The Alpha's (Un)Lucky Mate (BWWM)

9

Alina went silent.

"You're what?" As the question left her lips, she flinched inwardly. She heard him perfectly fine the first time but the shock caused her to speak without thinking.

Nikolai recognized this as well, opting to give her a consoling glance as she struggled to comprehend the gravity of his words.

As Alina wracked her brain for any indication of Nikolai being cursed, her thoughts quickly turned to the grotesque monster from when they first met. Her eyes flitted towards his before going back to staring at her lap.

She had a feeling this was something incredibly hard for the Alpha to share, maybe even embarrassing. So, she gathered her courage and spoke up, remembering the words he told her when she confessed to him that she was unlucky.

"I don't care about curses or anything like that. What I know is that. . ." Alina sucked in a shaky breath, feeling the weight of her next words. "What I know is that you're Nikolai Petrov, my incredibly handsome and irritating mate."

The young woman peeked a glance at Nikolai, who quickly turned away from her.

Did I say something wrong?! I didn't mean for it to sound so cheesy!

Alina bit down hard on her bottom lip, struggling to ignore the heat rising to her face and instead noticed that the Alpha's ears seemed to be glowing red. Her jaw went slack at the realization that she most likely broke him with her words.

"N-Nikolai?" She called his name quietly, placing a hand on his arm.

The man shifted, clearing his throat before turning back to her his gaze unfocused. "I-I apologize, you took me by surprise." There was something different about him. Rather than his usual frown or glare, Nikolai's face still had the faintest hint of a blush. His lips were pursed as if he were suppressing a smile.

Alina felt the urge to further provoke the alpha, but she quickly fought the feeling. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest and she took deep breaths to calm it.

Nikolai didn't think he would be swayed so easily, but hearing the way Alina confidently called him her mate caused something to stir within him. Even though he'd been with other women before, nothing compared to the feeling of Alina's hand gently gripping his arm or her doe eyes staring up at him with such concern and warmth. He once again cleared his throat, "B-Back to the topic at hand, you've seen the form that my wolf can take when my emotions get out of hand."

"Though, I'm not the only one in my pack that is affected by the curse. . ."

Alina waited for Nikolai to elaborate but after a few seconds of silence she spoke up, "So, because of something that happened between your ancestors the wolves and witches are not on good terms?"

He gave a brief nod, "That is a mild way of putting it, yes. I suppose I didn't realize how friendly you were with her. I apologize for having you witness such a sight."

Despite her best efforts, Alina's lips pulled into a frown. "You shouldn't be apologizing to me, but rather Lavinia." Though, it's not like she could force him to either. While she disagreed with the way that Nikolai handled the situation, there was obvious history between their people. It was going to take more than a forced apology to even begin to mend that.

"Thank you for sharing all of this with me, Nikolai." She turned to smile at the Alpha who gave a brief one back. Though it was small, Alina could feel a shift in their relationship. She had a better understanding of why Nikolai was the way he was. In a way, he wasn't that much different than Jaxson or herself.

While the twins could bring immeasurable happiness or pain through their powers, Nik had the ability to lose control and harm those around him. At least if Alina ever went out of control, she had her brother to rely on. Up until he met her though, Nikolai had to handle it all on his own. With the Supernatural Bureau breathing down his back and the tensions growing between humans and supernaturals, it's understandable to see how he ended up as this stoic figure.