The Shy Alpha

Chapter Twenty Two

Hunter's jaws tensed in restrained anger, his ears pressing back into his head threateningly, and the only thing that stopped him from lunging at the daring rogue in front of him, was the twitching and moaning coming from the woman in his hold. One last glance at the sweat gathering on her forehead and travelling down her face, instantly calmed his anger, but fueled his panic.

"Mate... back to pack..." he growled, before leaping forward, quicker than Demitri's eyes could follow, and dashing past him, leaving an almost comedic dust outline of where he was before.

As Hunter sped through the forest, and darted between the trees, the strain he felt in his hind legs was gone, instead his entire wolfen form screamed at him to move faster, to use the strength and endurance he'd been born with to run faster and harder. His mate had to be safe. His mate had to be protected. His pup had to be safe.

It was getting colder and colder the closer to sunrise it got, winter was closing in dreadfully quickly, and Hunter struggled not to slip over on the ever growing ice on the ground, each blade of grass slippery beneath his furry paws. His claws dug into the ground in a desperate attempt to keep upright, everything his body did was to ensure he got his mate and pup back to the pack safely and quickly.

After thirty minutes of solid sprinting, he could faintly see dim lights in the distance, lights that reminded him of the lanterns that lined his father's porch, a sign that someone was waiting for him.

It wasn't much longer before he could see everything much clearer, the trees thinned out and he could see the houses of the pack surrounding the Alpha house. The red bricks seemed to glow with the rising sun, but all Hunter could focus on, were the men standing on the porch, waiting for him to arrive.

Daniel and Alpha Derek were lounging on the chairs that lined the wooden porch, their bodies tensed in anticipation, which was soon disrupted when they saw Hunter running towards them.

Hunter collapsed to his knees, and slowly brought Alexa to the ground, laying her gently in front of him, his panting body covering hers safely. His shoulders sagged and tense with each breath, the fur beginning to recede into his body, and his form becoming less and less animalistic. His skin was pink and glistening with sweat from all the running, and his hair was longer, framing his face from view.

"Alexa!" Daniel called out, racing towards his daughter, not knowing or even caring if Hunter was mentally able to deal with the approaching father. A low warning growl rumbled from Hunter's throat, but he made no move to stop Daniel. "What happened?"

"She... passed out..." Hunter panted, slowly but surely catching his breath. Strands of his hair stuck to his forehead, but the goosebumps forming on his bare skin showed he was starting to cool down.

Alexa let out a soft groan, her body shifting slightly against the cold ground. Her eyes fluttered open and immediately zoned in on his face, the corners of her mouth pulling up slightly into a smile. "Hunter...?"

"Alexa... I'm here... you... okay?" he stuttered, his eyes fixing onto hers.

Alexa nodded, before her face suddenly seized with pain, and her hands clutched at her stomach as she brought her knees up into a foetal position. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, as they tightly squinted shut.

"Alexa! What's wrong?" Alpha Derek cried out, before realisation set in. Ivan knew what was happening quicker than the others, so he quickly took over. His body tensed again, it didn't shift into his wolfen form, but he did crouch like a wolf over the body of his mate, who still clutched at herself in serious pain. Sobs erupted from her throat, as she desperately tried not to let the pain get the better of her.

"She's going into labour!" Daniel shouted, rising to his feet and running his hand through his hair, frustrated, not knowing how to deal with the current situation. "What do we do?"

"I don't know, Hunter's grandmother dealt with my mate when she went into labour..." Derek started to explain, before a voice silenced them.

"You males don't have the first idea about labour."

Daniel and Derek turned to face their intruder, stunned when they saw Amanda standing behind him, her arms crossed across her chest, staring down at her mate and Alpha with a look of pure frustration.

"Amanda..." Daniel whispered. They hadn't seen her for a couple of weeks now, she had last been seen leaving Alexa's bedroom, they'd just had a huge argument about Hunter has a suitable mate and father, and knowing she was fighting a losing battle, Amanda had left the room, and the house, to hide away in hers until now.

Daniel and his wolf had found themselves torn between standing by their mate, and staying with their expecting daughter. He'd been feeling more and more weak as time went on, and seeing his mate so close to him broke all resistance. He practically ran to her, his arms outstretched, desperately wanting to feel her in his grasp. Amanda fell into his arms, letting herself temporarily rejoice in the feeling of being back with her mate again.

"Amanda, I know you and Alexa didn't exactly part on the greatest of terms, but please... it's tradition for a female's mother to help her through the labour, we don't know what to do..." Derek pleaded, his wolf flinching at the begging tone in his voice, not liking it one bit, but knowing it was necessary.

Amanda pulled away from Daniel to go to Alexa, he was reluctant to let her go, but did so anyway.

Hunter growled at Amanda, warning her not to stray too close.

"Hunter, you and I will probably never get on, I personally don't think she made the right choice in accepting you as her mate, but that is my opinion... not hers..." Amanda sighed, her eyes shifting to stare at her daughter briefly, before looking once more on Hunter. "My daughter is no idiot future Alpha, she wouldn't believe that you were honourable if you weren't. She loves you more than I thought possible, she has the same feelings for you that I didn't think I'd ever see outside of my love for Daniel. But she does... she loves you so much... and how you're acting now..." Hunter moved closer to Alexa, his body shielding hers fiercely. "She is my daughter, and no matter what I think about you, I'm helping her through this. I'm going to help her give birth to my grandchild."