The Alpha and his Mate
Chapter 3

Jax’s POV

I had been feeling agitated all day, both at myself and at the people around me. I had been yelling at my pack members all day for no apparent reason, either someone was working too hard and were going to hurt themselves, or they we being lazy and weren’t working hard enough. They were interrupting me too much, they weren’t keeping me enough informed. It was safe to say the whole pack had been on edge today because of the mood I had been in.

I sighed in frustration as I tried to focus on the paperwork in front of me. I had locked myself into my home office all day until the early hours of the morning, not wanting to snap at another person for fear my anger would get out of control. I had never been like this before, this angry and out of control, I had always taken pride in being a fairly level-headed Alpha, but today something just seemed off and I couldn’t figure out what it was. I took a sip of my black coffee as I ran my other hand through my hair, refusing to give into the exhaustion that was trying to take over me, no matter how much caffeine I pumped into my system. I had been putting off doing paperwork for weeks now and it was about time I actually sat down and got some of it done, it being the perfect excuse for me locking myself away.

I had gotten about halfway through the pile of papers that needed my signature and approval when I suddenly felt someone trying to push into my head and try to get my attention. I growled slightly at the irritation, hoping to ignore whoever wanted me, but when whoever it was didn’t give up, I released my walls and growled at them, letting my frustration be known.

“This better be good”.

“I’m sorry to bother you Alpha” Henry, one of my warriors who was on patrol tonight apologised, having felt the irritation coming off me in waves even through our packs mind link ”we have a lone trespasser on the south side of our border" he explained.

I growled in frustration ”then deal with it, you have your training, use it”. Was he seriously interrupting me for a problem as simple as a single rogue trespassing on our territory? Surely something as simple as that could easily be handled without me?

"Of course Alpha, the only reason I thought it was best you knew about her is because she seems rather frightened and hurt. It also appears to be the first time she has shifted and doesn’t really know what is going on or what to do. Xavier is talking to her now but with his history with rogues and his temperament I thought it would maybe be best if you came out here yourself and assess the situation?”

I frown in confusion; how could you not know what the shift meant when we’ve been told all our lives that on our sixteenth birthday our wolf will appear. This girl that Henry was referring to intrigued me and for some reason I found myself walking out of my office and into the night air. I kept telling myself it was because she was a rogue and I just wanted an excuse to get away from my pile of paperwork, but I knew it was because it was something else. Sixteen seemed way too young for someone to become a rogue and being out there on your own at this time of night was just plain dangerous.

"I’m on my way Henry, please keep watch until I get there” I informed him as I made my way over to the south side of our border.

"Yes Alpha” he replied before shutting the mind link off.

Why did I feel so drawn into this situation? I mean it wasn’t like this is the first time we have had a rogue trespass on our land before. Why is it all of a sudden my pack, and me in particular, are drawn into helping this girl. As I got into the tree line that lined the outskirts of our small town I stopped as an amazing scent hit me and I stopped dead in my tracks. Smelling this scent felt like I had been struggling for breath all my life and I had just had my first taste of proper air, like I could finally breathe after being submerged under water all my life.

I broke out into a full sprint as I immediately recognised what this meant. Mate. I felt like I couldn’t get there quick enough, couldn’t get her in my arm fast enough. I had been waiting for my mate for years and the day had finally come when I got to hold her close to me and call her mine.

I was finally in hearing range of her and I could hear her whimpering quietly as she was surrounded by some of my warriors and my Beta, Xavier. Don’t worry baby, no one’s going to hurt you here I thought but as I heard Xavier demand her to shift, I let out an almighty howl in anger. If she shifted and if what Henry had told me earlier was true, she would be shifting into her human form with nothing to change into. She would be naked for four males to see and my wolf went crazy at the thought, not liking the idea of her being so vulnerable in front of so many people.

Before I even had a say in it or a chance to think about my options my beast was unleashed and I heard my clothes rip and tear as my black wolf materialised and sprinted towards the scene. The first born in the Alpha’s bloodline was always a black wolf, apparently it was a symbol from our Moon Goddess, to help solidify our role as future leader of the pack. It also had a hunting advantage to it, it was easier for me to blended into the dark woods, making it easy for me to hide and attack.

When I finally got to the clearing what I saw had anger pumping through my veins, mixing with the adrenaline that was already there. My mate was surrounded by three on my warriors in wolf form, one of them being Henry, and Xavier in his human form whilst she stood in the centre of the circle shaking with fear and cuts all over her body. She looked so fragile and lost in that moment I just wanted to wrap her in my arms and promise her that everything was going to be okay now that we were together.

“Shift!” Xavier demanded and I let out a ferocious growl at how he was treating his future Luna. No one spoke to my mate like that, not even my Beta.

Xavier turned to me in shock, not believing that I was defending a rogue, but I wasn’t paying him any attention. All my focus was on my mate as I watched her eyes roll into the back of her head as she passed out.

I growled and started stalking towards Xavier, determined to teach him a lesson in how he should treat his Luna, but as I took a step towards Xavier’s direction I saw from the corner of my eye my mate’s body start to twitch and contort into odd angles and I know instantly that she was shifting back into her human form.

Xavier was quickly forgotten about as I made my way over to her, making it just in time to lay my whole body over hers and hide her nakedness from the other males prying eyes. She was so tiny I could easily hide her slender form with just half of my wolf body. What had happened to my poor mate to make her this thin?

"Look away” I growled at the four of them through the mind link, no one was to even look in her direction when she was in this state.

“But Jax she’s a rogue” Xavier stated, bewildered at my odd behaviour. “Why the hell are you protecting her?” Xavier demanded, confused by my actions but I couldn’t respond, the only thing that was repeatedly going through my head was the word mate. Must protect mate.

I felt a presence in front of me and I growled in warning, not wanting anyone near my injured mate but when I realised it was Henry I quietened down. He had one of my t-shirts and a pair of jean shorts secured in his mouth that I had hidden around the territory. I nodded at him in thanks before growling at the surrounding people to turn around, making sure none of them could see my mate. Thank goodness he had given me some of my own clothes to put on her, I don’t think myself or my wolf could deal with having another man’s scent on her.

Once I was sure no one was looking I got up off my mate and shifted, quickly putting my t-shirt on her before pulling the ripped jean shorts on myself. I tried not to look at her as I carefully pulled the t-shirt over her body, but I couldn’t help it when my eyes caught the amount of cuts and bruises that scattered across her body. I growled again in rage as I quickly pulled the fabric back down and over her legs, trying to cover as much of her skin as I possibly could. Whoever did this to my mate was going to pay... greatly.

I carefully turned around with her bridal style in my arms, and rounded on Xavier again who had turned around at my growls. “What the hell happened to her” I demanded, if he had harmed her in anyway he was going to wish he was never even born, best friend or not.

He shrugged with a bewildered look on his face, obviously recognising the look of pure anger on mine. “I don’t know man; we were all patrolling when suddenly we heard a girl screaming on our boarder line. We came over to see what the situation was, fearing that maybe it was one of our pack members in trouble, but instead replace her panting on the floor all cut up and bloody” he explained as he gestured to my mates sleeping form in my arms.

“Did you see who did this to her?” I growled, some of the anger leaving me when I realised my pack was not to blame.

He shook his head “no sorry, there was no other scent around either...my guess is that she’s just a rogue that got into a bit of trouble and this is where her body finally gave up” he shrugged.

I growled again before looking down at the sleeping angel in my arms, who could hurt such a perfect and innocent person.

“Why do you care anyway man?” Xavier asked, confused and not understanding why I was so protective of the strange girl in my arms.

“Because she’s his mate” Henry piped up from beside me and I looked over to see he had already shifted and had already put on his own pair of shorts.

I looked back at Xavier and ignored his shocked expression as I turned and run back to my house. “Call the pack doctor and tell her to meet us there” I yelled as I felt everyone run in formation behind me, I don’t think I was in any state to mind link someone right now.

Thankfully I didn’t live too far away from where we had found her but all I could chant in my head was for my mate to be okay, for my mate who I had been waiting years for, to survive.

When my house came into view and I saw our pack doctor’s car parked in my drive I sighed in relief, thank god she got here quick. It did pay to be the Alpha sometimes. I ran through the front door after Xavier, who had managed to open the door for me, being careful not to jar the sleeping angel in my arms and went straight for my room. I laid her as gently as I could under the covers of my bed, not caring that the sheets would probably be stained with mud and blood because of it, I can always buy new ones if I couldn’t get the stains out.

“What seems to be the issue Alpha?” The doctor asked as she walked into the room after me, carrying her medical bag in her hand and a pair of latex gloves in the other, ready to snap them on.

“My mate is hurt, I’m not sure what’s wrong with her but we found her like this on the edge of the territory, please help her” I explained, gesturing to her sleeping form. If the doctor was at all surprised that I had found my mate she didn’t show it as she quickly walked over to her sleeping form and got to work.

I sat quietly in the corner of my room on the sofa, not wanting to invade my mate’s privacy as the doctor pulled the sheets down and started to lift the shirt up so she could get a better look at her. I don’t think my mate would be to impressed with me knowing I had watched her whilst the doctor was doing her exam.

It took everything in me no to go other there and hold her in my arms. It was practically in a wolfs DNA to want to constantly be physically attached to their mates, especially after first replaceing them. If the mate was injured in anyway the desire was much stronger, the wolf needing to be with their mate to help soothe their pain.

After five minutes of the doctor observing and tending to her wounds, she gently pulled the covers back over her and walked over to me. My arms were shaking with the effort to not move and when the doctor turned to face me I released a sigh of relief, I could finally go to her.

“Well she has quite the list of injuries” the doctor stated “not all of them I can treat with the basic kit that I have brought with me. She did have a dislocated elbow through, recently. It was put back into place when she shifted but as it appears to be one of her first shifts the body didn’t quite know where to put it. I would recommend bringing her in as soon as you possibly can so that I can scan it and make sure it is where it’s supposed to be. That way it won’t cause her any further issues” the doctor explained.

I growled after hearing about her dislocation and held my head in my hands, feeling completely useless and out of control. “What else doc?” I whispered, not really wanting the answer but needing to know, needing to know as much as I can so that I could help her.

“Well from what I can tell she has a few fractured ribs, a concussion and a lot of cuts and bruises, both new and old. She also seems to have a twisted ankle so if it is okay with you when she wakes up I would like to get her to the pack hospital just to make sure there aren’t any other injuries I’ve missed. If I can get her through at least an X-ray machine then we would know exactly what we are dealing with regarding the extent of her injuries.”

I nodded in a daze, not knowing how to react to the knowledge that my mate had come from such a broken home. “Sure doc no worries, I’ll come over as soon as she’s awake” I muttered.

“Alpha if I may...” Dr Tessler started to speak but stopped, probably not wanting to go a step to far after the mood I had been in all day.

“Yes doctor?” She needed to speak freely with me, the more information I knew about her the better I would be able to help her.

“Your mate has obviously gone through something very traumatic and I can’t begin to understand what it is that she has gone through...” the doctor began to explain as she looked back at my sleeping angel. “I think that it is important that you understand that she may not be completely open with you straight away. Yes, you are her mate but you have to take into consideration the state that she is currently in. Someone has purposefully done this to her, repeatedly if the scars are anything to go by. I just want you to be aware that she will probably have some trust issues to begin with, just please don’t take it to heart” she explained as she shifted from one foot to the other.

I thought about what she said and I couldn’t help but grow both sad and angry at her words, if what the doctor is saying is true then my mate may be more damaged than what I could physically see.

I nodded as I watched the doctor leave, not bothering to see her out as I went straight for my mate, hoping my presence will calm her in some way. Who could do this to such a sweet looking angel?

I brushed her matted dirty blond hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear, hoping the action wouldn’t stir her awake in any way. She was so beautiful I couldn’t hold myself back from touching her, even the smallest actions like brushing her hair back helped calm me and my wolf. Her face was swollen, one side looking raw and painful as I took in the multiple hand print shaped bruises that littered her skin.

My hands shook at the effort I was putting into not shifting, I couldn’t lose control now, not when my mate needed me as much as she did. I reached out and stroked her less injured cheek, the action causing the telling signs of our mate bond strengthening as my fingers tingled with her warmth. My wolf and I calmed down at the action, loving the feeling of fire that was licking at our fingertips.

We had waited so long to replace her, at twenty-one I was beginning to lose hope that my mate was even alive. Most Alphas found their mate young, not long after we first shifted at the age of sixteen. It was believed that the Moon Goddess, our creator and the one in charge of carefully selecting each and every mated pair, did this to help strengthen the pack and give hope and reassurance to the packs people. That when the new Alpha took over, he would already have his Luna by his side. The Alpha’s mate was usually in a neighbouring pack, making it easier to replace each other, but when I had shifted and travelled each of the packs within a day’s run from me and couldn’t replace her I got confused. Had the Moon Goddess not selected a mate for me yet or had my destined mate died in some horrible accident, resulting in me being forever mate less.

When I hit twenty and my father handed the pack down to me it was a bittersweet moment. On the one hand I was overjoyed at the fact that my father thought I was capable of running the pack for him, meaning he could retire, but on the other hand I was heartbroken. Heartbroken because the space on my left-hand side, the space that was usually occupied by my mate during the coronation ceremony, was empty.

“Where have you been hiding all these years?” I whispered into the dark room as I continued to stroke her cheek with my fingertips. I sighed before looking up at my ceiling, praying to the Moon Goddess to give me strength so that I could replace the monsters that did this to my mate and give them the punishment they deserved.

I looked back down at her sleeping form again, intent on looking at her beautiful face all night, but when I looked back at her the smile slipped from my face as I stared into a pair of bright blue eyes, filled with fear.