Lexi
"When can I go freely in the village again?" I ask as we walk towards his room. My tears have dried.
"When you allow me to mark you." I groan at that; no way is he marking me. I open his door and notice a new door attached to his room.
"What's that?" I point at it.
"Another room." I eagerly walk over to it. Maybe it's a new bedroom! Nope...it's a big ass empty closet.
"You needed another closet?"
"Yep, for you. Go start filling it with the clothes we just bought."
"Oh, thanks. Which bags are mine?"
"All of them. Except this one. You'll see this later." He picks one bag out. I stare at the remaining bags on the floor. Where the hell did this come from? There were at least 15 bags.
Pulling apart each bag, I yank of the price tag and hang it up. I notice Nickolas has decided to buy me some extra clothing, some make up and hair products and even lingerie.
"I'm not wearing this." I snap, throwing a red lace bra at him. I find the matching underwear and throw that as well. "Or this." I toss him some black bras and more tiny underwear.
"I'm sorry, thought that's what every girl wore nowadays."
"Yeah right." He puts them in a shelf in his closet. "You're going to return those, right?"
"Not today, the mall is far away."
"Fine."
I continue hanging up all the clothes I picked out along with the tennis shoes, converse and sandals. I'm refusing to touch the ones Nickolas picked. Seeing this, he sighs and hangs up the dresses he bought me along with the other clothes and heels. I did however accept the make-up and curling iron.
He stops in front of my four suitcases; I've been here a week and I've refused to unpack them.
"You want me to help you with these?" He asks. I don't answer. He opens a suitcase and pulls out my pairs of shoes. He lines them inside my closet. I continue watching him put my clothes away.
Seeing him open the suitcase with my underclothing, I get up and take over. I really don't want anyone handling these clothes.
My new closet now looks pretty good.
"Nickolas! I'm bored!" I plop on top of the bed. He plops down next to me.
"Good, let's talk." I'm about to slap him off the bed, but he grabs my hand and kisses it. I pull it back.
"About what?"
"I want to know what happened to you."
"What do you mean?"
"What happened to you to make you hate me? Did someone tell you something or make you do something?"
"No!"
"Then tell me!"
"Nothing happened to me!"
"What did they do!?" He insisted
"Nothing!"
"Lexi-!"
"It's my secret!" I started crying again.
"Lexi, I don't care if you did something, I just need to know what happened."
"Something traumatizing! Alright? I was 12 years old and something happened that completely changed me. And I'm never telling you!" I screamed at him.
He stared at me, his eyes wide and his mouth parted. I didn't care though. This was my secret, my fear. My parents didn't know about it, only Aaron did. It was part of the reason he became so close to me. But that event broke all my trust, except with Aaron. In fact, that event probably brought me closer than ever to him.
Nickolas just stared at me for a few minutes, processing everything I told him.
"Lexi, I have no idea about what happened to you."
"I know." I had stopped crying.
"I'm really sorry that it happened to you, and if I ever discover what happened, I'll do everything in my power to fix it."
"All right." I refused to look at him. He brought his hand up to my chin and lifted it to I was looking into his eyes.
"I blame myself. If I hadn't gone to Alpha Academy, I would've met you when you were 12, before it happened and could've prevented it. I'm sorry that I ever made you uncomfortable, but I promised you I wouldn't touch you unless you wanted me to. And I really wish I could let you run around to your hearts content, but as your mate my number one priority is your safety. You are not marked yet, which means I'll be with you every moment of every day watching over you. It's my job to protect and love you."
It made me feel instantly better hearing that his priority is my safety. But I can't believe that his love will ever be genuine. But it can be something. I move closer to him and hug his neck while he wraps his arms around my back.
"Let's just be friends." He says. I nod and he kisses my hair. "I know this probably isn't the best time, but we've got dinner with our parents tonight."
Great. I get to meet his parents who will wonder why I'm so immature and demand I start my Alfa duties.
"What time?" I ask.
"In about 30 minutes, so get dressed."
"I am dressed." I look down at my shorts and hoodie.
"Er- maybe something more formal. Go pick out something I bought for you." I walk into the closet and change the hoodie into a shirt, but Nickolas walks in and pulls out this outfit.
"Let's both just make good impressions." He sighs. I groan and change in the closet. I step out wearing the clothes he recently picked out. Nickolas steps out of the bathroom dressed in a white button up shirt that hugs his body and black jeans.
"C'mon, my parents are eager to meet you." He takes my hand and leads me though the house to an elegant dining room where our parents are already seated. I sit beside Nickolas and my mother.
"Hi mom, hi dad." I chirp. "It's nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Devrend." I hate Nickolas, but I was raised to be polite to my elders...except Nickolas.
"Call us Harry and Christina." Nickolas's mother said. I smile in response.
"Good to see you again Adam and Marisa." Nickolas says casually.
"So, this is our newest Alfa." Harry said. I nodded slightly. "Why haven't you marked her yet Nickolas? It's been a week, I expected you to mate with her already." I had to fight the urge to get up and smack him.
"Dad, Lexi is pretty young, barely 15." Nickolas explained.
"Well if she's young wouldn't that mean the pups could be healthier?"
"Technically the best age for a woman to reproduce is between 21 and 23." My mother spoke up. That still seemed too soon for me.
"Well I that doesn't explain why you haven't marked her son."
"I don't want Nickolas to mark me. I don't know him." I grit my teeth.
"Lexi, I get you're young and surprised by all this, but the pack should be everyone's priority, and you should let him mark and mate with you to strengthen the pack.
"Dad, I'll do it later." Nickolas growled. Like hell he will.
"Who's hungry!?" Christina spoke up, Servants came in with plates and trays loaded with food. We all started eating in silence until I had cleared my plate. Then the questions came back.
"How many pups have you two decided on?" None.
"When will the mating process take place?" Never
"Where do you plan on marking her." I'd prefer a tattoo by my ribs.
"I sure hope the first born is a male." Without speaking, I stood up, slammed my chair back to the floor and walked out of the dining room. I sped up the stairs and locked myself in a guest room.
Nickolas followed me and kicked the door open.
"When someone locks a door, it usually means they want to be alone." I snapped, yelling into my pillow.
"When someone knocks that door down, it means they need to be with you." I scoffed.
"I'm sorry about the way my father was behaving; he's used to things going his way. But he's not the Alpha anymore. I am, and I'm letting you take your time." He hugged my laying body.
I slid out of his arms and sat up properly.
"Can we please go to our room?" I didn't want to. But I stood up and walked there, ignoring the guard that was still watching over our door. Does Nickolas just have a line of guys to guard the door?
"Your mom wanted to talk to you before she left, you mind if she comes up here?" I eagerly shook my head and he called her up.
"Hey honey, I'm sorry about Harry getting out of hand, but I hope you're alright." She spoke while closing the door on Nickolas.
"Yeah, mom. I just don't want to be here."
"I know this isn't what you expected. I know you love Aaron, but you can't deny the love you have for Nickolas. I know you don't want to be with him right now, but give it time. I know I hated your father when we met, stuck up, cocky Beta. But within a week I never wanted to leave his side. I know it sucks hon, but sooner or later the only thing you and your body will want is Nickolas."
"I choose later. Right now, I only see him as an older stranger." I sighed.
"I know honey, but just give it time." With that she left and Nickolas re-entered the room.
"Hey, you have a good talk?" I nod. I don't think I'll ever find Nickolas irresistible.
"Can I ask you an honest question?" I have to know.
"Anything."
"Are you a virgin?" I ask.
"I'll answer if you answer."
"I think it's pretty obvious that I'm still a virgin." I say dryly. It's true, never did it with Aaron or anyone else.
"All right, so am I."
"A 21-year-old virgin, no wonder you're horney all the time."
"I want to lose my virginity to my mate." He smiles. "I'll wait as long as it takes."
"You'll be waiting for a very long time."
"Which means I'll lose it eventually to you." He smirks. My cheeks blush. I did just suggest that we would mate later. Fuck.
"I'm going to bed." I declare, walking into my closet to change. I step back out and see Nickolas in the bed without a shirt on. I'm about to slap him off for not wearing a shirt, but he speaks up.
"Pass me that t-shirt please." I walk over and hand him a shirt which he puts on before I climb into the bed. I lay down on the edge, with Nickolas a good distance from me. My breathing steadies within a few minutes.
Nickolas moves close to me and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me to his chest. I pretend to still be asleep. Gently stroking my hair, he kisses my cheek.
"I love you, my young mate." He whispers before sighing deeply and snuggling into my body. I let my eyes close.
Aaron
I lay in my bed tossing a baseball into the air and catching it. I've skipped school for the last week but get work sent over. My teachers and parents haven't said anything to me though. The entire pack knows about what happened.
My girlfriend...ex-girlfriend is mates with the Alpha. Lexi and I were always together, ever since we were little. I've had a crush on her since I was 11. She made me feel complete, like there was nothing that could break me. I should've known she'd be the very thing that knocked me down.
I couldn't focus on anything around me other than Lexi. Just the images of Nickolas on top of Lexi, loving her; her arms and legs wrapped around his body. Images of the two of them holding their small child. It's not like I never daydreamed about Lexi's future, it's just that now every image that carried my face was replaced with Nickolas'.
Against what most people would usually think, I wasn't mad. I was just sad about it. Nickolas didn't take just my girlfriend, he took my best friend. I've never gone more than a day without talking to Lexi. Considering Nickolas and his personality, I'd never get a private moment with her ever again. But I couldn't find it in me to hate him or Lexi; somewhere deep inside I was sure I was happy for her.
My wolf wasn't too upset despite the fact that life seemed miserable to me. He was always considering the possibility that Lexi wasn't my mate. To him, this was just another girl ruled out as my mate. Unfortunately, chances are he'd have to wait until I turned 18 to find her.
I was also worried about Lexi's wellbeing. Right now she was under absolute lockdown; no one except the Alpha family and her parents have seen her. There was no chance she could hear the other girls of the pack. Several girls, especially older girls continued to mock her saying she was an impostor. No one in the pack have ever heard of such an age difference and refuse to believe it. She would face hell once she's released, if Nickolas ever releases her.
I spent several hours a day just thinking about Lexi. We met at a Christmas party years ago when we were both 2; our parents introduced us. Nickolas was also there, but as an 8 year old he had no interest in the littlest of pups. I confessed my feelings for her by a campfire when she was 13; we were each others first kiss. I named her my girlfriend a few weeks later.
I knew Lexi still needed me, for other reasons. I was the only one who knew what happened to her that night; I was the only one she had enough trust in. I was the first to notice her change. Before that night, Lexi was always happy, never stopped smiling and a perfect little angel.
After that night, she was zoned out for a while, until she confessed the truth to me. She became more hesitant around some things, but also more outgoing at athletic activities. She also convinced her parents to allow her to go on hunts with me and Liam; very few girls hunt with us. A sense of bravery came out to shadow her fears. I also think this is why she started swearing a lot and became violent.
She wasn't afraid to fight anyone or to show people who was in charge. I knew she had major mood swings; some days she'd be happy and loving, other days she'd be mad and hateful, every once in a while I'd find her crying in her room. I'd always be there to comfort her.
Each time I did, I fell deeper in love with her. I'm sure that now, Nickolas will be there instead. I shot up from the bed. There's no way Lexi told Nickolas what happened. It took her months to tell her best friend, why would she tell a stranger. How the hell was Nickolas supposed to know what to do? He'd be stuck in the awkward situation.
There was no way he'd know how to treat her when she was crying or mad. No way he'd know how to calm her down. He didn't know her for her entire life, which is how long it took me to figure it all out.
I threw open my door and ran down the stairs to see some girls sitting in the living room painting their nails.
"Aaron! Where have you been all this time?" Someone asks.
"In my room." I answer wiping away any visible tears.
"Thinking about Lexi?"
"Yeah."
"Where are you going now?"
"To see Nickolas." I was almost at the door.
"Are you going to get her back so Nickolas can find his real mate?" I stopped.
"She is Nickolas' mate."
"She's 15, there is no way she's got what is takes to lead this pack with him."
"She has what it takes." I felt myself getting angry.
"No she doesn't. She's just a pup who might've been wearing a good perfume. What Nickolas needs is a mature woman who can give him pups already."
"Yeah, I'm not trying to be mean, but Lexi and Nickolas isn't going to work." Another girl spoke up.
"I don't give a fuck about what you guys think, Lexi is going to be a great Alfa." I snapped.
"Woah, Aaron, I thought you loved her."
"I do."
"Then why aren't you trying to get her back?"
"Because she's going to be happy with Nickolas." I left the house.