The Alpha Next Door

Chapter 14 ⦔ Chinese Wisteria

Markus was in pain. His mate was living just across the road and yet she was so far away. He would often see her through the window. He would curl up in the sun watching her, waiting patiently for when he would get to have her. Markus was in it for the long game. He was going to take his time with it.

Ottilie wouldn't admit it but she had been spending a lot of time outside. She also wouldn't admit that she liked the feeling of her mate watching over her as she played in the front lawn of the pack house with the younger children of the pack. She had even taken to reading on the front porch at night because seeing her mate before she went to bed helped her sleep peacefully. 

Yet there was still a dull ache in the pit of Ottilie's stomach. It never left. She would constantly feel the pull towards her mate yet she couldn't go to him. So instead she watched Markus' stunning wolf waiting for the day she could have him. 

"Ottilie, will you come play baseball with us in Mr. Chambers' garden?" Asked a group of the pack children bringing Ottilie out of her thoughts. 

"Yeah sure just let me go grab a couple people to join and I'll be out in a minute." The children all nodded in agreement and ran off. The second they did Ottilie scribbled something on a piece of paper before she shoved it into her back pocket. 

The game of baseball was well underway and Ottilie's team was winning by far but that wasn't what brought her large grin onto her face. The sound of the game had brought out Markus who watched from a distance. Ottilie hadn't been this close to her mate in a while and tingles danced across her skin each time the wolf's eyes met hers. 

Ottilie pulled away from the game to tie up her shoe. When she looked over at Markus he was watching her so she quickly reached into her pocket dropping the ball of paper onto the ground before joining the game. Markus wandered over to the piece of paper, lying on top of it to make no one picked it up or noticed it. 

As one child stepped up to bat he hit the ball incredibly high and far. While the boy began to run everyone else watched as the ball flew straight into the greenhouse causing a large crash. Large pieces of glass fell both into the greenhouse leaving behind a decently sized hole. 

"Dang it."

"Avery, what the Hell did you do?"

"I didn't mean to."

"Guys it was a mistake."

"Who is gonna tell Miss. Chambers?"

"Okay everyone with shoes come help me clean up the glass and everyone without go apologies to Miss. Chambers." Ordered one of the older teenagers playing and soon everyone had split off into two groups. 

Adelia opened her front door to see a group of children standing before her all looking very scared. It only took one look in the direction of the loud voices to see the large hole in the roof of her greenhouse. 

"Miss. Chambers when we were playing baseball I accidentally hit the ball into your greenhouse. I am very sorry and I'll pay to have it fixed. We are just clearing up the glass now." Mumbled the girl while she stared down at her feet. 

"Ah don't worry my brother can fix that easily. No bother, we should probably just move the games of baseball into the other side of the garden. Now would you all like to come in for some cake and then we can bring your friends some when they are done getting all the glass." 

"She will make a great Luna." Whispered one of the kids to another as they all sat inside Adelia's living room eating cake and listening to her story of how her and Hugo broke a very expensive vase when they were children. 

When everyone went inside for cake Markus stood up, picking the note up in his mouth he walked into one of the houses many bedrooms for privacy so he could shift into human form. The note was slightly damp from his mouth but it clearly read "Meet me at a house in the woods at 11 pm tonight. Just follow my scent. -Ottilie" 

Markus couldn't contain his excitement as he ran through the woods that night chasing his mate's scent from a few hours prior. It had been agony watching the clock that day slowly waiting for the seconds to tick past until he could see his mate. 

When Markus reached the house he all of a sudden got quite scared. He was hesitant to properly meet his mate. She could potentially only be meeting to tell him that they wouldn't have a future. She could reject him. Markus' wolf whimpered at the thought but he still stood on his hind paws and hit the doorbell. 

It all became worth it when his mate opened the door and he saw her up close. He wanted to store each feature of her in his mind knowing it would be a long time before he could meet her like this again. 

"If you go up the stairs in the first room on the right there are some clothes on the bed so you can shift." 

When Markus returned, this time fully clothed, he found his mate in the kitchen pulling some take out containers out of a bag. He watched her as she pulled out her phone. He would happily watch her for hours if he had the chance. She was just mesmerizing. 

"Oh, you're dressed. I brought some Thai food because I figured you would be tired of eating dog food and you might want something good to eat." Ottilie spoke quietly and she had trouble making eye contact with Markus. Markus smiled knowing they were both nervous and it wasn't just him. 

"Thank you. That is very thoughtful of you Ottilie." 

As they ate they talked and Markus finally got to learn about Ottilie. It was obvious they were hypnotized by each other. 

"Yeah, so my friend let me use her Dad's cabin cause her parents are split and since he works in New York he just has this cabin for when he can visit her. Since that is only a month or two each year we can come here whenever." Ottilie paused as Markus' eyes had glazed over and he seemed lost in thought. "Markus, are you listening to me?"

"Sorry, I was listening I swear. I was just wondering if I could kiss you?" Immediately all was forgiven in Ottilie's mind. She nodded shyly, as a warm blush flooded her cheeks.

Markus moved their plates off their laps and onto a coffee table. He shuffled closer to Ottilie and leaned in closer. Ottilie could feel Markus' breath tickle her cheeks while his lips were nearly an inch from hers. It felt like an eternity before their lips finally met.

Heaven. Peaceful bliss. Sure Ottilie had kissed people before but none of them felt like that. She felt truly treasured. Markus kissed like he needed to care for her. He kissed like he knew how she needed to be kissed.

Most people kissed like it was a step to something else. Like it had to be crossed off a to-do list before something else could happen. Markus didn't. Markus kissed like it was a celebration of love. His hands held the right places, fingers pushing lightly into her skin. His lips were soft as the lightly brushed her neck, then her cheek, then her own lips again.

Ottilie and Markus were buzzing. They felt like their nerve endings were fried and they would never properly feel again.

"Wow, I didn't know it would be like that." Said Markus as he pulled away from Ottilie. He wasn't saying it to her, he was almost whispering the words to himself. It was like he had to help himself process such a thing.

"Wait was that your first kiss?" Asked Ottilie and Markus nodded. Ottilie fell back into the couch with a wide grin on her face. "Markus you are truly something else. God if that was your first kiss I can't imagine what will happen when you get some practice."

"We can practice now and you won't have to imagine." Smirked Marcus as he lay down next to Ottilie. The pair spent the rest of the night until 4 am talking, only interrupted by the occasional kiss.