He’s My Alpha by Cassandra M (Jake & Clair)
Chapter 89
“It is a blessing and a curse to feel everything so deeply.”
2 YEARS AFTER
Jake.
Her scent reached my nose even before I felt her presence. Twigs snapped as small footsteps echoed around us as she approached the place I was resting in.
I turned my head in the direction of the noise just in time to see my lovely Clair emerge from the bushes with a small plastic bag that she kept close to her chest. Her eyes were beaming with happiness.
It’s been two years since I made a vow under the blue moon to protect and love my fated mate.
It has been two years of waking up every day with the fear that something might go wrong. That all I had and all I ever wanted would be snatched right before my eyes.
I tried to live with that fear by living my life to the fullest.
I made sure that I gave my all to my pack and to her.
I never wasted any moment with Clair.
Deep down inside, I knew our days were numbered. One thing might happen, and I might never get the chance to be with her for longer than two years.
But we made it. We’ve got it this far.
Today I woke up with new hope. Maybe the curse was just all in our minds.
We make our fate by the decisions we take, by the hearts we break, and by the love we choose to nurture.
And she was all of those things to me.
I made my decision two years ago, and never once did I regret taking that risk. Waking up with her every day was more than a man, an Alpha, could hope for. And years from now, if we have more, I know I will feel the same way.
My grandfather might have taught me that my mate would be my curse, my cross to bear, and I have accepted that. I knew I would take her over and over again. In this life and even in the afterlife, if such a thing exists.
She was my moon blessed, and since she walked back into my life, she has been nothing but a blessing.
“Pennies for your thoughts?” Clair whispered beside me as she sat on the boulder where I was.
I lifted an arm and coiled it around her, inching up to her side as she buried her face into my chest, her baby bump brushing against my stomach.
In a couple of months, our firstborn will grace the earth.
As much as the reason I was forced to look for a Luna was to produce an heir, we took our time. We spent our first two years together with just the two of us.
I knew she wasn’t ready for the responsibility of another life when she was just adjusting as my mate and as Luna. She was still young.
And although I was of age, I wasn’t ready for fatherhood either.
I wanted more time with her, just her.
As selfish as it may sound, I know my future heir would understand.
But the moment she told me that she was ready to expand our family, we wasted no time.
After a month, we finally got what we wanted. She was finally carrying our pup.
It was a joyous feat, not just for us but for the whole pack. But as overwhelming and exciting as it was, Clair suddenly had cold feet.
I found her one day at the stream, at the very same place we were at now, sobbing while leaning on the tree that bore our name.
She was scared. And she thought we were rushing. She realized she wasn’t ready.
I just let her cry in my arms. Her fears. Her doubts. She had no female figure to go after to guide her. She was scared to go through motherhood alone.
But I reminded her that she had me. I would be there. Every step of the way. And I intended to hold on to that.
Her fears bordered on the idea that she would not be good enough — that she couldn’t mother our child the way her mother had done. But she was f*uc*king wrong there. She had a mother’s heart all this time.
The way she protected me when I wanted nothing to do with her. The way she confronted my Beta and told him to man up and claim his mate.
The way she stood up for Luisa for her to end up with her mate, for the way she cooed the pups ready to shift on full moons, the ways she tirelessly carried pups in her arms every time she visited the daycare, and the way she made sure everyone in the pack would have enough.
She would be the perfect mother, and the only mother I’d want for my child.
“Just thinking about the territory and how much it has improved over the years,” I replied, brushing my hand against the side of her waist, as goosebumps appeared on her skin.
The sparks had remained throughout the years, only stronger.
She nodded, beaming at me. “You made me proud, Alpha.”
“No. You made me proud, little mate,” I told her, my nose touching hers.
Clair had worked hard to establish a better daycare and ground school for the pups at the territory, giving everyone a chance to learn the human and wolf ways without leaving the pack.
The land outside the old daycare used to be barren and is now a big garden with a playpark that houses everything a small pup can enjoy outdoors.
Luisa, her cousin, was among those who took over the daycare and helped manage the center.
It was a year ago, on the week of her 18th birthday, when Clair took her home with us, and true to Clair’ s a*s*sumptions, she was fated with Damien. And they have become inseparable since then.
“Would you like to have one?” She wiggled one cupcake in front of my face. It was burned at the bottom. Despite many attempts, Clair could not get the hang of making a perfect cupcake.
But I still ate them whenever she would make one. “Got burned this time.” She sighed deeply as I took the cupcake from her hand, shoving half of it into my mouth.
I thought the right word should be ‘again,1 not ‘this time.’ But I dared not tell her.
“Doesn’t matter. Still my favorite,” I told her with a mouthful in my mouth.
“You’re too nice!” She rolled her eyes at me. “How would I learn if you weren’t hard on me?”
“I am always hard on you. Do you need proof?” I wiggled my brows at her, loving the way her cheeks turned scarlet red every time I teased her.
She rolled her eyes and looked at the stream in front of us. “Stop…” she said in a low voice.
I smiled and followed her line of sight.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked softly, her eyes mesmerized by the cascading water in the stream.
“Yes, it is, but not as beautiful as the female in my arms.” I smiled lovingly and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.
“Stop lying. I look like a whale!” She pouted, her eyes looking back at me, waiting for a*s*surance.
“Still a beautiful whale.” I teased her, a smug grin tugging on my lips.
“How could you?!” She glared at me and scrunched up her nose. “Doi really look like a whale?” She turned her face away, her voice sounding defeated. Her pouted lips just made me want to kiss her in broad daylight.
“No. I was lying. I don’t think I’ve seen any pregnant female as radiant and stunning as you. You look sexy, baby,” I told her as I crooked a finger under her chin, tilting her head up to meet her eyes. “Stop lying.” A smile curled on her lips as a scarlet tint started to creep on her cheeks, making her look innocent even after all these years.
I took my hand away from her face and slid off my seat, crouching in front of her, with my face parallel to her swollen stomach.
“Hey there, little Alpha. Your mother doesn’t believe that she’s the most beautiful female in the world. Once you come out, will you help me convince her?” I whispered to her bump, while my hand caressed it lovingly.
“How can you be sure it’s a boy? What if it’s a female?” she asked, her hand brushing against her bump.
“Doesn’t matter. She’s still going to be an Alpha. But I feel that this one is a male.” And just as I said those words, her stomach moved, making her gasp as she held on to my shoulders tightly.
“There you are! See, my boy agrees!” I placed a kiss on her stomach and rose to my feet, taking her to stand with me. I cupped her face and gazed into those sapphire blue eyes that had stolen my heart. “I love you, baby. Whatever we get, he or she will always be our moon blessed. Just as you are to me.” My eyes were gazing lovingly at her. I don’t think I would ever get tired of looking at her.
She licked her lips, making them glisten under the morning sun, and parted them slowly. “Jake… is it my pregnancy hormone or is it you? I know we did it this morning already… But I want more,” she said aggressively in her soft tone, ignoring my words as her eyes dilated.
I chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose gently before moving my mouth over her ear, pulling her body close to mine. “I think it’s me. After all these years, my bed skills can still make you weak… and wet…”
I nipped and nibbled her ear gently before trailing my lips down to her throat and up to my favorite spot on her body — her neck, where my mark stood proud.
A proof that she’s mine. And would always be mine.