An Alpha's Alpha

Hurt

He hadn't slept this well in a while. Sleepily, he stretched, arms reaching over his head. An old shoulder injury protested at the movement, but he was too comfortable to care. Slowly, he opened his eyes, the outline of a she-wolf by the window sending his heart into overdrive. She shone in the sunlight breaking through the gap in the curtains, her long hair rustling softly in the breeze from the opened window.

Jake smiled and slowly rolled over towards her, when her scent hit him. It was strange, twisted somehow. Sleep still fogged his mind, his brain slowly kicking into gear. Now that he focused, he could see that her hair wasn't brown, but blonde, and not quite as long as Cassidy's.

The scent was familiar though, he was sure of it. He yawned and rubbed his eyes again, shaking his head to shake off the last of the fog, before blinking at the she-wolf. His wolf huffed as he recognised her, losing all interest. "Shelby?"

He hadn't seen her much recently, not since the day he'd met Cassidy, though he was sure she was one of the wolves who'd opposed him before. Slowly, she turned to face him, her eyes hard, her brows drawn together. She looked angry; she looked sad.

Suddenly a wave of depression washed over him, as he remembered what had happened. Darcy. Poor, poor Darcy. Nausea rolled through him. Seeing Darcy like that had been...well, it had been awful. And Doc, poor Doc. Worry, frustration and a tiny sliver of fear rose up Jake's spine.

A sound caught his attention - he hadn't noticed, but Liam was sat beside him on a chair. "Alpha." He acknowledged as Jake turned towards him. Jake couldn't remember how he'd got into bed, or why he was so tired, but he knew it had something to do with Cassidy.

Panic shot through him, he'd tried to mate with her - he'd tried to mate with Cassidy. Mentally, he kicked himself. How could he have let his wolf gain so much control? Yes, he was convinced they were mates, but that didn't mean he could abandon all reason and mate with her - especially not against her will.

He sat up, his neck aching with the movement, his hand rose, checking the skin. "Tranquilliser dart." Liam supplied, as Jake's fingertip glided over a small lump, which would soon heal. "She didn't have much of a choice."

Jake hung his head in shame. The loss of Darcy had pushed him too far and given his wolf the room needed to take control, but he was alpha, he couldn't afford mistakes. There was no denying that he wanted to mate with Cassidy - and would do so - just not yet, not whilst the danger still lingered around her - and now his pack. Besides, he barely knew anything about her or the danger she faced.

"I know. It's fine. Shelby, what are you doing here?" It's not that he didn't mind her being in his home, he could hear that many wolves had gathered downstairs, but it was why she was in his room with Liam, that made him question her. That and the fact that if the scent trail was anything to go by, she'd climbed in through the window.

Her face was still a mask of anger, with short, sharp steps she strode around the room until she stood beside Liam. Her hand fished into her right-hand pocket on her jeans, a small envelope appearing in her hand. She tossed the small card onto his bed besides him.

He gave her a puzzled look, then Liam, and then looked down at the card. It had landed upside down, so he could see it had been opened. He picked it up and flipped it over, 'Cassidy' written in scrawling black letters.

His heart thudded in his chest, his wolf raising his head in curiosity. He yanked the small card from within the envelope and spared Liam and Shelby a quick glance before he read it.

His heart damn near stopped beating, his wolf howling in protest in his chest. His fists curled, the card trampled beneath his grip. His breathing grew heavy, his eyes flashing wolf. He tried as hard as he could to contain the howl that wanted to tear from his throat. He and his wolf shared the same pain as the realisation that their mate had already been mate claimed, sunk in.