The Alpha's Lost Mate [Completed]

Chapter Nine: The Ashleigh Dalton Makeover

I threw myself back into training all weekend, working hard with Xavier and Ashleigh to work out all of my anxiety about our upcoming trip. Xavier was insistent that I be in peak physical shape, since I was surrounded by werewolves who were considerably stronger than me. I couldn't rely on instincts alone. We had just decided to break for lunch when Jamie wandered in.

"Afternoon guys," he said, wrapping one arm around me. "How's training today?"

"Luna is coming on well, Alpha," Xavier said respectfully. "She's getting stronger by the day."

"Good, maybe one day she'll be able to beat even me in a fight," he teased.

Xavier's kind eyes crinkled in the corners as he laughed. "Even I'm not that good a trainer."

"Hey!" I huffed. "Women can fight just as well as men can, you know."

My comment was just met with more laughter.

"That may be so, Luna, but you're a human, and he's an Alpha wolf," Xavier reminded me gently. "I'm gonna grab a bite to eat, I'll leave you to it."

He saw himself out, Ashleigh trailing after him, leaving Jamie and I alone in the training room.

"I was thinking," he said, moving his arm from around me so he could face me properly.

"Gosh, this can't end well," I joked.

"Shut it, you, have some respect for your Alpha," he teased back, and I rolled my eyes at him. "I was thinking, I've yet to take you out on a real date, so how would you feel about me rectifying that before we go away?"

I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks. "I-um, I mean, yeah sure," I stammered out.

"How about now?" He asked, smirking at my blush.

"Um, like right now?" I asked, gesturing down my body at my gross gym clothes.

"Like, go take a shower and be ready in an hour now?" He compromised.

"Um, okay," I mumbled.

"I've got a few bits of paperwork to finalise, so you finish up here and I'll meet you in our suite in an hour then," he said, kissing the side of my head as he sauntered out.

I gulped. I'd never been on a date before, at least not that I could remember.

-

I wondered back towards the house, in a daze, feeling very flustered. Ashleigh came sprinting down the steps to meet me on the lawn, a huge smile lighting up her face.

"Finn told me about Jamie's plan, would you believe how nervous he was to ask you out? So silly!" She gushed, ushering me inside and upstairs.

"Yes! I'm nervous!" I exclaimed and she shook her head, laughing.

"Bloody idiots, you're mates, there's nothing to be nervous about! Let's get you ready," she insisted.

"Please! I don't know if I've ever been on a date before, I don't know what to wear, I don't know where to begin with make-up, I'm all sweaty from training, I'm freaking!" I mumbled.

She pulled me to a stop at the top of the grand staircase. "Okay, here's the plan: You go jump in the shower, I'll grab my make-up case and then I'll meet you in your suite? I can go through your wardrobe while you're finishing up and pick some options out for you."

"I don't know what I'd do without you," I breathed, and she gave me a quick, re-assuring hug before skipping off down the hall, no doubt incredibly excited for a make-over.

I hurried into the shower, washing off a whole morning of dirt and sweat. I could hear Ashleigh fumbling through my wardrobe in the next room, singing along to the pop radio station she'd turned on. Once I was done, I slipped into some comfy leggings and a t-shirt ready to face the madness of an Ashleigh Dalton make-over.

"You excited?" She asked, steering me towards a stool she'd dragged in from the kitchen and getting straight to work on my make-up.

"Nervous!" I retorted.

"The mate bond is seriously intense; I don't know how you're coping with it so well."

"It's intense for sure, but it just feels right. I can't describe how, and it freaks me out if I think about it too much, but everything about Jamie and this place and you guys... It just all feels right," I explained.

"Humans who mate with wolves don't usually feel like that, historically it's caused problems, even back when humans knew about us," she said. I looked at her, confused, and she frowned and motioned for me to close my eyes again so she could continue with my eyeshadow. "Like I said, the mate bond is seriously intense, it's supposed to be something shared between two wolves who have grown up knowing this was going to happen and are completely prepared for it. Not many humans have been documented as mates, I think somewhere between 10 and 20, and all bar 3 of them rejected their mates."

My eyes flew open. "Rejected?" I vaguely remembered Jamie telling me how much pain it could cause a wolf to be rejected by their mate when he first explained mates to me, on my first night here. He had been so scared, and I finally understood why; because probability pointed to me rejecting him. My heart ached for him in that moment more than it ever had. I couldn't stand the thought of him being so scared or hurt.

Ashleigh quietly moved onto straightening my hair while I got lost in my thoughts, the mood sobered somewhat.

"I could never hurt him like that," I whispered eventually, my voice breaking. She set the straighteners down and smiled at me.

"We know," she said gently and led me to the wardrobe. "Although, when I'm done with you, the level of stunning you're going to be might hurt him just a little."

I laughed and looked over the outfits she'd hung up on the door. "Shorts?"

"I got a little intel from Finn on what he has planned for you guys, trust me," she said with a smirk.

"What on earth could we be doing that requires shorts?" I asked, running my hands along the fabrics in front of me. I settled on a pair of white denim shorts, a loose black t-shirt and white converse. Ashleigh finished the look by unceremoniously jamming a pair of sunglasses onto my head before spinning me around to finally look in the mirror. I smiled at the girl looking back at me; she was starting to look happy for the first time l.

"You look beautiful," Ashleigh said, just as we heard the front door of the suite opening.

"Gracie, you ready?" Jamie called, as I opened the bedroom door to find him stood halfway across the room. He looked incredible in light khaki shorts and a fitted white t-shirt; canvas backpack draped over one shoulder. "Wow, you look amazing."

He'd barely got the words out before I ran across the room to wrap my arms around his neck, the sadness I'd felt for him earlier still aching in me. He hugged me close, lifting me off the ground slightly.

"I'm really, really looking forward to our date," I mumbled as he put me back down and leaned back to smile down at me, my cheeks flushing a little.

"Me too."