Fated Mate

by Juniper Hart

  “Of course I came,” she replied begrudgingly. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

  Tara and Christine snorted in unison, but Ali ignored them. No matter what they said, they knew she was a friend above all else.

  And if I have to sacrifice my comfort for a couple nights, so be it.

  “Happy birthday, Penelope!” she cried, hugging the pixie-faced redhead. “But promise me next year you’ll do something indoors?”

  “Oh, ye of little faith,” Penelope chortled, linking her arm with Ali’s as they walked. “You’re going to have an incredible time. Mark my words.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Ali challenged, dropping her baggage at the site of their tent. “How can you be so sure?”

  Penelope smiled enigmatically and glanced at Tara and Christine, who had fallen behind and out of earshot.

  “I have a feeling,” she murmured. “There’s a rumor about this mountain, but you already know it, don’t you?”

  Ali felt warmth coursing through her body as she studied Penelope’s face.

  “Are you talking about…?” she trailed off, and her tiny friend giggled, gazing toward the peak just beyond.

  “They’re supposed to roam around on nights of the full moon,” Penelope whispered, and Ali cocked her head to the side.

  It was the same conversation she and her sorority sisters had had at Kappa some time ago—Sylvie had fed them this weird story about shifters and mates and their duty as members of the sorority—but she still wasn’t sure how much she bought into it.

  “Guess what tonight is?” Penelope continued, making a spark of nervous excitement bolt through Ali’s spine.

  “Is that why you planned this insane trip?” she asked, her brow furrowed in disbelief.

  Penelope nodded enthusiastically.

  “So, keep your eyes open, ladies!” she sang loudly. “You never know who you’re gonna meet!”

  She danced away, leaving Ali to stare after her, shaking her head.

  I don’t know about all that, she thought, laughing to herself. But maybe if I met one guy while I’m here, it wouldn’t be a total waste.

  She smacked her arm as a fly landed on it and grimaced.

  It was already starting.

  The festivities grew with each passing hour, and the crowd was having a blast.

  By mid-afternoon, Ali had caught a decent buzz, since she still hadn’t eaten, but Christine seemed to notice her pale face and decided to whip up a meal.

  “Slow down on the beer, Ali!” Tara cried. “It has to last until Sunday!”

  “We can drive to the liquor store,” Ali replied lightly. “I know it feels like we’re in the middle of nowhere, but civilization isn’t far off.”

  “Oh, Ali,” Christine sighed. “C’mon, go mingle! Some guys are playing volleyball over there. Check them out for me and let me know how they rate.”

  Ali scoffed but inadvertently found herself looking toward where a group of her peers had begun a volleyball tournament. She shrugged, slightly tipsy, and wandered off to watch the gleaming muscles in the sunshine.

  Ali had to admit that she was not having a bad time: she was among her friends, after all, and there was liquor. It felt more like a party than a camping trip, what with no one sitting around the fire singing “Kumbaya.”

  Still, she kept fighting with the bugs, and the more she drank, the more she needed to use the non-existent washroom.

  “Go into the woods!” Tara had exclaimed, exasperated, and Ali had shuddered, eventually having no choice but to follow her advice.

  It wasn’t that Ali was a princess; far from it, actually. Although she looked the part—with her pin-up model’s body and insanely pretty face—she was more of a homebody than anything.

  If given the choice, she would stay in and read or watch an old movie, instead of trapezing through the jungle like Tarzan, looking for a spot where she could urinate.

  Ugh, I hope I brought enough bug spray, she thought as she plopped down on the grass next to a girl from her political science class.

  “Hey, Ali!” Suzanne chirped. “Great party, huh?”

  Ali tried to look enthusiastic as she nodded in fake agreement, but she was sure her expression fell flat. Suzanne didn’t seem to notice.

  “We’re going on a night trek up the mountain at nightfall,” she continued. “The view is incredible. You want to come?”

  Ali almost snorted, but then she stopped herself.

  Are there less bugs on the mountain? she wondered.

  Even if there were, it was still hiking, and Ali did not do hiking.

  “Maybe,” she replied evasively. “Come find me when you’re ready to go.”

  Suzanne seemed happy with the response and nodded, turning back to watch where her boyfriend was spiking the volleyball into the ground.

  Ali cast Suzanne a sidelong look for a moment and then glanced at her long-time beau.

  Suzanne and her boyfriend Greg had been together for almost three years, having met as freshmen at school. The pert blonde was attractive enough, with her big blue eyes and easy smile, but Greg was devastatingly handsome, and Ali had always found the two an odd match.

  I think I would be better suited to Greg than Suzanne, she thought almost bitterly. What the hell is wrong with you? Ali chided herself. Has it been so long since you’ve had sex that you’re lashing out at other people for no reason?

  Her own words shocked her as they bounced around in her mind. They were uncharacteristically nasty, and Ali suddenly felt uncomfortable sitting beside the kind girl at her side. Suzanne had always been nice to her, despite the fact that they weren’t really friends, only classmates.

  “I think I need to eat something,” Ali mumbled, standing up abruptly.

  “Okay,” Suzanne said cheerfully, waving as Ali wandered back to find Christine and Tara.

  I need to eat something and stop drinking, she thought, shaking her head, before I say or do something I regret.

  “You’re back already?” Tara asked, looking up sharply as Ali approached.

  “I need food,” she confessed. “Maybe a candy bar, too.”

  Her friends laughed, a look of relief passing over their faces.

  “Sorry I’ve been so grumpy,” she muttered, blushing in embarrassment. Her friends grinned simultaneously.

  “Nah,” Christine piped up. “You hate this, we get it. You’re a good friend for coming.”

  “Here,” Tara said, thrusting a veggie burger into her hands.

  Ali nodded eagerly.

  God, I’m starving, she thought, swallowing a huge bite and exhaling deeply. I’m going to eat this and take a nap.

  She voiced her plan aloud.

  “Probably a good idea,” Tara agreed. “We’re probably going to have a big bonfire tonight.”

  Ali gobbled down the rest of her food and rose to stumble toward the tent, her lids growing heavy already.

  She had overdone it far too early.

  No harm, no foul, she thought, unzipping the tent and falling face first onto her sleeping bag.

  In seconds, she was fast asleep.

  When Ali awoke, her surroundings were pitch black, and she sat up on her sleeping bag, groggy and disoriented.

  It took her a minute to get her bearings.

  In the distance, she could hear the party going strong, though it suddenly seemed very far away from her.

  Ali fumbled around in the dark, trying to locate a flashlight, but she had no luck.

  Oh, this is just great, she thought, leaning forward to open the tent. No one had the foresight to leave me a flashlight. I could get eaten by a raccoon out here. Or worse.

  She could barely make out the outline of the bonfire ahead, but at least she knew which direction to take in order to find light.

  A feral howl caused her to jump.

  It sounded much closer than Ali would have liked, and goosebumps prickled her skin as she clawed her way out of the tent.

  Just surge forward and don’t look ba
ck, she told herself. The coyotes are more afraid of you than you are of them.

  She wondered if the howl she had heard was from a coyote.

  A shudder ran through her, and Ali began to sprint toward the party, her breath coming out in short, panicked gasps.

  “You shouldn’t run. They will chase.”

  Ali screamed and whirled, her fists up to block her face the way she had been taught in self-defence.

  Someone had spoken into her ear, even though there was no one to be seen around her. Ali had never been more scared in her life.

  In the darkness, she saw a set of glowing yellow eyes peering out at her, standing a few feet away.

  She did not immediately see a body attached to those eyes, and she momentarily forgot how to breathe, her knees shaking.

  “Who are you?” she managed to choke out. and suddenly, his body was perfectly clear as he stepped forward.

  Suddenly, the glowing yellow eyes moved closer, and the young man they apparently belonged to made his way out of the darkness, a grin on his face. Ali blinked, and the boy’s eyes were no longer glowing, nor were they yellow. Instead, they were a gorgeous shade of amber.

  “Alex,” the boy said, still grinning. “Who are you?”

  She swooned with relief, and Alex was suddenly at her side, catching her arm as she tried to regain control of her emotions.

  “What did you mean, they will chase?” she finally managed to gasp, pausing to look at him speculatively.

  Alex grinned at her, and Ali’s pulse began to race once more as she examined his broad jawline and wide mouth.

  He is stupidly handsome, she thought, but there was something else about him… something she could not put her finger on. Whatever it was, it was making her nervous.

  “I was only teasing you,” Alex told her.

  Ali nodded her head, though she didn’t think he was being honest. Why don’t I believe him?

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around,” Ali said, attempting to regain some of her lost dignity. Alex’s smile seemed to widen even more.

  “Oh, I’ve been around,” he assured her, though she didn’t know why his tone was so… playful. “Here,” Alex continued, offering out his arm for her to grasp. “Hold on to me and I’ll take you back to your friends. Unless…”

  Ali cast him a sidelong look.

  “Unless what?” she demanded, her eyes glancing at his body. He must work out. Look at that chest!

  “I can take you somewhere to see the full moon in all its glory.”

  Ali paused. “Somewhere like where? I can’t exactly just go with you.”

  It didn’t matter how handsome he was, he was still a stranger to her. Just because he had introduced himself didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous.

  Alex chuckled and shook his head. “A gorgeous trail that leads up the mountainside,” he said. “You’ll feel a little closer to heaven up there, I assure you.”

  It’s a full moon. Didn’t Penelope say that’s when all the creatures come out? Ali thought. She was ashamed at her sudden nervousness.

  “Is that where you take all the ladies?” she asked, only half-joking.

  “Only the really special ones,” Alex replied, and Ali had to laugh at the line. Still, he waited for her answer before changing directions.

  “All right,” she agreed. “But we can’t be too long, or this is going to turn into a search and rescue if they discover me missing.”

  “No one will notice,” he assured her, clasping her graceful palm in his hand. It was a lot bigger than hers, securely wrapping around her fingers.

  My, what big hands you have, Ali thought, eyeing him as they walked toward the mountainside.

  It didn’t even occur to her to be afraid. She had been worried as she fumbled through the darkness, but Alex had put her at ease, making her feel safe and sound. Well, as soon as she had learned he wasn’t an apparition.

  “Are you a college student, Ali?” Alex asked, and the question surprised her.

  “Yes,” she answered. “Aren’t you, Alex?”

  Ali and Alex. Alex and Ali, she thought. I like the way that flows.

  He laughed dryly.

  “No,” he replied shortly. “I’m not.”

  They continued to walk up the side of the mountain in relative silence, and between the towering pines, Ali caught sight of the moon, hanging low on the sky, bright and beautiful. And full.

  Well below, she could make out the throng of party goers dancing, though she could hear nothing.

  As they continued trailing up, the silence that came with their gained altitude was peaceful.

  “Are you glad you came up here?” Alex asked her, stopping to take in the view himself.

  Ali found herself nodding, even though he wasn’t facing her, and she stepped toward him as if needing to be as close to him as possible.

  “Yes,” she told him. “I’m glad you brought me up here.”

  Am I still drunk? she wondered. Why am I on a mountainside with this strange man, desperate to have him touch me?

  She had no answer to her questions, but she tugged softly on his palm, like a small child looking for attention.

  Alex turned back to her, his amber eyes glittering.

  “Do you want me to kiss you?” he asked, and Ali swallowed, nodding numbly, holding his gaze.

  Alex slowly moved closer, his fingertips caressing her cheek as he leaned forward to brush his mouth against hers.

  A thousand icicles prickled her spine, and she gasped at the sensation, her eyes still wide and watching as his amber irises pierced into hers.

  She stepped closer, wanting him inside her own skin.

  Ali felt as if she was being guided by an unseen force, like she was hovering above them both in the pines while also remaining exactly where she was. The feeling drove her dizzy, and she moaned into their kiss as his mouth grew more urgent against hers. She passionately returned his embrace, snaking her hands up his wide back, her fingers caressing every muscle along the way.

  A fire burned inside her, and she wanted Alex to extinguish it—but not before it became a full-fledged conflagration.

  His hands entwined in her dark hair, pulling her neck back. She shivered again, sighing as his hot breath nuzzled the skin of her neck.

  Without warning, his hand grabbed the v-neck of her shirt and ripped it clean off her body with one move. The wind was knocked from Ali at the gesture, and heat coursed through her body and down between her legs as she stared open-mouthed at him.

  Alex tugged her back then, pushing her roughly against the rough park of a coniferous, his hands fumbling on the buttons of her shorts. Ali released her grip on him, his forehead against her breastbone as she helped him to slip off her underwear, twisted inside her white cargos, which were carelessly tossed aside into the blackness.

  It didn’t occur to her that she would be without clothes on the way back down the mountain, but even if it had, she wouldn’t have cared—all she wanted was for Alex to take her with the same animalistic passion he had been building her toward.

  Ali cried out as one of his unbelievably long fingers plunged into her and slid along her cleft to toy with her throbbing clitoris.

  “Take me,” she begged, her knees buckling as her back pressed into the tree, trying to brace herself. “Take me, please, take me…”

  “Patience,” Alex growled, rubbing at her with more intensity.

  Abruptly, the was a snapping noise in the air laced only with their heavy breathing.

  A low, guttural growl emitted from Alex’s throat, and Ali watched as he suddenly fell onto all fours, his face transforming before her eyes.

  His nose elongated into a snout, and high, silky white ears extended from his own. Sniffing around, Alex raised his snout into the air, and Ali shrank back in terror.

  She wanted to scream, but she dared not make a sound or move an inch, sensing that there was something else out there; something more sinister than the beast before her.

 
; Alex released a howl, falling back on his haunches.

  He protectively held out a hand, as if warning her to stay put, and Ali’s insides twisted with a mixture of fear and confusion.

  He doesn’t want to hurt me, she realized. He wants to protect me.

  “Well, well, well,” a voice drawled, stepping from the path toward them.

  Like Alex, the eyes of the newcomer glittered as if they had the ability to see through the blackness, but his were a crystalline blue, almost opaque. Jet black hair tickled the sides of his face. He took in the scene, running his tongue over his blinding white teeth, and there was no mistaking the extended canines, pointed and ready for God only knew what.

  “Hello, Alex,” the stranger called cheerfully, approaching. He seemed to glide across the dirt, but Ali couldn’t be certain. After what she had seen tonight, everything seemed possible.

  It was only until he stepped closer to them that Ali noticed the cloak he was wearing—she noticed just how pale his skin was, how red his lips were in contrast to Alex’s own skin and mouth.

  At first, she thought he was a shifter, like Alex, but then she remembered what she had seen in MJ’s room at the Kappa Mu Pi house. She remembered Sylvie, and what she had turned out to be.

  Like her, the newcomer was an immortal.

  He was a vampire.

  “What are you doing here, Jareth?” Alex snarled.

  “You are on my mountain, brother,” the vampire replied, drawing toward Ali. “And who is this exquisite creature?”

  A long, thin finger reached up to touch her face, but instead of wincing, Ali felt compelled toward him, her face reaching toward his as if willing him to kiss her.

  A strange haze had fallen over her, and she no longer had control over any of her actions.

  “Leave her be, Jareth,” Alex growled, but Jareth only laughed.

  “She doesn’t mind,” he said without turning to Alex. “Do you, my dove?”

  Ali shook her head, her hands reaching out to touch his face, and he slid to her side, inhaling her shiny tresses deeply.

  “I actually think she wants us to share, Alex,” Jareth announced, a cold hand reaching up to caress one of Ali’s naked breast, massaging it firmly in his hand. His thumb and forefinger toyed with her nipple, and Ali could feel nothing more than the intense throbbing between her thighs from his administrations.