Hiding From My Alpha [On Hold]

26

Josie's pov

"Is this really a good idea? What if something happens?" I asked my mom, my grip on her hand growing tighter as my nerves sky rocketed.

"We're all here to make sure that nothing happens to the both of you, but we need to test your bond now so that we know the extent of the curse," she replied.

Everyone had agreed that it would be too dangerous living in the same house as Leo if we didn't know how the monster affected us in our human form. Running into each other was a constant risk even though we did try to avoid each other the best we could. I hadn't seen Leo in such a long time, and I missed him terribly regardless of all the letters we continuously sent each other. I probably could've gotten his number during all that time but it was kind of romantic. I was very grateful to Ian for being our messenger.

I looked at the number of people in the room. The Alpha sat with our Luna, hand in hand as they whispered to each other. I looked at the doors and there stood two guards, but I was certain there were more outside of the door. A few people I had never met stood around the room but judging from their attire they had to be important, why else would they be here?

"I know" I replied timidly to my mother, I wanted to say more but thought it pointless. My wolf was restless because of not having seen Leo in over a week. I couldn't shake off the annoyance of having so many people in between my relationship, but at the same time I couldn't complain because this was bigger than me. Even though I wanted to develop my relationship with Leo, I still didn't know about how he felt about the situation, was he angry that his mate brought more bad than good? Could I forgive myself if I ended up hurting him, the future of our pack?

We were sitting in one of the many meeting rooms, waiting for Leo. I felt my fear slowly clogging my throat, what if the monster took control again? I dreaded the feeling of completely losing myself. How was I going to make it through the day with so much anxiety eating me up?

I watched as the Alpha walked and stood next to me. He smiled warmly.

"No one expected things to be like this but I hope you understand the purpose of this exercise. My son's and your safety are top priority so it necessary to test your bond in order to know your limits. This will help in the future as your relationship progresses. Please feel at ease, there are enough people here to intervene if something goes wrong." he said and rubbed my shoulder reassuringly. I realised a while back that regardless of how scary Leo's dad seemed in the beginning, he was a sweet man and cared for his people. He was a good leader and I felt really lucky to know him personally.

I nodded, appreciating the comfort. The Luna, Anna, also offered me a warm smile and she was nothing short of graceful. We hadn't talked personally as of yet, a woman of few words but the times she did speak, her words were received positively.

I smelled Leo before he came in. His father escorted him in calmly. My mom stared back and forth, I assume trying to see if any of us were about to attack abruptly. 

The only thing that I felt when our eyes met was the undeniable longing. My wolf howled in happiness at the sight of our mate. He looked good as always, dressed in a plain sweater and jeans. A part of me wanted to walk up to him and hug him but I thought if I moved too quickly it could be mistaken for something else. Surprisingly the other wolf stayed dormant, it didn't react at all.

"How are you feeling Josie?" My mom asked me warily.

"I feel normal" I replied.

"I don't feel any different" Leo replied as well and I stared up at him like he held my world in his hands. Had I missed him that much? I wanted to hear his voice again.

"It seems they can be together in this form, but this is a very neutral environment" The Alpha said and nudged his son towards me. "Let's see if there's a reaction with physical contact."

My mom encouraged me to meet him half way and I tried not to feel mortified with all the eyes looking at us. I could feel my face heating up and really wished I could hide from all their stares.

"Hey" Leo whispered, his foot nudging mine, making me look him in the eyes. 

"You can start by holding hands." I heard one of the men I didn't know suggest. Everyone stared at us eagerly so I suppose we had to listen to the stranger.

My hand went into his, a warmness blossoming in my chest. No overcoming need to attack him. I sighed in relief, this meant we'd be good right? I felt him squeeze my hand and I gave him a look that I hoped he read as a warning to stop. The room felt hot enough as is.

I missed you. He mouthed, passing the secret message between us. How could he be so - I couldn't find a word for it - but couldn't he feel that my palms were sweating already. I blushed and looked away trying to keep my cool. My mom asked us both how we were feeling and we both answered her, both fine.

"Try embracing each other" I heard the Alpha suggest. Hadn't I suffered enough? The happiness that came with knowing I could be around him was slowly being squashed by mortification. He wrapped his hand around my waist, pulling me flush against him. I froze, his scent surrounding me and our height difference felt so present, my face was pressed against his shoulder. His other hand came around, and he made himself comfortable. I hugged him back, my heart rate refusing to calm down.

"No need to feel embarrassed, my parents and everyone here understand what mates are and do. Showing physical attraction is normal" He said, right into my ear. I squeezed him tighter, hoping to tune out the people in the room. I felt myself relax, enjoying the hug. The more we stayed in the hug, the more I felt Elena pushing to the surface.

She missed our mate, and I let my instincts take over. My need to get closer growing. His hand caressed my hair, before settling back onto my back. 

"You okay?" I asked him softly.

"Yeah" he replied but it took too long for him to answer and I felt him inhale deeply.

I wanted more and when Elena completely took over I felt myself digging my fingers into his back, my grip tightening, a weird need to press him into me, to feel him closer, but the hug ended quickly as Leo suddenly pushed me off him. My mom barely caught me, everyone in the room on high alert. He was breathing hard like he had just ran a marathon and his eyes were a lot darker than before. I too was out of breath.

The whole room was frozen, including me as I stared at him in question. I didn't understand until he turned around and I gasped at what I saw. Right at the bottom of his sweater were several finger sized holes and my stomach churned at how much blood covered the area. I looked down at my own shaking hands to find them bloody.

"Fuck"