The Alpha and His Mate (True Mate Stories)

The Otherside Chapter 2

Noah held Emma’s body close to him as she slept. He howled in pain on the inside, he hurt her. He didn’t mean to, he was as gentle as possible. He felt her pleasure in the end, but the beginning was horrible for her. He would never let anyone do that to her again. He had to protect her.

     Emma caught whiff of Noah’s scent and snuggled closer to him. She was relaxed and happy. His body kept her warm and his arms kept her secure. The way he held her made her feel loved.

     One smile from Emma washed away all the pain and guilt in Noah. The way she snuggled close to him only added to the need to protect her. It was funny to him how such a little reaction could flip his mood from sad to happy.

     He softly traced the bite mark he put on her chest with his fingertips. She was his and no one could take that away. He prayed silently she would shift. She had to be his mate. No one has ever had this kind of influence on him before.

     The door flew open and the Alpha stared at them with no respect for their nudity. “Has she shifted yet,” the alpha asked.

     “Not yet,” Noah said.

     “She’s not leaving this room until she does.”

     “What if she doesn’t?” Noah asked, fearfully.

     “Then she’s not your mate. She’ll stay here and reproduce us pups and that’s it.” The alpha said. “She’s young. It could be a while for her to shift. Go do your perimeter run. Your mother can watch her.”

     “What about her family?”

     “What about them? She’s dead to them now. Go do your perimeter run and you better not go near her parents’ house. She’ll be dead before you get back.”

     Noah kissed Emma on the forehead with a pang in his heart. He gave her one last glance. She was so peaceful and smiling. He prayed Kane was right and she wouldn’t shift until he got back. He shifted into his wolf and meet Kane outside the door.

     “Go,” Kane ordered. “Don’t you dare come back early.”

     Noah ran the perimeters over and over again with Victor and Caleb as his partners. He refused to run anywhere near them. He hated them at the moment. Noah wasn’t stupid; he knew very well one of them turned his mate in.      

     He couldn’t concentrate on his run. His worrying was getting the best of him. He should be cuddling Emma. He should be there to comfort her. He would never doubt his mom to take care of her, but that was beside the point. Emma didn’t know his mom.

     He was the first of his friends to find his mate. He had nothing to go off. He had no clue what was going to happen to her. He had no idea how much pain she going to be in. Most of his pack found their mates in their early to mid-twenties. Maybe age didn’t make a difference or maybe it did.

     “Noah,” Emma screamed, writhing in pain. She woke to her back breaking, her body twisting and shuddering uncontrollably. Her bones popped, broke and shrunk and her skin tightened.

     Kim rushed into the room. Her hands waved over Emma body. The poor child was in pain, more pain then she’s ever seen. Emma’s transformation was going terribly wrong. She was getting smaller. “Harold,” Kim shouted. “Get help!”

     Harold ran into the room, stunned. He’s never seen a werewolf shift for the first time. That was the job for the women in his pack. “Something is wrong, go get help!” Kim shouted.

     Harold ran to his Beta’s house, pounding on his door. Marcus answered the door in only his boxers. He glared at the lower-end male with hatred. “What do you want?”