Heat Brought Us Together

Chapter 7

Her Pov

Penelope Davis

The day, Meeting the Alpha

We both hold hands, just like teenagers sitting on a kitchen table on a school morning. The chain of my thoughts and our little bubble is broken by my father's voice as he enters the kitchen area with 5 different Alphas of the neighboring area.

I disentangle our hands and the action is almost painful to my wolf. She wants to hold on. She wants to latch on to him. But I am not letting my wolf get better of me, not now, not ever. One time is enough, one time was so painful that it will last a lifetime. I will never completely relinquish control to her.

I stand up and straighten my dress. Micajah's eyes boring into me. I can see he is fighting his wolf as well. The golden too evident in his eyes to hide. He understands my visual code, like he knows me for years. He quietly gets up as well and turns to face my father and the other Alphas.

All the Alphas in a room are not just noisy but an aura I can't describe. They exuberate powerful pheromones or just a charm that we women can't seem to resist. Or maybe I am just attracted to this one alpha Micajah, a sexy name for an Alpha, surely.

The voice quitens down as my father notices me and Mica standing awkwardly at the kitchen table and raises his eyebrows while looking towards me. He somehow senses an odd energy and how pathetic of an actors we are.

He introduces all the Alphas to me and proudly shows me off to them. He acknowledges Micajah and his presence with a warm smile and pats his back. That doesn't go unnoticed by me.

A slight smile plays on my face as I see their interaction. Somehow seeing my mate with my dad, so easy and comfortable does something to my heart.

Micajah congratulates my father and meets all the other alphas. He is curt, respectful and the most handsome in the room. He gels with all of them and has small talk here and there, before they all leave to join the ceremony happening in the clearing.

My father leaves with them, giving me some space to breathe. I quickly wipe the kitchen platform down, throwing all the unused ingredients in the refrigerator. I am not hungry anymore.

I hurry to my fathers room upstairs, I know this room just as mine. I would spend hours here after my mother's death. Her scent was the most present here.

I go to my dad's computer. He doesn't use a laptop, he prefers a computer. I quickly fire it up and go through the contacts and the Alpha details. I have to know more about him, I can't trust him blindly. I have to know more about him, his past, his truth, his present everything.

I can't make another same mistake, my wolf can't take this, my family can't handle this. I have to do my due diligence before seeing him again. Otherwise my primal instincts will prevail and history may repeat itself.

I find Micajah Stone. I go through his records, I find everything to be unblemished and seemingly perfect. He is 24 years old and has a younger sister who is mated to Beta of Alpha Callum's pack. She looks just like him,same eyes and those features. I read about his father and his mother.

I find pictures about his Alpha accession ceremony. He looked young and leaner. He is quite bulky now. Those eyes have a depth, deeper than a cavity. His father looks so proud in the photo beaming at his son taking on his new role.

He has clearly taken after his mother. I find old photos and a few with his friends. I go further to see if he has had a mate. An unmated alpha at 24 is rare. How is he so in control and not taken a choice mate. I need to know. For a third person I may look like a maniac, stalking my mate. But I need to know everything before I take any step.

I should accept him, the way he is and be thankful that I found my mate. But I dont believe in fate. My past has made me a cynic. He has robbed me of every mate related experience. He has left me doubting people for as long as I shall live. I can't even say his name. Saying a demons name gives them a power in my present as well.

I shut the computer, having not found anything fishy and suspicious. The resolve I had collapses around me, I start sobbing, feeling bad for him.

He is my true mate, it is the ultimate truth. My past kept Micajah's mate away from him. I kept his happiness away. My ex kept him away from a fated mate. He waited for me. For all these years. The guilt crushes me, my wolf howling, lamenting, it's the gravity that is only holding me on the surface.

I sob, I cry, I curse myself, my wolf howls in pain.

As if my father can sense my mood, he mindlinks me, ' hey kiddo the ceremony will start in 10 minutes, hurry up, I know you don't want to face the pack members, but I want my daughter here.'

I get up, make myself presentable, push the guilt and pain aside and reach  the clearing.

I don't muster the courage to approach him. I just couldn't.

I don't look at him. I keep my face down. I don't deserve him. I betrayed him in a way even worst enemies wouldn't. I was so selfish to hide away in a city and take the chance from him to meet his mate.

At the end of the ceremony, whilst leaving he sneaks in a question. He asks me out in the most gentle manner. He maintains his distance from me. He shouldn't have to walk on eggshells around me. I should own up and ask for his forgiveness. But the coward me stays rooted to the place.

I nod yes and he leaves.

After that, I quickly excuse myself and retire to my room. I don't bother to change, I just cuddle up with my blanket and let the fatigue lull me to sleep.

The next day.

I wake up with the resolve to meet him and tell him everything. No secrets. No hiding. If I have a real chance at this matebond, I have to open up and apologize. I decide to tell him about Xavier the man who tore me, my family, my pack apart.

The devil with a plan who took everything from me.

1135+ words

Love,
A