Battle of the Alphas

XVI

I was a stupid idiot. That was my only thought as my heat started to spread throughout my body. How could I have managed to forget that it had been a month since the last time? And, now that Benjamin and I had mated, the sensations were even more intense and could only be sated with his touch. Within minutes of it beginning, I was burning up.

"Alice, please come and help me," I begged through the mind link, writhing in my chair.

"You're going to the Arctic pack right now." Alice ordered as soon as she arrived.

"No, I- I can't," I mumbled my way through the pain.

"Don't be stupid. Trust me, the second Benjamin touches you, you'll be thanking me." She hauled me onto my feet, ignoring my protesting.

We stumbled out to the car, Alice shoved me in the passenger seat and set off.

"You need to mind link Benjamin to let him know we're coming," She said as we drove but all I could do was shake my head, telling her that I couldn't, the pain was that bad. Alice tried to help, putting her left hand on my forehead to try and cool me down but it was doing nothing and the heat was just getting worse.

It didn't take long to get to the Arctic pack but by then I was sweating so much that I was soaking through my clothes. Alice pulled up at the entrance to the pack and was talking to the guards but my mind was elsewhere. I could smell Benjamin. I was zoning in and out of consciousness at this point, vaguely hearing Alice explain who I was and then we were driving towards the pack house.

Benjamin's scent was becoming stronger and stronger and my body was reacting to it even more than it had been, my claws coming out and scratching myself for some kind of release from the pain.

I must have passed out because when I awoke, I was in Benjamin's arms sitting on cold tile.

"Thank god you're awake," His voice held worry in it. "I'm running you a cold bath, you're on fire right now."

I was so out of it that I couldn't even speak. But my body voiced its opinion, heat burning through me with only one thing on my mind; mate. I practically attacked Benjamin's mouth with my own but he didn't hesitate and soon my clothes were coming off and my skin was being soothed by my mate's touch. I fumbled around with Benjamin's shirt, wanting to touch him like he was touching me, but in my haze couldn't manage to pull it off. Suddenly, my wolf leapt within me, extending her claws and in a second his shirt was in shreds on the floor. I was barely aware of Benjamin lifting me up, never taking his lips off me, and settling us into the bath. The ice cold water instantly gave me relief and my brain flooded into focus. I realised what I was doing, but could do nothing to stop myself. And I didn't want to stop.

When I finally managed to catch my breath and my heat had been sated, I dropped my head onto Benjamin's shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He asked me softly.

"Yeah," I sighed loudly.

Benjamin didn't say any more, instead he began to lift me out of the bath and placed my feet on the floor. Sheepishly, I picked my clothes up from where they were scattered and dried myself off to start dressing. We didn't talk as we headed into his bedroom, my eyes beginning to droop of their own accord.

"Isobel, have a nap. I'll wake you up later, okay?" Benjamin gently nudged me towards the bed with no hesitation from me. The second I hit the mattress, I was asleep.

When I woke up of my own accord, it was dark outside and the bedside lamp had been switched on, washing the room in a soft light. I could hear the voices of people downstairs and, as my curiosity got the better of me, I crept downstairs.

Benjamin was definitely among them, his scent still enticing me. I couldn't smell Alice, she must have left earlier. Fraser was also there and I detected Natasha too. My wolf did not like the idea of my mate being near her, even though I could rationally realise they weren't alone, and before I knew what was happening, I walked into the room.

Everyone stopped to stare at me whilst I stood in the doorway. After a second's pause, I nodded my acknowledgements to them and made my way over to Benjamin. A chair was quickly offered up to me and I sat down.

"Isobel, I don't think you've met everyone here," Fraser spoke up through the awkward silence before rattling through names I wouldn't remember.

"Nice to meet you all," I gave them a smile and just like that, conversation restarted.

There weren't many people at the table, maybe 10, but my eyes were automatically drawn to Natasha who was sat at the opposite end.

"Did you sleep well?" Benjamin whispered in my ear as everyone chatted.

"Yes, thank you. What is she doing here?" The jealousy in my voice made me cringe but there was nothing I could do to stop it; it was all wolf.

"I didn't organise this. Do you want me to get her to leave?" He asked, one arm extending around the back of my chair.

"No, it's alright." I replied as I automatically moved closer to Benjamin. He gave me a look, echoing my feelings about how weird I was being. My wolf just felt this overwhelming need to prove that he was mine.

As the night went on and we ate dinner, I was getting more and more fidgety. My heat started to fire up again and I found myself almost on top of Benjamin. I mean, in a way, it was definitely annoying Natasha, judging by the scowl on her face.

"Go upstairs, to your bedroom. I'll join you in a minute." I gave up and almost begged Benjamin as quietly as I could. He raised an eyebrow but obeyed, excusing himself to the group. After he left, I too told everyone that I would be retiring for the night, not missing the spiteful look Natasha threw my way.

I was already tugging my clothes off as I neared Benjamin's bedroom.

Guess I was no longer bothered about having a mate.  

Next chapter will be epilogue. So technically, this is the last chapter? Basically, I have zero inspiration to write this anymore so I would just rather finish it (badly and suddenly) than not finish it at all. Sorry but still, I hope you enjoy and thanks for reading.