Claimed by the Alpha

Chapter Ten

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked as I put my math work to the side. I finished writing a paper for English and worked on math assignments from class and what was assigned for homework. Kai grunted as he continued to work on whatever it was that he did. I didn't know how he could stay focused for so long. I was already tired of doing schoolwork. "You went a long time without claiming a she-wolf."

"Is that a question?" he asked, his eyes still on the papers in front of him.

"Why didn't you ever claim someone?"

"Because I didn't want to."

I let out a huff at his answer and the fact that he was still looking at his papers instead of at me. "Why did you claim me," I asked softly.

"Because I had to."

"What does that mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

"Ugh. There has to be more to it," I pressed. "There's no way that you just walked in and randomly chose me."

Kai put down his pen and leaned back in his seat. His eyes focused on me before he spoke. "That is exactly what happened. If you are hoping that there is some long romantic reason of why I picked you out of all of the other she-wolves at that ball, you're going to have your hopes and dreams crushed. As much as I would have loved to avoid claiming anyone, this time I couldn't. I saw that your best friend had just been claimed and I figured you both would be more comfortable in the pack house if you had someone you knew, so I chose you."

My mouth fell open in shock. I didn't know what I was expecting, but that wasn't it. It confused me that his confession stung. I shouldn't feel hurt over the fact that he hadn't chosen me for some special reason. I didn't even want to be claimed. It shouldn't matter that I was just a random pick.

"You say that you picked me so Paige and I could stay together and yet we're being kept apart."

"Because we need to bond."

"You keep saying that. What does that mean?" I ask, my frustration growing. He kept talking about us bonding but I don't understand what he means by that.

"Did you pay attention to your mating class or just tune it out?"

"Of course I paid attention. I'm a straight-A student. I pay attention in all of my classes."

"Then you know about the bonding."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He let out a heavy sigh. "Because we don't have the luxury of having Fated mates, bonding with your Chosen is probably the most important step in the mating process. It allows both us and our wolves to form a bond that could be on the same level as a Fated bond." My confusion must have been evident because he leaned forward with his arms on his desk and asked me, "You were taught this, right?"

"I've never heard of this."

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know," I shrugged.

"What do you know?"

"I mean, we're supposed to attend the Full Moon Balls until we are claimed. When that happens the male wolf will mark us and then we mate and have lots of pups, or in my parent's case, just one."

A deep growl rumbled in Kai's chest shocking me. He stared at me not saying anything and then I noticed that he was mind-linking someone. Soon a sound pinged on the computer I didn't notice sitting on a table behind his desk. He turned around and worked on the computer before something began printing. I wanted to smack myself because I hadn't noticed the other electronics in the room. He grabbed the papers from the printer and began reading through them. He growled again before he turned and slammed the papers on the desk.