Battle of the Alphas

XII

I glanced around awkwardly, waiting for Fraser to come and meet me. I was just outside the Arctic pack territory so as not to alert the guards and therefore Benjamin. The only noise I could hear was the wind rustling through the trees which meant that when I got a tap on the shoulder, my first instinct was to freak out and land a punch on my assailant.

"Is that any way to greet me?!" A man groaned whilst clutching his bleeding nose.

"Fraser?" When I got a nod in reply, I immediately apologised, "Oh my god, I am so sorry! You gave me a fright,"

"It's alright, I suppose," Fraser sighed, wiping away the blood and offering me his hand to shake. When I instead looked pointedly at his blood-covered hand, he withdrew it and offered an awkward smile.

"So, you're the lucky one that gets to be Ben's mate, huh?" Fraser glanced over me as he guided us into his territory.

"I guess," I shrugged, still feeling uncomfortable as being referred to as anyone's mate.

"Right." Fraser acknowledged before changing the subject, "Now, Ben doesn't know anything about this but I figure he'll be able to smell you pretty quickly so he'll likely come and investigate. Then we'll shout 'surprise' and all that. Got it?"

"Okay," I had barely listened, instead preparing myself to see my mate for the first time in a week.

Fraser led me past some guards, nodding to them as we slipped in the back door of the pack house. When we entered the hall, I was surprised as to how many people were here. I could smell a few different scents, meaning that I wasn't the only one from a different pack. Luckily, no one seemed to notice me as I moved my way towards the back and Fraser went to finish some last minute organising.

I had only been there a minute when I caught the scent of Benjamin, getting closer and closer. Subconsciously, my heart rate increased and I strained to look over the sea of people as he burst through the door.

"Iso-" Benjamin trailed off, seeing everyone in the room. This was our cue to shout surprise but my mouth wouldn't cooperate as I saw my mate's deathly pale skin and skinniness. He was so sick. And it was my fault.

I stayed awkwardly in the corner as everyone mingled about, watching Benjamin. He seemed distracted, searching the room even as he talked to people. When his eyes landed on me, they lit up and he started making his way towards me. Without thinking, I met him halfway, raising a hand to touch his cheek. But before I did, I realised myself and withdrew it.

"Isobel," Even Benjamin's voice sounded weak and I winced.

"Happy birthday," I tried to force a smile but the guilt that wrecked my body stopped me. "You're not well."

"I'll be alright." He shrugged but it seemed to take a lot of effort. He took a quick glance around, making me notice that there were quite a few people looking at us curiously. "Could we talk, in private?" I quickly nodded, following Benjamin out into the garden and away from onlookers.

"Why didn't you tell me you were so sick?" I demanded as we took a seat on a bench.

"And what would you have done?" Benjamin managed to raise an eyebrow at me.

"Well," I faltered for a second, "I would've let you mark me."

"But you don't want me to, and so I wouldn't have allowed it, Isobel." He countered.

"How do you know what I want?" I retorted stubbornly.

"You've told me enough times," He laughed a little.

"What if I've changed my mind?"

"You haven't."

"Yes I have. I want you to mark me." I stated defiantly.

"No." We seemed to have swapped opinions from when we first met.

"Even if I don't love you right now, how am I supposed to fall in love with you if you're dead?" I snapped.

"I'm not dead yet,"

"Oh, for god's sake, just mark me!" I practically yelled before adding a soft, "Please,"

"You refuse to even touch me and yet you want me to join our souls forever?" Benjamin growled, getting just as worked up as I was.

"I don't refuse to touch you!"

"Oh really? Go on then," He taunted.

"Fine!" I pulled his head down to mine, joining our lips.

I hadn't felt the mate bond in so long and I was hooked. I couldn't pull myself away and apparently neither could Benjamin. With sudden strength, I was lifted into Benjamin's lap as his lips trailed down my neck, elongated canines scraping against the spot where he would mark me. Without much thought, I pushed his head down and felt the piercing of skin. Letting a moan escape as a wave of pleasure surged through me, Benjamin withdrew his teeth, bringing his mouth back up to mine. I could taste my blood on his tongue and it only made me more fervent. My hands found the buttons of his shirt, fingers fumbling and not caring that we were in broad daylight.

I'm sure we would've continued forever, but we were interrupted by Fraser coming to take Benjamin back to his party.

"Hello lovebirds," He grinned cheekily as I dropped my head into the crook of Benjamin's neck in embarrassment.

"Go away, Fraser." Benjamin groaned in annoyance.

"No can do, sorry. Everyone's wondering where the birthday boy disappeared to and I was sent to find you."

"Alright, we'll come in a minute," Benjamin reluctantly agreed.

"I can't go in with a fresh mark, everyone will know," I slipped off his lap once Fraser had gone.

"Oh. You still don't want people to know?" His face dropped and a pang of guilt coursed through me.

"Can we wait, please?" I softly whispered. I wasn't sure if I would ever be ready to tell people. He nodded slowly.

"Does this mean that we get to be proper mates though?" Benjamin traced his finger over the fresh mark, causing a shiver to run through my body.

"If you want to,"

"We should probably go inside now. You can go home, if you want to," His tone was laced with bitterness, shocking me a little.

"What's wrong?" Everything had been going so well.

"Nothing," He sighed.

"That's not true." I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

"From the moment I met you, all I wanted is to tell the world that you're my mate and I can't. I know you don't want that, and that's okay, it's just hard sometimes." Benjamin stood up, offering me his hand. "Whenever you're ready, I'll be waiting."