The Alphas' Daughter (Alpha Eyes: Book 2)

Chapter 4

I rolled onto my side and curled against my warm pillow. A few muscles in my body ached, but my werewolf healing properties would soon take care of that. Thank goodness for that. I'd fallen out of bed or overworked my body enough times to deeply appreciate the quick healing.

My pillow moved under my cheek, and well-muscled arms wrapped around my waist. The skin-on-skin contact sent explosive tingles through my veins and to my deepest core. My wolf started howling and jumping around. For a foggy moment, I stretched my memory back to piece it all the signs together. Like a tidal wave, everything clicked together.

The ball. Lucas. Mate pendant. Lycan. Mate. Kiss. Lucas. Kiss. Bedroom. Aching muscles. Bed. Moving pillow. Skin-on-skin contact...

Holy...

I sucked in a breath and opened my eyes. Sure enough, I found myself staring at a bare, muscled chest. It took a great deal of will power to hold my wolf back as well as the panic that rippled through me.

"Good morning."

I lifted my head just enough to peek up at the god-like man who was acting as my pillow. Deep chocolate eyes stared down at me with a slight twinkle.

"Morning," I mumbled.

The corner of his mouth lifted into a lopsided smile. "How are you feeling?"

Heat flooded my face. My brain spasmed with the intensity of memories. Was this how the first morning usually went?

"You're trying very hard not to panic right now, aren't you?" he murmured, slowly releasing his hold around my waist.

"... more like processing," I clarified, propping myself up on my elbow to face him. Now that I'd come to terms with the situation, panic was being replaced with excitement. I was mated to this hunk of heaven? Dang...

Lucas chuckled. "Hunk of heaven? I guess there are worse things you could be calling me."

"You heard that?" I squeaked.

"I hear most of the thoughts that run through your pretty mind," he answered. "After last night, we're very bonded. There's very little privacy between mates, especially when one of us is a lycan."

I rubbed my neck and hissed when I hit a very sore spot at the junction of my neck and shoulder. Maybe using a rock-hard chest as a pillow wasn't the greatest idea. I'd have to—

"Lycan marks take a little bit longer to heal." He cut into my thoughts and pulled my hand away. Before I could ask what he meant, he leaned forward and kissed that sore spot.

Fireworks erupted across my skin. My wolf went nuts. I gasped and clutched fistfuls of the sheets. What in the full moon... Just when I thought I'd recovered, Lucas ran his tongue over the spot. The tingles in my body sent me to a different kind of paradise. For a few seconds, I completely spaced out.

"Does that feel better?" Lucas whispered against my ear.

I nodded, not even noticing if my neck felt better or not.

A loud crash somewhere in the house made both of flinch. I glanced at the bedroom door.

"What was that?"

Lucas groaned and flopped back onto his pillow. "I believe a few of my friends are attempting to make breakfast downstairs."

I tugged the comforter up to my chest. "What happens now?"

"I will go kick them out. They weren't supposed to stay the night anyway." He threw the covers off his side and swung his feet to the floor.

I buried my face in the comforter as he sauntered to the wardrobe. Mated or not, I was not ready to stare at a naked man's body. Nope. So not ready for that.

"What would my beautiful mate like for breakfast?"

I peeked out, relieved that he was wearing basketball shorts now. Although, by the twinkle in his eyes and smirk on his face, I could tell that he wouldn't have minded waiting to get dressed.

"Surprise me."

That seemed to please him which pleased my wolf. Lucas grinned and shuffled back to the bed. Now that my brain seemed to be waking up and registering what was happening, I liked this cute, newly mated banter we had going. In fact, having a lycan mate sounded more exciting the more I thought about it. I'd read a bit about lycans, and they were extremely protective of their mates. There's nothing he wouldn't do for me.

"I'll be back soon." He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips that left me craving a little more. In the end, he kissed me three or four times before pulling away. Grabbing a shirt off the floor, he rushed out the door.

I giggled and glanced around the room. First thing I noticed were my clothes scattered all over the floor. Thankfully they were all intact, nothing torn. I could wear them out of here without drawing too much attention.

The room was a lot bigger than I'd thought. It was probably two rooms at one time and the wall had been knocked down. The bed sat in the middle of one wall, flanked by large French doors that opened onto a little balcony. A large screen TV hung on the wall opposite the bed. The wall on my right held two doors, one to the bathroom and one to his walk-in closet. The wall on the left had a couch, end table, and several bookcases. Overall, the general lack of interior decorations and neutral colors said 'this is a man's home.'

I climbed out of the four-poster bed and snatched my underwear off the floor. Having put those on, I was reaching for my shirt when a thought hit me. Possessive mates liked the female smelling like them. One of my girlish fantasies had been to wear my mate's shirts. Now that I had a mate, I could make that fantasy a reality. Surely he wouldn't mind...

I hurried over to his wardrobe and grabbed a soft, scoop neck T-shirt off the shelf. Like a total hopeless mess, I buried my face in it and drew a deep breath. Yep. It smelled like him. After slipping into it, I glanced at myself in the mirror. His shirt ended mid-thigh and covered what it should. What caught my attention more was the dark color on my neck. I pulled the shirt to the side just enough to see a distinct bite mark on the junction of my neck and shoulder. Sometime in the night, he marked me!

A tiny shred of confusion flickered through me. I must have given him permission to mark me, right? I mean... I woke up in his bed, fully mated and whatnot. Surely he wouldn't have done it by force. But if everything was mutual, why couldn't I remember anything?