Chapter 47
Chapter Forty-Seven
Robin
Iclose my eyes and open them again, but the tall Alpha with the intense eyes is still standing right in front of me, one hand holding mine against his chest, and the other stroking over my cheek, fingertips brushing my hair.
Did he really just tell me I’m his true mate, and that all of this feels too good to be true because we have a fated connection?
I must have fallen and hit my head.
He sounds like a rom-com hero.
Clearly, I’m passed out and dreaming up a fantasy scenario, because there’s no way in hell this Alpha is standing in front of me right now, telling me I’m his mate.
I seriously need to quit watching rom-coms.
At least until I’m over my crush on this guy.
“If you really think you’re dreaming, I should try to wake you up.”
He gives me a hint of a smile and my stomach flips.
“Maybe I don’t want to wake up,” I confess, though I probably should.
Having sexy dreams about a guy who might come back here to actually find an Omega would basically be asking for a broken heart somewhere down the line.
This guy is so far out of my reach that he might as well be on a different planet.
He leans down and rests his forehead against mine.
“Well, you don’t need to wake up, Robin, because you’re not asleep.”
“This is real?” I blurt.
“It is, and I think I know how to make sure you don’t forget that.”
His arm wraps around my shoulders as his lips press against mine.
A gasp escapes me, and he takes the chance to run his tongue over my lower lip.
The shiver that touch sends through my body is like a lightning bolt to my lady parts.
It’s a shock to realize those parts are in working order, despite never being used.
The urge to touch him and be touched by him floods my system.
I wrap my arms around his neck, pushing onto my toes and pressing my body tightly against his as I kiss him back, reacting and responding to his lips and tongue as if they’re keeping me alive.
When he breaks away, we’re both gasping for air, and I think he’s feeling as ready to keep going as I am.
“More,” I moan softly, making his eyes widen.
For a second I think he’s about to kiss me again, but he lets out a soft sigh and shakes his head.
“We should slow this down a bit,” he says, his gaze telling me his words have nothing to do with what he actually wants.
He’s the only guy I’ve been this into, and he wants this as much as I do.
I can’t think of a better way to lose my virginity.
Whatever his true intentions are, I know I wouldn’t regret that decision.
“Slowing down feels like the wrong speed,” I tell him, knowing it’s up to him.
He’s in control here. He’s an Alpha, and he’s way too hot to be this into me.
I’m sure he’ll realize I’m not his true mate soon enough.
Until then, I’m beyond ready to be whatever he wants.
He’s probably used to girls throwing themselves at him.
Making a mistake like me won’t be a big deal for this guy.
As long as I don’t let him mark me.
“My teeth are sharpening,” he admits, showing me.
I’ve seen the fangs of an Alpha before on screen, but never in real life.
It’s mesmerizing. The urge to run my finger over the sharp points comes and goes.
I don’t touch. It’s not my place.
Those sharp points aren’t for me. They’re for marking an Omega as his mate.
I move back, letting go of him, and, after a beat, his arms release me.
Stepping back to keep a little distance between us, I fold my arms in front of my body.
“So, what happens next?” I ask him, not sure how to behave around him now that we’ve made out. I wonder if it’s normal to feel this awkward around a guy. I have no idea if it is, but I don’t think this is a normal situation, so who the hell knows?
He touches his teeth and then sighs again. “We have some talking to do anyway. Your guardian doesn’t completely trust me. Her guard has probably been watching us.”
“My guardian?” I ask, looking around and half-expecting to see Colleen.
“Lana,” he clarifies, stuffing his hands into his front pockets. “The woman who runs this place. She wasn’t happy that we lied about why we wanted to visit the academy.”
A sliver of disappointment hits, and I know that’s only a fraction of the pain I’ll feel if I let this hot Alpha break my heart. “So, you didn’t come here to visit me on Friday?”
That’s kind of weird considering he’s here now to visit me.
If I can trust that he’s being honest about what he’s here for, I mean, which, clearly, I can’t.
He blinks at me. “What? No. Wait. I have a lot to tell you. It’s not what you think.”
“I’m listening,” I reply, after a few moments pass in complete silence.
“It’s just …” he starts, taking his hands out of his pockets. “It’s hard to concentrate around you. I think … it helped when I was holding your hand.”
He reaches out, and I don’t hesitate.
Oh, I’m so headed for heartache.
Sighing, he strokes my hand in both of his.
After a few seconds, he looks back up at me.
“After the night we met, I felt so lost. I didn’t realize why, not right away.
It was my first time helping the Alpha Alliance, and I kept calling my contact to find out if you were okay.
He kept telling me he’d find out and get back to me.
Then, he stopped answering my calls. I didn’t know what to do.
I just knew I had to see you. So, when I looked up the academy’s information and I found out they were having a social event, I signed up for that. ”
I can’t help but smile. It’s sweet that he tried to check on me.
“So, that’s why you were in a suit?” I ask, realizing he isn’t dressed like he owns a business today. He’s in a plain T-shirt and jeans. It’s way easier to see how well built he is in the casual clothes. As good as he looked before, this is better.
“It is,” he confirms, smiling wryly. “I left the ballroom to go looking for you, and Shayne stayed. Turns out if I’d stayed put, I probably would have bumped into you like he did.”
I suck in a breath, my eyes widening. “You came to the party with him?”
He knows the Alpha I bumped into that night!
I saw them walk in together, but I didn’t think too much about that at the time, other than my realization that I could be attracted to the right kind of Alphas.
“He’s … a part of my pack,” he admits, chewing on his lower lip for a second afterward.
“You have a pack?” I ask, wondering what that means, exactly.
He nods slowly. “Shayne’s the one who felt the true mate bond and made me realize I felt that with you that night we met. I didn’t see it then, because I wasn’t looking for it. If I had … If I’d known, I never would have left your side.”
My stomach flips when I hear the promise in that final statement.
It feels like he’s being serious.
As crazy as it sounds, he really thinks I’m fated for him.
“I … I think I would have liked that.” The admission makes me blush.
It makes me wish my memory of him hadn’t slipped away during my time in the medical ward.
Though even if it had stuck in my mind, I don’t think it would have altered anything.
I remembered him when I was meant to.
Fate works like that.
“I’m sorry I didn’t see it when I should have,” he apologizes. “I don’t always notice or pay attention to my instincts. I’ve never been able to figure out why.”
“But isn’t that what drives an Alpha?”
His wry smile deepens. “Oh, I’ve used those instincts to make a fortune, and I’ve kept my mates safe from harm, but beyond that, I don’t know. It’s like that sense is duller than it should be or something.”
“You have mates?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.
I half-expect him to back-pedal on that, as if it was a mistake to say it out loud, but he nods.
“You met Shayne. We have a Beta called Jay, and an Omega called Harper. In all honesty, we thought our pack was complete. Until you.”
I blink at him, trying to take that news in.
He has multiple mates, and his pack isn’t platonic.
Packs have been a thing since forever. I know that much.
In the movies, packs are usually shown as an alternative lifestyle that the lead’s best friend might be into, if she’s a party girl or a little bit different.
The dynamics can be interesting, but they’re often only hinted at.
I didn’t realize the men involved could actually be mated to each other.
I thought that was just some kind of sexed up version of reality.
Packs aren’t romanticized and idealized like couples are.
Fated mates are always portrayed as an Alpha male meeting an Omega female.
I don’t know how to wrap my head around true mates existing within a pack.
It’s not something I’ve ever seen or thought about.
And now here I am, standing in front of a hot Alpha, while he explains he’s part of a pack with another incredibly attractive Alpha, and that they both want me to be their mate.
My life has been getting better ever since I was brought here, and he was a part of that.
Still, this feels way too good to be true.
There’s got to be some kind of catch, and maybe this is it?
I don’t know. I’m more shocked than anything else.
“This is kind of a lot to take in,” I admit.
He doesn’t seem surprised by my reaction, so clearly, he knows how insane this is.
“That’s why we had to slow down,” he tells me. “It can be easy to get caught up in the bond, but we should find out more about each other before we take this any further. You have three more true mates to meet.”
“Three more?” I blurt, trying to remember what he said about his other two mates.
I’m sure he said one was a Beta, and the other was an Omega.
“Didn’t I say that already?” He frowns. “I thought I did.”
This is even crazier than I thought. He thinks I’m a true mate to every member of his pack?
“Um, it’s just … I’ve met you, and Shayne. So, if you both felt the bond, I get it. But I haven’t met the others, and don’t you kind of have to meet to know if you’re true mates?”
“Technically, yes, but I’d be more surprised if you didn’t connect with them when you meet. Call it an Alpha instinct thing.”
“Okay,” I answer, because I’m still kind of reeling from the thought of becoming part of a pack.
He looks around after a few seconds of silent contemplation.
“This is nice. Were you out here for a walk?”
“Oh. Uh … Yeah. I come out here every day. I used to spend a lot of time in the garden, um, before. I like to watch the plants grow. I don’t get to help them here or anything, but I like to walk around anyway.” I shrug.
“You like to garden?” he asks.
There’s that word again. Like.
I’m not sure I can use it honestly, but I nod anyway.
“It’s relaxing.”
“It is?”
“You don’t feel relaxed just being out here, in nature, under the sun?”
He smiles. “Well, when you put it that way, I guess I do.”
I get another glimpse of his sharp teeth when he talks, and I can’t help but blush.
That’s not something that happens for no reason.
According to him, I’m the reason.
Because I’m meant to be his mate.
And if it were only him, I might be tempted to talk him into climbing the fence and sneaking into the woods with me, for some private time together.
But since it’s not, and I haven’t even met two of my supposed true mates, I keep those thoughts to myself, and I give him a different suggestion.
“We could walk around for a bit,” I start. “And, maybe, if Lana’s okay with it, we could have lunch in the cafeteria together after I’ve shown you the gardens.”
“Sounds good to me.”