Alpha King’s Secret Baby (The Runaway Mate #1)

Chapter 5

Casey

“Bastien!” I called, but he walked away without another word, leaving me alone in the village square. The sun beat down on me, but I couldn’t feel its heat. Learning we were fated mates was a shock. I had misgivings about the mating ceremony but not about Bastien. I thought we had a real connection—something we could build on.

I didn’t follow Bastien, though I wanted to. I could give him space if he needed it, even if it hurt. I cared about him, and not just because of the mate bond I now understood drew us together. In the few days I’d lived with him, I’d grown to enjoy his company. He was clever, kind, and different from the rest of his pack. Even if we weren’t mates, I could have seen us being friends. Or more. Much more.

I didn’t have anywhere else to go, so I returned to Bastien’s house. On the first night I’d stayed with him, his scent had been so overpowering I could barely sleep. My side had ached, and exhaustion weighed on my bones, but my heart raced as I bathed in his scent. If he hadn’t been on the other side of his bedroom door, I probably would have touched myself.

Our scents had mingled after the first day. There was no him and me in the house, only us. It seemed so obvious we were mates now that I knew. We’d connected so quickly. Bastien eased the pain of my father’s passing, and I didn’t feel so alone.

I clung to that sentiment. Despite my feelings for Bastien, I had reservations about completing the mating ceremony and joining the pack. He also needed time to process. I could be patient.

I sat on his couch, looking around the modest cabin. I was comfortable here. Bastien made me feel at ease. I wondered how much of that was because of our mate bond. Perhaps there was no separating the bond and Bastien if fate created us for one another. Bonded mates were stronger than solitary wolves after performing the mating ritual. They could feel the other’s emotions and know when their mate was in danger. That had always seemed romantic to me. It still did.

I used to daydream about having a fated mate when I was young. I imagined it would be easy—I’d meet the man of my dreams, and it would be love at first sight. Reality had been quite different, but I wasn’t ready to give up. I needed to talk to Bastien. Why did he think we weren’t mates? Was it shock? Or something more?

I wouldn’t get answers on that front until he talked to me. But there were other things I had to consider, like whether I could live in this pack. The Alpha made vague promises, and though I didn’t entirely understand packs, I wasn’t stupid. I’d seen how traditional things were here. Women looked after the home while men worked. That wasn’t how I wanted to live my life, but I’d only talked to Bastien and the Alpha. Maybe the women of the pack felt differently. If I was considering my options, I needed to connect with people other than Bastien.

I stood up. There was no point in sitting around, wallowing, and waiting for Bastien to return.

Outside, the afternoon sun shone through the trees surrounding the village. Even late in the day, the commune was buzzing with activity. A few houses down the road, a woman tended to her vegetable patch as a gaggle of children played nearby.

“Hi,” I said with a smile. “We haven’t met before. I’m Casey.”

“I know who you are,” she said, barely glancing up from the carrots she was digging up. She didn’t introduce herself.

I awkwardly shifted from foot to foot. The older kids helped the woman unearth various root vegetables while the younger set hunted for snails among the leafy plants.

“It’s wonderful that your children help you so happily,” I said, trying to connect with her. I loved kids and hoped to have my own one day. But maybe not as many as she had. There were eight of them, all under ten. “If they’re all yours, I mean.”

I didn’t want to insult her. The woman couldn’t have been older than twenty-eight.

“Children are very important to the pack,” she said. It seemed like a reprimand, though I didn’t know why. “Everyone has a duty here. I give the pack healthy, strong children, and they serve the pack in turn.”

My eyes went wide. I knew the pack was traditional, but it was starting to sound like a cult.

“Of course,” I said quietly, not wanting to antagonize her further. I walked away with a pit in my stomach. The Alpha had promised me more freedom, but if this was what the pack was like, maybe I hadn’t been missing out on as much as I thought. Was a fated mate worth it if it meant giving up my independence? Before Bastien, my answer would have been a resounding no. The fact I was even considering it was proof enough that Bastien was my mate.

Would Bastien ever leave Moon Edge? It was presumptuous to think he would do so for me, but I knew from our conversations that he wasn’t as traditional as the rest. But he was loyal, a quality I found endearing.

I sighed. My head and heart were at war with each other. My dreams of finding love and a community weren’t living up to my expectations. But until I spoke to Bastien, I wasn’t sure I wanted to give up.

I spotted Jules talking to one of the pack protectors. He probably knew where Bastien was. Jules’s companion saw me and quickly walked away when I headed toward them. Jules gave me an uncomfortable look.

“Hi, Jules,” I said, trying not to let the awkward atmosphere bother me. “Have you seen Bastien?”

Jules looked around as if checking to see if people were watching us.

“Last I saw, he was patrolling the perimeter of the commune,” he said, shrugging. “I always tell him to let the grunts do it, but he insists.”

I curled my fingers around my pendant, taking comfort in the familiar shape of the fleur-de-lis. While I was torn about our future, Bastien was business as usual.

“Oh, okay,” I said, my gaze dropping to the ground. I didn’t want to see judgment on Jules’s face—or worse—pity.

“I should—go,” Jules said, already edging away from me.

I nodded. The sharp points of the pendant’s crescent moons dug into my palm as I remembered my father’s words. My intuition pushed me to find Bastien, but was that just wishful thinking? If I gathered my strength, I would simply walk away and return home. And my dual nature? Until now, I’d lived in the human world, hiding my wolf side. My wolf wanted Bastien, but she always craved freedom, and I wasn’t sure I would get that here. The mantra usually brought me clarity, but my thoughts spun in circles.

I wandered further into town. It was busy, with groups of kids trailing after their mothers while other women carried baskets of laundry or produce. The pack protectors leisurely strolled about, and I spotted one of them flirting with a giggling girl. They seemed to be a happy community, but when I said hello, I was met with curt nods and cold greetings. I wasn’t just an outsider—I was a pariah. I didn’t belong here. My father was right; I should have stayed away from other wolves.

I was about to retreat when I spotted a familiar head of dark hair. Bastien had returned. He greeted his pack mates with a friendly smile, and I watched from afar as he helped an elderly woman with her laundry basket.

We needed to hash things out before I committed to leaving. I owed myself that much. I followed as he accompanied the woman to her house. In the few days I’d been in the commune, Bastien was the only man I’d seen helping a woman with her chores.

My heart expanded, warming my chest. Bastien was a good person—the kind of man I’d always imagined for a partner, fated mate or not. When Bastien spoke of duty to the pack, it wasn’t a rule he followed but a philosophy he lived by. While the other men ignored the women and children, Bastien was attentive. I knew he disagreed with pack traditions, even though he followed the Alpha’s orders.

Is that why he’s avoiding me?

I had to speak to him. I waited on the road while Bastien hauled the basket inside. It wasn’t long before he emerged with a smile on his face. The Moon Edge pack may have rejected me for reasons I didn’t understand, but there was beauty in their community.

Bastien turned away from the house and stiffened as I approached, his shoulders going tight and his mouth thinning into a line.

“Bastien,” I said, his name sounding like a plea. “I need to talk to you about being mates.”

“I have nothing to say about that,” he said. He wouldn’t look at me, keeping his icy blue gaze on the ground.

My last shred of hope vanished. Fated mates aside, I knew we had a connection, so I didn’t understand Bastien’s change in behavior.

“I know you care about me,” I said, forging ahead. He was the man who saved me, protected my modesty, and opened his home to me. “Or you used to care, at least. Why did finding out we’re mates change that?”

His mouth twisted into a snarl. I knew it was a lost cause before he spoke, and my wolf whined in pain.

“I’m not talking about this,” he snapped, stepping back. “I don’t want a mate.”

My eyes burned, but I held back my tears. I wouldn’t show him how much he’d hurt me. I still had my pride, if nothing else.

“Fine,” I said, even as my heart was breaking. My fated mate didn’t want me. I was all alone in the world. I turned away, unable to look at him. The entire experience had been a nightmare. I’d come to Kisatchie National Forest to say goodbye to my dad, but instead, I was attacked, rejected by my fated mate, and treated with nothing but contempt by the pack.

It was time to put the whole mess behind me. I took a calming breath and strode toward the town square. I looked back, hoping to see Bastien one last time, but he was gone. There was nothing left for me in Moon Edge.