Emmeline's Alpha

Gideon sat in his office working on some paperwork. His thoughts kept drifting to his beautiful mate. When he had first sniffed her out, his heart had thudded so hard in his chest.

At thirty-two, he had thought he would never find his mate, and then he saw her. She was absolutely stunning, and she was his.

Gideon imagined her sitting on top his desk while he took his time in pleasuring her. He felt himself harden, and his grip tightened on his mahogany desk.

A gentle knock interrupted his thoughts. The door opened slowly. Emmeline walked in and stood before him. Her scent invaded the room.

“C—can I talk to you?” she asked nervously in her soft, sultry voice.

Gideon clenched his hands in his lap, hiding himself as he calmed down. When she didn’t speak, Gideon arched an eyebrow.

She looked like she wanted to say something but didn’t know how to say it. She huffed and covered her forehead with one hand while propping the other on her hip.

“We’re mates,” she started, dropping her hands hopelessly to look at Gideon.

“I’m aware of that,” he replied.

“Do you…want me? I know we haven’t exactly talked about it, but… I’m so confused,” she asked, a little exasperated.

Gideon frowned and stood up. He walked around his desk and stood in front of her. His form towered over her. He leaned back against the desk, crossing his arms in front of him.

He saw her shudder and thought it was from fear until he smelled her arousal.

“Why do you want to know?” he asked. He was curious about what was going on in his mate’s head. When he had left her at breakfast, she had seemed perfectly fine.

Emmeline chewed on her bottom lip nervously, playing with the hem of her shirt.

It distracted Gideon. All he could think about was ripping her shirt off and baring her pale skin. Emmeline was something different, and he found he didn’t know how to act around her.

Her gaze dropped a little, and Gideon placed a finger under her chin, lifting her eyes up to look at him. Her eyes took Gideon’s breath away. They were vulnerable and innocent, but there was something troubled and broken in them.

“I know who you are,” she whispered softly. “I’ve read about you in books.”

Gideon said nothing. He wanted to know what his mate thought of him. She sighed and stared up at him. He fought the urge to pull her close, afraid his scars might disgust her.

“You’ve killed many people,” she stated.

“Protecting what’s mine,” he responded truthfully. He had killed many and was a merciless alpha. Fear was good in his eyes. Fear meant no one would attempt to harm what was his.

“You frighten me,” she admitted. “You’re everyone’s nightmare, and the power that surrounds you is intimidating.” He saw her swallow back her fear, and his heart nearly stopped beating.

“Then the question is, do you want me as your mate?” Gideon didn’t know if he wanted to hear her answer or not. He knew, either way, he was going to keep her. She was his, and he would not let her go, even if she didn’t want him.

“I do,” she breathed, “but I… I need to know…”

He arched an eyebrow. He knew there was more going around his mate’s little head. Part of him wasn’t patient and wanted her to tell him now. But he knew if he snapped, she would retreat.

Part of him was relieved. Gideon wanted nothing more than to make this work, but he knew he wasn’t the most handsome man in the world.

Scars riddled both his body and his face. It might be difficult for his mate to overlook those flaws and accept him.

“What is it you want to know, Em?” he asked, using her shortened name.

Her breath hitched. “I’m a virgin,” she spat out.

Gideon blinked, lip twitching a little. He wanted to smile. He knew his mate was a virgin. He could easily smell it on her. She was untainted.

Even so, he couldn’t deny how satisfied he was that no one had sampled what was his. It was a selfish and barbaric thought, of course, but it made his beast happy.

“You’re asking if I’m one too?” he asked. She nodded. Gideon sighed. His answer would tear up his mate’s heart. He knew it, but he couldn’t find it in himself to lie to her.

“I’m not a virgin, Em,” he said.

Her face fell, and the corners of her lips tipped downward.

Gideon could feel that his direct response had upset her. He exhaled and rubbed his face. Gideon didn’t know how to handle this. He had never found the need to explain himself before.

He had slept with women before because it calmed his wolf down. Hell, he was thirty-two years old. Biologically, male werewolves needed to have sex to keep themselves from turning feral.

She had to understand that he couldn’t have waited this long. His wolf would have gone crazy before they’d ever met.

The women he had slept with before weren’t important. He had just done it to calm his wolf. There were no feelings involved.

“Emmeline,” he started.

“What if I had lost my virginity before I met you?” she asked, finding her courage.

Bitterly and selfishly, he couldn’t stop from growling as the image of her sleeping with another man crawled into his mind. He yanked her body against his and gripped her neck.

“If anyone had ever touched you, I would kill them,” he said menacingly. “I’m thirty-two, Em. I couldn’t have waited. I would’ve gone feral by now. I did it to calm my wolf. If you want a number, I’ve only slept with three women.”

Emmeline’s lips were so close to his. His lips itched to feel hers pressed against them. She looked at him with hooded eyes. Her hands were unconsciously clenching the front of his shirt.

“Are they in the pack?” she whispered huskily.

“No,” he replied and unable to resist any longer, he brought his lips down on hers.

Emmeline sighed and melted in his arms.

The minute their lips had made contact, Gideon felt a carnal and zealous need for her. He tightened his grip around her. She was shy at first, but before long, she sucked on his lower lip.

He groaned at her bold action. It had been a long time since he had slept with a woman, and he was hard as a rock. Emmeline squirmed in his arms, her stomach rubbing against his hardness.

It brought him back to his senses. He tore his lips away from her and pushed her away.

Emmeline wondered if she’d done something wrong.

“Did I answer all your questions?” Gideon asked, panting.

“For now,” she mumbled.

His eyes found hers. Her eyes were black pools of desire. His insides clenched. No woman had ever looked at him that way. Not even the ones he had slept with.

They had willingly agreed to share his bed, but they had never looked at him like Emmeline was now.

“Fuck,” he growled, yanking her back to him as he crushed her lips with his. Her hands ran through his hair and tugged, deepening the kiss. Gideon loved it.

He ground his hardness against her belly, and she moaned softly. He broke the kiss to look down at her. Her chest was rising and dropping rapidly. The kiss had affected her as much as it did him.

“Mine,” he claimed before sucking on her lower lip. There was a knock on the door.

Gideon stood up, breaking the kiss. He wasn’t happy about the interruption and hid his little mate behind his back. She clutched the back of his shirt, trying to steady her breathing and her knees.

“What?” Gideon growled.

The door opened. Drake and another man walked in. They glanced at Gideon and then noticed their luna standing behind him. They knew they weren’t alone with their alpha.

“Alpha, the western border is now secured. Alpha Cyrus would like an update on the papers he sent to you a week ago, and the pack is wondering when you’ll introduce your mate,” The man next to Drake said.

Gideon sighed and put an arm behind him to bring Emmeline next to him. He pointed at the man across from them.

“This is Beta Ralph,” Gideon introduced.

Emmeline murmured a greeting and moved to shake Ralph’s hand when Gideon yanked her hand back. She frowned up at him.

“Emmeline, why don’t you go wait for me in the bedroom?” Gideon said, glaring at Ralph. “I’ll be there after I finish meeting with Drake and Ralph,” Gideon ordered, ushering her out of the room.