The Alpha's Rebel

Chapter 4

I roll my eyes out of anger and look away from the guy sitting across from me. I can feel everything from the mate bond wanting to break through the defenses I have up, but my mind still isn't changed. Unlike Vinnie, who decided he wanted to be with Molly when he found out they were mates, I still don't want a fucking mate.

My heart and mind want two very different things, and I'm going with my mind.

"You don't look very happy, sweetheart," the guy says, and I snap my gaze back to him. Looking at him for a few seconds, his entire posture screams power. Whether it's just his ego or he actually is in a position of power, I don't fucking care.

"Don't you dare call me sweetheart," I growl. I scan the room, trying to find Thay. I want to get out of here as soon as possible.

"What's your name?" he asks me.

"None of your fucking business." I don't bother looking at him this time. My eyes land on Thay, finally. He's almost to our table, and he sees the guy sitting across from me. He gives me a questioning look, but it doesn't take much longer for the realization to settle in.

"Sweetheart, I-"

"I said, don't call me sweetheart. Did you not hear me the first time?"

"You're a little fiesty," the guy says, and when I tear my gaze away from Thay, he's smirking. "I'm Maddox."

Thay reaches the table, but he doesn't say anything. Maddox looks at him with a warning look, which I ignore.

"Well, Maddox, I don't want a mate. So, if you'll excuse me, I'll be going now," I say, grabbing Thay's hand and hopping down from the stool. I don't even take a step before Maddox is in front of me, staring Thay down like he's his prey. "Excuse us," I say, not even bothering to hide the rudeness in my tone. I told him I didn't want a mate, and he can't force me to be his mate either.

"Where the hell do you think you're going, sweetheart? Especially with another man?"

"I said," I hissed, dropping Thay's hand and balling my fists. I was pissed now. This asshole not only was calling me a nickname that I despised, he was trying to stop me from leaving with my boyfriend. Mate or not, I wasn't going to let him get away with this. "Don't call me sweetheart."

I swung my fist, and I definitely caught him by surprise. My fist cleanly connected to his jawbone, and I was so angry with how he was acting that it masked the pain in my hand. A low, deathly sounding growl came from the back of his throat, and when he met my eyes once again, they were pitch black.

Oh great. He's got anger issues.

"You are going to regret that, sweetheart."

He just doesn't want to learn. He may think the look on his face is going to scare me, but it's only fueling the rage inside of me. If we were both looking in a mirror right now, I'm almost certain that the look on my face would be scarier than his.

"Stop calling me fucking sweetheart. I won't ask again," I snarl, and I grab Thay's hand. I attempt to walk around Maddox, but he stops us again.

"Why won't you let us fucking leave?"

"Man, she just wants to go. Let her go if you know what's good for you," Thay warns. I can't help the half smirk that grows on my lips. I raise and eyebrow and cross my arms across my chest, not missing the glance Maddox gives my chest.

"What kind of alpha would I be if I let my mate leave in the hands of another man?" Maddox snarls in response. I'm not that surprised to find out he's an alpha after the way he's been acting, but that doesn't scare me. If he thought telling us that he's an alpha would scare us into submission, he was very mistaken.

The way he just talked to Thay is what throws me over the edge. No one, and I mean no one, disrespects my friends. If they do, they will feel the rath from me, and trust me, it's not pretty.

"The kind of alpha that still wants to have offspring," I snarl back, bringing up my knee and connecting it with his crotch. I've only ever kneed one man in the crotch before now, and that was Caleb. It's the one thing that I don't completely agree with doing. I save it as a last resort.

Maddox hunches over in pain as a snarl erupts from somewhere deep within him. I pull Thay around him and quickly walk toward the exit.

I want to get the hell away from Maddox.

"Harp, that was fucking badass," Thay cackles. I shrug my shoulders in a "no big deal" kind of way, because it wasn't a big deal. My temper is quickly vanishing as we head outside and start walking to Molly and Vinnie's house. Lord knows where Kaitlyn is right now.

We let ourselves into the house with the keys we have, and I go directly to the kitchen. There's a brand new container of cookies n' cream ice cream practically calling my name. I grab it and a spoon from the drawer, taking my spot at the table.

Thay grabs a spoon and sits down next to me. "Harp, are you okay?" he asks softly. Now that it's just the two of us, I let down my demeanor. I wasn't hiding or pretending to be someone I wasn't, but I also don't let myself become vulnerable around anyone except Thay, Vinnie, Kaitlyn, and Molly.

"Yeah. I just wish my mate hadn't turned out to be such a jack ass. If he had been a nice guy, it would have been easier to reject him and get it over with," I huff, shoving an overly large spoonful of ice cream into my mouth.

"Harper."

I look at Thay. Between the tone of his voice and the fact that he used me full name, I know what he's about to say isn't messing around.

"I don't want to be the reason that's stopping you from being with your mate. Don't worry about my feelings in this. Yeah, it'll hurt like a bitch if we break up, but one day I'll meet my mate too."

"Thay," I say softly, reaching for his hand. "You're not the reason that I don't want a mate. I don't want to be a housewife whose sole purpose is to birth children. I love you, and I want to be with you, because you respect me and my decisions. I will never be with an asshole like that. Mate or not. The way he treated me, and not to mention you, tonight was disgusting."

"You took him down so easy, though," Thay grins, and I know the serious talk is over. That's how things work between Thay and I. We discuss the serious things, but we don't dwell on them.

I smirk, "I had no other choice. You know I don't put up with asshats."

"I thought I heard voices," Molly smiles, coming into the kitchen with Vinnie behind her.

"What took you two so long?" I smirk, leaning back in my chair as I eat another spoonful of ice cream. Molly's cheeks turn bright red, but Vinnie just smirks in satisfaction.

"We were-"

"Shut up!" Molly hisses, smacking his side. He busts out into laughter, pulling her into his side. He kisses her temple, and Molly's demeanor quickly changes.

She leaves Vinnie's arm, grabs two spoons, passes one to Vinnie, and sits down on my other side. She eats a bite of ice cream before asking, "So, how was it? Did you meet your mate?"

"Oh, she met her mate alright," Thay laughs.

Molly looks between the two of us. "What the heck does that mean?"

So what do you guys think so far? Let me know in the comments because I'm honestly curious!!