My Mate (The Alpha Shifter Collection #23)

Chapter Two

The next full moon was only three days away. It was dark, and Dex knew exactly where Casey was going to be. They were no longer under curfew, and seeing as they were desperate for her to find that peace with her wolf, no one was stopping her from entering the woods.

They didn’t have to worry about hunters or humans walking through their forest. His father had long befriended an old witch who lived in a cabin at the edge of the woods. She hated being disturbed. For the added protection to his pack, she was part of the pack, even though she didn’t possess any wolf genes. She was all witch and could probably curse them while they were sleeping, but so far, nothing bad had come from helping her. His father had always said it was important to help others.

It didn’t take him long to find Casey. She was sitting in the center of a small clearing, and if there had been a full moon, the beam would have cast a light on her. The scent of chocolate and coffee was heavy in the air. Two scents he fucking loved, and most often Casey smelled like. She had a little addiction to both, and seeing as he had a not-so-secret addiction to her, it worked for the two of them.

“It’s rude to go sneaking around,” Casey said, and spun toward him. She crossed her legs, rested her palms upward, and stared at him.

“I don’t see anyone else here,” Dex said.

“So you’re happy to be rude to me.”

“Last time I checked, you’re more than happy to have your ass kicked than to do any real kicking,” he said.

“That’s not funny.” Casey glared at him, but she didn’t turn away.

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t know, trying to figure out what is going wrong.” She sighed and he watched as her shoulders slumped.

He moved closer to her and sat on the floor so their knees were touching.

“Stop,” he said.

She lifted her head, and seeing the glistening tears in her eyes was like a punch to the gut for him.

“Don’t,” he said.

She snorted and then shook her head. “It’s insane, right? Feeling this way.” She closed her eyes and watched as one of the tears fell down her cheek. He couldn’t stand to see her cry.

Reaching out, he swiped it off her cheek. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about tears.

“Tell me what to do?” he asked. He needed to fix this. To hurt whatever was making her cry.

She shrugged. “You’re so sweet, but there is nothing for you to fix. There is nothing you can do.” She sighed. “It’s … just … this.” She dropped her head.

“Talk to me,” he said.

If there was nothing he could fight, he could spend his time attempting to help her. There had to be something he could do.

“Do you really want to hear this?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t have asked.”

“All my life, ever since my parents told me what I would become and started to prepare me for my transition, I couldn’t wait. All I ever wanted was to be part of the pack. I loved that sense of having my place, of knowing what I was going to do, what I was going to be. I’ve never been more excited for anything, other than my eighteenth birthday, where I was going to be part of the pack.”

“Casey, you already are.”

“And do you know what it was like, going out into the forest, hearing all the howls, knowing the recent newbies were there, running? I stared up at the full moon, and I waited, and nothing. That was all I could do—wait. The moon stayed high in the sky, and then I watched it slowly set, and nothing.” She stopped and there were more tears. “I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to stay in that forest until I transitioned, and I tried. The sun came up, and still I stayed. Nothing. Eventually, I got hungry and knew I would have to go to my parents. The moment they looked at me, they knew I hadn’t transitioned.”

She pressed her lips together, and she was so close to tears.

“It’s okay,” he said.

“No, it’s not. You keep telling me my place is among the pack, but it’s not. If I can’t turn, what does that make me?” she asked.

“Someone special,” he said.

“Please don’t play jokes.”

“Believe it or not, I am not playing jokes. If you can’t turn, so what? That doesn’t stop you from being part of the pack, and my dad is not going to kick you out. I know he can be an asshole and he has his rules and stuff like that, but he loves this pack.”

Casey pressed her lips together. “You don’t think he is going to get rid of me?”

“No, he’s not.”

She uncrossed her legs, and then spun so she was lying on her back, staring up at the night’s sky.

Dex joined her, getting close, and he reached for her hand, locking their fingers together, as they both stared up at the sky.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I just … I don’t know what I am going to do.”

“What we’re all doing—being part of the pack—and I don’t see a problem. While everyone is breaking their bones and splitting their skin, you can be making that famous chili I know you love to make.”

She laughed. “I should have known you would always be thinking of your stomach.”

He chuckled. “It’s a damn good chili, and after a run, I’m always starving.”

“What is it like?” she asked.

“What?”

“Running. Allowing yourself to be free and wild.”

Dex glanced over to her and smiled. “Well, I can try and give you that experience.” He got to his feet and held out his hand. “Get up.”

“Dex?”

“Trust me,” he said. “Now, strip down to your underwear.”

She pursed her lips. “You know, this is something bullies do.”

“Have I ever bullied you?” he asked.

“No.”

“And I’m not going to start now. There is no one else around, and if anyone messed with us, I’d deal with it.”

“You’re always so sure of yourself,” she said. “Fine, fine, fine, but don’t look.”

He frowned but didn’t agree with her. There was no way he was not going to look.

Casey stripped down to just her bra and panties. It was a plain beige pair, but he knew she had better lingerie at home. Whenever she wore too large a shirt or dress, they would gape at the front. He particularly liked a red set he knew she had. It didn’t matter what he liked, though. All that mattered right now was helping Casey.

“I’m semi-naked, now what?” she asked.

He tried not to look, but Dex had never claimed to be a gentleman and seeing Casey nearly naked was a fucking dream. One that made his mouth water.

She wasn’t like a lot of the females in the pack. She had full hips, a slender waist, large tits, and a nice juicy set of thighs. To him, she didn’t look fragile, she looked ready to take on the world, and he fucking loved that. He felt his cock start to harden, but this wasn’t about him tonight.

“Run,” he said. “If I catch you, I win, and if you evade me, you win.”

“Wait, what do I win?” she asked.

“We’ll have to find out what you want.”

“And what do you win?”

“You’re going to have to wait to find out what I want.”

She looked doubtful. “I’m not sure about this.”

“You want to back down, or do you want to know what it really feels like to be a wolf?”

She glared at him. “You know what I want.”

“Then run, and hope I don’t catch you.”

****

It was official.

This was insane and crazy.

Or possibly crazy and then insane.

None of this made any sense to her, but yet, the moment Dex gave her that warning look that she had come to associate with him, she didn’t linger. Hell, no, she turned on her heel and ran like crazy. She had no idea where she was going.

She couldn’t believe she was running away from Dex in her underwear. There had better not be any of the pack around as she felt this was going to require way too many questions and she didn’t have a clue how she would be able to answer them.

But once again, Dex was at her rescue, trying to make her feel better. She didn’t know why he was always there when she needed him. It had been that way for as long as she could remember. Even before they started school, Dex was always there.

At first, running through the forest naked didn’t feel special, other than the fact she was in her underwear running from her soon-to-be Alpha.

Casey didn’t quite know when that feeling changed, but she felt the air on her face and the earth beneath her feet. It was fast, and it took her breath away. She didn’t want it to stop.

And then, she heard Dex as he began to make chase.

She started to slow down, as she knew she was no match for Dex. He’d be able to do whatever the hell he wanted. Everyone knew how good he was, faster and stronger than everyone else. She knew she wasn’t going to make this easier for him, but she was going to make him work for it.

Running as fast as she was able, which she didn’t feel was a great speed, she was feeling like her lungs were about to explode. It felt incredible, and with Dex gaining on her, she didn’t know what he was going to want from her.

Dex never told her what he wanted. He never asked for a single thing, not even back in high school. Whenever he saw her getting bullied, the person doing the bullying would end up on their face, and he’d hold out a hand for her to take. Everyone knew they messed with her at their own risk. Sometimes they tried to do it in secret, but Dex had his ways of finding out. Most of the time, she didn’t even need to tell him what had happened or who had done it. He’d been able to detect who they were by simply scenting her skin.

To some people that was weird, but she also knew it was the Alpha part of him that was able to do the things he did. She also knew, one day, when he did take over from Klaus, he would be just as good as his father.

Dex had a heart, although he tried to hide it. Her mother once said that the only problem with Dex was that someone he cared about kept getting hurt.

Casey suddenly came to a stop as she realized who she was talking about. The pack hurt her. Dex cared about her .

She spun around as Dex came toward her, and she stared at him. For so long she had wondered who he cared about, but it would seem for the longest time it had been her.

“I’ve got you,” he said.

Her back was to the tree. She kept panting, and much to her surprise it only took a few seconds to catch her breath.

“It’s me,” Casey said. “I am the one you care about.”

Dex stared at her, and he took one step, then another, until he reached out and rested his hand against the side of her head.

She didn’t know what to say or do, she could only look at him. “That’s right, isn’t it?”

“Did you not know?” he asked.

“I … I … no.”

He smiled. “You know, for a clever woman, Casey, you sometimes are a little dumb.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because you didn’t know it was you I cared about.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “No, not why I’m dumb, but why did you not tell me?” she asked. “Why do you care about me?”

Dex could have any other girl or single woman in the pack. Besides the fact he was handsome and sexy, he was also going to be the next Alpha, and to a lot of women, that was a draw no one could deny.

She didn’t care that he was going to be the next Alpha. When they were little, her parents would always tell her to be nice to Dex. She didn’t have to be told to be nice. Once again, it took her a little time to realize that Dex was the Alpha’s son. She already cared about him by then. He was her best friend and in his way, her savior.

It would seem there were a lot of times when fellow peers from the pack didn’t like her. She had no idea what she did to irritate them, but either way, she was not going to let it bother her. Dex cared for her.

“How could I not care for you?” he asked. “You’re smart—”

“You just called me dumb,” she reminded him.

“You’re smart and dumb at the same time. You do not know what is right under your nose, and you’re … beautiful. Even when people are being assholes to you, you haven’t changed. It has not made you bitter. You don’t think about getting them back. Even after what Buddy did to you, you’re not thinking about hurting him.”

“I can’t change who they are, and I am not going to allow them to change who I am,” she said.

Her mother had always told her it wasn’t about what other people did or how they acted, it was about how it made her feel and behave. She was not going to let any of them get under her skin. The bullying was manageable. Now, she knew it was all because of Dex. He made it work. He stopped the bullies.

“No, you can’t change them, and they haven’t changed who you are. You’re amazing, Casey. I know that, and so does everyone who comes to know you.”

“I’m not special.”

“You are to me, and that is all that matters.”

She looked at him, a little taken aback by his honesty. “I had no idea.”

“And that is what makes you pretty dumb.”

Casey sighed. “So, what do you want?” she asked. “You won. You caught me. What is it you want?”

“This.” He closed the distance between them, and then his lips brushed hers.

She felt that tingle shoot all the way through her body, and it made her melt so hard and so fast. She didn’t know what to do with her hands, and for several seconds she kept them at her sides. Then, she wanted to touch him, to feel his body beneath her hands.

Starting at his waist, she slowly began to slide them up, going toward his chest. She felt how hard he was beneath his clothing. Dex had always been all muscle.

Several of the girls in her class had wanted Dex all to themselves. She’d heard them conspire, trying to gain his attention. Whenever he’d enter a classroom, they’d puff out their chests, wanting him to notice them.

Looking back now, Casey remembered him always finding her and coming to sit right beside her in class. Now, that made a lot of sense to her why some of the other girls hated her guts. Some of the bullying, especially in school, had come from the girls.

She was having a reality check and an epiphany after each one. They hated her because of all the attention she got from Dex. This made so much sense to her.

Kissing him, she loved the feel of his lips on hers, and then, as she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and pressed her body to his, he felt so good against her. She loved the kiss. It felt like she’d been waiting all her life to feel his lips on hers. And then he pulled away.

“You’re my reward.”