Lexi
I gasp as this crazy guy yanks Aaron away from me. He turns and faces me. "Mine!" he shouts. I ignore him as I kneel down to Aaron who's on the floor. "What the hell!" I scream to the guy. I study his face for a moment; Nickolas. "Mine!" he growls again.
"Get the hell away from him!" I scream, trying to get Aaron up. He wraps his arms around my waist and hoists himself up. Nickolas immediately grabs him up and yells profanities at his face.
"Get the fuck off my boyfriend!" I shout angrily. And he freezes. He drops Aaron to the ground after a few seconds. I try to get to him, to help him, but Nickolas catches me. Electricity surges through me, my body on fire.
Mate!
"Mate!" Nickolas sings out, grinning widely. "What are you talking about?" I demand. "You're my mate!" He announces before hugging me.
My wolf howls in happiness and I can sense her shaking from joy. I'm in complete shock. What? He isn't my mate. I already have my mate. This guy's mate is some other girl. It's one of the girls at the party. I'm not his mate. Aaron sitting on the floor with silent tears running down his cheeks brings me back.
I shove Nickolas off me and kneel in front of Aaron. "No! No you're my mate!" I cry, ignoring the howls of my wolf. "I'm not of age, and he is. You're his." He whimpers.
"You're my mate." Nickolas repeats behind me. "Shut up! I heard you the first time." I yell at him.
"Aaron, please. I only want you as my mate!" Hot tears burn down my cheeks. I lean in and roughly kiss Aaron before being pulled up by Nickolas.
"He is no longer your boyfriend; I'm your mate." He repeats once again, carrying me away from Aaron and the soccer fields. "Let me go! Aaron! Aaron, no!"
I try to fight out of Nickolas's arms, but he just holds me tighter. I finally knee him in the crotch and he drops me as he bends over in pain.
I run to Aaron and grab his hand before running into the forest.
"Shift!" I demand. And we do, not caring about the clothes. Our wolves start sprinting through the forest towards our old hide out.
We found some boulders years ago deep in the woods and it became our spot. We had clothes in the hollowed out trees in case of emergencies; no one else knows about it.
Aaron and I race into rivers and creeks to cover our scent and zigzagged throughout the forest to avoid getting caught. We hear Nickolas chasing after us but he didn't know the forest as well as we did. We start losing him and are able to relax as we reach the hide out.
Aaron's breathing smooths out and I shift behind a tree. Tossing him some clothes I turn around and let him change. He only wears the basketball shorts.
"Lexi, you're gonna have to go back to him." He speaks quietly, looking at the ground. "I don't want to, Aaron. I don't want an Alpha as my mate! I don't want to become his Alpha Female! I don't want to love him!" I cry. He hugs me and we stay still, hugging and crying silently.
"I know. And I know I'll always love you no matter what. But you're not my mate. You're Nickolas's mate. You belong with him. And some other girl belongs with me." I whimper at what he's saying.
I always imagined my life with Aaron. I always have a problem against authority and am suited to someone with an equal status as me, like Aaron. I would do horribly beside an Alpha. The thought of spending my life with Nickolas and constantly being near him is sickening.
"Just let me have this time with you. I'll go back, but please, be with me for now." I beg.
"I love you Lexi." Aaron whispers. I sniff a little and lift my face to his. My lips meet his and we kiss, enjoying every moment we have left. He rolls on top of me, without breaking the kiss.
No! I want my mate! Too bad! I want Aaron! I ignore my wolf and keep kissing Aaron. I flip us over so I'm straddling him and keep kissing him, running my fingers across his chest. His hands grip my waist gently and I let his tongue into my mouth, moaning as it explores my mouth.
We lay on the ground for a few hours, recalling our memories together. We talk and kiss, share our feelings and promises. I gave him a final kiss before he pulls away. "It's time we got you home, to Nickolas."
I groan as I reluctantly stand up and walk beside him, on our way back to the pack, where Nickolas will be waiting.
"I just want to go see my parents." I tell him. Maybe they can give me advice or help. I want to refuse Nickolas as my mate. I can't stay with him, I can't love him. The law of our pack however, is that if you reject your mate for any reason other than the mate being a rogue or human, you're kicked out.
The thought of being kicked out is awful. Never having an actual home, never seeing my parents or friends and worst of all, never seeing Aaron again, was all impossible.
Aaron walks me down to the pack village.
The village is set up as a giant town square. Every house is built next to each other with the Pack house in the middle of one side. Everyone chooses where to live, except the Alpha pack house, and often moved back and forth between the houses. I'm currently living in a house with my brother and Aaron.
Aaron drops me off outside of my parents' house before kissing my cheek and leaving. Taking a deep breath, I open the door.
"Mom? Dad? I need to talk to you guys, where are you?" "Here honey!" My mother calls from the back porch. I walk out to greet my parents, and pause. Sitting on a lawn chair with a glass of lemonade is Nickolas.
Nickolas
I couldn't keep up with them; my wolf even ran like I'd never run before. I followed their scent all the way to the river and completely lost them. Seeing no other option, I forced myself to shift and walk back to the field.
The soccer game had restarted, but I had to interrupt them again.
"What were the names of those two wolves?" I demand in my Alpha voice. "Alexandra and Aaron, children of two betas. She only goes by Lexi though." Announces a voice. "Come here." A young boy walks up. "Your name?"
"Joshua." "You're friends with them?"
"Yes." "Tell me everything you know about them." I order sitting down on a bench.
"They're both 15 years old." I let that sink in. My mate is six years younger. This is a huge difference for her.
"They hoped to be paired as mates and have been dating for two years. Aaron is gonna be a future Beta, and Lexi's brother Liam is also gonna be one." I nod, understanding it all.
"Forgive me Alpha, but everyone who knows them, knows how deep their love is. It's going to be extremely difficult to make her forget about him." He looks down.
Everything Joshua says hurts. My mate, my beautiful mate has fallen in love with another guy. She wants to be mates with him, she ran away with him, leaving me alone.
But she didn't refuse me. Not yet anyway. I think about the law. Can I really kick her out if she refuses me? No, my wolf would become so weak I'd die.
I know I should be furious with my mate, for running away with another, but I'm not. I can't; Lexi is too young, too innocent. I probably scared her away after grabbing Aaron. In fact, my status and age alone should be enough to scare her away.
I need to give her a chance to learn about me and fall in love before marking her and completing the mating process.
The mating process. I already know that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. I would likely have to wait at least two years before she would even consider having pups. Does she even want pups?
I suddenly realize I don'y know enough about her, and can't just learn from a friend.
"Show me where her parents live." I ask Joshua.
He stands up and we walk back to the pack village, where I run into my parents.
"Nickolas, where were you? We had the cake put out already! The pack's waiting for you!" My mother exclaims.
"Not now. I have to take care of something." I keep walking. I don't care about the celebration anymore.
"But Nickolas-"
"It's about my mate."
"Well then forget the whole thing! We'll have the cake cut and the gifts delivered to your room! Hurry up now, Son!" My father assures me before leaving with my mother.
"This is it." Joshua points to a house. It's a little larger than the others; a Beta house. He bows his head before leaving. I walk up the stairs of the building and ring the doorbell. No answer. They must still be at the party. I turn around, sit on the top step and wait for them to return.
Lexi
"Nickolas. What a...lovely surprise." I say forcing a smile. "Hi Honey, Nickolas here was just telling us about how you two are mates!" my father exclaims happily. Of course, the thought of having an Alpha in the family is exciting for my parents.
"And your parents were telling me about how stubborn you could be." Nickolas smiles.
I roll my eyes. "Er, when he leaves, can I talk to you guys?" I ask my parents. "Oh, didn't you know? You're moving in with him. I told some girls to start packing your room in the other house." I dropped my jaw.
"Um, don't you guys think I'm a little too young to move in with him?" I question, hoping they'd reconsider. I'm 15 years old and my parents expect me to move in with an older man? The hell is this?
"Nonsense! Every Alpha needs his mate beside him at all times. Can you imagine how unfocused he would be if he was worrying about you all the time? The pack would be ruined." Reasons my mom. Great, nice to know my parents totally support me.
"Come on, Lexi. It's time we got your suitcases to my bedroom." The thought of sleeping in the same house, let alone same room is infuriating.
"I'm not moving in with you." I smile sweetly. "Can I have some lemonade?" I ask my mom and plop on a seat.
"Lexi. You are his mate and you will do your duty and stay by his side and help run this pack. You will go with him and forget about Aaron." My dad speaks in his Beta voice. I inhale and exhale deeply. I can tell I'm not winning this argument, but better let my parents and this jerk think otherwise.
"Fine, let's go." I stand, causing everyone to smile.
I take Nickolas's hand and hesitate for just a moment; that tingling warmth when our hands touch makes me shiver. I ignore it and lead him through the house, where he rudely pushes me to the wall.
"Why is Aaron's scent all over you?" He growls.
"Maybe because we were together for the past two years?"I scoff.
"What did you do while you were gone?"
"Just the usual. Talked about the things that happened in the past, shared our memories and pranks." Nickolas relaxes a little hearing this.
"Oh and made out for a few hours." I smirk at him. His eyes darken as he glares at me.
"Mine." He growls. Again, my body shudders at his possessiveness; I really gotta fix that.
Yes! He's my mate, and I'm his! Howls my stupid wolf.
Several seconds pass before his eyes lighten and we walk outside the house together.
"Let me get my stuff. I'll only be a sec." I tell him, making my way towards the house I am currently living in. "Oh no. You go, I go." I glare at him. "I think I can get my own stuff." I point out. "I think you might try jumping out the window and running away again." He replies.
Well, he isn't stupid, I'll give him that.
I scowl as he follows me through the house and to my room. I gasp when I see the transformation that took place in only a few hours.
My bed and closet are stripped, and all my belongings are packed up in several suitcases. The only thing that remains is my purple wall paint and dressers. Even my calendar is off the wall.
I wait until he has his hands full of my stuff, before I try to slip pass him. He quickly drops everything and blocks the doorway.
"You don't give up, do you?" he smirks. "Never." "Have it your way." He must've used the mind link, because minutes later, three guys come in and lift up my suitcases.
Nickolas has officially won this round. I plan on stomping out of the room alone, but he grabs me and carries me down the stairs. One arm holds my legs and the other supports my back. I try fighting again; cursing as I do, but he just holds me tighter. I try to knee his crotch again, but the idiot won't stop blocking it.
He carries me out of my house, and to my horror, the entire pack is waiting outside. I let my jaw drop as I see a thousand eyes on us. Every single girl around my age glares at me, their cold eyes filled with hate; they're probably planning on killing me as they murmur to each other. Just saying, I'd gladly give them Nickolas and return to Aaron.