The Alpha King’s Rejected Mate
Chapter 18

STERLING

With everything that was going on with Snow, there was no way that I could leave anything to chance. I’d been staying at the Pullers Ranch main house, while Snow was staying with Dutch. I wanted to do kick myself for not saying something sooner. I didn’t know what was going on between Snow and me, but it was never going to happen if we didn’t get some time together. When I said that I thought we should be together, I wasn’t joking. Getting her away from Dutch was all I needed to do.

I found them together in the barn, working with the horses, and even though they weren’t doing anything wrong, I was immediately in a bad mood. I didn’t want them to start playing house. It was not going to make things easier when I came in and claimed her. I had known Dutch most of my life and I didn’t want to hurt him. They were close, but there was still nothing between them. I was an alpha, and whether she thought she was rejected from her true mate or not didn’t matter to me. I was supposed to be with her, we were supposed to be together. Dutch wasn’t making a move, but I was going to make mine. To do anything else seemed stupid.

I called out to Snow and watched as she reluctantly walked away from Dutch and met me outside the barn.

“Do you want to have dinner with me?”

“Do you want to see if Dutch wants to tag along?” It felt like Snow was afraid to be alone around me. Why did that fact make me smile so much?

“No.”

She thought it over for a minute, then agreed to dinner with just me, and it felt like a huge victory. It was strange, because I never had women tell me no before, but Snow always had been different. To replace out that she was fated to be a queen made a lot of sense to me. There was a regal feel to everything she did.

Royalty or not, I hoped she would be impressed by my skills and actually liked my cooking. There were only a couple of things I could cook well, and one of them was steak. For one reason or another, women seemed to love men who could cook, and I was going to take advantage of that.

She offered to help, and I told her that I wanted to take care of it. There was another feeling that had been brought out by Snow that I was still trying to get used to. Never before had I so desperately wanted to take care of somebody. Usually, I wanted a woman to take care of me and my needs, but not this time around. This time I wanted to take care of her in every way possible. This was how I knew she was going to be my mate.

My father told me years ago before he died that I would just know when I had met my mate. I told him I was so afraid that I wouldn’t know and would miss the opportunity, but he just chuckled and said, “You’ll know. You’ll know because the only thing you’ll want to do is make her happy.” I was already there with Snow.

“You look nervous. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she lied. It was obvious that she was not fine. I would have bet anything that Snow was thinking about the exact same thing I was. That’s what I hoped anyway.

“If there is something on your mind, you know that you can talk to me about anything, right?”

She nodded, but could barely look me in the eyes. “It just feels like something more is going to happen tonight.”

That was exactly what I wanted to hear. I was dying to have her, and even though I hadn’t been waiting very long, it still felt like an eternity.

“What do you think is going to happen?”

She smiled, and got a strange look on her face. “Do you really want me to say it out loud?”

“Yes.” I thought hearing her say such a naughty thing would be even better than what I came up with in my mind.

“I think you are going to try to seduce me, Sterling. That’s what I think is going to happen.”

“Try to, huh?”

“Well, don’t take it as a challenge, but yeah, isn’t that what’s on your mind?”

“I told you that I’m pretty sure you are my mate.”

Snow shook her head. “You know people only have one mate, and I have already been rejected by mine. Don’t mistake me for who you’re actually supposed to be with.”

“You are worthy of being my mate and I know it. I have never felt this way about anybody in my life, just you. You think that’s a coincidence? Do you really think I couldn’t tell the difference between l**t and something more?”

She didn’t answer me, just started on the steak I set in front of her. After a while, she said, “This is delicious. You are really good at this.”

“Why do you sound so surprised? I own several cattle ranches. Pretty much all I eat is steak. I would be worried if I couldn’t make it taste good after all this time.”

“I know, I’m just saying that I’m surprised you can actually cook, I guess.”

“It’s not something I do very often, but I wanted to do it for you.” There was a lot that I wanted to do for her, if she would just give me another chance. I was honestly going to take the fact that she hadn’t brought Dutch up sixteen different times already as a good sign. Maybe she was thinking about him less and us more.

After she was done, I knew that she would like to go for a walk. Snow was like many of the shifters in my pack, they would rather be outside than cooped up. She got this antsy look on her face when she was ready to get out, and she had it now.

“Do you want to take a walk?”

She smiled. “Are you reading my mind?”

“Something like that,” I her. “Dutch isn’t the only one who has been keeping an eye on you, Snow. I want you to know that you are safe here. Whether you’re in my pack or not, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

It was the truth, and whether she believed me or not, I needed her to know there was no way I was going to let anybody get their hands on her. Even though she didn’t believe we were destined to be together, I knew better. I knew somehow that Snow would be the one to carry my pups. Snow was to be my mate.

Maybe, though, I wasn’t going to be her only mate. I didn’t like to think about it, but at the end of the day, sharing her was better than not having her at all. It didn’t make any sense for me to accept such a fate, but I did. For her, I would acclimate. I just had to convince her of what I was so sure of.

We walked for a while, going in the complete opposite direction of Dutch’s house. The last thing I needed was for the two of them to run into each other and for her to change her mind. It wouldn’t be because she didn’t want me, it would be because she did want him. She was mine, and a fated mate couldn’t be changed or rejected. She was never Bane’s mate. Snow was always mine and no one, not even Dutch, could change it. He might be a part of it, but she was mine.

When the walk was over and we were back at my place, Snow talked about going back to Dutch’s, but I wasn’t going to hear it. Her place was with me, in my bed, underneath me. How could I prove to her what I knew to be true?

My first instinct was to force her. A hard k**s and a few touches and I doubted she would be able to tell me no after that. It wasn’t what I wanted, though. I didn’t want to make her, I wanted her to want me just as badly as I wanted her.

“I really want you to stay with me tonight, Snow. I want us to be together.”

“I don’t know if what you have in mind is a good idea or not, Sterling. It’s going to hurt a lot of people’s feelings.”

I understood that, but I didn’t care. I wanted Snow and I was convinced that she was supposed to be mine. “Forget everyone else, Snow, it’s just us two tonight.” I took her hand and led her to my bedroom. I was shaking a bit at the thought that I was finally going to have her.

When we got into the bedroom, my inner beast took over. I kissed her, and Snow mewled and made all the greatest sounds of desire I’d ever heard. I pulled her shirt off and then kissed the bare skin that had been revealed to me. I was standing behind her, tasting her, undressing her, and watching her body tremble as I kissed it. Snow acted like she’d never been loved properly, and I wanted to make sure that she was now.

I took off my clothes and pulled her against me tight, feeling her smooth skin.

Snow was just as ready as I was, I could smell it. My hand went to her center, rubbing on her nub hard, letting her jerk as much as she needed to. Snow was already on the verge, and I said something about how she’d probably never been f****d right. She gasped at my words, but I knew it was true.

I pressed down on her slit and she hissed between her teeth. I rubbed a bit more and she came hard, calling out, tensing up, and backing up against me.

I pulled her down onto my lap backwards on the bed. I cursed, ready for what was next. I should have done things differently, softer, but it wasn’t me who was in charge anymore. It was my beast, and he needed her fully. Snow looked behind me then, full submission on her face as she lifted up and set herself down on me. I was good for a second or two, letting her lower herself down, but it didn’t last long.

I grabbed her h**s and slammed her down the rest of the way. She threw her head back and screamed. I leaned up and bit her neck while thrusting up into her a few times. Snow was already going to come again, so I moved my hand between her legs and started to rub her clit some more. The attention, paired with a hard thrust, took her over the edge again. I throbbed as she clenched me.

I pulled out and turned her down face down on the bed. Raising her h**s to the height I needed, I pushed in repeatedly. I made her come multiple times before she begged for my seed.

At some point, hearing her wasn’t enough. I needed to see her, so I turned her around and settled in between her legs. I couldn’t stop the wolf that pushed back in and made her scream. I already wanted to fill her like she begged.

I moved down to k**s her again, and our eyes locked just before I filled her deep. Snow cried out against my lips, and the desire I could feel her was overwhelming.

I finally gave in and let her take every ounce of my seed. Snow was everything that I thought she was going to be, and more. She was mine now and I knew I would never get tired of her or let her go. I wanted to tell her, “I told you so,” but I knew it would do me no good. I’d already won.