The Alpha’s Chosen Outcast

17. HEATHER

Chapter 17

HEATHER

I made it back home without incident, but I’ve been freaking out internally ever since. I’ve been out running every night, and whenever I change, I can feel Trey looking for me.

When I release my wolf and go off into the woods, she cries out to be with him. I have to cut every run short to keep him from locating me.

Trey is an Alpha now. I know that means I could marry him and all my troubles would be over but I saw how that would go if I’d accepted.

He doesn’t have a strong foothold in power yet, and the pack is still mourning his father. He can’t keep them in line and assert his authority if they question his moves from his very first day as Alpha.

No, I couldn’t let him take on that burden. I couldn’t do that to Violet, either, because she’d feel it, too, when the elders around him started to push back.

The best thing for me to do is to disappear. It’s the best thing for everyone, really. All that’s left is to decide where to go and what I’ll do when I get there.

Violet’s dress was a serious show-stopper. All the NYC designers wanted to know who made it, but she wouldn’t tell them. By the time the wedding day rolled around, we hadn’t worked out how we’d handle that.

When I landed, Jessie and all my friends were at my house with a surprise welcome-home party.

They want me to bask in the glory of being a breakout designer at such a young age. It takes decades for most people to make a name for themselves like this.

I never went to a formal school for my talent. I started out with all my thrift store remakes and learned from books at the library.

I don’t want to be known by the world as Heather Cauley, a famed designer. I want to fall back into invisibility with the thrift store remakes in my kitchen and the occasional commission.

I’d thought this town and this job would be a good place to hide. Looking around the room at that party, I realize I am wrong.

So now, here I am, surfing the web for my next hideout. I have to head to work in a few minutes, and I actually dread it. What was once my sanctuary has become my own personal hell.

Jessie keeps trying to get me to go public as the designer for Violet’s gown. She’s been getting calls about it since the wedding.

Apparently, the press wants to talk to me and learn about my process—especially the design process and working with a Hanover. Everyone knows that the Hanovers are wolves.

They know that Trey’s father was an Alpha and that Violet is important to the city and the pack. They’re all beating down Jessie’s door to find out if the designer is human.

That’s part of the hell I’m in now. None of my friends or coworkers have said anything yet, but I can tell they want to ask.

I can see that they suspect me of being a wolf. Part of me wants to bear my claws, show my snout, and get the reveal over with, but my human side is locking that down.

I don’t need even more complications in this mess. Every day, I have to hold back the raw desire to hop on a plane and head back to the city to be with my mate.

I feel his pull all the time, even more, when I run in the woods. My wolf wants to be with his, and the hundreds of miles between us don’t matter.

I thought that time and distance would end the connection since we technically hadn’t consummated it. But it feels like it’s getting stronger every day.

Sometimes, it’s physically painful not to be with him because I know he’s my mate, and he’s meant to be mine. Sacrificing that bond is proving to be much harder than I imagined it would be.

I can’t do this. I can’t deal with this pain and still pretend like nothing is wrong at work. I email Jessie and tell her I’m not feeling well, then get back to my search for a new home.

I’m looking at a little condo in the PNW that I might be able to afford if I sell anything of value I currently own. I start looking for jobs in the area that might make that easier…and then I feel it.

It’s like the pain in my midsection goes away suddenly. I feel a sense of peace and close my eyes to breathe. I smell him then, which sends memories through my brain in rapid succession.

I see the first time I met Trey, him setting up plates of Chinese food, laughing, and talking about silly things. I see him kiss me. I see the hard length in his pants. Mine .

And then I feel him. So close.

I turn around to find him down on one knee. I have no idea how he got into my house, but I don’t care. He’s holding a beautiful shiny ring with the biggest diamond I’ve ever seen. I hadn’t told him where I was.

How did he find me? Was it Jessie? She promised she wouldn’t tell anyone where I lived. One of my friends? No, they wouldn’t tell him that either.

The questions vanish from my mind as I return to reality where Trey is here, on one knee, holding out a ring and waiting for me to catch my breath.

“Heather, you know this is more than an obligation. I know you feel it, too. I know you felt the snap when our mating bond set in. What you may not have realized is that it’s not going away. We’re bound by fate, and no matter how far you travel or how much you try to shake this bond, it will always be with us both.”

I drop down into the chair behind me and stare at him. He continues.

“You’re part of my pack, my family. I don’t care about exile laws or what the elders have to say. I put them in their places. I’m Alpha, and you’re my mate. They’ll just have to get used to it.”

Everything he’s saying is true. I can feel it. And every part of me wants to be his.

“Will you marry me?” he asks huskily.

I nod. My head feels like a bobblehead. “Yes,” I say through tears.

He takes my extended hand and slides the ring on my finger. He rises before me. This whole thing seems surreal. What happens next? I have no idea.

Before I know it, I’m in his arms. I can smell the woods on him, the fur of his wolf, and a trace of city grit—like dirt and steel. I bury my face in his chest, and he holds me closer.

It occurs to me at this point that we’re completely alone here. If Trey is here to protect me, and I’ve accepted his hand in marriage, it means that no one is coming after me.

We don’t have anywhere to be right now. No one will be knocking on my door anytime soon.

Then, I look up at him, my chin still on his chest. His lips are on mine instantly, then his whole mouth, his tongue, and mine mingle, and warmth spreads through me. His hands are in my hair, and I start walking him over to the couch.

His lips trail down my neck, his hands slide down my back and then around to my breasts. My hand moves down, and I can feel how hard he is through his pants.

We get to the couch, and his hands reach for my ass. He pulls me up, and I put my legs around him. Our mouths crash together again as he falls back onto the couch with me straddling him.

He pulls off my shirt, and I tug off his. Our naked skin comes together when he unhooks and then pulls off my bra in one move.

I want him. I want every piece of him to be connected to every piece of me. My hands fumble with the button and zipper on his pants, and he lifts his ass so I can pull them off easier.

I take his underwear off with them and revel at his utterly naked body for a moment. He’s perfect. All Alpha, like I can practically see the magic crackling over him.

He pulls down the waistband of my leggings, and I bring my legs together so he can slip them off. My panties remain, though they’re soaking wet by this time.

It’s been minutes since I accepted his proposal. Seeing him and feeling the peace he brings when he’s in close proximity makes me wet.

His fingers slip inside me, and I gasp and arch my back a bit. He starts to pump into me and takes one of my nipples in his mouth. He flicks my nipple with his tongue and sucks, bringing me close to coming right then and there.

I let out a moan, and he pumps his fingers harder, taking time to stroke my clit with his wet fingers every few seconds. His fingers are so adept, and I start to ride them, moving with his pumping motions while he sucks on my nipple even harder.

He brings his other hand to my other breast and takes the nipple between his thumb and forefinger. I can’t stop myself—I come hard. I cry out while I ride his fingers pumping inside me.

I want more of him. This isn’t enough for me. I don’t think it’ll ever be enough. I keep coming, and he doesn’t stop. I think he wants more of me, too.

When he takes his fingers out of me, I feel a sense of emptiness. I kiss him and then take his hand and lead him to my bedroom.

We’re not holding back anymore, and we’re going to need more room. When he sees the bed, he knows exactly what I’m thinking, and he doesn’t waste any time.

Trey throws me down on the mattress and rips my panties—like literally rips them with a claw—but doesn't touch my skin at all.

“Are you ready?” He asks.

“Yes. I want you, Trey. I’ve wanted you for so long.”

That’s all he needs to hear to thrust inside me. He doesn’t need any more foreplay after he’s already made me come several times. I’m still wet for him.

He glides out slowly and looks right into my eyes before he thrusts in balls deep. He does that over and over, making me moan every time he enters me.

I can’t take it anymore. This is too slow. I want him to claim me, to drill into me like he can’t get enough—the same way I feel for him. I sit up while he’s inside me and kiss him.

His hands are on my breasts again, and we thrust together, faster and faster, until he’s ready to come, too. He pushes into me, and I can feel the pulsing in his veins as he orgasms.

We sit there for a little while, leaning against each other, not wanting to disconnect.

Part of me wants to wait until he’s ready to go again and keep going without him ever pulling out. But I’m also suddenly tired and realize we’ve been expending much more energy than we may have realized.

I lay back, and he pulls out of me, making me feel that emptiness again. This time, I know it won’t be for long. I look at the ring on my finger and remember that we’ll be getting married soon.

We have a whole slew of decisions to make very quickly, not least of which will be my own gown. I’m designing it, of course.

This also means that I don’t have to hide anymore. Trey’s proposal offers me protection with all the packs. I can do the press interviews and be the breakout designer of this year for real.

When we get back to New York, I can see my parents, and I won’t ever have to be apart from them again.

“What’s that look about?” He asks me.

He’s turned toward me with his head propped up on one hand, supported by his elbow on the bed. He’s still completely naked, and I take a minute to admire the sight.

“Nothing.” I turn toward him, too. “Just realizing you’re about to make all my dreams come true.”

He looks down at his dick. “I was that good, huh?”

I laugh. “When I get back to the city, I want to try to work for Jessie’s sister full-time. Can you make that happen?”

“Absolutely,” he says. “Unless you want to open your own shop.”

I hadn’t even thought of that as an option. My own shop. Am I really good enough to compete with the designers of NYC?

“For now, I think I just wanna work at the shop. I’ll keep the idea of an independent business for later after I have some more experience as a designer in the city.”

“Makes sense. About the wedding, I have a radical plan. Hear me out before you make a decision, okay?”

“That sounds ominous.”

“It’s not, I swear. I want us to have the official marriage ceremony here—the handfasting as wolves and all the extras that make it legal and binding with the packs.”

“You don’t want a big party?”

“We can do that when we get back home, but it’ll take a year or longer to plan. I don’t want you to be left vulnerable during that time. It’ll be like living in limbo. But if we come back already married, no one can touch you.”

“I like that. One thing, though. I have to tell my friends here what’s going on.”

“About that…” he trails off.

“What?”

“Are you sure you want to tell them everything ?”

“Seriously?”

“Look, I know that wolves are known to many, and I’m sure you wouldn’t be friends with people who just reject you for who you are, but…”

“But what?”

“It’s one thing to know about wolves. It’s another to know that your friend actually is one.”

“It’ll be fine, I promise.” I’m a little annoyed, but I also kinda like the whole possessive-mate thing.

“Trey, they’re not going to accept that I met this guy and we’re getting married after knowing each other barely a month. But if they know you’re my mate, that’s a different story.”

“Do you think they’ll understand about mates?”

“It’s one of the few pieces of wolf society that has become widely known.”

“True.”

“Okay, so I’ll call them, and we can all meet for dinner tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“Yes. If we’re gonna get married and move back to the city, I need to get this over with before we start planning.”

“Okay then, tonight. You make the arrangements.”

“And you fret about meeting my best friends because they’re totally gonna grill you.”

“Oh, that’ll be fun.” He rolled his eyes.

“It will be for me.”

I smile at him, and his mouth is on mine in an instant, as if he wants to taste that smile. Any plans are gonna have to wait because I can tell he’s ready to go all over again.