Alpha Eyes (Alpha Eyes: Book 1)

Chapter 14

Feeling a bit hot and smothered, Adrian broke free from his group and skirted the main room. There were so many people, but he'd know his mate anywhere. Even if he couldn't track her scent, mingled with his own, he'd spot her glossy brown hair curled and twisted atop her head. She stood a little taller than most of the lunas, so it never took too long.

After a full search of the house with no results, he snagged someone who would know where his mate had hidden herself away.

"Ada. Have you seen Sierra recently?"

His mate's best friend turned away from the drink table, bottom lip between her teeth. "She isn't here, Adrian. I sent her home."

His face heated more than it already was, and his muscles tensed. "She went by herself? Is she okay? How long has she been gone?"

"Adrian, calm down. One of my guards drove her, and one of your guards is staying with her until you get there. She wasn't feeling well." The petite blonde shrugged her shoulders, as if she had the world under control.

"Why didn't she tell me? She looked fine when we left the house."

Ada rolled her eyes. "This event meant so much to you. She wanted to be here with you, so she decided to tough it out. I could tell that she was miserable, so I sent her home. With any luck, she's curled up in bed and sleeping."

"Curled up in bed?" he echoed. "Ada, be honest with me. What's wrong with her?"

"Not that you'll understand..." she huffed. "I know that you two haven't ... Because you haven't, it's that time for her wolf." Ada gave him a very pointed look.

It took a minute for everything to process, but once her deeper meaning cleared in his mind, he dragged his hand over his hot face. "I knew I was feeling off today. I'm an idiot. I need to go home."

"Yeah." Ada patted his shoulder. "Go to her, Adrian. Remember: she's in a lot of pain. Even though there's a simple way to make it go away, she might not be ready for that."

"Right. Thanks, Ada." He grabbed his coat on his way out the door, moving as fast as he could to reach his mate.

#

I kicked the covers off and pulled my knees closer against my chest. These alpha-level cramps were no laughing matter, which was good because laughing would hurt even more than I already did. The guard, Markus, had stationed himself downstairs so I could rest in ease. However, ease seemed far away. How had I forgotten about this? After I saw him for the first time six years ago, I went into heat about a month later. Since I couldn't go running to my mate, I'd talked to pack doctor and found a low dose medicine that dampened the symptoms of heat. I only needed to take one dose, so I kept the rest for future reference if my heat flared again. I'd completely forgotten how much it sucked.

"Sierra!"

I sucked in a breath as Adrian's voice echoed up the stairs. He'd finally figured out that I was gone and came home.

"Sierra?" He swept into the bedroom and rushed to my side. "Sweetheart, I'm here."

I rolled onto my back to look up at him, instantly regretting it when the cramps shot through my abdomen. "Hi," I moaned.

"Ada clued me in on what's going on. I'm sorry I didn't figure it out sooner, especially since I was feeling off too." He stretched out beside me and placed a hand on my stomach. The contact instantly soothed most of the pain. "I'm here now. What can I do?"

"Just hold me?"

He pulled me close against his chest, tightening his hold around my waist. The pressure was heavenly, and I moaned at the temporary relief.