Alpha - Forever #1 (Complete)

Chapter 9 - Part 2

Scarlett

As much as I wanted to hide out in the room to avoid any run-ins with Cade, I needed to eat. The kitchen was empty when I walked in. I let out the nervous breath I'd held, hoping I wouldn't run into Cade. Cade had instructed Gary and me to help ourselves to whatever we wanted in the kitchen.

I began to look through the cupboards. I had a craving for some sugar-coated cereal, which was strange because it wasn't something I normally ate. I found a couple boxes of cereal on the top shelf of the one cupboard and I tried to reach it on my tiptoes.

"No way!" I heard Blake exclaim.

Confused, I looked over to him, his eyes were fixed on my hip —my hip that had my birthmark. Mentally, I swore as I quickly pulled my shirt back down but it was too late. He'd seen it.

"What?" I asked, breathless, like I'd been caught with my hand in the cookie jar.

"This is going to be good," he murmured to himself with a grin on his face.

"What do you mean?" I pretended I didn't know what he was talking about as I clutched my shirt over my birthmark.

"You're Cade's mate," he revealed to me, shaking his head like he was truly amused by the information.

"Cade's my mate?" I asked, trying to feign surprise but he saw right through it. His eyes narrowed for a moment and he cocked his head to the side.

"You don't seem that surprised by that information," he observed.

I contemplated whether it mattered if I knew before and decided it didn't.

"Yeah, I know," I muttered as I shrugged my shoulders.

"How'd you find out?" he asked, watching me with curiosity.

"I saw his birthmark," I answered. I felt a nervous knot start to form in my stomach, and there went my appetite. He began to grin as he shook his head again, like he was laughing at some inside joke or something. It was annoying.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked, sounding as annoyed as I felt and I put my hands on my hips as I glared at him.

"Because I think the two of you are perfectly suited for each other," he answered, still with a huge grin on his face. "And it is going to be endless entertainment to watch the two of you figure all of this out."

I continued to glare at him but, honestly, he was only telling the truth. Cade and I were both strong-willed and we didn't back down easily, so the fact that we were mates was going to be a constant battle of wills.

"Are you going to tell him?" I asked, nervously biting my lip. Blake stopped smiling at me and looked a little taken aback.

"Why would you want to keep this from him?" he asked. It didn't take a genius to figure out he wouldn't be happy about keeping the secret from his friend.

"I just wanted a little time to get used to the idea before he finds out."

It was the truth. I couldn't keep it from him indefinitely. Was it so wrong to want a couple of days to get used to the idea? My eyes pleaded with his and after a few moments of contemplation, he sighed.

"Cade is my best friend and I don't like keeping things from him... but I understand you're new to all of this and want some time to get used to it so I'll give you two days."

I was about to argue with him but he gave me a look that made me shut my mouth.

"Two days is all I'm going to give you."

The finality in his voice told me not to bother arguing with him, and that I should be happy he hadn't gone looking to tell Cade straight away.

"Thank you," I said, relieved I still had some time, although two days didn't seem like a lot. At least it was something.

"Understand that if you don't tell him by the end of the two days, I will," he warned me seriously.

I nodded. Two days.

"I know it's a lot for you and I know Cade can be a bit domineering and stubborn at times, but I know him well enough to know that he is fiercely loyal and he'll be a good mate."

It was because he was domineering and stubborn that I was so hesitant to reveal I was his mate. He would try and dictate to me and that was something I wasn't willing to take from anyone, even someone picked out by destiny to be the person I was supposed to spend forever with.

"I feel I should also warn you," he continued as he sat down in the chair across from me, "just so you know what you're in for."

I felt the nervous knot in my stomach grow. Whatever was coming wasn't good.

"When Cade finds out you're his mate, he'll make sure he does everything in his power to keep you safe."

"That's not exactly a news flash," I replied sarcastically.

"You don't understand."

He took a deep breath and released it. It was like whatever he was going to say was something I wasn't going to like.

"At the moment, you don't belong to a pack and you can't shift into a werewolf. Both of these things make you weaker and therefore an easier target."

His eyes held mine, his face serious.

"So?"

"He'll expect you to join his pack."

That was the first bombshell. I didn't want to belong to a pack. I liked being on my own.

"He will want you to mate with him so you'll be able to shift into a werewolf."

And there was the atom bomb.

Ah, crap!

Slightly stunned, I walked over to the kitchen table and sank into one of the chairs. Thought upon thought of what was going to happen bombarded me and I felt the pressure weighing down on my shoulders. Blake watched me with concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently as he came to stand in front of me.

"I don't think I'm ever going to be okay," I mumbled. I felt like my life was busy spinning out of control and there was nothing I could do but watch it happen.

Blake was right. When Cade found out I was his mate, my safety would become his top priority. He would make me join his pack. I wasn't even sure how that happened, and then he would insist we mate.

Then I remembered what mating involved: biting and sex. There was no doubt about it, I was physically attracted to him, but that didn't mean I wanted to jump in the sack with him. And the biting thing, that would hurt. It was barbaric.

I shook my head. I wasn't ready for any of that and I doubted two days would change that.

"I know it's all a bit much all at once but it isn't that bad," he assured me gently. I looked up at him and threw a look that told him to go fly a kite.

"Just yesterday I was a single, independent, human girl starting her senior year. Today I'm a werewolf whose life is in danger, who has also just discovered she has a mate and, once he finds out, I'll have to join his pack. I lose my independence and on top of that I have to mate with him so I can shift so I will be able to protect myself."

Blake remained still and silent.

"Does that about sum it up?" I said, feeling my anger rise at the unfairness of it all. This was my life and it felt like since I found out I was a werewolf that it wasn't just mine anymore.

"It is what it is," was the only consolation I got from him. It meant no amount of anger was going to change the inevitable.

In two days, Cade would find out I was his mate. I knew, irrespective of how hard I fought him, my life was going to change. There was no doubt about that.