Alpha Alden ✔️

Chapter Thirty Six

Word Count: 1565

~Kezziah

I'm not sure what compelled me to do it.

Maybe it is the mate bond between me and him that suddenly becomes apparent the moments our lips touch. The second it dawned on me, I pulled away though, not leaving enough time for either more or Alden to experience it long enough to grasp it in the moment. It was only until I pulled away and looked back into his stunned eyes that I realised what I had done.

Alden blinks a few times, then tenses. In that moment, all my ideas Fate had plotted alongside me crumbled into nothing. I had just revealed we are mates. There is no longer any way to hide from this.

I watch as Alden's fingers reach up to touch his lips. He is clearly trying to fathom how this could possibly be the truth.

I'm struggling too.

"Somehow I knew this would be the case. Yet at the same time, I didn't expect to feel like this," Alden murmurs, looking down at his fingers. I look at the rings that adorn his hands. All silver with a meaning unknown to me. This is definitely not the right time to ask, but at the same time, I don't want to talk about this...

Honestly, I would rather ignore it. At least until everything with Time calms down. What if he finds out and kills Alden? I'm not sure why he hasn't already, but one step too far and who knows what's going to happen.

"I didn't mean to kiss you like that," I say quickly. He's still an Alpha after all, and if he weren't my mate, the repercussions for spontaneously kissing him could be serious.

He's looking at me as if I'm crazy.

"You can kiss me whenever you like," he says, his tone almost comically serious. He seems to catch what he said, sitting up straighter. "I mean, you're my mate. By your reaction, I doubt you want to anymore, but you should know that regardless, I'm okay with it at any time."

His rambling is cute and endearing, and maybe I would have smiled were it not for the heavy weight on my shoulders. As much as my attraction for Alden has grown, this feels forbidden. As if we are breaking many laws.

"I think we should fully address what this means," I say slowly, digging my head into my hands.

"Yes. You're my mate."

I glance up at Alden again. He's an intelligent man, so I'm surprised he is so clouded by my feelings. Maybe I'm not taking the full brunt of it because of the faux matebond entwined within me. Or maybe I'm scared. I feel scared. As much as I want to tell Alden we should run away to never be found by Time, I know that cannot happen.

"You can't mark me or anything. Not with Time's brand already on me," I remind him. His expression turns grim, the reality of this coming to the forefront of his mind. "What are we going to do?"

Alden moves from where he was sitting on the couch opposite me to sit next to me. He grabs my hands, and for a fleeting moment I only concentrate on what it feels like to finally touch him. Just the feeling of his fingers wrapped around mine make it seem like for a moment, everything is okay.

"I have an idea."

"What's that?" I ask, turning my entire body to face him. I trust Alden. I never used to, and maybe it's just the mate bond, but I trust that he will do all he can to keep me as his mate, and to take me from Time.

"I'm close to finding a cure for you. My lab is so close to a breakthrough I'm almost certain you'll be free from Time soon. Of course, we have little time before it is exposed what we are working on, however, we haven't had any troubles yet," Alden explains, tightening his grip on my hands.