Chapter 16: That Awkward Moment
Alexander stood on the beach, watching the house that was barely visible on the hilltop above. He put his towel down in the sand, and plopped down to wait. According to the previous stalkers his brother had sent to watch Della, she usually came to the beach around this time every day. He had worn a scent masking spray to hide that he was a werewolf, not wanting to startle her. He would befriend her, but today he was just going to observe from a distance.
Sure enough, she came walking down the beach with her pup, setting up a chair, an umbrella, and a few toys, like a tiny shovel, so the pup could dig in the sand. He seemed to prefer to use his hands. Della looked gorgeous in a red bikini, as she sat down in her chair and took out her phone.
As he watched her he felt something pulling him towards her, as his wolf, Max, paced anxiously in his head. The wind shifted and the breeze carried her scent to him. Coconut and caramel, she smelled like heaven. He realized what was happening, right as Max proclaimed, "MATE!" He took a few steps towards her, then forced himself to stop. No. This was not supposed to happen. Did the Moon Goddess have a twisted sense of humor? His brother, the fucking Alpha King, had sent Alexander to spy on this she-wolf he was obsessed with, and wouldn't you know it, she turned out to be his fated mate!
It took every ounce of self control he had to keep from running to her, his wolf going berserk, wondering why the stupid human was ignoring what was right in front of him. "MATE!" Max repeated.
His brother would kill him. Literally. Self preservation had to trump the mate bond, at least for the time being. Goddess, what was he going to do? He was glad he had masked his scent. If she had come to him, it would have been over. He would not have been able to resist.
And his brother would kill him. Literally. He sat back down on his blanket, trying to slow his racing heart by taking deep breaths. All that did was fill his nose with more of her intoxicating, delicious, tantalizing scent, and he had to fight harder than he liked to just to keep his wolf from taking over.
He lay back on his blanket, closing his eyes, at least then her perfect body wasn't tormenting him with every shift of her arm, every time she would flick a bit of sand off of her leg, every time she moved it was like watching liquid silk. Her blonde hair flowed halfway down her back, and he imagined his hands tangled in it as he passionately kissed her full red lips. He sat up, realizing his swim trunks did very little to contain his erection. Damn it! He ran his hands through his hair, adjusted his sunglasses, and tried to focus on anything but Della. The other half of his soul was right there, and he couldn't do anything about it. Or could he?
Jaden would definitely try to kill him. He was the Alpha King, and had the power and resources to do so. But, if he could plead his case to the Werewolf Council, they would protect him. To them, the mate bond was sacred above almost all else. They would forbid Jaden from interfering.
Which would do nothing to prevent his untimely demise by his brother's hand.
Alexander's mind raced as he weighed his options. He had been sent to spy on Della, to gather information about her, and report back to Jaden. Easy, right? Instead, here he was, grappling with the primal call of destiny.
Della laughed as her pup tried to stand up and walk in the sand, then decided against it, sitting back down in the hole he had dug around himself. The sound was like music to his ears. It was a melody that reverberated through every fiber of his being, a song his soul recognized.