The Alpha's Seduction (The Forbidden Mates Book 1)

by Larose Semsem

  You see, we both went to the same schools; the difference was that I skipped a grade whereas he didn’t. That just meant I’d been in the school for a year longer than him; I was a senior and he was a junior. We were way too close as friends to feel comfortable having a big distance in between us, and that was the main reason why he worked his ass off to get in this school by merit. He, too, had joined it thanks to a scholarship.

  “That blonde guy?” I heard him hiss through clenched teeth. I narrowed my eyes at him briefly before turning on my heels and getting out of there.

  I have to keep my nerves under control. And most of the time, it was not that hard. Around him, however, being provoked like that, it seemed that it was all I could do to know when I was about to blow up and manage to retreat in consequence.

  The realization unsettled me. I chose to think about something different – admittedly, it was not entirely different.

  What the hell was his problem? He was getting to me, and normally, no one would. Besides, what were those tingles I felt at his touch? I could swear I’ve read about that somewhere. Sadly enough, I couldn’t bring myself to remember.

  “Hey, ready to go?” Seth’s voice cut the trail of thoughts I was drowning in. I hummed and headed directly to his car, he was striding along silently and that was not like him.

  “What is it?” I asked him when we were finally on the road.

  “What?” he asked innocently, still looking straight ahead.

  “Don’t what me. Spill!” I shot him a sideways glare and he squirmed in his seat a little. Boy, I loved the effect a simple glare could have on him. I just knew him too well.

  “You’re not going to like this,” he told me gravely.

  “Just tell me already,” I commanded in a harsh tone. He knew that the best way to tick me off was to keep something from me; yet here he was delaying the supposedly bad news.

  He slightly winced at my tone but, knowing he was in the wrong, said nothing about that; instead he finally blurted out, “The new guy is a werewolf.”

  My eyes widened and my breath caught in my throat. No way, how was that possible? There was a pack here already, so it was not likely that he had moved along with his pack. He might be a rogue, but that would mean that he had crossed the Sunshine’s pack’s territory without permission.

  That can’t be it! They were nowhere near careless werewolves; they would have noticed him soon enough.

  Maybe he was simply a loner?

  My shoulders tensed and my spine went rigid all of a sudden when I remembered where I had read about those tingles – grandma’s ancient history book. It had covered all of the mystical creatures. There was a full page, in the werewolves’ chapter, speaking about mates.

  I groaned, and Seth glanced briefly my way silently asking me what the matter was.

  “I think I’m that jerk’s mate,” I told him, my voice clearly showing my frustration.

  His eyes bulged, and we were soon parking on the side of the road.

  “No way!” He exclaimed looking like he was about to hyperventilate.

  “Yes way,” Probably not the best moment to be sarcastic but hey, bear with me, will you? I was trying to process the news.

  “You can’t be compatible,” he breathed out in a whisper.

  I pinched the bridge of my nose trying to keep the anger at bay; it wasn’t of a big help. “I know,” I stated flatly, giving him a pointed look.

  “What a mess!” he sighed getting frustrated.

  Yeah, tell me about it, I wanted to scoff but refrained from doing so and kept silent.

  “We could cancel with the guys,” he offered softly after a deafening silence that had paralyzed us for nearly ten minutes.

  “Nah,” I even gave him a wave of hand in dismissal. He looked at me quizzically therefore I continued, “The mess will be here tomorrow, we’ll deal with it in due time. Besides, I miss them.”

  He nodded understandingly, put the ignition key back in, and we were soon heading to our previously arranged meeting place.

  Chapter 4

  Oh Boy!

  I entered the classroom barely seconds before the teacher, and I breathed out a sigh of relief. I’ve never had a detention at this school, now wasn’t the time to start!

  I was heading to my desk when I froze. My gaze met those annoyingly captivating, electric-blue orbs. Quickly dismissing the shock, I forced my legs to move and compelled my senses to go back to their normal routine.

  Why is he here? I couldn’t help but wonder. He didn’t have 1st period with me yesterday. What the hell man?

  I had successfully ignored him all first period, even managed to escape and avoid him all morning till our fourth period finished. Since I was daydreaming, I was kind of left behind to gather my things... And as expected, he stayed behind to talk to me. I was dreading what he had to say. That didn’t mean, however, that I was putting the arms down.

  “Can we speak?” He softly asked me when I had straightened up.

  “What is it?” I might sound rude, but I wasn’t in the mood for small talk –admittedly, I was never in the mood to deal with a werewolf.

  “Are you dating that blonde dude?” He went straight to the point, looking at me intently, probably trying to decipher my reaction or something.

  “What if I were?” I countered back, defiantly cocking my right eyebrow, not giving him a satisfying answer.

  “You can’t!” He barked at me, starting to get irritated.

  “Is that so?” I couldn’t help but taunt him, smirking ever so slightly.

  He growled low in his throat, but I just kept my gaze steady and fixed on him. “You can’t!” He repeated, taking deep breaths; trying to calm himself, I’d say.

  “And why is that?” I inquired in my most bored voice, drawling the last word.

  His face seemed to pale a little at that and I almost gave in to the temptation a knowing giggle presented. He was probably trying to figure out what to say in order to convince me without revealing his nature and telling me I was his mate. “You’re mine!” He finally stated in such a possessive way, I would have winced had I not been prepared for the macho display.

  “Let me tell you something, buddy. You are free to carry on with your man-whoring ways,” I jabbed a threatening finger at his face, “whereas I am free to flirt with anyone; to date and to fuck whoever the hell I want, if the desire arises.” I spat out at him.

  His eyes were starting to darken and that was my cue to leave. But, for the life of me, I couldn’t bring myself to do that without taunting him some more.

  “Just because I’m your mate, that doesn’t mean I’m yours,” I told him smugly while leaving the classroom.

  I know I have been extremely rude with him, but I did not want to be his mate or anyone else’s or that matter. Besides, did he really have to transfer to all of my classes? Freaking stalker!

  I was sitting in the cafeteria at my usual table; still a little upset about the confrontation that had held place barely five minutes ago, when my phone went off. Putting my fork down, I retrieved my phone from my pocket and hastily took the call without checking the ID.

  I was surprised to hear Jeremy’s voice, “Hey sis, how is school going with you?” he asked cheerily.

  “Fine” I answered him, feeling uncomfortable.

  He let out a noncommittal “hum” then, taking an all too serious tone, said, “About that new guy at your school... he’s an alpha-ultra.”

  I gulped down nervously, “Alpha-ultra, you say?”

  “Yeah, he basically runs all of the US packs,” he explained. “Amazing, huh?”

  “Are you sure?” I probed; the word amazing not what I would pick to describe that news. I’d be more inclined to say something like troublesome.

  “Yeah. That's what my friend, Andrew, the alpha’s little brother, told me this morning.” He stated matter-of-factly.

  “Huh, just lovely,” I muttered under my breath.

  “Stay on his good side, sis.
You don’t want to unnerve the guy,” he softly warned me; as always, taking his role as the protective older brother pretty seriously.

  I giggled nervously, wanting nothing more than to shout, I might have done just that.

  “Thanks, Jer,” I hurried the words out of my mouth before I blurted out something else.

  “You’re welcome,” he said before hanging up on me.

  I put my phone on the table, pushed my tray out of the way, and then laid my head on the table.

  “Is he what I think he is?” Seth softly asked me. I could only give him a hum in response, not daring to look his way and see his worried stare. “You’re pretty much in a bigger trouble then, huh?” He stated nervously. I huffed and then straightened up, not wanting to dwell on the matter too much.

  Just then, said alpha-ultra came toward us. Oh boy!

  “Now what?” I hissed angrily through gritted teeth, a frown slipping onto my face.

  “Can we talk?” Jonathan tautly asked me, his features seemingly calm but his eyes thundering.

  “Do we have to?” I was really, really hoping to have more time before confronting him once again. I was giving Seth pleading eyes, begging him to intervene but he just slightly shook his head, giving me a look that screamed, “You’re on your own on this one.”

  Some good friend you are, Seth, was my bitter thought even though I knew he was right.

  Jonathan shot me a pointed look and that’s when I remembered, my brother’s warning. I probably shouldn’t push his buttons more than I already did. Therefore, sighing in resignation, I stood up and then followed him out of the damned cafeteria.

  Chapter 5

  We Could Try That

  His clouded eyes were fixed on the wall and he was still taking deep breaths. Was he still angry at my little outburst? Well, tough!

  “I don’t have all day.” I mumbled, getting more frustrated with each passing second.

  He briefly glared at me then his eyes softened a notch. “You know about me,” he stated flatly.

  I nodded, silently pleading with him to continue. The sooner he spoke, the sooner he’s off my back, the better.

  “You do not challenge an alpha,” he started absently before adding in a slightly ironic tone “It’s not wise. Not wise at all”

  I sighed before confessing in a low voice, “I didn’t know you were an alpha-ultra... till it was too late.”

  “I could have killed that friend of yours!” he exclaimed, half guiltily, half angrily.

  “You wouldn’t dare!” I instantly regretted the words when his cold eyes settled on me before he told me in a somehow haughty tone, “Oh, I would dare.”

  My eyes widened and I bit my tongue trying to keep myself from lashing out at him again. We don’t really want a replay right now, right here, at the school, do we? That was the sensible side of my brain talking. My passionate side was shouting at me to let my tongue run free and many other things too.

  I averted my gaze, dampened my lips before telling him in a calm voice that almost surprised me, “He’s a dear friend. You wouldn’t do that to me.”

  “As long as that’s all he is, I wouldn’t lay a finger on him.” His tone was one of matter of fact... yet there was the faintest sheen of possessiveness that I could almost taste on my tongue.

  That was all it took to get my bad temper back on the road.

  “You absolutely have no say in the matter. I’m not your property here.” Do not go all judgy on me, will you? I wasn't using crude words nor was I shouting. That had to be a good point, right?

  I saw his eyelashes flutter almost imperceptibly whereas his jaw went instantly rigid. He was probably clenching his teeth really, really hard. He eased his hand on the wall and closed his eyes, and the deep-breaths ritual started again. It was getting too annoying for my liking.

  “Hey, listen...” I started but he cut me off, rudely shushing me then ordering in a gruff voice, “Give me a minute, ok?”

  “But...” My protest was swallowed by his angry voice. “Damn it, girl. I’m trying to calm myself here. Do you want me to leap at you and make you mine willingly or not?”

  I gulped down in fear and could almost swear hearing him mumble something like: “Didn’t think so”. But I was too engulfed in my thoughts to take the bait of that unconscious taunting. I remembered what my brother used to tell me about werewolves, how they can lose control on their inner selves – their wolves. How they get this huge urge to claim their mates as soon as they meet them, because they fear the loss.

  And I did not want to be claimed. Therefore, I obliged and shut the hell up. “Look, I’m not trying to control you or anything” He started after minutes of utter silence “I just want to get to know you. I need it really bad.”

  I opened my mouth to argue but then couldn't since his index came to rest over my lips, efficiently shushing me, as those delicious little tingles began spreading all over. “I’m not gonna pressure you into anything. I’ll wait.” He told me seriously, and I could almost feel the sincerity behind his words. “I did wait for fifty years. One more, one less, who cares?” He finished jokingly and even smiled at the end. But it appeared fake, forced and extremely unconvincing.

  He obviously did care.

  “We could start as friends.” He suggested, looking so hesitant I was starting to doubt his status. He was an alpha-ultra and they were supposedly confident, dominating, commanding respect, and all that. But just then, he looked almost vulnerable.

  I shook my head inwardly at my silliness; I was trying to see things where there were none. Averting my gaze from his devastatingly good-looking features, cursing myself for when I thought he wasn’t strikingly handsome, I felt a shiver of anticipation run through my spine and almost blushed at my body’s reaction to his.

  Damn those hormones making me so... so hot and bothered, to say the least.

  “We could try that.” My voice came out low and slightly hoarse and I inwardly sighed at that. He didn’t need to know the effect his nearness had on me.

  “Good.” He beamed at me; his face lit up with a breathtaking smile that made me gulp to ease my dry throat. My lips twitched when I tried to mimic his. But, with all the willpower I had at that very moment, I could barely manage to crack a small nervous smile. He didn’t seem to mind, seeing as his smile didn’t falter.

  He was going to say something when the bell rung, and I blew out a breath of relief. There was only so much a girl could take. I hurried down the hallway, trying to get away from his captivating charisma, his luscious lips, his scorching gaze and his oh-so-tempting body – I really did not want to fall for him. I knew he was on my heels, though, following me to my next period – our next period. And I felt somehow secure knowing he was there, right behind me.

  Chapter 6

  Talk About Uneventful

  “We could hang out later maybe?” I heard him ask for the 3rd time.

  “Well, you see...” I started, desperately trying to find an excuse when Seth, coming from behind, told me chirpily, “Hey, are we still doing that karaoke-dinner thing?”

  Damn you, Seth! I inwardly sighed.

  I just had the time to force a smile his way when Jonathan said smugly, “I’ll join there then. Where is it?” I huffed then gave him the address in an exasperated tone. Seth’s eyes were bulging, he hadn’t expected the turn of events. Yeah, I still had to find the time to tell him about the agreement.

  “So, I’ll meet you there at 6, huh?” Jonathan flashed me a one-thousand-watt smile.

  Damn isn’t he persistent! I couldn’t help but inwardly whine.

  I groaned in response. He took that as a yes, smiled – yet again – then finally went his way.

  When Seth and I were finally on the road, he asked me, taking his most understanding tone, “Sooo, do you want to talk about it?”

  I looked out of the window and said in a low voice, “I’m giving him a chance.”

  “I don’t have heightened senses... Speak louder, Jas.” He tease
d.

  “I’m giving him a chance,” I repeated in a bored tone before words started flowing out of my mouth like a torrent, “I don’t really know why. I even think it was a stupid thing to do... But he was pleading with me to give him a chance – as friends at least – and I just gave in. I shouldn’t have, huh? What do you think? It wasn’t a wise move, was it?”

  “Breathe,” He drawled, looking intently at me. I sucked in a deep breath, then another and then some more until I calmed down.

  “Well, it can’t be that bad,” he tried to reassure me. “He’s an alpha-ultra but he’s not forcing himself on you, and that’s as good as you can get.”

  “Humph, beggars can’t be choosers.” I muttered angrily under my breath.

  “It could be worse baby... it could be worse.” He smiled warmly at me, trying to make me feel good. I cracked a small smile and he seemed satisfied with that seeing as he focused once more on the road.

  ***************

  Seth and I arrived at Jimmy’s pub 5 minutes late, we found that outrageously good-looking raven-haired blue-eyed boy – no, allow me to say man – pacing on the pavement in front of the door. His brow was furrowed, and his shoulders were all stiff.

  What the hell happened? I couldn’t help but wonder then hope that something came up and he had to leave.

  “You’re here.” I stated the obvious, feeling kind of frustrated because he actually found the meeting place and got there in time. Childish of me, I know.

  He abruptly turned towards us, his eyes seemed to light up when he saw us – me – and the tension of his body instantly went down.

  “You’re finally here.” He said, obviously relieved “I thought something happened or...” He trailed off, wisely choosing not to voice out his thoughts, and averted his eyes.

  “Just traffic,” I informed him tautly.

  Seth softly poked me in the ribs; as a result, I coughed as if to clear my throat then added in what would hopefully sound as an apologetic tone, “Sorry we made you wait.”