would have killed her too, rather than let her live with the nightmare she had woken up to.

Tate stopped at the back of the house and sniffed the air again. There was a strange scent there. Faint though. He frowned, making a mental note to come out in the morning and investigate the scent further in the morning. Cautiously, he continued on, thinking back to that night.

Shortly after dropping the heads on the desk, Tate’s father had called for whiskey and a celebration without even a glance at the girl who had been dragged in behind him. Tate remembered rising from the desk and trying to disappear through the door, disgusted by the heads, the girl, and the celebration, but his mother had caught him by the arm and had insisted that he take care of the girl.

He had ground his teeth in frustration before changing course and heading to the little girl. Her eyes had widened as he had walked closer. He had been surprised she wasn’t cowering in fear.

And then the scent had hit him. It had been the most intoxicating smell he had ever smelled. There were hints of warm vanilla and cinnamon, among other comforting scents. In that moment, nothing else but taking care of that little girl had mattered.

A door creaked open as he rounded the last corner and found himself back in front of the cabin. Standing casually in the doorway was the most beautiful young woman he had ever seen. Her blonde hair hung in waves down her back, and her sliver blue eyes, still wide, but not with fear this time, were trained on him. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, giving her ivory complexion some color. How could he have kept away from her for all these years? He stared in awe at the woman the Goddess had chosen for him.

Tate felt himself relax as he neared his mate. She didn’t know yet though, and wouldn’t even have an inkling that they belonged together because she hadn’t made the change yet. Soon though. But how would he explain his behavior tonight without telling her? He couldn’t. It wasn’t possible. How would she react when he did?

He knew she hated him with every fiber of her being for what his father had done and how he himself had treated her all those years ago in the packhouse before she had been adopted. Hell, he hated himself for how he had treated her. He had been a prick from the moment her scent had hit him. How could an enemy's daughter be his mate?

He had decided to keep it a secret from everyone then and there, not only for her safety but for his sanity. She had been through enough already. Not that he had actually made her time in the pack any easier.

Early on, he had hoped that if she had been miserable enough, she would leave the pack without any hesitation. But then he had run into her one day shortly after becoming alpha, had seen how beautiful she was becoming, and felt how strong the pull to her still was. By then, he had given up hoping she would leave and that the pull would fade.

“So,” Kelly asked, her voice icy as she watched him watch her from a distance. “What’s the verdict, boss man? Anyone out to kill me?”

“No,” Tate replied, bristling at her tone as he came to stand directly in front of her. “Can I come in? We need to talk.”

“You don’t say,” Kelly responded dryly as she stepped aside to let him in.

Tate glanced around the cabin as he entered and nodded approvingly.

“This is nice. Did you do all this?” he asked, turning to face Kelly as she shut and locked the door.

“I had a little help from my mom,” Kelly replied as she pushed past him to the loveseat. “So, are you going to tell me why you came all the way out here, or are we just going to keep pretending it’s because you’re actually worried about me getting hurt?”

She leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest, her eyes never leaving his face.

“I…” he started, his voice catching as he thought about how best to break the news. “Look, I was worried. If you had gone through your first change already, you’d know why.”

Kelly snorted in derision. Tate frowned at her briefly before coming to sit on the edge of the coffee table in front of her.

“I get it,” he said softly. “My whole family has been nothing but nasty. I wouldn’t believe me either, but you and I… Well, let’s put it this way. I’ve been living a lie since you came to town. I should have been taking care of you, making sure nothing ever happened to you. For fear of what my family would think, I didn't. When you make your change, I won’t stop you if you decide to reject me as your mate. I’ve been a poor excuse for a mate for years now.”

Kelly shook her head, opened her mouth to speak, closed it, and shook her head again.

Tate sat silently as he watched her process what he had just said. Finally, she got up and headed to the kitchen, where she opened the fridge and grabbed a coke.

“Do you want anything to drink?” she called softly. “I have coke, water, and iced coffee.”

“A coke will be fine,” he replied.

He turned to look out the window as he listened to Kelly close the fridge and open the cans. He had expected worse. He had thought that she would scream and yell or kick him out when he told her, but she hadn’t. She had offered him a drink. Maybe, just maybe, there was some hope for some sort of future together. He accepted the drink as she eased past him and sat back down on the couch, curling her legs under her and pulling the blanket from behind her onto her lap.

“So,” Kelly said after she had taken a sip of her drink. “You’re telling me you felt the mate bond with me all those years ago and you didn’t bother to say anything because you were too afraid of your dad?”

Tate nodded. Here was the reaction he was expecting. He braced himself, waiting for the explosion.

“I can understand that,” she continued simply. “Your dad was a huge d**k. But why not tell me when you became alpha yourself?”

Tate's jaw dropped.

“You’re not mad?” he asked incredulously.

“Oh, I am,” she scowled darkly. “But I know better than to push my luck with your family. Not that it matters. Once I have enough cash saved up and can find a job out this way, I’m gone. I have no interest in staying with the Nightstalkers. I’ve never been truly accepted, and you know it. Being your mate won’t change that. And if I leave before I change, as long as I avoid you, there won’t have to be a rejection because there will be no mate bond on my end.”

Tate’s heart sank.

“Is there anything I can do to change your mind?” he asked quietly.

“No,” Kelly shook her head. “I’ve been planning this for years. I’m not going to just walk away from that because some hotshot walks in and says, hey, I was worried about you, so I came to make sure you were safe, and oh, by the way, I’m also your mate.”

“I was worried about you,” Tate said angrily. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you for years, always making sure you’ve been safe and well cared for. So when you disappeared tonight, I panicked, especially since Blackfur has been arming themselves to the teeth. They’re getting ready to attack a rival and if that rival is us, I hate to think what they would do to you if they found you here."

"And if you think just leaving before changing will mean there is no mate bond on your end," he continued, "you’re wrong. It will be there, drawing you to me. If I hadn’t told you that we were mates, you’d have no idea why you were being drawn back and it would drive you mad not to come back to find out what was pulling you here. There’s no escaping this, not unless you reject me, and even then, I’m not sure you want to go through that. I don’t. I’ve seen what it does to wolves. It’s painful. All that’s left is an empty shell if you’re lucky.”

“I see,” Kelly said, raising an eyebrow. “No need to get your hackles in a knot. I’ll go home with you in the morning. I’m not ready to leave the pack right this instant, so if you really want me to change my mind, you’ve got a month or two to impress me.”

Kelly stood up and stretched.

“Now,” she continued, “if you don’t mind, I’m heading up to bed. It’s three in the morning and I’m exhausted. But don’t you dare follow me. The loveseat has a pull-out bed. You can stay there for the rest of the night.”

Tate watched her take her drink and head up the ladder, a range of emotions swirling through him. Anger because she so easily dismissed him, confusion because she had given him a way to win her over, lust because the low cut tank she had been wearing had made it hard for him to concentrate on what he had actually wanted to say, exhaustion because it was three in the morning and because he felt like he had just bared his soul, and happiness because he was only a few feet away from his mate.

Standing up, he drained his coke, pushed the coffee table out of the way, pulled the bed out, and collapsed on it, his feet dangling off the edge. Grabbing the blanket that Kelly had used a few minutes ago to cover himself and one of the accent pillows, he quickly fell asleep as her scent enveloped him.

Kelly

Kelly eased down the ladder a few hours later, her head pounding from the late night. Turning, she about jumped out of her skin. She had forgotten that she had told Tate that he could stay the night.

Sometime during the night, he had apparently gotten hot. She stared at his bare, broad chest rising and falling as he snored gently in his sleep. One well-muscled arm rested across his face, the other curled around the top of his head. Her small blanket covered his lower abdomen and his pelvis but left his thickly muscled thighs uncovered. Kelly caught her breath as her eyes trailed down his body.

Ever so quietly, she headed to the kitchen, where she grabbed her keys. She had no intention of going home today; her promise to Tate be damned, so she needed to head to the store for food. She paused as she looked out the front window. Or maybe not. Tate had parked right behind her, which made her getting out of the driveway difficult, and she was in no mood to try and maneuver her way around him. She’d just grab a coffee and wait until he woke up. Maybe he would agree to stop at a diner for breakfast.

She headed back into the kitchen and stopped short as she passed the kitchen window. She doubled back to look out the window again. Sure enough, there was a wolf lying not far from the cabin, watching her. She stepped back and hit the island. Swearing silently, she dropped to the floor. She needed to hide, but there wasn’t any place to hide. If that wolf was from her own pack, she might be fine, but if it was from another, she’d be slaughtered here, just like her parents.

Tate

Tate stretched out on the too-small couch bed. He glanced up at the loft and smiled to himself. He hoped that Kelly was still sleeping. If she was, he would leave for a quick minute and go grab them a hot breakfast. Standing, he froze. Something felt off. Pulling his pants on, he glanced out the window. His car was still there, but lying on the hood was a wolf. He held his breath as he quickly studied the wolf. At this angle, he wasn’t sure if it was one of his. The coloring was right, but until he saw the eyes, he wouldn’t know for sure.

Pulling on his shirt, Tate ascended the ladder to check on Kelly. His heart froze when he saw the empty bed. If she had gone out that front door… If those wolves were part of the Blackfur pack… He quickly climbed down and surveyed the room. Kelly’s backpack and keys were still on the table. He glanced over at the kitchen. An unopened iced coffee sat on the counter, but Kelly was nowhere in sight. The door to the bathroom was closed. Holding his breath, he rapped on the door gently, but there was no answer. He tried the knob and the door swung open. No Kelly. His heart started to race as panic started to consume him. He turned back to the kitchen to put the coffee back in the fridge before heading out the door to confront the wolf and froze once more.

Kelly was curled up on the floor in front of the sink. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, hugging them close. Her eyes were wide with terror and fixed on the cupboard in front of her. Tears stained her cheeks.

Tate glanced out the window above the sink and saw another wolf watching the house. Amber eyes. All his patrol wolves looked similar, with sandy brown coats and amber eyes. Only he had a black coat, but like his patrol, he had amber eyes. It was an easy way for him to keep tabs on his wolves when he wasn’t in wolf form with them.

He chuckled to himself when he realized what had probably happened. Greg had sent a small patrol to the cabin when he had failed to check in with him after arriving last night. Then, this morning, when Kelly had woken up, she had seen the wolf watching her through the window and panicked. Her panic was a bit over the top, though.

“Hey,” he said gently, kneeling down beside her.

No response.

“Kelly,” he said more firmly. “Those are our wolves. You’re going to be just…”

And then it hit him. The last time there had been wolves outside this cabin, Kelly’s parents had been killed. She probably wasn’t going to respond until he got her out of this place. She also needed food. If he was starving, he was sure she was probably hungry as well.

Scooping her up in his arms, he grabbed their things and headed out the door. He was surprised at how light she was. But then again, he hadn’t realized how tiny she was until he had picked her up either.

“Good morning, Greg,” Tate said, chucking the backpack and keys at the naked young man who stood where a wolf had been a few seconds before. “Mind taking Kelly’s stuff back to her place for me? The patrol scared her half to death, so I’m gonna take her to get some food. I’m hoping it helps her relax a bit.”

“Of course,” Greg replied. “Do you happen to have any spare clothes in your trunk? Not sure she’d like a naked guy driving her car.”

Tate chuckled and nodded to a duffel bag in the bed of his truck before opening the passenger side door. Very gently, he placed Kelly in the car and helped buckle her in.

“Everything is gonna be okay,” he murmured to her.