He’s My Alpha by Cassandra M (Jake & Clair)
Chapter 34
JAKE
If this party wasn’t held on my behalf, I would be sitting in my office, alone. I hated parties like this, and that was the reason I never attended one, unless I was obligated.
I didn’t see the need for this, knowing that I would pursue Clair once she came back. I had already made up my mind. I wanted Clair and no one else. But since the invitation went out weeks ago, there was no way this gala could be canceled.
I raised the glass in my hand to my lips, taking a slow sip of whisky as my gaze swept the ballroom, oblivious to the female who clung greedily into my arms as if I would flee.
I might soon. She was boring me to death with her complaints about the other she-wolves around us. She probably thought that by degrading the others, she was putting herself in a higher spot in my list.
But there was no list. I only have one spot, and it was already reserved for Clair.
My thoughts drifted to my Gamma, while the female continued to chatter beside me. I still haven’ t seen Aaron, but Beta Gavin told me he had already arrived.
Aaron informed us beforehand that Clair would not be coming back with him. And that alone pissed me off. Now, I needed to find a way to see her. Maybe I could convince her. Maybe what we had before she left still meant something to her.
‘Gamma, are you here?1 I opened my mindlink just to check on Aaron. I wanted to know more.
“Alpha,” someone acknowledged from my back, but the voice didn’t register in my head because, all of a sudden, an intoxicating smell of wild berries and jasmine swirled around me.
I wanted to find the source of the smell and just sink my nose into her skin. Only then did I realize what I was smelling.
f*uc*k!
I let go of the hand clinging to my forearm a little too harshly as my hands coiled into fists. My jaws tightened as anger started to surge from my aura. What the f*uc*k was she doing here? Who the f*uc*k invited her?
As much as I hated to find out who my mate was, I didn’t have a choice right now. I needed to be in control. I just needed to meet her, reject her, and move on.
Echo went into a total rage at my decision.
I took a deep breath and pushed Echo to the back of my mind, earning a snarl from him. He wanted to be in control and claim our mate, but that would be the last thing I would do. It was already hard for me to control myself. Her f*uc*king scent was already captivating us, and I couldn’t let her do more.
I cleared my throat and composed myself before I slowly turned my body around, ready to face the owner of the scent. I just needed to reject her – I kept repeating in my head.
I knew I was ready to meet her and give her my rejection, only to be met by the most beautiful eyes I have ever laid my gaze upon.
The moment our eyes locked, I felt the mate bond snap into life and everyone else vanished around me as I got lost in those mesmerizing blue sapphire eyes.
Once again, my mate caught me by surprise.
CLAIR
He turned around and our eyes locked. I felt the mate bond snap into life, sucking me in as his dark blue eyes captured mine. Everyone and everything around us blurred out as we exchanged gazes.
He turned around and our eyes locked. I felt the mate bond snap into life, sucking me in as his dark blue eyes captured mine. Everyone and everything around us blurred out as we exchanged gazes.
His eyes softened as he acknowledged the bond, and for a moment, I felt hope. Maybe he would still want me. He would want us.
It felt wonderful, exhilarating, until it lasted.
My heart panicked as the soft gaze turned into anger. His eyes swirled into a deep black with flashes of red. I had never seen anger surging from his eyes before, and I didn’t want to see more. I dropped my gaze to the floor while allowing his scent to calm my nerves.
‘Please don’t reject me, not now. Not in front of my brother.1 I sent him a mindlink and hoped that he would not deny my request.
I felt my brother’s hand reach for my back as he spoke to the Alpha. “Alpha. I’m sorry I was late. We got caught up in some accidents on the highway, and there was no alternative route.” He smiled before adding. “I hope you don’t mind that I slipped in Clair with me since I didn’t want her…” “It’s okay. Enjoy the party. We can talk more later. I ’ll see you around.” He cut off Aaron before he was able to finish his explanation and turned around abruptly, walking to the other side of the room, the female beside him following him like a dog.
“That was strange,” Aaron whispered in my ear, chuckling while shaking his head. After that, he just shrugged his shoulder and guided me to sit on the empty table nearby. “Will you be okay here? I need to check with Timothy, my second in command, first. Pack duties.”
I nodded and offered him a wide smile. “I’ll be fine. Go and do what you need to do.” I shooed him away. My gaze followed my brother as he took one more look at me before striding to where Timothy was.
My eyes wandered around the ballroom, stopping at the figure leaning by the window on the other side directly in front of where I sat. He had his dark blue eyes fixated on me while sipping from his whisky glass as he scrutinized me.
In a second, another beautiful female with blonde hair went up to him, engaging him in a conversation. He started talking with her but his gaze never left mine, earning a scowl from the female as she followed his gaze.
I was the first one to tear my eyes away from him. My wolf, Rain, kept whimpering in my head at the sight of our mate in proximity to another woman. Rain wanted to stake her claim on our mate, as much as I did.
When I couldn’t take it anymore, I rose from my seat and walked towards the refreshment area, picking up a tall glass of iced tea.
“So many amazing drinks are available and yet, you picked up that one? Scared of getting drunk?” I heard a voice behind me, and I spun around to check if the question was meant for me.
My eyes widened while my lips were still around the straw of the drink I was sipping when I realized the man was indeed talking to me.
“My name is Alpha Aeon, and may I know the name of the lovely lady who would rather drink this not- so-tasty iced tea?” He introduced himself and waited for my response, a friendly smile growing on his face.
I placed the glass on the table beside me and offered him an awkward smile. But before I was able to introduce myself, I smelled him.
My mate. He was nearby now.
And just then, a female voice came from behind me, forcing me to turn my body around. “Come on, Alpha Aeon, you hit on every female you see around. ” The female chuckled as she shifted her gaze to me, smiling, but I could sense her resentment at my presence despite her smile.
I found myself in the middle of Alpha Aeon, Jake and the female clinging to his arm. My eyes stayed longer than they should on their entwined arms, with Rain threatening to let her claws out before I was able to take hold of myself.
All the while, my heart fluttered and my knees started to buckle as his scent enveloped my whole senses. My heart was crushed but at the same time healed at the sight and scent of him.
I raised a brow before turning my gaze at Jake. My head bobbed to acknowledge him while my heart kept thudding in my chest. “Alpha.”
He nodded his head, his eyes fixed on mine. I tore my eyes off him and focused on Alpha Aeon just as he spoke.
“Should I be offended? You acknowledged Jacob before answering my question. You know, I’m an Alpha as well.” He placed a hand on his chest, a coy grin plastered on his face, telling me that he wasn’t offended at all.
I looked down at my heels and smiled shyly. “My name is Clair, Alpha Aeon.”
“And who’s daughter are you? I mean you’re an Alpha female right? Because the females invited here are all Alpha females and you don’t look familiar. I haven’t seen you in other gatherings such as this.” The female beside Jake spoke, her tone laced with sarcasm.
I felt a lump form in my throat as all attention shifted to me. I took a deep breath before meeting her eyes. “My father is not an Alpha if that’s what you wanted to ask.”
The female raised her brow, unimpressed. I opened my mouth to say some nasty comeback, but Alpha Aeon beat me to it. “Then you must be something special to be here. Am I right, Jacob?”
And my heart sank. For a moment, I contemplated mind-linking Aaron to save me, but then I saw Jake shift from his position. He let go of the female’s hand gently and slid beside me. His palm touched my lower back, which immediately sparked sparks all over my body.
The sparks were explosive. The tingles I felt at his touch before the mate bond was nothing compared to how it feels right now.
I didn’t know the mate bond could do this to my body. The sparks were sending pleasure direct to my core. The sensations were comforting and wild at the same time. If I wasn’t able to control myself, I would definitely wet myself just by his touch.
I tilted my head up and looked at him, his gaze shifting from the female to Alpha Aeon as he began to speak while his palm brushed my back softly. ” Clair’s father is not an Alpha but her grandfather was.”
My eyes widened in surprise. And had no idea if anyone noticed how shocked I was. What the f*uc*k was that?
“She’s the late Alpha Thaddeus’ granddaughter.” He added.
I didn’t know he would lie to save my face, but I just swallowed my pride and let him talk. My gaze was still fixed on him as my eyes traveled to his chiseled jaws and his slightly stubbled chin. Oh, Goddess! I wanted to touch him!
“Hmmm… I didn’t know Alpha Thaddeus’ son, Alpha Noah, had a daughter. I’ve only known sons.” Alpha Aeon stated.
I saw Jake smirking before shifting his gaze to me. His eyes captured mine, and for a moment, his eyes softened before they shifted to his normal stance, the one with no emotions. “I agree, Alpha Thaddeus’ sons, do not have a daughter. But Alpha Thaddeus’ daughter has one.”
I tore my eyes off him and dropped my gaze to the floor. I am totally confused now. Why would he lie, and how far would he go before they realized it was a hoax?
“Aha! I remember Alpha Thaddeus had a daughter, but I didn’t know she had a daughter. Isn’t Lady Camilla married to an ordinary warrior?” Alpha Aeon continued to ask.
At the mention of my mother’s name, my head automatically jerked up and I looked back at Jake. Confusion was written all over my face, but he refused to look at me this time as he further explained.
“I would say she was married to one of the best warriors in our pack, and together they had Clair here.” He looked at me for a quick second before turning his gaze towards my brother, who was standing on the other side of the ballroom with Beta Gavin and pointing a finger in his direction.
“And her brother, my best warrior. My Gamma, Aaron.”
It took a while for me to understand everything, it’s harder to think when his hand at my back distracts me and makes Rain whimper contently at the back of my mind.
He wasn’t lying then. My mother was from an Alpha lineage?
“Interesting! But nevertheless, I still find this young lady worth my attention regardless of whether she’s an Alpha female or not.” Alpha Aeon shifted his full attention to me, which had me blushing in a second, earning a frown both from Jake and the female beside him.
Alpha Aeon then extended his hand and smirked as he asked for my approval. “Would you dance with me, Lady Clair?” Ignoring the other two beside us.
Before I could decline, since I didn’t fancy slow dancing, Jake cleared his throat and reached out for my hand instead.
“She’s my guest, Aeon. It is appropriate that I’ll have her first dance.” He spoke with authority as he led me to the middle of the ballroom without giving a second glance to the others.
As soon as we reached the middle of the dance floor, he guided both my hands to his shoulders and slipped his into my waist, pulling my body closer to him.
I closed my eyes and breathed him in before I spoke in a soft tone. “Thank you for taking me away there. ” I opened my eyes to see him staring at me deeply.
“So I did you a favor? I thought you were dying to dance with him.” If he was jealous or not, I couldn’t tell. He was so good at putting on that stoic expression, which I found frustrating.
“So you think I will jump on any guy that shows interest in me?”
“I don’t know. I thought I knew you, but apparently, I was wrong. I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours.”
“Cut the crap, Jake. Stop taking riddles. Say what you want to say.”
“Shouldn’t you be the one explaining?”
“What should I explain?”
“So we’ re mates.’ He said it as if he was just talking about the weather, and I had to refrain from
showing a disappointed expression. “Now tell me, why did you leave? And why did you come back?”
The last question hit me hard. Now that he knew I was his mate, it’s clear that he didn’t want me around. It hurts, and I didn’t know if I could live with that.
I slid my hands from his shoulders to his chest and gently pushed him off me while my heart was thudding erratically. “I came back to take what’s mine! But apparently, it would take a lot more to get to him.”