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

by Larose Semsem

  “What’s a girl like you doing here?” one of them asked. He had a nasty scar on his face; it found its beginning in the top of his right eyebrow and reached his shin, making him look more threatening if that even possible – as if his enormous frame wasn’t enough.

  “I don’t think it’s any of your problem,” I was meaning to make the words sound light, confidently sarcastic. They chose, however, to take a defensive tone.

  “Maybe we ought to show you your place, darling,” his grin revealed yellow teeth that looked so dirty, I had to hold back a flinch of disgust.

  “We can always play with her a little before killing her,” one of his companions suggested slyly, making the others look at me in an assessing manner that made a shiver of pure unadulterated fear run down my spine.

  My eyes widened, betraying me, telling them how much I didn’t like the idea and how scared I was.

  The first one who had spoken to me made a deliberately slow step towards me and I couldn’t help but attack him in response – from afar, like my ability allowed – making him startle back, eyes questioning.

  “You’re a witch,” he guessed, looking at the gush on his shoulder angrily.

  Sadly enough, I wasn’t old enough to take them on. Since I had yet to turn sixteen, my powers hadn’t fully awakened. I only had control over the tenth of it all, and judging from the quick recovery of the little injury I had inflected on him, it would not be even nearly enough to stop them.

  That assessment of the situation barely took me a second and I was soon running in the opposite direction with them hot on my heels.

  Despite my knowing the forest like the back of my hand, they were catching up to me – they should be after all, considering the fact they were werewolves. I had managed in my hurry, like the clumsy little thing I could be at times, to trip over a rock. I had had the reflex of throwing my arms ahead of me so that I could prevent my face from hitting the ground; nevertheless, it was a big waste of time – a waste of time I couldn’t afford.

  I scrambled to my feet and was about to resume my run when I saw the one I assumed was the boss standing in front of me, at merely five meters, blocking my escape, and felt the presence of the other werewolves behind me.

  I was cornered. I had no doubt I was going to meet a painful death in the forest... if only they wouldn’t rape me. The Sunshine’s pack house, sadly enough, wasn’t in the forest therefore nobody would hear my screams; nobody would come to my rescue.

  I was doomed. I, who only wanted to give Celia a chance to make Karl see her as the wonderful girl she was, was being rewarded in the most unusual way... There went my good intention.

  Just as I saw him lunge at my petrified self, unable as I was of doing anything but screaming, everything seemed to fade away.

  I jolted awake, sitting up in a hurry, my eyes wide with terror, my open mouth letting out the same deafening scream of my nightmare; I was panting, my chest heaving, my heart racing, my head pounding. My whole body was covered in sweat, my hair was a tangled mess and so were the sheets.

  The scream I could barely realize was my own soon came to an end. My eyes that had adjusted to the darkness of my surroundings told me there was nothing to fear. There was no threat in sight, there was no rogues attacking me.

  Just as I brought my knees to my chest, encircled them with my arms and put my head on top of them, my eyes freeing an unstoppable stream of tears, the door of my room was slammed open, revealing first Karl, then my brothers, soon followed by my parents.

  I was sobbing in the middle of the night while being all huddled up, right after having let out a scream that could have awakened the dead as well. There was no wondering what I had been dreaming of – my unforgettable encounter with the rogues, of course.

  Chapter 19

  Look Who Came

  She had purposefully accepted all of his touches and even initiated some. She had not shrugged his arm off in the cinema theater. She had brushed her hand against his so he would hold it. She might have even kissed him when I had gone to bring Katherine along. And who knew what else she might have done when he had dropped her off. All of her cunning smiles, her giggles, and her flirtatious attitude had driven me crazy with jealousy, and I had snapped and kissed her despite my resolution not to –though I did not regret it.

  I was almost ashamed to say I had dragged a fellow werewolf into my mate’s little game; but then again, it wasn’t like Katherine minded it one bit. On the contrary, I was sure she’d have no qualms bedding me on the first opportunity she thought she might have. She had even gone as far as try to tempt me last night, with her following me into my room after we had come back to the pack house in nothing but a flimsy nightgown. One thing she must not have expected was to find a flying object welcoming her at the door right as she opened it. She had passed out before she could even attempt to seduce me – thank god.

  I had almost unconsciously broken the wooden desk into pieces with a punch; and then both the bed and the wardrobe went crashing against the walls. I had been blinded with rage and could barely contain it. I just had to let it out.

  Before I could even think about it, I was at the door of the pack house, three floors down, yelling I was going for a run.

  I had spent the night out, taking out my frustration on the innocent trees. As I stood now in front of the mansion-like pack house, I was thankfully a much calmer person and admittedly an ashamed alpha-ultra. I had been too angry to think straight and that wasn’t something to take lightly.

  Especially considering my age, I mused bitterly. I was sixty years old for heaven’s sake! How could I lose my cool like that? It wasn’t acceptable.

  Damn right, my wolf readily agreed in a reproaching tone. Next time you see that kid, rip him to pieces, and then make sure our mate knows who she belongs to.

  Save your worthless advice, was my answer to that. My mate was a feisty witch who didn’t like to be told what to do. If I were to force her to be with me, that would only draw her further away from me. My wolf liked doing things ruthlessly when it came to fights, and should he be given the chance, he would more often than not act rashly. I couldn’t possibly allow that, especially where Jasmine was concerned.

  We’ll need to seduce her into believing we’re better for her, I told him firmly before shutting him off just as he was about to protest.

  I inwardly sighed, knowing he wouldn’t be thrilled with my actions, and then slightly rubbed my temples trying to ease their pounding. It wasn’t an everyday occurrence that I chose to shut him off, and it certainly wasn’t an easy task – it brought headaches.

  I gave the front door a resolution-filled look before taking the very few steps that separated me from it and entering the pack house. The Sunshine’s pack was a strong one though not the strongest there was out there, but I felt at ease with its members, and that was all that mattered to me. Even though I was their alpha-ultra, that didn’t mean they had to accept me. Nevertheless, their alpha had welcomed me into his home with open arms and so did his pack.

  And how did I repay them? I mentally admonished myself, thinking about that messed up room I had left behind; then winced when I remembered the unconscious body I had left unceremoniously sprawled at the door – Katherine.

  Upon opening the front door, a large hallway welcomed me. To my right was the big living-room and next to it was the alpha’s office, along with some rooms. To my left, I could hear voices coming out of the kitchen. I chose to go that way and ignore my desire to ascend the stairs that were at the end of the hallway and that would have eventually led me to my room.

  As I entered the kitchen, I saw Kyle, the alpha, sitting at the head of the table, flanked on his sides by, Jennifer, his mate, and his beta, his younger brother, Andrew. Sat at the table were some other pack members including Katherine. The kitchen quieted down at my arrival. Hell, all of the werewolves – except the aforementioned ones – left in what could only be described as hurry. There was only one way to explain that; they were sc
ared of yet another anger display, and that could be understandable.

  “Come have breakfast with us,” the alpha offered kindly, smiling my way, his eyes shining with understanding. Both his mate and his brother nodded in agreement and silent welcoming.

  Katherine, on the other hand, had hung her head low and would not meet my eyes.

  “Last night, I did not expect you to come looking for me,” I told her as I chose to sit on the chair opposite hers. That was as close to an apology as she could get, and she obviously knew it since she raised her head and nodded at me in a way that meant she forgave me. Then, almost all too soon, her eyes turned seductive and her lips pouting.

  She was back at it. Couldn’t she give it a rest already? She knew I had found my mate for crying out loud!

  After what seemed like an eternity of comfortable silence, Kyle, Jennifer and Andrew left, leaving me to eat in peace, under Katherine’s watchful eyes.

  “You know you could get any girl anytime anywhere,” she brought me out of my reverie.

  “The problem is I only desire one.”

  I didn’t even spare her a glance. She will not make me feel guilty for what happened yesterday, I will not allow her to. I mused, smelling her arousal and feeling quite disgusted with it. It had been nothing short of a regretful accident, one I had apologized for and didn’t intend to pay for by agreeing to her silly wishes – I was not going to cheat on my mate, even though she’d probably have no qualms doing the exact same thing herself.

  “Well,” damn it, she was persistent. “If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.” Her tone, though it was meant to be seductive, achieved nothing but making me on the verge of being sick.

  She then left the kitchen, leaving me to my thoughts, and I couldn’t have been more thankful for she had done something good at last. I almost regretted having had to take her to that restaurant as she was having false hopes.

  Just as I finished munching on the granola bar I had been absentmindedly eating, I sensed a presence that didn’t belong to any of the pack members. That person was approaching and soon enough, leaning on the door frame, stood a tall guy that looked to be in his early twenties. He was well-built though not in a buffy way, he had dirty blond hair that was styled messily and bright green eyes that said one ought to be careful around him. Strangely enough, he was neither a werewolf nor a vampire. Could he be a warlock? I couldn’t say for sure.

  His scent wasn’t one I recognized yet I couldn’t help but think I had smelt it somewhere.

  “You must be Jonathan,” he started mid-seriously mid-lightly, “my little Jasmine’s mate.” That ‘my’ he used was definitely unnerving.

  Should we kill him? My wolf snarled in my mind unexpectedly – I had been too busy with that stranger to keep him shut out. Damn it, that wolf made me want to roll my eyes at him. I was a very possessive guy, I knew that, but my wolf had long since surpassed me. He only believed in killing where Jasmine was concerned.

  “And who might you be?” I hissed through gritted teeth, rising to my feet.

  Straightening up in a nonchalant way that made him that much more despicable, taking a defiant step forward with an unflinching gaze trained on me, he kindly informed me, a teasing grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, “I’m Karl, Jasmine’s cousin.”

  Damn it, I knew I had smelt that scent somewhere – on her, that day I had gone to her house.

  Look who came! Why’s he here? Did something happen to Jasmine? my wolf was starting to freak out again and I couldn’t help but shut him off again despite the headache that awaited me.

  “And how may I help you?” my tone had definitely softened as well; I was finding him much less annoying by the second.

  “I just need to have a word with you.”

  Chapter 20

  Control Freak

  “You must know that even though Jasmine doesn’t show it, she’s scared of werewolves,” He began in a flat tone.

  “I know,” was my deadpan reply. I had looked into that incident I overheard her talking about, and was told that she had come impossibly close to both rape and death, all because of rogues. She had been saved in extremis by her warlock cousin, Karl. And although she had gotten out of that encounter physically unharmed, she’d been mentally scarred. Quite the trauma.

  “But what she’s even more scared of is losing herself,” he added on a sigh.

  I cocked an eyebrow at him in question while giving him a quizzical look, “What do you mean by that?”

  He let out yet another sigh, looked around the kitchen for a split-second before shifting his gaze towards me, “That is to mean she’s a little bit of a control freak.”

  “Huh?” my eyes narrowed.

  He lost me there, my wolf interjected, breaking through the wall I had mentally put up.

  Ditto, I didn’t bother shutting him off again for he would probably just find a way to come out again.

  “When I first entered high school, I met for the first time a non-relative warlock,” his eyes slightly lost a bit of their shininess as if to say he wasn’t unaffected by what had happened afterwards.

  What do we care about his high school life? My wolf all but snarled. Shush! Was my only answer. There had to be a reason as to why he was telling us this.

  “His name was Cole,” I certainly didn’t miss the ‘was’ part; there had to be a tragedy at the end of the story. “He looked and acted like any normal teenager, yet he was a warlock whose natural talent left many speechless.” He shrugged while a small rueful smile made its way on his face, then continued in a distant voice that made me think he had dived deep in his memories, “We became friends, and almost all too soon, we were given a nickname. The Inseparables was what everybody used to call us.”

  He paused, inhaled deeply and then silently exhaled through his nose before carrying on, “Naturally, with that closeness came frequent visits. In a very short time, he became family. Jasmine loved him almost as much as she did Jake or Jason, and the boys grew very fond of him as well. We had been very happy for him when, in our senior year, he told us it turned out he was a werewolf’s mate, especially since Katie was one of the sweetest girls ever.”

  “So happy,” he repeated under his breath in a tone that spoke of how close the two friends were.

  Then what? My wolf snapped, not liking the suspense. I mentally rolled my eyes at his eagerness and refrained from urging the warlock myself.

  “They had been mated for a very short amount of time when they had gotten into a car accident –a terrible car accident.”

  So? I thought unimpressed, wondering how the hell that could relate to his she’s-even-more-scared-of-losing-herself statement of earlier. He didn’t seem to have finished his explanation; thus, I could only guess it would be all clearer in a moment.

  “She had died on the spot for her injury had been to the heart whereas Cole had gotten away with just few broken ribs and scratches.”

  I shivered at that. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain he must have felt, the heartache, the sorrow he must have been through.

  “Within days, he had started acting out of character. A little over ten days after his beloved’s funeral, he had basically lost it. Overwhelmed by his emotions, he could no longer keep his powers under control. He snapped in a crowded place and almost killed dozens of citizens.”

  What a pity! I felt bad for this friend of his; nevertheless, I still saw this little story-telling session as useless.

  “Sadly enough, Jasmine had witnessed his outburst therefore when he was killed by order of The Witches’ Council, we couldn’t bring her to believe he had died out of chagrin or whatever. I had insisted on being a part of the assassination team – my way of bidding him farewell – and it had saddened me to no end when he had welcomed his death with a smile, saying he was finally going to join her.” He paused one last time before putting an end to his little monologue, “When, much later, I told Jasmine what had transpired, she told me she’d make sure I�
��d never have to come bid her farewell.”

  My eyes widened, finally getting what he had been trying to explain. Jasmine didn’t want to get involved with me because she was afraid of snapping. She was scared of losing control over her powers –for whatever reason that might be, and I was apparently considered as a potential reason– just like Cole and end up the same way he did.

  “Damn it!” I punched the table in dismay. And here I thought it wasn’t going to take too long to bring to like werewolves, I mentally cursed again. She had something else in store besides her fear of werewolves though, something I hadn’t bet on facing.

  Tough! Was my wolf’s comment.

  You don’t say! I quipped, feeling sarcastic because of my irritated state.

  Sooner or later, she’ll come around... hopefully. The ever-so-confident alpha-ultra male was not feeling so sure of himself all of the sudden. It made a spiteful, lopsided smirk cut through my features.

  ‘Let’s hope she does,’ I sighed.

  “I’ve told you everything I wanted you to know,” Karl brought me out of my musings then nodded my way in a goodbye-like gesture. “Good luck,” were the last words he addressed me before he left the kitchen and the pack house altogether.

  “I’m sure gonna need it,” I muttered bitterly.

  Chapter 21

  Car Ride

  I had woken up just in time to put on the first thing that came my way, grab my backpack from where it sat on the floor, hurry down the stairs and then shout out I was leaving.

  After that horrible nightmare, I had been comforted by Karl and then lulled into a deep dreamless sleep; and that resulted in my not hearing the alarm clock and only waking up at the sound of my phone going off – Seth had arrived to pick me up, like usual, and he was waiting for me.