An Alpha's Claim

Breathe

She stared down at the immobile wolf who lay at her feet. Casting a cursory glance around the forest, in case this really was some elaborate trap, J slowly crouched beside him and poked his shoulder.

When he didn't move, she waited a few seconds more and then used her wolf strength to flip him over onto his back.

He was breathtaking. Even now, silently sleeping, he spoke of power and pain.

He was breathing. At least he was alive.

Completely confused, J traced his features and took stock of his clothing. He wasn't wearing much, just a loose pair of trousers and a t-shirt that didn't smell like him. Maybe it was his mate's.

Her wolf growled.

J shook her head, he wasn't mated, she wasn't sure how she knew but she did. Not that it mattered to her.

Plus, he said he was 'hers'.

J growled, as realisation set in. He was one of Caine's wolves, not one that she recognised, clearly. He must have followed her. She stood up and snarled down at his unconscious form. It was his fault that she had to leave, therefore she'd leave him here and let one of the rogue packs have him.

She went to step away but something made her stop.

She needed to leave, needed to put as much distance between her and Cassidy's pack as possible. Could she leave him here though? Defenceless? Alone?

She sighed deeply and glanced around. There was clearly something wrong with him and if she left him here then he might die...

Resigning herself to a long, slow walk, she picked up one of his ankles and began dragging him behind her, across the forest floor.

It wasn't the kindest way to move him. She could probably have put him over her shoulder and carried him, but he looked heavy and she was tired. Plus she didn't like how her body had responded when she'd had her claws to his neck. She didn't want to think how she'd react if his body was draped over hers. No. Better to move him this way.

It wasn't far to the human town, that much she knew. She figured she could just find somewhere vaguely warm that she could leave him - a doorway or bench or something - and then maybe a human could help him, but as she neared the town she realised it wouldn't be that easy.

The walk had taken her longer than she intended and the dawn was fast approaching. Humans milled around, beginning their day. She couldn't exactly drag an unconscious beast of a man down the road with humans watching.

Rolling her eyes, J dropped his leg and sat down on a nearby stone about a mile out of town, staring at his unconscious form.

Her eyes traced his features. She definitely hadn't seen him before, but her wolf felt a connection to him, so he must be from Caine's pack. It was a shame. He was pretty if nothing else.

J nudged him with her foot to see if he was still alive, to her slight relief, he mumbled something incoherently. Hidden in a hedgerow besides what looked like a big forest, J waited for the overgrown beast to wake up - or for nightfall, whichever came first.

Whilst J waited for him to wake up, she searched his pockets for any sign of who he was. Finding nothing, she resorted to trying to remember when she had first smelt his scent. It was so familiar to her without her even realising it, it was like she'd always known it.

She tracked back as far as two months, when his body flinched and he woke up on a snarl.

His beast was bold in his eye, those icy silver irises staring her down. Her wolf watched him calmly, not a flicker of panic in her. Either J was becoming more and more insane by the day, or her wolf had convinced herself that this predator wouldn't hurt her.

Insanity it was.

His breathing was hard, his hands coiled as he watched her. J rolled her eyes and looked away, waiting for him to get himself together before she spoke. "You've been following me." She stated rather than asked when he finally relaxed and his wolf faded. It didn't fade far, those silver orbs hiding in the depths of his eyes.

He shrugged but didn't answer her.

"For a while. Badly." She added, causing a reaction in his face.

"You didn't sense me." He challenged as he pushed himself to his feet and stretched out his unsteady legs. He groaned and rubbed his back, pulling up the t-shirt to expose grazes across his skin. "Did you drag me here?" His eyes snapped to her, narrowing on her face, "really?" He asked incredulously, though J wasn't listening.

Instead, her wolf was practically drooling over the glimmer of flesh he'd shared. The twist of muscles that led from his abdomen around to his back and up across his shoulders. She was transfixed, she was hungry.

She blushed and cleared her throat, looking away and busying herself with her bag. "Look, I don't know what's wrong with you, you're clearly sick. And I get that you loved Caine, yada-yada, but I am not your alpha. So just, leave." She ordered, hoping to make it as clear as possible without making it an alpha's order.

She went to walk away, unable to look at him, when his hand snapped out and caught her arm.

Electricity sizzled between them, burning her flesh where his touched. She hissed and snapped her eyes to his, but he looked as surprised as she did.

She shook his arm off of her.

"I know you're not my alpha, and I f**king hated Caine, I don't know who you think I am-"

"Mine." She countered, freezing as he caught his breath and something dark flickered across his face, "that's what you reckoned anyway." She quickly continued, not comfortable with the invisible thread that pulled in her chest.

His brows pulled together in confusion.

She sighed, "right before you collapsed? You said you were mine." She explained, not missing the disappointment that coloured his face.

He took a step back and ducked his head, running a head through his messy hair. "Sorry." He scratched the back of his head and looked sheepish, "my wolf-he's, difficult."

"Yeh," she replied warily, "I can tell."