The Alpha King’s Human Mate by HC Dolores
Chapter 21

“Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.”

David Ogden Stiers?

As I stared into his dark eyes, I didn’t doubt he was telling the truth.

If I ran, Griffin would surely come after me.

There’s no getting out of this. O

Even as the frightening realization washed over me, I couldn’t look away from him. He was staring at me in a way that nob*dy had ever looked at me

with pure devotion. As if I hung the stars or the moon in the sky with my very breath.

with

I’d seen that look plenty of times. I saw it in the mated couples at school, at pack functions, and even in the way my father and Grace looked at each other. Mated couples seemed to exist in their own orbit, and I’d be lying if I said I’d never been jealous.

It’s not that the idea of a soul mate wasn’t appealing, it was all the baggage that came with being chained to a wolf. D

I’d long since accepted that nob*dy was going to look at me with pure devotion and I was okay with that. The trade-off was an easy human life, where I’d be free to do and go as I please.

Griffin continued to look at me with hungry dark eyes.

My breath hitched.

His eyes flickered to my l*ps.

Is he going to k*ss me?

I should’ve protested or turned away but I felt almost hypnotized by his gaze – all

I could see was him and all I could smell was his damned natural scent.

He leaned in.

I closed my eyes, waiting for his l*ps to touch mine. [2

And then suddenly he was off me, sitting on the other side of the bed.

–

My eyes flew open and I stared at him. what the f**k was that? Surely, he was about to k*ss me right there?

My frustration must’ve shown on my face because Griffin smirked. “Sorry, did you think something else was going to happen, little fox?” 4

My face went tomato red. Of course he had been messing with me. I had just tried to convince him he’d be better off with someone else, and only seconds later, I’m practically putty in his hands. O

All because of what? A look?

Pull yourself together, Clark. It’s not you, it’s the mate bond.

“Aw, don’t look so upset, little fox,” Griffin smirked, reaching over to cup my cheek. His tone was mocking. “I just wanted to see if the mate bond affected you at all since you’re not a wolf. And now I have my answer.”4

I wanted to tell him that I’d felt nothing, but the proof was in the pudding – he’d seen the way I’d closed my eyes, ready to k*ss him. And had he actually k*ssed me, I don’t think I would’ve pulled away.

Still, I hated feeling embarrassed and I was not about to let him think I was some obedient little mate just because I happened to let my guard down.

“First of all,” I said, practically hissing at him, “My name is Clark. You can use it,

you know. Second of all, that doesn’t prove I’m affected by the mate bond – it just proves I’m attracted to you. You’re hot, I’m sure you already know this. I would’ve been affected the same way had another hot guy been up in my face.” (14)

I was so caught up in making my point that I didn’t see the playful smirk fade from Griffin’s face or the dark expression that replaced it.

When I did finally stop talking and I caught sight of Griffin’s threatening expression, I shakily swallowed.

Alright, he’s pissed – what did I say now?

Surely he’s not mad that I called him hot? That was a compliment if anything! D

“And have you, little fox?” Griffin hummed, leaning closer to me.

“Have I what?”

“Have you let other men k*ss you?”

Oh, great of course my possessive Alpha mate wants a breakdown of my S**ual history.

I’m an idiot. Why the hell did I ever think it was a good idea to mention other men around him?

My face drained of color and I racked my brain, trying to think of a response that wouldn’t piss him off. Although I’d known Griffin less than a day, one thing was abundantly clear: he was possessive. Probably more possessive than any other wolf I’d met if his speech earlier was any indication.

Most wolves were possessive by nature anyway. In the Blacktooth pack, it wasn’t against the rules to have s*x with people you weren’t mated to, but it was heavily frowned upon. I could still remember being thirteen, sitting in the back of the werewolf version of s*x ed as the teacher explained it to us.

In addition to awkwardly explaining how s*x worked, she’d also told us that we should save our first times for our mates. She’d said that innocence was a virtue and the “purer” we kept ourselves, the happier our mates would be. Even at thirteen, it had felt like a lot of BS to me – but I hadn’t argued. It’s not like I ever thought it would apply to me.

And yet here I am.

So how do I get out of this one?

“Well, uh,” I finally said, avoiding his dark gaze, “Does it really matter? That’s all in the past the future will be different.”

–

Yeah, the future is going to be me getting the hell out of dodge and hopefully away from you.

“Of course it matters,” he growled, “If you let others touch you, I want names.”

“Okay, wait!” I said, “Let’s not forget – I had no idea about this mate thing, so you can’t exactly hold any of this against me. You don’t see me asking for all the d*rty details of your S**ual history and I highly doubt you were some innocent. virgin all these years.” [5]

Griffin narrowed his eyes. “Don’t try to change the subject. Tell me – I want to know who there was before me.”

It was pretty clear that Griffin wasn’t going to let this go regardless of how much I tried to reason. I guess I could’ve lied and said I’d never dated anyone but something told me he would’ve seen right through me.

“Alright, fine,” I sighed, “I’ll tell you but you can’t get mad about it, okay?”

“Yeah, we’ll see,” he scoffed. (2

“I’ve only ever had one boyfriend and the whole thing was pretty short-lived,” I said, and another blush came over my face, “Lasted a few months I was sixteen.”

–

Griffin’s expression darkened even more. He stood up and approached where I was sitting on the bed, leaning over me again. His face was so close I could smell his minty breath and his eyes were locked onto mine.

Well, this feels familiar.

“Did he touch you?”

I swallowed.

“Not s*x,” I said quietly, trying to keep my voice from shaking. I wanted to think clearly but with Griffin so close, it felt impossible. His entire presence was overwhelming.

“How far did you go with this boy?”

“Just making out, that’s it,” I said. I couldn’t bear the intense eye contact anymore

so I looked away

until I met his eyes.

only for Griffin to gently grab my chin and tilt my head back up

“And his name?” His voice was low.

Can he hear how fast my heart is beating right now?

“Aiden,” I said.

Griffin smirked, his large hand caressing my cheek and leaving tingles everywhere

he touched. “Good girl, that’s all I needed to know.”

He stepped away from me and I breathed out a sigh of relief. With him out of my orbit, it felt like I could finally breathe and think.

Stupid, stupid mate bond. C

I had told him the truth too. Aiden had been my only boyfriend. I’d known him as

a kid, back when I still lived with my mom. I had definitely had a crush on him, but when I moved in with my dad, we lost touch. (a

A couple of years later, he popped up on my Instagram and we reconnected. He had only grown cuter, and it didn’t take very long for our relationship to turn romantic. He lived two hours away, so seeing him was a bit of a challenge. I never told my family about him, and on Friday nights, I’d sneak out to see a “movie” in town – but really, I was making the trek to see Aiden so we could make out in his

car and stargaze.

I had liked him a lot, but after a few months, things got too complicated and I had

to break things off. Aiden started asking questions about why he couldn’t visit my home or meet my family or why I couldn’t introduce him to my friends.

I couldn’t let Aiden get dragged into a world he knew nothing about.

–

I wonder why Griffin wanted his name so bad surely, he’s not planning to hunt Aiden down just because he happened to date me before Griffin even knew I existed?

Nah, there’s no way. Aiden is too common of a name and it’s not like he can kill them all. O