Alpha's Forbidden Mate

by Alice Cain

  "Yeah," I say, pressing a kiss to the forehead of the adorable idiot I'm deeply in love with. I figured that was what was going on. I was willing to give him a little time—especially with the annual pack meeting getting in the way—but after this, not any more. It hurts to talk but I manage to mumble, "Won't let him."

  Hunter nods and gives me a warm smile. "He blames himself for your arrest," he adds with a helpless shrug.

  "My occupation," I whisper. "Not his fault."

  Hunter smiles and I get the feeling he understands exactly what I'm trying to say.

  Investigative reporting is the very definition of poking my nose into things people don't want the public to know. Being arrested that way may have been the most dangerous situation I've been in, but it was by no means the first—or the last—time I've gotten myself into trouble. It's the nature of my chosen career.

  And there is no way in hell I'm letting my lover—my werewolf mate—push me away because he thinks I'll somehow be safer or my life will be easier without him. No fucking way.

  ~*~*~*~*~

  *** Darrick ***

  "We should think about heading home today," I say to Hunter, yawning despite the three solid days of lazing around I've done while John recovers. I've spent most of the past seventy-two hours cuddled into the man's embrace. The hospital staff have been surprisingly supportive. I doubt they would have been so patient under other circumstances, but John is big news right now.

  And Kelly is doing everything she can to make sure he stays front and center of a movement to expose the inequalities werewolves still face every day.

  Even if some humans still have no sympathy for us, surely they won't be happy to realize how easily they can be mistaken for a werewolf themselves. From what Kelly has uncovered, John didn't even get a chance to deny being a werewolf. He'd been assaulted in his own home, cuffed and shackled, and thrown into an underground system that had been designed specifically to "legally" exterminate werewolves. Surely humans should at least fear being treated under such ambiguous laws when they realize how easy it is, especially when malicious humans start reporting their exes simply out of spite.

  Already there are proposed changes to law and protests happening all over the country. And this time werewolves and humans are standing side by side in the debate. It's heartening to realize that even many of the humans who still hate us are opposed to the sort of rights violations that were happening underneath an animal shelter.

  Of course, nothing is ever simple—undoubtedly there are people trying to derail the social change that is now sweeping the country—but for the first time in twenty years I actually feel hopeful that we're heading toward equality for everyone.

  "The pack is running just fine without us," Hunter says, raising an eyebrow in challenge. At this stage I have to take his word for it simply because I've been too focused on my mate's recovery to truly take in the truncated reports my betas have been sending me.

  "We should still head home."

  "I agree," John says sleepily. I have an ironic moment to panic that my mate—the one I fully intend to leave in peace to live his own life—is pushing me away, before Hunter grins and I catch the scent of his satisfaction. What the hell?

  "Kelly dropped by with the stuff you asked her to pack," Hunter says to John, "so all we need is clearance from the doctor and then we can all head home."

  "Umm..." I say, trying to interpret a conversation that apparently excludes me.

  "Thanks, Hunter," Johns says, his voice much clearer now than it was three days ago. "I'm looking forward to seeing how much the place has changed."

  "You're coming home with me? With us?"

  "Of course," John says, his scent filled with determination now. "Where else should your mate be?"

  I want to be angry at Hunter for spilling those particular beans, but all I can feel is the selfish relief that John is not freaking out over the revelation. I have no doubt he understands the significance—either through his own research or the discussions he's apparently been having with Hunter while I slept the hours away curled in my mate's embrace—so I don't try arguing right now.

  With the current media attention it would probably be more stressful for John to try and go back to his apartment anyway, so a visit to his home town is probably good timing.

  And yes, I do know I'm delaying the inevitable, but I'm selfish enough to want to hold on for a few more days.

  ~*~*~*~*~

  ** John **

  Wolden Valley has changed significantly in the past twenty-two years but is also still somehow familiar. The improvements and additions blend seamlessly into the charm of the small town I'd once adored. Despite some of my less flattering memories of this place it really is nice to be back.

  I'm not sure why I'm surprised that Darrick still lives in his family home. It's the alpha's home and since he's the alpha it makes sense, but I suppose a part of me will always think like a human and see this as Darrick's parents' place.

  "Does your da—" I cut off the question, wondering if it's rude to ask if he kicked his father out after taking over his position as alpha of the pack.

  "My parents retired to a cabin further up the mountain," Darrick says, obviously understanding the question I tried not to ask.

  I also try not to take satisfaction in the idea that the man who essentially kicked my family out of our home town got himself ostracized a few years later. Yeah, I'm no saint, so I'm not going to beat myself up over momentarily enjoying the karma.

  "But there's something I probably should have mentioned," Darrick says as he opens the car door.

  "John?" I hear Hunter ask on a low growl, his annoyance very clear at the idea that Darrick hasn't told me something I probably should know. The reason becomes quite clear a moment later when the front door bursts open and two young children come running toward us.

  The word "Papa" reaches my ears at the same moment I notice a woman standing in the doorway.

  "You're married?" I ask incredulously. Mate or not that is something he definitely should have told me before now.

  The kids are climbing all over their father and I have no idea how to react. Thankfully Hunter comes to my rescue yet again.

  "Okay, monkeys," Hunter says, easily plucking the children out of Darrick's arms and giving him a significant look.

  "We're not monkeys," the little girl says in what seems to be a familiar game. "We're werewolves."

  "Are you sure?" Hunter says, tickling both kids as he walks back to the house. "The way you climb everything... I'm pretty sure that makes you monkeys."

  The children's squealing laughter drowns out the rest of the conversation, so I stop staring in their direction and turn to Darrick, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

  "Not married," Darrick says quickly. "Not mated."

  "But you're a father." I glance at the doorway where the woman has disappeared inside with Hunter and the children. "And their mother apparently lives in your house."

  Darrick looks so damn sad that I want to drag him into my arms and shield him from the entire world, but this is something I need to understand before I react in any way.

  "I should have told you earlier," Darrick says apologetically. He sighs quietly, and I can see the strain around his eyes again. "In the beginning it was nice to have you all to myself." He laughs in a self-deprecating tone. "No that's not entirely true. It was nice to have someone who was just mine."

  "You're not really winning me over with this argument," I say, trying to think in neutral tones but finding it difficult not to be appalled at a father who never mentioned his children to his lover.

  "Yeah, sorry," Darrick says, leaning back against the car as if his legs don't quite want to hold him up. "Leading with 'but things are different for werewolves' didn't seem like a good way to convince you either."

  I've already accepted that my life will be different with a werewolf mate than it would have been if I'd fallen in love with a human, but I need to know where I fit into th
is arrangement.

  "Just lay it out for me, Ricky," I say, dropping the tone of my voice just enough to remind Darrick of the times when he trusted me completely.

  He lifts his chin indicating the doorway where the woman had been standing moments ago. "Emily's mate was unable to father children. I needed an heir so..." He shrugs helplessly. "I wasn't even in the room."

  Admittedly that makes me feel a little better. I would have found a way to live in the same house with Darrick's ex-lover, but I'm kind of glad I don't have to.

  "They call you Papa?" I ask, needing to understand why Darrick never mentioned his children to me.

  He shrugs. "So do most of the children in the pack. I'm the alpha." Darrick gives me a tremulous smile. "Kira and Simon know they're related to me—and I guess that will become clearer to them as they get older—but I'm not their dad. I'm not the man raising them."

  "Sounds painful," I say as the reality of the situation starts to unfold in my mind. Even taking into account the closer bonds a werewolf pack shares, it still can't be easy for Darrick to be a father and yet have no real claim over his offspring. I know how deeply this man cares for the people around him.

  Darrick is blinking rapidly and I realize that he's trying not to break in front of his pack, even if we seem to be alone at the moment. Here, in public, he needs to be their leader, the man in charge, the one in control. He admitted months ago that being the alpha means he never really belongs, and I think I really do understand why he never mentioned his kids.

  Like everything else, they're his family and his pack, but Darrick will never be fully part of their lives.

  "So I was thinking," I say, slipping my hand into Darrick's and letting him lead me up the path and into the house, "I should keep the apartment in the city so we have a place to stay when I need to visit the office."

  "Maybe not that particular apartment," he says with a frown. I guess that's fair since it is now well known as the home of the reporter who was falsely accused of being an undeclared werewolf.

  "Okay," I concede easily. "We'll find a new apartment in the city for times when I need to visit the office and for when we need space and time away from pack life."

  Darrick seems to understand the long-term commitment I'm offering. He stops walking, turns around, and lifts his hand to caress the side of my face. "Are you sure?" he asks quietly.

  I hear his worry and fear for me even in those few short syllables. It only makes me love him more and increases my determination to stay with him permanently.

  "Never been surer of anything—or anybody—in my life, Ricky," I say confidently. "I get that you want to protect me, but it goes both ways. I know it won't be easy blending two very different lives, but I have no doubt we'll find a balance. I want to see your werewolf form properly." He never fully shifted when he stayed in my apartment. "We're safe in your home so you have no more excuses for hiding from me." I place my hand over his, pressing his warm fingers harder against my cheek. "I want to celebrate the best parts of both our lives. I want to explore all the things we never had time for on our weekends." I turn my head and press a kiss to his palm. "And I want us to be mates with everything that entails—the good , the bad, and the furry."

  "I love you," Darrick says nodding, his eyes shining with emotion as he meets me halfway. The kiss is sweet and loving and everything we've shared over the past few months as well as a promise for the future.

  "I love you too, Ricky," I say, the words meaning far more than mere words could ever express. "Now how about you spend a few minutes introducing me to some of your pack mates before taking me to bed? You know"—I give him my sexiest smile and wink lasciviously—"because... doctor's orders."

  Darrick laughs happily and does exactly that.

  Epilogue

  *** Darrick ***

  Seven months later...

  "You should go talk to him," I tell Hunter as I follow his gaze to the young man on the opposite side of the street.

  "He made it pretty clear seven months ago that he wants nothing to do with me," Hunter says in a tone that suggests his heart doesn't break a little more every time he sees his mate in town. I'm almost grateful that Leon works from home and therefore comes into town very rarely. It pains me to see the man who made sure I didn't fuck up with my own mate having such a tough time with his own.

  "Is there anything we can do to help?" John asks, his calm, solid presence making Hunter smile.

  "Maybe another day," Hunter says, turning away from the window of the restaurant we're currently sitting in. It's the first time he's said anything that suggests he hasn't fully closed the door on the idea of trying to talk to his mate again, so I drop the subject, for now.

  We're thankfully distracted from depressing thoughts when the waitress comes to take our orders, and then spend the next half hour or so talking over some of the issues within the pack that need my attention when Hunter finally puts a stop to it.

  "Not that I'm ungrateful, but I'm pretty sure you didn't invite me to an expensive dinner to discuss problems we deal with everyday in the office." Hunter gives John a wide grin and laughs softly when he sees the man's smiling response. "Finally?" he asks cryptically.

  John nods and shrugs with one shoulder, hiding the pain I know he still feels from the damage inflicted by having his arms cuffed behind his back for more than twenty-two consecutive hours .

  "These things take time," he says to Hunter, apparently referring to the booking we've made next weekend to get married the human way. It was a shock to both of us—and Kelly especially who'd already been planning a campaign to prompt more social change—to realize that there was actually no law against it. Perhaps the haters had just assumed humans and werewolves wouldn't be interested in marrying each other.

  Whatever the reason, I'm glad this particular law was left untouched. It's nice to want something that doesn't require years of campaigning and vigilance to achieve.

  "We want you to be one of our witnesses," I say, holding up my hand to stall Hunter's answer. "As a close friend. Not as my beta. Not as someone who is obliged to attend because of your position."

  Hunter laughs softly. "As your friend and as your favorite beta, I'm honored by the invitation," he says. He sits back, wearing a shit-eating grin. "I'm assuming that the rest of the pack will find out afterward."

  "You assume correctly," John says with a hearty laugh. "It's going to be hard enough to rein in Kelly's instincts to tell the whole world."

  "We'll promise her an interview after the honeymoon," I say, willing to support my mate's need to promote positive change in community attitudes. In the past seven months he's proven over and over that his job as an investigative reporter puts him in danger even when it's not about werewolves. I can't claim to be happy about that part of it, but I do understand and support his ambition.

  And considering how many dangerous political protests and rallies I've attended over the years, I can hardly be angry at John for being the face of a revolution.

  I sit back and listen to my mate and my best friend tease each other, their comfortable friendship simply one more thing I'm grateful for in my life. John works long hours but he still spends most of that time in Wolden Valley. I spent our first couple months worrying that he would feel isolated and alone in a new town surrounded mostly by werewolves, but he'd fit in easily, rekindling a few friendships from the past and making many more new ones.

  Everyone knows who he is, of course. His picture, byline, and blog have become synonymous with equal rights movements and positive societal change, but it's the easy acceptance my pack has offered him that makes me proud to be their alpha.

  I have an incredible pack, amazing friends, and a loving, supportive mate who will soon also be my husband. I know that life won't always feel so perfect—the world is far from fixed even if the past year has seen many positive changes for society as a whole—but even that can't dim the happiness I feel right now.

  I love John and he loves me and we'll fa
ce whatever the future brings together.

  THE END

  http://alicecainromance.blogspot.com

  About the Author

  Alice Cain is a pen name for an experienced romance author who decided to try something a little different. Alice writes gay erotic romance in several genres including contemporary, BDSM, paranormal, and science fiction.

  For the latest news and upcoming releases please visit Alice at:

  http://alicecainromance.blogspot.com

  Other Books by Alice Cain

  Wolden Valley – Werewolf series

  Book 1 – Alpha's Forbidden Mate

  Book 2 – Almost Totally Clueless (expanded version coming soon)

  Club Stunhz – BDSM series

  Book 1 – Their Master Sam

  Book 2 – Their Master Don

  Book 3 – His Master Gilbert

  Book 4 – His Master Zane

  Lupinville, Alateeka Protection Services, and Havenwood

  Combined Timeline – All available Now

  Lupinville Book 1: Liam's Unexpected Alpha

  Lupinville Book 2: Aiden's Accidental Beta

  Lupinville Book 3: Cody's Eternal Sheriff

  Alateeka Protection Services Book 1: His to Protect

  Alateeka Protection Services Book 2: His to Claim (includes APS book 2.1: His to Love)

  Lupinville Quick Bites Volume One: 3.1: Lukas's Omega; 3.2: Jeff's Heart; 3.3: Ryan's Protector