Page 9 of Becoming the Alpha

“You don’t have to, Lily. I’m not saying you should, but the Alpha Challenge affects you too. Besides, if you think the King won’t ensure you’re present during it, you’re more naive than I thought you were,” Amara smirked. I rolled my eyes at her, shoving her slightly. She stumbled back a few feet, looking shocked.

I blushed, a sheepish look coming over my face. “Sorry, I guess I don’t really know my own strength anymore.”

“I’ll say! Jeez, woman!” Amara giggled. I chuckled, linked my arm in hers and turned us back toward the castle. We walked in silence for a while, both of us lost in our thoughts.

“He really does feel bad about the way things happened, you know?” Amara said, her voice quiet. I pulled away from her, facing her completely.

I narrowed my eyes, my mind spinning. “How do you know? Why would you even tell me that when you’re the one who was worried about our mating in the first place?”

Amara planted a hand on her hip and sent a pointed look my way. “Look, I can be upset with the situation and how it occurred while still wanting you two to figure it out. I am upset that your choice got taken away. I’m not upset that he’s your mate. I think he’s good for you and Iknowyou’re good for him. Besides, Dean told me that Jason’s been reeling with guilt since it happened. Like to the point where he can’t stand close to him without gagging on the scent.”

I sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep the tears that had welled up from spilling. I cleared my throat to make sure my voice wouldn’t crack before answering her. “I know. That doesn’t mean I’m going to just forgive him right away.”

Amara barked out a laugh that caused several of the guards on the grounds to look in our direction. She shook her head, smiling evily when I raised an eyebrow at her. “You better not. In fact, you should make him work for it - very hard. It might just come in handy to get anything you could ever want.”

I gasped, feigning shock and placing a hand on my chest. “Why, Amara! You are too scandalous for your own good.”

We both devolved into laughter as we walked into the kitchen. The staff were all working at the fast-paced frenzy I was accustomed to being around. Miss Kitty was in the corner, consoling a crying young girl who couldn’t have been more than thirteen years old. The laughter died quickly as my wolf immediately wanted to go after whoever had hurt the girl.

Amara led me out of the kitchen and down the main hallway when she saw my face. I didn’t want to leave, but knew we had to go. We had never been in the War Room, but we both knew where it was. We had delivered some meals for the soldiers who were supposed to be guarding it and the servants who cleaned it were some of our friends. Plus, we passed it every time Jason or I had ended up in the infirmary. The War Room was located directly across from it, so I was on the lookout for Jason while we made our way there. I couldn’t tell if I was hoping I didn’t see him or if I wanted to see him. I knew which side my wolf was on though. She made her displeasure in me very clear.

“Lily! It’s so wonderful to see you again,” Alpha Luke said, his loud voice startling me from my thoughts as the door shut behind us. I gave him a soft smile, unwrapping myself from Amara’s arms and walking over to shake his hand. I noticed he kept a careful distance from me. I raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment on it. I didn’t think he did it because he was afraid of Jason, but rather that he was trying to be respectful of our bond.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Alpha Luke. I’m glad Jason has your support during this challenge. He’s going to need it,” I responded. I noticed the slight cringe in Dean’s face as I turned his way, but he quickly smoothed his expression. I gave him a self-satisfied grin and turned to Beta Jake.

“Let’s get this over with,” Jason’s sharp voice interrupted before I could greet Beta Jake. My heart jumped into my throat and my breath caught. My wolf immediately jumped forward, pressuring me to let her see our mate. I struggled for a few seconds, trying to get her to calm down, squeezing my eyes closed.

“Take a deep breath and focus on the steady sound of your own heartbeat,” Someone whispered in my ear, causing shivers to roll down my spine and my wolf to increase her pressure.

I sucked in a deep breath. “I can’t hear my heart. It’s beating too loud.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t care that it doesn’t make sense,” I snarled. “That’s what’s happening.” I waved a hand in irritation to get them to back up, hearing a sharp intake of breath.

“Are you okay?” I heard Dean ask quietly.

“Fine,” Jason said, his voice full of pain. I opened my eyes, ready to tear into whoever had caused my mate pain. I looked down to see his chest had four large gashes with blood seeping out at a rapid pace. I glanced down at my hands, realizing they had morphed into claws and were currently dripping with Jason’s blood. I gasped, horrified that I had hurt him. I was the one who had caused him pain. He was the person who had whispered in my ear, trying to get me to calm down and I responded by attacking him. I backed up rapidly, my hands quickly shifting back to normal.

“Hey, Lily? It’s okay. I’m fine. I swear. Look, it’s already starting to heal,” Jason said quickly, stepping toward me and gesturing at his chest. I looked up at him, tears filling my eyes so everything was blurry. I started shaking, the tears finally spilling over. I was emotionally wrung out and over everything. I didn’t think I could take anymore and realizing that I had physically hurt my mate was what was going to push me over the edge. I may not have forgiven him, but I never wanted to hurt him. My wolf was distraught with the knowledge that we had caused him pain.

“Lily, take a breath. You’re okay. I’m okay. Just relax,” Jason said, grabbing my hands and pulling down on them slightly. It was enough to jerk me forward and caused me to get out of my own head. I finally focused on his face, realizing that he had stopped bleeding and would, in fact, be okay. I took a shaky breath, trying to get my emotions under control.

“Are you okay?”

10

Jason

Lily stared up at me for a few seconds as my question hung in the air. Then, her eyes clouded with anger and her nostrils flared. She yanked her hands out of my grasp. “No, Jason. I’m not okay. I’m emotionally exhausted and wrung out. I won’t be okay for a long time, but we don’t have time for me to be okay. Now, can we get this meeting over with so I can go anywhere else?”

“Damn! She told you, Jason,” Laura’s voice came from behind me. She sounded gleeful. I straightened up, clearing my throat. I stared down at Lily briefly before turning on my heel and walking to the front of the conference room. I reached up and pulled the ruined shirt off. We were all shifters and comfortable with nudity. I didn’t want anything to remind Lily of the last few minutes. She was right - she had had enough for the last few days. I honestly didn’t know how she was holding it together as well as she had been.

“Alright, let’s kick this off. We’re here to go over the Alpha Challenge and what to expect leading up to it and on the day of,” I said. I noticed Lily was staring at me, her eyes heated and full of lust. Her glorious smell filled the room and my wolf pushed forward hard. I didn’t realize I had stepped forward until I felt Dean’s hand on my shoulder. I glanced back at him, a growl bursting from my chest.

“Chill, Jason. You don’t want to do this. I’m helping you right now.”

“Jason, you should listen to your Beta. He’s being level-headed and watching your back right now,” Alpha Luke spoke up. I took a deep breath, pushing through my wolf and trying to think rationally. I took a step back and cleared my throat. It embarrassed me that this was happening in front of everyone.