The Werewolf Hunter

The Other Mate

A/N: I had the flu, Anthem was released, and then I had to help my dad move but things are better now. Hopefully back to writing more.

-Jake Holmes-

She stared at him for the longest time in silence as he gathered his own thoughts. He needed to tell her now. He'd been pressuring himself for days to have the conversation with her but kept putting it off. Telling himself it wasn't the right now, now he was seeing it would never be the right time. The time was now, she needed to know he was willing to go to any length to keep her safe. It wasn't something he'd ever admit aloud but he'd pick her over his own pack. Many Alphas wouldn't ever pick their mate over their pack but after his loss three years ago, he would give anything for Andrew.

She reached for his hands on the bed. He'd made her wait till she'd ate so he could have time to think through his words. Now she was crisscross, in his shirt, her legs tucked under the sheets. If she hadn't covered them he was sure he'd have tried to distract them both with the sexual things running through his mind. His mind momentarily flashing back to before their shower when she'd been taking his shirt off. The way he'd felt, hardly able to control himself.

"Jake. Talk to me." She had concern written on her face from the way her lips tilted down slightly at the edges, her eyebrows held up and pulled together. Her eyes just a little bit wider than usual. A hand came up to caress his cheek, pulling his face to look at her. He could see the pleading in her eyes and he took a deep breath. With Andrew in his life, the hole that had once been in his chest was filling. One day at a time he was getting further from the depression his past had brought him. A bag he no longer had to carry on his shoulders. They hadn't completed the mating process yet, the pain was still sometimes there, and very real. All she had to show was a mark.

"You're not my first mate." He felt his throat closing, trying to talk about it was hard. If she was surprised she didn't show it. Instead she only nodded, the corner of her lips coming up, trying to encourage him to continue. "Her name was Elizabeth. Well...her full name was Adelaide Elizabeth Taylor, but she preferred to go by the name Elizabeth. She was short, and stubborn as a mule. Never listened to anything anyone ever told her." He laughed softly, remembering these things about him that once drove him crazy, now drove him crazy in a completely different way. They were things he'd never get to experience again.

"She was a part of the pack, and the pack loved her. Not a single person disliked her, and to me she was perfect." He could tell from her momentary shift she was bothered by his words, but her face didn't show it. If he was going to tell her the story, then she needed to know all of it.

"When we were together, nothing was impossible. Everything was easier and after being friends for fourteen years, well, when she turned seventeen, four months after I turned eighteen, we were more than thrilled to find out we were mates. It felt like fate, or the moon goddess was working in our favor. Even before we found out, I couldn't imagine being with anyone else. The mating process was quick, effortless. We didn't need to wait, and we knew everything about the other. There didn't need to be hesitation. My parents were thrilled, all our friends were thrilled." He remembered everything, like it was yesterday.

"Before we even had time to settle in as mates she was pregnant with a pup. It was the happiest moment of my life. I was even happier than the day I'd found out we were mates. Elizabeth and I were on cloud nine. My wolf and I had never been more in-sync. We were perfect together, that's what our friends used to tell us. We didn't ever fight. She was stubborn, but we didn't fight ever." He sighed, looking down at his hands, folded together in his lap. He no longer had any pictures of her, but he still remembered her beautiful blonde hair and the way her nose crinkled when she smiled at him.