by Sara Summers
“I’ll miss you guys.” I nodded, blinking back tears.
“Good luck with everything.” She pulled me in for a hug. For female shifters, naked hugs weren’t unusual between friends.
“Thanks.” I nodded, then stepped back far enough to shift. I jumped up with two legs, and landed on four.
Marley and I nodded at each other before taking off in opposite directions.
I ran for my life, though I felt like I was leaving it behind.
“Here’s your water.” I gave the Alpha a small smile, then turned to hurry away.
“Wait.” He called out, grabbing my wrist.
As soon as he touched me, my neck started to burn. Luckily, he had pulled on my wrist, and the force of it yanked me into his lap. I saw stars for a minute or two, and when my vision finally cleared, I noticed the Alpha’s arms had wrapped around me, holding me to his chest.
I tried to escape but he held me tight.
“I really don’t appreciate being held against my will, either by you or the Rockies.” I told him, frustrated.
“I’m sorry.” He apologized, letting me go. “Will you sit across from me?” he asked as I stood up.
I hesitated.
He was an Alpha, and I had no intentions of being anyone’s Omega, regardless of whether or not he was the other half of my soul.
“Please?”
He asked nicely, and I figured that I at least had to tell him I wasn’t interested in being his mate. So, I sat down.
“I’m Ty.” He introduced himself. “You’re Leah?” he asked, though it was a silly question since my name was on a badge on my shirt. “That’s a nice name. I like it.” He said.
It was a little awkward, but I forced a smile.
“Thanks.” I nodded, furthering the awkwardness.
“So, we’re mates.” He scratched his head.
“Yep.” I nodded again, folding my arms over my stomach.
“Wow.” He raised his eyebrows and scratched his chin.
“Uh huh.” I don’t know why I bothered to stop nodding between questions. It was a waste of energy.
“Any ideas how this conversation is supposed to go?” Ty grimaced.
I shrugged, finally putting the nodding to an end.
“No? Well, can I see your cotie?” he asked, though the look in his eyes told me he thought my answer would be ‘no’.
“Sure.” I shrugged. Since he was about to lose his mate, I figured I could at least let him see his cotie reflected on me. I leaned forward, tilting my head to the left so he could see the markings on the right side of my neck.
The markings had been fairly simple before, and I figured they were still simple. I wasn’t really concerned with the way it looked, so I didn’t mind not seeing it myself.
“Wow.” Ty whispered, resting his hand on the back of my neck. Chills crept up my spine at the physical contact. I hadn’t had a hug in months, and I guess I was paying for it. “It looks a lot better on you than it ever did on me.” He said, his voice a little husky.
“It looks plenty good on you.” I muttered. His eyebrows raised, though he didn’t take his hand off my neck.
“Glad you like looking at me.” He murmured. The tone of his voice gave me goosebumps, and I wiggled uncomfortably in my seat.
When he brushed his thumb over my cotie, I jumped out of the booth. The feelings his touch gave me… they were too much.
Especially considering I was about to dump him.
“That’s enough.” I folded my arms, standing next to him. His eyebrows were wrinkled in confusion. “Look, I don’t want to be rude, but I really don’t want a mate. Sorry, but it’s not right for me right now.” I shrugged.
I’d never seen a brow as wrinkled as his was, when I left him sitting in the booth with a cup of water.
I took the Rockies their bill, and they didn’t say a word. While I did receive a heck of a lot of glares from them, the silence was appreciated.
My mind was churning fast enough without the Rockies making it worse.
Chapter 3
“What can I get you to eat?” I forced a smile as I stood in front of Ty’s table. With the Rockies gone, it was just him and me in the diner.
“How about you just sit down and tell me what’s going on?” Ty folded his arms.
I put my hands on my hips.
“Look, I’m busy. I really can’t talk right now, I’m at work.” I gestured to the empty diner around me, and Ty raised an eyebrow.
“We both know you’re not busy.” He lifted an eyebrow.
I didn’t say anything.
“You’re the other half of my soul, remember? You can’t just refuse to be that; the creator made you that way.” The look in his eyes told me he was at a loss as to what he should do, despite the strong, manly look he had going on the outside. I almost felt bad for him.
Then I remembered that he was an Alpha.
“I can be whatever I want to be.” I folded my arms.
“Don’t I at least deserve to know why you’re refusing to be my mate? I haven’t done anything except save you from some idiots and wrap my arms around you. I’m sorry if that was moving too fast.” He was definitely lost.
I warred with myself for a few seconds. If I sat down, I might get attached to him. Or worse, I could realize why he and I were supposed to be together. If I didn’t… well, then I’d be the jerkiest shifter in all of existence. What person in their right mind would ditch their soulmate without an explanation?
My conscience won out in the end, and I sat down in front of him.
He leaned back in the booth, his arms still folded.
I rubbed a hand against my neck, which was still a little sore from my cotie changing.
“What do you want to know?” I asked.
“I just want to know what’s going on in your head.” Ty said.
For the first time all day, I felt my wolf perk up inside me.
The wolf part of me knew that I wanted to make a difference, and she knew that I was willing to give up anything to do it, even our mate. She was on board with me, though it sucked to be alone.
Still, hearing that he was interested in me made us both a little happy.
“There’s a lot going on, actually.” I shrugged.
“So spill it.” Ty sat up.
He really was attractive, though I tried not to focus on that.
“Well, you’re an Alpha. Your mate is going to get the suckiest job on the planet, and I don’t want it.” I folded my arms, matching Ty’s stance.
“Technically I’m not the Alpha yet.” Ty corrected me. “I’m next in line for the job, and my Alpha’s sick, so I do everything he should be doing. You wouldn’t be Omega right away.”
“So?” I frowned. “I don’t want to be an Omega. You know what that means, don’t you?” I checked.
“I’ve been training for twelve years, I think I know what Omega means.” He said critically.
“Well if you wish that upon your mate, I don’t want anything to do with you anyway.” I glared at him, then stood up.
“Leah.” Ty grabbed my wrist again.
“Stop doing that.” I threatened. “The Alpha and the Omega are the first and the last members of the pack. You’re first, and I would be last. I don’t want to spend my life as the least important person to anyone, and I definitely don’t want to come last to the man whose supposed to love me the most.” I snapped.
“Just give me a chance to—“
“No.” I grabbed his water cup. “You can go now, Alpha.”
I walked away, sure to let my hips sway to give him a good eyeful. The more frustrated he was, the merrier, because that meant I’d have a longer time before he tried to convince me again.
And I was certain he’d try again. If he was really the other half of my soul, there was no doubt. Especially since he was an Alpha. In my experience Alphas usually got their way, so I figured he would be mad if he didn’t get his.
It was a long few hours before I fin
ally got to go home, but when the time came, I was happy to leave. My mind was bustling with thoughts, and hadn’t slowed down since Ty left me in the diner.
The drive wasn’t too long, and when I got inside my apartment, I collapsed on the couch and grabbed my phone.
“Hey, girl.” Savanna answered.
“Hey.” I sighed.
“What’s up?” She asked, cautiously.
“Nothing much.” My answer was weak.
“Spill, Lee.” Savanna warned.
“Fine.” I sighed again. “I met my mate today.” I said, then waited for her response. She was quiet.
“What happened?” Once again, she was cautious.
“I kicked him to the curb.” I admitted. “He’s an Alpha.”
“Holy sh—“
“This isn’t time for cussing!” I cried, sitting up straight. “He’s going to come back. You know Alphas, they don’t just give up on things.”
“For the record, I think this is the perfect time for cussing.” Savanna offered.
“Be serious, Sav. What am I supposed to do? I’m already registered for classes in January, which means moving two states away in a month and a half. What if he follows me? What if the guy never leaves me alone?”
“Chill out.” Savanna chided. “He’s your missing piece, how bad can he be?”
“Bad.” I said flatly.
“Okay, well he’s not just an Alpha, remember? He’s a person too. He has feelings, and I’d bet he’s an emotional tornado right about now.”
“He’s probably just whacking his lessers with dominance to deal with it.” I said bitterly.
“Stop it.” Savanna complained.
“You’re one to talk.” I protested. “The girl who travels the world because she’s afraid of her mate.”
“You know I have my reasons, and I hope you can feel my glare through the phone.” Savanna said. “Shut up and go for a run. You need to get your mind off of this.”
“What if I get attacked by Rockies?” I moaned.
“Stop it.” Sav complained again. “Get out of your apartment. Now. I’m hanging up.” She warned.
“Fine. Love you.” I muttered.
“Love you too.” She said, and then hung up.
I sighed dramatically, shutting my eyes. My head and heart were pounding, and I really could use a run.
So, I threw on some leggings and a sweatshirt, then laced up my shoes. Running as a human would exhaust me more than running as a wolf, so I stayed in human form. I needed to be able to sleep that night, after all, and kicking my own butt was the only thing that would do it for me.
I locked the door behind me, then peeked around to make sure there weren’t any Rockies spying on me at the time. When I saw that it was clear, I took off down the sidewalk and into the trees. Living at the edge of a forest was the smartest decision I’d ever made.
Chapter 4
With my feet pounding the dirt and fresh air in my lungs, I finally started to calm down. When I finally started to calm down, I finally started to process what had happened only a few hours earlier.
I found my mate, he saved me from the Rockies, and then I kicked him to the curb.
Yeah, that about summed it up.
As I was running, I realized I probably should’ve given him more of a chance to explain. As it was too late to go back, I brushed away the realization. I wouldn’t have changed my mind anyway, I figured, because no way would I be anyone’s Omega.
I ran further than I’d ever run in human form, and when I stopped to take a break, I heard feet pounding on the dirt.
Part of me hoped it was Ty, coming to tell me he would give up his place as Alpha to be with me, that having his soul mate was more important than leading a pack.
The realistic part of me knew that I had to run faster and harder than I’d ever run before.
So, I took off into the trees. I was the fastest wolf I’d ever met; no one could outrun me in wolf form. I was used to running with a panther, a cheetah, and a lion, and they had taught me all the tricks there were.
But, in human form, I was much slower. So much slower that I could hear the footsteps getting louder, despite running as fast as I could.
I wasn’t stupid enough to risk my life by glancing backward, so I pushed hard, running faster and faster. My legs and lungs burned, but my brain forced my body forward.
My wolf hovered at the edge of my mind. She wanted to take over, she wanted me to let her run us out of there. No one would catch us, she promised.
But I could hear their footsteps, I knew that the seconds it would take me to shift would give them the time they needed to catch me. I was almost positive the people behind me were Rockies, and they could definitely hold down one female wolf.
And so I ran on. But, as before, they sped up while I slowed down. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t keep to that pace for long.
I saw the corner of some sort of concrete building on the left, and my wolf took the reins. We veered left, running inside the building without pausing for a second. She ran us up the wall a few steps, then launched us onto a supporting beam.
Somehow, we were planking between the wall and the beam, barely holding ourselves up. Adrenaline and desperation were powerful when combined, though, so I stayed up.
“Little Leah.” One of the boys cooed. My face and body remained stony, and I refused to look down and see how many had come for me.
“We have to find her.” One of them muttered. “He’s gonna kill us if we don’t.”
I didn’t let any of their words register in my mind, though they continued talking and calling out. To stay up, I had to be completely focused. Mind over matter.
My breath stayed even as I stared at the beam in front of me. If I had the willpower, I knew I could hold the position.
“LEAH!” Someone shouted.
The noise scared me so I jumped a little, and that movement was enough to throw me off. My legs swung down, and the metal ripped my palms as I grabbed onto a tiny ledge, holding on with my fingertips.
“Go on and let go, sweetie. We won’t hurt you.” One of them promised in a creepy baby voice.
“Leah, you know you can trust us.” Another tried.
“We’ll take care of you.” A third stepped in.
“Get away from me.” I forced the words out, my fingers slipping. I could feel the blood trickling down my wrists from my ripped palms, could smell the metal in the air. A bead of sweat dripped down my forehead, and I tried to adjust my barely-there grip.
“Just let go. You’re wasting your energy.” A Rocky figured.
“We could always just jump up and yank her down.” One of them muttered.
“Come on Leah. We don’t want to hurt you. You’re ours, remember?” One of them taunted.
“Actually, she’s mine.” I heard Ty’s voice, and my wolf recognized it immediately. We let go of the ledge and stepped back, away from the Rockies.
Luckily, Ty had their attention, now.
They all snarled and growled at him, and he folded his arms.
“Look, we already did this once today. If you’ll just get out of here, I won’t have to force you into anything.” He told them.
“We’re not leaving.” One of the Rockies snarled again.
Ty sighed.
“Fine.”
Once again, I could feel the wave of dominance. It didn’t affect me, as Ty didn’t want it to affect me, but the Rockies fell to their knees. They had their palms pressed against their heads, though they continued to growl and snarl.
“Get out of here.” He ordered, hitting them with another round of dominance.
That time, they took off. All five of them, the same ones I’d seen earlier.
They left me alone with Ty for the second time that day, and I wasn’t sure what I should do. My wolf was, though, and she walked us over to our soulmate.
“Thanks.” I folded my arms over my stomach.
“No problem.” Ty scratched at his head, appa
rently uncomfortable with the situation. I figured at least I wasn’t alone in feeling awkward. “Can we talk about what you said earlier?” he asked.
“I guess.” I sighed.
“So, you don’t want to be Omega.” He summed up our conversation in one sentence.
“Yep.” I nodded once.
“But you’re my mate. The Creator gave me all this dominance,” he held out his hands, “So obviously He knew I’d become an Alpha. Even if I left my pack, which I’m not going to do, I’d be the Alpha of whatever pack we joined.” He said.
“You have that much dominance?” I frowned.
“Yep.” It was his turn to nod. “So, obviously you’re meant to be my Omega. I wouldn’t have been given so much dominance if you weren’t.” he shrugged.
My walls went up, and I tightened my arms around my stomach.
“I’m not being an Omega. I don’t even like packs, okay? I’m perfectly happy being a lone wolf.” I insisted.
Ty rubbed his hand over the stubble I hadn’t noticed on his chin. Once I noticed, it was hard to look away. He was definitely attractive, I had to give him that.
“Why wouldn’t you want to join a pack?” He stared at me like he was trying to discover the secrets of my half of our soul. “What happened to you?”
“It’s really not your concern. I don’t want to be your Omega, as I’ve explained, and that means I can’t be your mate. Sorry.” I shrugged, walking away.
I pulled my sweatshirt over my head, revealing my stomach to the cool, November air.
“Leah.” Ty protested. I could hear him coming after me, so I ran. I had to take off my bra and shoes before I could shift, since they were too expensive to replace, but I managed to get them off and get into wolf form before he could catch me.
I ditched the clothing in the forest and sprinted toward my apartment, forcing my wolf to memorize the route she’d taken. She would have rather just run, but I needed the clothes back so I had to remember.
I shifted in front of my apartment, ignoring the fact that anyone in the building could see my bare butt. It was cold even in the hallways, so I shivered as I stuck the key in the lock.
It took only seconds to get inside, but I still breathed a sigh of relief when I dropped onto the couch for the second time that day.
