The Power of Words

I regretted saying those words the moment I uttered them.

~Because I think you might be my mate.~

What the hell was wrong with me?

It didn’t help when Sienna’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You’re lying,” she said, gritting her teeth. “I know how the mating process works, and if we were mates, we’d know by now!”

There was no way around it. The truth was out—well, half of it anyway—and I needed to deal with it.

“I’m the alpha,” I said. “The rules don’t apply to me.”

~So far so good, right?~

“The only way I can know if you’re my mate is to spend time with you and get closer to you.”

~Please let her buy this.~

It was a lie dressed up as the truth, but if I gave her the whole truth, she wouldn’t have been able to handle it, at least not now.

“Get closer to me? Sure,” she responded, her tone dripping with skepticism. “In bed, I suppose?”

I should’ve known she would think I was lying to get her in bed. So I gave her another half-truth. “When an alpha meets his potential mate, his emotions go haywire.”

~All true, except for the ‘potential’ part. ~

“He has to rely on his senses and nothing else,” I continued, my head spinning as I tried to tiptoe around the truth and keep my story straight.

Taking a deep breath, I said, “First he marks her, and then he lets her come willingly into his bed to feel her dominance and to see if she’s capable of handling him.”

I was really reaching at that point. But I was already in too deep, and there was no turning back.

Sienna didn’t seem reassured, so I stepped closer to her, needing her to understand what she meant to me.

So, what I said next was a ~full~ truth, no lies attached.

“We both know that you’re more than strong enough to lead a pack. You’re beautiful, dominant, and you have me heeled like a damn cub at his mother’s tit.”

I smiled at the shock in her widening eyes. “No one makes me bend like this, but you.”

She seemed to finally understand what I was saying, and I felt her Haze rising, mine wanting to respond in kind.

But she’d been through enough tonight. She didn’t need the Haze to complicate her feelings.

She was experiencing a deep form of emotional pain, and I wanted to ease it, make it all better.

So I put my arms around her waist as gently as I could, restraining myself from making my touch feel sensual. I shoved my Haze, and my wolf, deep into the recesses of my mind.

“Do you want more?” I asked, but I could see Sienna was scared, but not of me. She was afraid of her own desires, her own Haze, and being the proud she-wolf she was, she wouldn’t admit to it.

I needed to show her that I was here for her, not just as the alpha…

But as her mate—even though she couldn’t fully understand what that meant yet.

Carefully, so very carefully, I sat her down on the bed, resting my hand on her face, and before I lost my nerve, I pressed my lips against hers, softly, not seeking anything for myself.

I just wanted to give comfort, take away the Haze she seemed to resent.

The kiss was chaste, just the brushing of our lips. But as our lips met, I felt some of her pain, her sadness, her brokenness transfer to me.

It was a connection unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. I was feeling what she was feeling; that was the beauty of mates. Good or bad, you felt everything together.

She broke down, and I pulled her into my arms, falling back with her onto the bed. I curled myself around her protectively, holding her in my arms until she fell asleep, safe and secure.

I didn’t sleep that night. I had an absurd fear that if I closed my eyes, Sienna would disappear, fade away into nothing but a dream.

But it was more than that. I wanted to protect her, keep her safe from the world.

I wanted her to trust me.

So I didn’t sleep a wink. I just held her in my arms all night, feeling her soft breathing on my chest.

When she finally awoke, I pretended to be asleep, my instincts telling me she’d probably feel self-conscious about last night.

And sure enough, she slipped out of bed so sneakily had I actually been asleep, I might not have felt her leave.

She padded across the floor on her tiptoes, but she stopped for a moment. I felt a tingle run down my spine.

~Is she stopping to look at me?~

Moments later, I heard the door open and close. She was gone.

After my mate’s morning escape, I felt a heaviness crushing me.

My phone began lighting up with calls and messages from the pack house, and I knew my sleepless night would bite me in the ass.

***

“We need to go over security protocols,” Josh said as he paced around my office. “After the roamer incident, we can’t take any chances.

“I fortified security around the city’s perimeters, and I’ve been coordinating with Zavier Greyson, the West Coast Pack’s beta, regarding security patrols in our shared borders.”

“Good job, Josh,” I said, swallowing a yawn before it escaped. “I’ll leave the rest to you, then.”

Josh stopped mid-pacing and turned to look at me, his face scrunched in confusion. “Leave it to me?” he asked, more than one question in his voice.

“Yes, Josh,” I said, leaning back. “You’re my beta, my security guy. It seems you really have this under control, and I want you to take point.”

He was still staring at me. “Do you mean that?”

Jocelyn had been right about Josh feeling somewhat abandoned by me, left out from what was going on in my life.

Sienna had become my number one priority, and Josh had taken it personally. I wanted him to feel like I wasn’t forgetting about him.

“A lot has happened in the past few months. Hell, in the past few days,” I said grimly.

“I know I haven’t been a good friend to you. There was, and still is, too much on my plate. I’ve been neglectful, and I regret it.”

Josh was so still he could’ve passed for a statue.

“It’s not just you, Aiden. I can’t let you take all of the responsibility for this. Some of it is on me. When I took Jocelyn as my partner, well, I broke bro code.”

I had to stop myself from laughing. If Josh said, ‘bros before hos,’ I might’ve actually lost it. But he was speaking from a good place.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not mad about Jocelyn. She was never truly mine to begin with; Jocelyn is her own woman. She can make her own decisions.”

“Besides”—I half-smiled—“we weren’t a good match. Healers need someone to take care of, and you’re the biggest mess that I know. You two are perfect together.”

I gave him a playful jab to the ribs, and he swiped back at me. It was like we were teenagers again for a moment.

“Oh, I’m the one who’s a mess?” Josh scoffed, but he was clearly taking it in stride. “I think you might give me a run for my money in ~that~ race.”

“You’re probably right,” I said, laughing.

“Do you still have feelings for her?” Josh asked, suddenly serious.

The question threw me off because Josh still had no idea that I’d found my mate. I wanted to tell him, but I just couldn’t—not before I’d even told Sienna.

“Jocelyn means the world to me, but I never loved her,” I said. “My feelings for her are purely that of respect.”

Josh sighed, relieved. “Then let’s stop with this mushy shit and put this whole thing behind us.” There was a glint in his eyes. Something that reminded me of old times.

I grinned. “How about some beers tonight?”

***

“Damn, this is foul.” Josh gagged as we downed a pint of beer in one gulp.

We were in a pub close to the pack house called The Grove. We used to spend most of our time there when we were younger and far less stressed over the pack’s well-being.

“I still beat you,” I said, shaking my empty glass. “You’ve become such a pussy, Josh. Not even Jocelyn can fix that affliction.”

He scowled. “Look who’s talking, Mr. Cradle Robber. Do you make Sienna call you alpha in bed or just daddy?”

I shot him a dirty look. “Hey, Sienna is off-limits. And you ~wish~ someone would call ~you~ daddy.”

The trash talk between Josh and me was good-natured, but he’d best leave Sienna out of it. I knew he wasn’t her biggest fan, but that was my mate he was talking about.

He rolled his eyes and leaned back. “You mentioned Jocelyn first. Besides, it’s not like they’re our mates. Kind of feels like we’ll never find them, huh? Not that I’m in any hurry.”

My chest tightened at that statement. I’d already found mine, that wasn’t the worry anymore, now I was just trying not to lose her.

What I wanted with Sienna, what I craved beyond anything else, was to be truly together as mates.

“Speaking of Sienna,” Josh said slyly, “You’ve been pretty tight-lipped about her since that party at the pack house. Have you given her the full alpha experience yet?”

I stifled a groan. “We’re not talking about this,” I said, motioning for the bartender to pour us more beers.

“I think we should, though,” Josh said, his grin growing wider. “What’s it like dating a dominant? I bet she’s a real—”

“Careful, Josh,” I cut him off, giving him a warning glare. “My sex life with Sienna isn’t up for discussion.”

“Okay, damn,” he said, looking unnerved. “Sienna is taboo. Got it.”

He seemed to understand I was sending serious ‘back off’ vibes because he dropped the topic and started talking about pack gossip instead.

The hours passed by, and it felt good to reconnect with my friend. I didn’t realize how much I had actually needed to just take a load off.

As we stood outside the pub, much tipsier than we’d anticipated, Josh turned to me with a serious expression.

“I know you said Sienna is off-limits, but I just want to say one thing.”

I looked at him as if to say, “It’s your funeral,” but I nodded, deciding to allow it.

“If you really care about this girl…don’t lead her on,” he said. “Alphas like you tend to chew up and spit out partners like it’s nothing. I just don’t think she can handle it.”

As he got into his taxi and drove off, I was left with a sense of uncertainty.

He might not have known the truth, but what he said still held more truth in it than I wanted to admit.

If I was going to win over Sienna, the big, bad alpha was going to have to change his ways.