The Alpha Kings Mate

Hugs or handshakes

I looked up from my crying position to double check that I had heard Ben correctly. Alex was here. Why? That didn't make sense. I nodded once towards Ben and wiped my cheeks of all the stray tears causing my cheeks to puff slightly and became even redder than before. I nervously twisted the ring around my finger as I walked down the empty eerie hallways leading to the main entrance of the castle. I struggled to understand why he was here as I tried to think of the best way to greet him considering last time we spoke he was forced away in a jealous rage that I picked Jackson over him. Surely a hug would not be a good kind of welcoming considering the circumstances, but a handshake didn't seem sufficient enough considering our long and complicated history. 

The door that separated us came into view, my heart rate increased and the tears that were on my face were no longer there, the only evidence of their existence was the red blotches they left around my eyes. I sucked in a breath in the hope it would compose my shaking nerves. I nodded at the footman standing next to the door waiting to open the door. I looked down at the floor examing the small details of the marble tiles, I listened as the doors unbolted and the door was pulled opened. 

"Harper."  His slightly heeled dress shoes resonated throughout the hallway, his soft hand pressed against my shoulder in an attempt to soothe my pain.  I looked up my eyes meeting his and my breath catching in my throat at his drastic change of appearance.  He had grown his beard out and cut his hair and if it was possible his eyes seemed to permanently darker.

"What are you doing here Alex?" He moved his hand from my shoulder to cup my cheek, stroking his thumbs in small circles. 

"Hey, hey hey," Alex said soothingly as he wiped away the stray tear that slid down my face leaving Alex to wipe it away.  "I know I'm the last person you expected to see but I'm here to support you, Harper, I know you must be going through hell."

I stood facing him for what felt like years, his hand on my face soothing my breathing as nothing had changed, he was still the boy deep down inside who was there for me and he was still here for me now, the moment I needed someone the most.  My eyes pouring into his, watching the little flickers colour bounce around in his iris. 

"How did you hear about Jackson?" I knew that it was not made public about Jackson's condition so Alex to know was a little more than strange. I felt the slight shift in his posture and his feet shuffled side to side, an eery discomfort washed through his face as panic surfaced in his eyes. 

"Dean." He blurted out but more like a question in hope that saying my brother's name would be the answer that I would accept. Luckily for him, my brother was the one that had been by my side the entire time, but he was still grieving the loss of his own mate so needed his own time to heal and he didn't stab his own mate. I did.  

I nodded my head slowly registering his words before stepping back and letting his hand fall back to his side. 

"Jackson keeps whiskey in his office. Join me for a drink." 

I watched a smile spread across Alex's face as he nodded and followed me to Jackson's study. His long strides making it easy for him to catch up and closing whatever distance was between us. But his long strides could not close the distance that had grown between our hearts.

*

Maybe the whiskey was a mistake.

Scratch that, the whiskey was most defiantly a mistake.

Jackson hidden stash consisted of three bottles all large and all rather expensive according to Alex, who is now apparently a whiskey connoisseur, which was odd that given the last time I saw him he had never even tried whiskey.

We were both currently making our way, at a steady pace, through the second bottle and 2 questions into playing answer or drink.

"we still playing easy?" Alex asked winking in my direction from the sofa in the corner of the room facing opposite the desk which I was now sprawled across.

My hesitation to answer the question gave Alex the assumption that playing nicely was no longer an option.

"Who is better in bed. Me or Jackson."

******

Short chapter, but I really struggled on how to reintroduce Alex. 

Another chapter will follow soon

Louise