Hello my gorgeous sunshines, just a quick note to say thank you to my old and new fans for all the support with this story.
Chapter Eleven
Mason's POV
I was beyond pissed. For the first time in my life, my wolf felt caged inside of me, like he was trapped in an unfamiliar place, pacing back and forth, fighting to get out.
My head spun with the emotions - more emotions than I could name - that swirled inside me. My whole body surged with so much anger that I couldn't stop myself from shaking. Clenching my jaw and breathing heavy through my nose I tried with everything I had to calm down, but it just didn't work.
Images of what happened played through my mind like a never ending movie. Why couldn't things just go back to the way they were? If I thought I knew what jealousy felt like before, it was nothing compared to how I felt now. That and pure rage.
All I could see was her sprawled out on her back and him - that ass - on top of her. I mean, seriously did that guy have a death wish or something? It seemed like every time I saw them, he was all over her. Okay, so with her long chocolate brown hair, delicate pale skin, full lips and breath taking eyes, she was something to look at, but why did he have to pick her?
Despite going to school with Rain for years, I didn't know much about her, but I didn't think even she would fall for his smarmy, good for nothing lies. Obviously I was wrong. People may think I was a jerk, but at least I'm honest. I didn't want a mate and I told her that. I never lied to her or used her like I could have.
Having his hands all over my mate was completely and utterly unacceptable. It wouldn't be happening again, that's for sure. My wolf growled inside of me, not liking the idea of the two of them one bit. I couldn't blame him, if it hadn't have been for my father and Alpha Hudson being there I would have made sure he wouldn't have been able to use his hands again. I could feel my fur spring up from my skin. There was not a chance in hell he was going there again, I'd have to just make damn clear who she belongs to.
Oh man, there I go again with those stupid damn thoughts. Rain wasn't mine, she couldn't be and I knew that. Hell, that's what I wanted. This was driving me crazy and it had to stop.
My wolf had done nothing but whimper at the thought of them taking his mate away from him. In all honesty I hadn't expected myself to feel what I did the moment the Beta position was mentioned. It was as if something - a part of myself - was being torn out of me and I could do nothing to get it back. I hated the feeling and I never wanted to experience it again.
Falling back onto my bed and crossing my arms over my face, shielding the white moonlight that shone through the windows, I thought back to how my old life used to be. Parties every weekend, now I didn't want to go anywhere. Girls hanging off my every word like it was coated in honey. All I wanted was to get in, get off and fuck them off, but now it wasn't that easy. My wolf hated it of course, but there's nothing he can do about it. He wants his mate, the one person who was designed to be his, but he can't have her.
My muscles immediately tensed and my jaw clenched harder, grinding my teeth as everything came back to me again. Freaking idiots. That's what they were nothing but useless dogs. I hated them and right then I hated my father for accepting them onto our territory.
If he hadn't, I wouldn't be here.
If he hadn't I would be out, right now, having the time of my life.
If he hadn't I wouldn't have met her. The one girl, that tiny little thing, which completely screwed up my life.
Stop it. My wolf roared. Stop talking about her like that.
Snorting, I dragged my fingers through my hair, I'll talk about her any way I want.
It's not her that's done this, it's you. He countered. You could have had everything that a male wolf should have, what your parents have got, what your friend has got, but instead you chose to be selfish and loose the only real thing that we will ever care about. That we will ever love. His voice becoming nothing but a whisper towards the end.
He was wrong, he had to be. I hated feeling like this. Constantly feeling the pang of jealousy in my gut, the wrenching pain in my chest and the overwhelming feeling of guilt and protectiveness. Never had I felt like that for anyone, so how can one tiny girl have that effect on me?
Because she was made for us and only us.
We could find another mate.
Now it was his turn to snort. You know that doesn't happen. We get one person, male or female, and they are ours as we are theirs.
Damn laws of nature!
A light knock on the door pulled my attention away from my wolf. "Hey, man." Jake said, leaning his head around the door. "Is everything alright? You looked a little messed up when you came back."
I was beyond that, so beyond that I didn't even feel like myself anymore. I didn't know what I felt. One minute I wanted her, then the next I didn't. Messed up was a freaking understatement.
Urgh! Picking up my bleeping cell I threw it against the far wall. Some girl calling for a late night hook up was not what I needed right now. Jumping off my bed and grabbing a clean shirt from the wardrobe I yanked the bedroom door open and stalked past a wide eyed Jake. I knew exactly what I needed. "Where are you going, Mas?"
"Out."
* * *
It hadn't been what I was expecting. I honestly didn't know what to expect, but this definitely wasn't it. Posters of old American and British rock bands decorated the light walls, along with pictures of what I'm assuming where friends and family. Nearly every table had worn out books, car magazines and CD's stacked on top and the most surprising thing, that had me doing a double take, was the leather jacket that was hung on the front on the wardrobe.
Seems my little mate isn't a complete nerd after all.
I watched her relaxed form, sitting on her bed with her legs outstretched, crossed at the ankle and her head leaning against the pillow. Her iPod was at her side and her eyes focussed on the book in front of her as her delicate fingers flicked the pages.
I hadn't ever really looked at Rain before. Sure I'd seen her countless times and I could describe every single detail of those eyes, but I can't remember ever taking in any other detail of her appearance. Like those killer legs she had.
Crouched down on the terrace outside of her window, I couldn't help but feel like a stalker. Here I was, in the middle of the night, perched outside her window watching her like it was the most normal thing to do.
Man, I needed to sort myself out. What the hell happened to me? It always felt too personal so I've never bothered going round to a girl's house, let alone climb up the side of one and yet here I was.
Setting her book down on her bed, Rainie stood up and walked out of her room and into, what I'm guessing was the bathroom. Minutes later she came out and I was suddenly at a loss for my breath.
Her shiny, chocolate hair cascaded around her face and her back before she lifted it and twirled it into some kind of messy knot. My gaze trailed every inch of her body, uncontrollably as if they were eating her up. It was no surprise, she did look pretty edible. She wore a white, laced tank top which fit to her body, a pair of shorts which barely reached past the top of her thighs and fluffy white socks.
A burst of pleasure and lust rocked my body and I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. She should definitely think about wearing stuff like that to school. I silently laughed at the thought of her turning up looking like that. She'd definitely have more than my eyes on her that's for sure.
Making her way over to the window she- wait, she was coming this way. Oh crap! Pressing my body flush against the wall I gripped either side of the red ivy that trailed up the front of her house, silently praying she didn't recognise my scent or even worse, see me.
Rain didn't seem like a violent girl, but I was sure she wouldn't be too pleased with some guy hanging outside her window in the dark. The window opened and I was instantly hit by the scent that whipped my wolf into overdrive. Because she was close, her scent was so much stronger forcing me to use all of my strength not to let the purr of ecstasy escape my throat.
God this girl was killing me and if I had to hold my breath for much longer she literally would as well. It didn't help to have the sweet smell of vanilla and roses whirl around me, I could already feel it becoming my personal heroin.
After what felt like hours of grasping hold of the wooden trellis and ivy for dear life, I heard the faint patter of footsteps and I knew she had moved away. Leaning round to look in her room I caught her sliding her tiny body under the sheets and resting her head against the pillow.
I had no idea what I was doing here in the first place, but something about being close to her pleased my wolf and made him relax. Lately I had trouble keeping still for longer than a minute so the feeling of being completely content had become something that I wasn't used to. I don't know how long I watched her sleep, but when I knew I had to leave I found myself not wanting to.
* * *
As soon as the front door clicked shut my father had called me into his office. Everyone in the house was asleep so instead of walking through the main hall, I used the side door so I didn't wake anyone. "Where have you been?" My father asked as soon as I walked in.
He motioned for me to take a seat in front of him. "I went out." I shrugged. He knew nothing about Rain and it was going to stay that way. It wasn't against any rules to reject your mate, but it was frowned upon.
Slouching back into the deep red leather chair, I stared at my father across the black oak table in front of him. His papers were stacked high, mostly to do with the packs finances, so I knew what he had been doing up so late.
"Out?" He pressed. Clearly my answer wasn't enough for him. I nodded once, having no intention of adding any more details. Giving me a heavy sigh his eyes fell back to the paperwork in front of him. "The one thing I won't miss when you become Alpha." He mumbled as he filed the rest of the bank statements.
Finances were never my father's strong point. He knew how to spend money well and the pack had everything we needed, but he hated numbers and every time he had to do something like that, he would pass it to me. "So..." I trailed off. Not really knowing how to start the next conversation.
Thankfully he seemed to get it the first time. "It was a shock, wasn't it?" Shock was an understatement. "I didn't expect Nicky to pick little Rainie as his Beta." He said almost to himself and I couldn't agree more. "She's going to need a lot of training."
It was a rarity and quite frankly an honour for a femme wolf to be chosen as a Beta. In all of the packs I had met or heard of, The Shadow Pack will be the first to have a female second in command.
And she's ours. My wolf boasted and I could feel him almost burst with pride.
"I've agreed that they can use our land to train with Richard." He paused and just as I was about to ask why, he continued, guessing what I was about to say. "They couldn't possibly run in open land Mason, it wouldn't be safe for them." I nodded. It was ironic really, I had rejected her because I thought she couldn't lead my pack and there she was, a Beta to her own one.
My father's voice interrupted my thoughts. "You're training seems to be going well, son. Jasper told me you've made a lot of progress lately."
I shrugged, "Yeah, it's not too bad." Even though I wasn't due to take over until my eighteenth birthday, I'd been in training for the Alpha position since I was fourteen so I was used to it. "Pretty much got the hang of everything, I just need to strengthen up more."
"All that will come in time, Mason." Entwining his hands, he leaned forward resting his arms on the desk. "You're already a strong wolf, you've got good genes." He smiled. He was right. My father, my uncle, my grandfather and his father were all Alphas of The Harbour Pack, so I was just the latest of a long line of wolves to lead this pack.
I shifted in my seat, a little wary of bringing this up. It wasn't something anyone mentioned, but it angered me. "I'm still not happy about your decision dad." It was a tough subject to approach and I knew it meant a lot to him, but myself along with the majority of the pack just couldn't understand it. "Do you really think it's safe to have them here?"
His features instantly hardened. "I know how you feel son, but there was no other decision to be made. She belongs here with her pack and I, as you know, am not one to go against tradition."
I snorted. He had to be joking. "You're kidding, right? All this over a stupid tradition? None of the pack would care about that, they just want her gone." As if it wasn't already bad enough what she did, now she practically gets full reign of the house.
"First off, you will not speak to me like that Mason." The veins bulged out of his temples. "And Carmen is not to blame in this. You have no idea what happened and as usual everyone is going on idle gossip. She deserves to be in this pack just as much as anyone else does and I won't have you or anyone else saying anything different."
I couldn't believe this guy sometimes. "What about mom? What does she think?" My mom, Louise, has always been a pack member. Her and my father went to school together and realised they were mates three months after their first date.
"Your mother is a true woman, a true person with a good nature and she agrees that some things should be left in the past. She understands what happened and knows the full story, therefore she can make a proper decision and she chose to agree with me on this matter."
"But-"
"The conversation is over Mason." And with that my father vanished and the Alpha took over. His head lowered back to his papers, signalling it was time for me to leave.
God this place was a joke sometimes. In every pack meeting he spoke about how we are all a team and we were in everything together. 'If one of us falls, there will always be someone to pick us up.'
It was a load of crap. The minute he decided to take her back it was practically a smack in the face for the rest of us. One thing's for sure, when I'm Alpha she is out of this house and she's never to return.
Changing out of my clothes I walked over to bed in just my boxers. It wasn't warm, but with the temperature werewolves run at, the cold air didn't make a difference to me. Looking at the clock I saw it was a little past three in the morning and as soon as I fell back onto the softness of my bed I instantly felt tired and my body begin to slowly shut down.
As much as I wanted to understand my father's reasons I couldn't help but wonder what he had meant when he said I didn't know the full story. I mean, what else could there be? Even if I didn't know the little details, I knew enough and that's exactly why I didn't want a mate.
Some people were lucky to find that one special person who 'completes' them. Personally I think all that should be kept for the romance stories. This was real life and that kind of thing doesn't happen.
Shutting out my wolf, I made a decision that I should have stuck with when I first rejected her. I was going to carry on with life as if I'd never met her, as if I'd never found out that she was my mate.
As from now, Rainie Harper was just another girl.