Page 15 of Alpha Mates

Mate!Alex declares, excited until he registers who that mate is. Then, that excitement quickly turns bitter.

I watch Aiden twist his attention from side to side, desperately searching the quickly calming crowds, as I’d been only a moment ago. He’s looking for his mate. He’s looking for … me.

“This is impossible.”

The words barely slip out, but they do as a torn mess of dread that makes Aiden’s head snap in my direction. His eyes on me take my breath away. Those dark pits are no longer so empty, but fragile, hopeful and then—

Aiden tenses, his entire body going ramrod stiff, and as his eyes widen, they nearly bury me alive.

He feels it too. I can see it on his face, feel it in this newly forming bond that tugs at me, trying to pull us together while my insides churn with repulsion. This is not real. It can’t be. But if it isn’t, then why does Aiden look just as horrified as I feel?

“This cannot be happening,” he whispers as the blood drains from his face. He stumbles back as if he might run, and my chest clenches.

“What’s wrong?” Samson asks Aiden, with unease I can feel pouring from him in waves.

A hand touches my back, but I barely feel it. I stare blankly ahead until my father fills the space. He breaks our stare, but it does nothing to sever the pull that calls me to Aiden.

“Julian,” he tries, “what’s happening?”

I shake my head to clear it, trying to break from this reality, because this cannot be real. It just can’t be. But no matter how many times I say it to myself, I know it is when Aiden steps past his father and his eyes meet mine again.

“He …” I begin, though each syllable requires a profound amount of effort. “H-he’s my mate.”

The words are quiet, barely there, but in a space full of werewolves, they ignite a wave of shocked whispers from our onlookers. From the corner ofmy eye, I see my father’s eyes double in size before he looks at my equally shocked mother.

“Your mate?” she asks as she rushes to our side. The question is riddled with incredulity as they look at Aiden.

Aiden. A malealpha.

“It isn’t possible.” But it’s happening.

“They’re both male.” But I can feel him, scent him like never before.

“They’re both alphas.”

I tear my gaze from Aiden’s, unable to look a second more without the bile rising in my throat escaping.

How could this be happening?

How could I be mated to a male wolf—a malealphawolf?

And why did it have to be Aiden Calderon?

“Leave!” My father’s voice booms throughout the Hall, the command still ringing with authority even if it no longer carries the weight of an alpha.

There’s a moment where no one moves; they only stare with shock written all over their faces. It’s a moment too long.

“All of you!” he roars with his canines bared. “Get out!”

Jolted into action, none dare utter a word as they shuffle out of the Hall as quickly as they can. It’s still slow moving with all the bodies, but eventually, the large doors slam shut behind the last person.

All that remains is the light that shines down on me, our parents, and the boy I’ve hated my entire life, who is also now … my mate.

Chapter 4

Aiden

I can’t stop staring at him. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t.