THE ALPHA's MATE: A Romantic Thriller

by Jennifer Winget

  I shook my head at him as even I knew he made a colossal mistake, “Walker, by chance did Sawyer ask you about the pups because she wanted to know how you feel about having kids?” I asked him, trying to nudge him there.

  “She knows I love kids, but I just don’t like training them. What’s the big deal?” he said, clearly not understanding.

  I shook my head at him, “God, Ellie was right. You are an idiot.”

  “What?” Walker almost screeched, “What is it that I’m not getting?”

  “She asked how you feel about kids, because she’s pregnant,” I tell him.

  I watch as every muscle in his face seems frozen in time as the realization hits him. Then, as if the truth finally set in, I watched as joy, fear, and shock all seemed to crowd his features before he stood up quickly and bolted for the stairs, “Sawyer!”

  Zea laughed as we watched him go. Within a few minutes, Ellie came back down, “I’m assuming you had to tell him,” she laughed.

  I shook my head and smiled at her as she joined us on the couch, “I tried to let him get there on his own, but he just couldn’t put it together.”

  She laughed at that, “Yeah, I didn’t think he would, but I am surprised you knew.”

  “She asked him about how he felt about having kids. It doesn’t take a genius.”

  “I suppose not,” she tells me, “I like to hope that you would have had a clue as to what I was talking about.”

  “I am positive that I would have known,” I tell her.

  “Oh really?” she says, “Because I seem to recall that I was easily able to pass my morning sickness off as my hatred for fish.”

  “Well, one instance does not mean that I would not have known,” I tell her playfully, “I do wonder though, how would you have told me?”

  She smiled as she thought back, “I actually thought about getting one of those t-shirts that say best dad or telling you over a nice dinner. I even thought about just blurting it out. Granted these thoughts were all had literally seconds after taking the test, so I didn’t have a lot of time to think of ideas.”

  “I don’t know,” I tell her, leaning over and kissing her mark, “I like all of those ideas.”

  She laughed again before pushing me back slightly and looking down at Zea, “Hey sweetheart, do you want to help me get dinner ready?”

  Zea smiled and nodded her head vigorously. She truly did love the kitchen.

  “While you guys work, I’m going to get some of my own work done,” I tell Ellie as I stand up and I pull her into my arms. Before she could say anything, I pulled her closer for a kiss, smiling as I pulled away.

  “Alright, you take care of pack business,” she smiled at me before giving me one last kiss and walking away, but not before yelling to me, “But you better not be late for dinner.”

  I laughed as she walked out of the room, “I wouldn’t even think about it.”

  I spent an hour in my office working on the paper work for the pack when Walker came in and started pacing around the room, “I mean I’ve always wanted kids. I love kids and I couldn’t wait to have kids with Sawyer, but if I’m not ready. I mean I’ve never been a dad. I don’t know how to be a father. I didn’t exactly have the best role model growing up. What if I’m not good at this? I mean-”

  “Walker!” I yelled, causing him to halt mid pace and stop his rant. I motioned for him to sit down and thankfully he did, “Take a deep breathe.”

  He did as I said before giving a look that I had never seen in my best friend before, “What if I’m not good at this?”

  I give him a light smile, “Walker, you have wanted nothing but your mate and pups since as long as I can remember. You love children, and you will be a great father.”

  “How do you know?” he asked me.

  “Because of how you are with Zea. You aren’t your father, Jason. You never will be. That kid just got the greatest parents it could ever wish for,” I told him. God, when did I become so sappy.

  Walker smiled at me, “Thank you man. You’re right. I have nothing to worry about. You and Ellie will help us with this whole parent thing, right?”

  “Of course.”

  “Good,” he nodded his head as his smile grew even brighter, “I’m really happy.”

  “I know,” I told him before handing him a stack of papers, “and I’m sorry to break that happiness, but we both still have paper work to take care of.”

  He groaned as we both got to work.

  Alpha! Reid called me in the pack link, worry evident in his voice.

  Reid, what’s wrong? I asked him.

  Rogues on the north border.

  “Sound the alarms for rogues,” I told Walker as I linked all of the pack warriors to prepare for a fight at the north border.

  Moving quickly, we were both outside and had shifted within minutes, racing towards the border.

  Ellie, I called out to her.

  Axton, what happened? She asks me, panic and worry clear in her voice. She probably heard the alarm.

  Rogues are at the north border. I need you and Zea to get to the safe room, I tell her as I push myself to run faster.

  But Axton, I can help-

  I cut her off with a growl, No. Please, Ellie, I need you both safe. Just get to the safe room and lock yourselves in, I tell her, trying to get her to do as I say.

  Okay, she says, but Axton, be careful. I love you.

  I love you too, I tell her before closing the link.

  Knox pushes us to go faster. He knows these are probably the same rogues that want Ellie and Zea, and neither one of us is going to let anything happen to them.

  When I reach the border, I see all of my wolves standing at the ready. They faced the trees in wait for the attack. Seeing Reid closest to the border, I move to stand in front. I scan the forest behind the border, unable to see any rogues, when a slight movement caught my eye.

  I let out a low, menacing growl as more than fifty rogues stepped closer to the border into view, but not one of them crossed the line.

  If was like they were waiting for an order. I look over each and every one of them, none of them held any power. None of them were Cortez or any of his warlocks. They were just his foot soldiers.

  It was a stand still. Every warrior was ready, growling at the sight and each rogue growled back. The tension could be felt in the air. I was about to order the attack when a howl echoed through the woods. Every single rogue stopped growling the second the sound reached our ears. Taking one last look at us, they started to retreat into the forest.

  I stared perplexed as I looked over to Reid.

  What just happened? He asked me.

  I don’t know-

  My words were cut off as I felt pain shatter through my body. Every each of my skin burned as I almost collapsed to the ground in a whimper. The pack moved closer to me, knowing something was wrong but not knowing what.

  Axton, what is happening? Walker yells to me.

  I wanted to reply, but I couldn’t. The pain just grew stronger, but the stronger it grew, the more familiar it became. I had felt this kind of pain before. It was pain that wasn’t mine.

  Only one thought crossed my mind as I pushed myself off the ground and took off for the house.

  Ellie.

  Chapter 27

  Ellie POV

  I moved around the kitchen, taking place settings to the table as we waited for the noodles to finish cooking. As I put the table together, I thought about what these last couple of weeks had been. I went from trying to stay away from my mate and hoping he never found me to being completely in love with him all over again. He finally met his daughter and we were the family I had hoped that we would be seven years ago.

  Weirdly enough, all it had taken was one attack and it gave me my family.

  When Axton had told me that he was thinking about the future, I will admit that I was curious as to what he saw in store.

  Yeah, just curious? Raelynn commented. I could almost see her wolfy smirk.


  Hey, he said I was free to roam around in his head, I defend myself from her as I go back to thinking about what was actually in his head, causing my smile to grow even more.

  “What’s got you all smiles, huh?” Sawyer giggled in my ear, making me jump.

  “God damn, you scared the crap out of me!” I scold her as my heartbeats tries to calm down, “How are you doing? Do I need to kick Walker’s ass?”

  She laughed at me, “No, we talked, and he groveled. I think we are going to be okay.”

  I smiled to her and was going to say something when Zea ran up to us, “Is auntie Sawyer having a baby?”

  Sawyer smiled down to her as she bent down to her level, “I am.”

  Zea’s face lit up in a smile, “I hope it’s a girl!” she screamed as she jumped up and down. I laughed with Sawyer at her outburst, “Mommy, should I go get daddy for dinner?” she asked when she finally settled down after five minutes of her listing of girl names from girls she met in school.

  “I think that is a wonderful idea,” I told her as she ran out of the room.

  Sawyer stood back up as she said, “She is one hyper little girl.”

  “You don’t even know the half of it,” I tell her, “She did bring up a good question though.”

  “Oh, what question is that?” Sawyer asks me.

  “What do you want? Boy or girl?”

  She bit her lip in thought, “I don’t know. I always wanted at least two kids. A boy and a girl didn’t matter the order, but I will admit that I like the idea of my little girl having an older brother to protect her like you and your brother, Xander.”

  I smiled at that. I always did love how I grew up with Xander. I wish Zea had a sibling to be able to have that, “That’s really sweet. I’m sure-”

  I was going to say more when an alarm went off. I looked at Sawyer as I saw the fear in her eyes. We both knew what it meant.

  “We need to get Zea.”

  We both rush out of the room as she and I headed to Axton’s office.

  Ellie, Axton’s voice entered my mind.

  Axton, what happened? I asked him, hoping that he wasn’t going to tell me that it was the attack, but I knew better than that.

  Rogues are at the north border. I need you and Zea to get to the safe room, he tells me. I can sense the fear in his voice.

  But Axton, I can help- I try to argue. I could fight. I have been fighting my whole life.

  He cut me with a growl, No. Please, Ellie, I need you both safe. Just get to the safe room and lock yourselves in, I hear his desperation in his voice. I know just he wants to protect us.

  Okay, I say, but Axton, be careful. I love you.

  I love you too, he tells me before closing the link.

  I know Axton can take care of himself, especially with the pack behind him, but I still worry about him. Cortez isn’t just any rogue. The only thought I can focus on now is to protect my daughter.

  When I get to the office, I throw the door open as Sawyer rushes in behind me, “Where’s Zea?” Panic starts to fill me as I start moving furniture around to see if she is hiding.

  “Ellie! Ellie, calm down,” Sawyer tells me as she puts her hands on my shoulders, “We are going to find her. You check down here and I will look upstairs.”

  I nod my head at her, “Sawyer, if you find her, go straight to the safe room. Don’t wait for me,” she looked like she was going to argue, but I refused to let her, “Promise me. I need my little girl and the baby of yours safe alright. Just mind link me, and I’ll make my way to you.”

  “Alright, I promise,” she said before taking off for the stairs.

  Taking a short deep breath, I started running around the house. I kept screaming Zea’s name, but she hadn’t responded. The alarm must have scared her. She knew it meant rogues and she knew to hide. After searching the living room, I went to search the kitchen in case she went back to find me.

  “Zea!” I called out, but the room was empty. I moved farther into the room when a scent stopped me.

  Rogue! Raelynn growled out.

  Sensing movement behind me, I grabbed the pot of boiling noodles on my right and swung around. The scorching water hit his skin as the rogue screamed out. Shifting the pot around, I backhanded it across his face and his body hit the floor, unconscious.

  Before I could even move, I felt a slight pain in the back of my neck. Moving my palm over the spot, I felt the metal needle. I pulled it out to see the remnants of the purple liquid that was now sinking into my system

  “I love a good distraction,” a voice said. I almost didn’t even hear it as the familiar pain started.

  Fire moved through my body as I collapsed on the floor in agony. The liquid in the needle, it was even worse than the last time Cortez had injected me with it.

  Wolfsbane.

  My body tried to pull me towards the darkness as the pain intensified even more.

  Then I saw it. The small crack in the wooden door as a beautiful pair of eyes stared at me, ready to come heal me.

  “No.”

  It was the only word I could get out to my daughter before the pain took me.

  All I saw was darkness, but I could still feel the agonizing pain. It was in every part of my body, in every cell. It was burning me from the inside out.

  “Wakey, wakey little Luna,” a familiar voice called as a strong scent was placed in front of my nose, jerking me in consciousness but not dulling the pain.

  My eyes were met with a cold, dead soul staring back at me, “Cortez,” I barely whispered.

  “Welcome back, Luna,” he sneered down at me, “You have something that I want.”

  “And I will never give it to you,” I tell him, trying to push against the silver restraints across my arms, but only feeling it burn me even more.

  “You know last time, you didn’t talk. But I think that is just because you didn’t have the right motivator, what do you think?” At first, I thought the question was to me, but my mind of too tired and in pain to give a response. But then I heard a faint sound, almost like someone was growling but too beaten to make it much of a noise, “I see you don’t agree, but let’s ask the Luna, shall we?”

  He moved away from me as he revealed the man behind him, “I believe you’ve met my newest guest.”

  Tied to the chair across from me, he could barely lift his head. Blood covered his body as I could make out the purple of his skin from the torture. He looked to be barely breathing. His voice came out groveled as he coughed up blood, “Don’t tell him anything, Ellie.”

  The second his words were spoken, Cortez hit him, full force. Pulling a silver knife off a table near them, Cortez plunged it into his leg as he cried out in pain.

  “Rolfe.”

  Chapter 28