Alpha - Forever #1 (Complete)

Chapter 13 - Part 1

Scarlett

It was time to talk but I didn't want to stop kissing him. I'd never felt so alive before and it was hard to break away from him and take a step back. Breathlessly, I gazed up at him, still holding onto his arms to keep me up on weakened legs.

Knowing we were mates was one thing, but touching him and making that connection with him was something so different.

I'd felt attracted to him before but now it was so much more. I cared about him in a way I'd never felt before. It wasn't an instant love but I wanted to be with him and protect him and I knew he felt the same; it was written in his eyes.

"We need to talk," I insisted, trying to get my heart to slow down, but standing so close to him just made me want to shut up and keep kissing him. I released my hold on his arms and stepped back.

"Yes... we need to talk," he agreed, remaining where he was.

I needed to sit down so I took a seat on the comfortable sofa.

"Where do we start?" I asked as I clasped my hands together. This whole experience was so weird. It wasn't just like I was a girl who liked a guy and we kinda dated to see where it would lead. No, we were mates and we were destined to be together. We had to sit down and figure out what that meant, or at least I did.

I gazed at him as he took a step closer to me. We both knew this conversation wasn't going to be easy.

"How about we start with why you slapped me?" he asked as he cocked his head slightly to the side.

The answer was going to anger him. I knew he wasn't going to be happy that I'd hidden the fact that I knew he was my mate from him. I took a deep breath and released it.

"I was jealous," I admitted as I held his gaze. His self-assured smile widened.

"Jealous?" he asked. He was so enjoying this.

I narrowed my eyes.

"I didn't want some other girl with her hands all over my mate,"

The smirk disappeared and his forehead creased.

"You knew I was your mate? How?" he asked in a calm voice. It was way too calm, if you asked me. I kept watching him, waiting for him to explode with anger, but he remained calm. Then I noticed his hands had tightened at his sides. He wasn't calm at all.

I stood up and showed him the birthmark on my hip. He walked over to me and his fingers traced over the two teardrops.

"You saw mine when you came to my room to get pain pills," he murmured more to himself than to me. I sat back down on the sofa as he took a step backward.

It was like the silence before the storm.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked as he crossed his arms. His voice remained calm, but I could see the hurt in his eyes.

"I wanted a chance to get used to the idea," I explained. He might not like the answer, but it was the truth.

"How long were you planning on keeping it to yourself?" he asked softly as his jaw tensed.

"A couple of days," I answered.

"Why a couple of days?" he questioned, looking a little perplexed.

"Blake saw it. He told me I had two days to tell you and if I didn't, he would."

"Blake knew you were my mate!" he exploded. The storm had hit.

"He saw my birthmark," I tried to explain as I stood up, but I didn't take a step closer to him. He was furious. Normally, I didn't feel intimated by him, but it was hard to hold my ground when I could feel the anger emanating from him.

"He saw your birthmark," he repeated in a deadly tone as I watched him try and control the anger flowing through him. "How did he see it?"

He closed his eyes for a moment; it was like he was convinced the answer was going to upset him even more. I gave him a confused look and then I realized why he'd asked the question.

"He saw it yesterday morning when I was reaching for cereal," I explained to him, a bit of exasperation creeping into my voice. Trust him to jump to the conclusion that Blake and I'd been getting better acquainted, and that's how he saw it.

I was the virgin, he was the alpha of a pack with all the girls falling left, right and center for him. And he had the audacity to get angry because he thought I was fooling around with Blake?

"So you and he didn't..." he said, unable to say the words. His anger began to disappear as he realized he'd overreacted.

"No, I'm not like you," I stated as I crossed my arms and glared at him.

"How are you not like me?" he asked, not sure what I was getting at.

"Not even an hour ago you were getting mauled by another girl," I said, trying to contain the jealously that I felt as I remembered how he'd enjoyed the attention. "And if I hadn't slapped you, you'd probably be screwing her already."

"I thought you had a thing for Blake," he tried to explain as he held the back of his neck. "You spent most of yesterday treating me like a leper."

"I don't have thing for Blake, I was just trying to make sure I didn't touch you by mistake."

He was silent for a few moments and then he let out a sigh.

"Let's forget about what happened before. All that matters is that we found each other," he said.

"Fine," I agreed as I nodded. "As long as I don't have to worry about your conquests coming out of the woodwork."

"I'm not going to lie to you, Scar, there have been plenty before, but now there is only you," he softly declared.

I wanted to stay angry with him, but it was difficult when he was so damn sweet. And I couldn't help the flutter inside my stomach when he called me Scar. There was something intimate about the way he said it that did crazy things to me.

"It's hard for me to think you've been with other guys, but there is nothing I can do about it," he said. Little did he know I had an empty past when it came to boys; I'd never had a boyfriend. I'd been kissed before, but that had been the sum total of my experience.

One moment of silence turned into another as I contemplated what I was going to tell him.

"Have you had... many?" He asked the question he didn't really want the answer to. Hell no! There was no way I was going to tell him there hadn't been anybody. He didn't get to have the clear mind of knowing that he would be my first when I knew for a fact that I wasn't his. He'd probably had so many that he couldn't even count them.

I hated the fact that when a girl slept around everyone called her a slut, but if a guy did the same thing he was called a stud. It was so unfair.

He would find out the truth when we mated but until then I would allow him to think that there had been others. If I had to think about all the previous girls he'd screwed, I'd occupy his mind with my imaginary guys. Fair was fair.

"A few," I lied.

His fists tightened and then he released them. He didn't like that one bit. Welcome to my club. I didn't like to think about all the girls he'd entertained before me.

He paced for a little while before he turned to face me.

"I know this whole werewolf thing is new to you and most people in your shoes would be freaking out," he began to say. I knew where this conversation was headed.

"And if your life wasn't in serious danger at the moment, I'd give you the time to get used to all of it, but I can't."

I pressed my lips together as he sat down beside me and took my hands in his. I knew he was going to insist I join his pack and mate with him so he'd be able to protect me better.

I knew he was doing it because he cared about me and wanted to keep me safe; I understood that, but there were just some things I wouldn't be forced into and I had to stand my ground.

"I want you to join my pack," he said as he watched me for a reaction.

It wasn't a surprise. I waited for him to continue.