Page 76 of Alpha Mates

“Oh Goddess, is that a tiger?!”

My head snaps towards Aiden’s pointed finger and my heart lurches so hard it almost bursts out of my chest. But when I turn, there’s nothing there.

“Seriously, Julian? You fell for tiger?” he chides. I turn back to face him with a hand clutched to my chest. “Atiger? We live in the woods, Jewels.”

I gaze at the idiot Goddess has allotted me for a mate, letting him take in the lack of amusement written all over my face before I keep walking.

“How are you so immature?” I toss over my shoulder.

“Oh, come on. I was trying to distract you,” he says, moving to catch up to me. When I don’t slow, he grumbles as he jogs ahead and turns so he faces me, running backwards. “Don’t be so uptight.”

“I am not uptight,” I say with a touch of offence.

“You talk like an eighty-year-old professor, and I’ve neveronceseen youlet loose before today,” he argues with a pointed finger. “It’s always work and that cold, emotionless face.”

Aiden fixes his expression into what was supposed to be my “cold, emotionless face,” and a snort escapes me without my permission.

“I donottalk like an eighty-year-old man, you dimwit.”

“See!” he exclaims, barking out a laugh. “Normal people would’ve said ‘asshole’ or ‘prick.’ You called me a dimwit and regularly call me an imbecile. You barely even curse. You’re an elder, Jewels,” he shrugs. “Better to just accept it.”

“And you’re about to trip over a rock,” I say glancing down, which is all Aiden needs to snap his head back in search of the non-existent rock.

Tripping over his feet, he crashes to the ground hard enough to make Alex wince, but I can feel his amusement tangling with mine. I press a hand to my lips, but it barely muffles my laughter as I watch Aiden roll over and spit out some dirt.

“When I get my hands on you, Julian …” Aiden scrambles to his feet while I take off at full speed without a second thought.

We race down the large road before cutting through the trees, following the overgrown path that leads to his pack’s outer barriers. Having done this dance enough throughout our lives, the few patrol wolves that spot us stay out of our way as we race on.

My heart pounds in my ears, almost drowning out the sound of Aiden’s heavy steps behind me, but one glance at his heaving self shows how terribly he’s struggling to catch up. Chuckling, I try to keep running, but laughing and running isn’t a good mix, and Aiden starts gaining on me.

I think to make a sharp turn, but Aiden lunges and tackles me to the ground before I can. We tumble together, rolling off the path and into the tall grass that lines its side with a groan. It hurts, but I’m still laughing as we come to a stop with Aiden on top of me.

I open my eyes, trying for air that flees from me as I look up and find him dressed in blades of grass and dandelions. I lose it.

“What?” Aiden asks, his eyes glittering with delight that I see clearly since he thankfully lost his shades at some point.

“You look … like a hippie,” I manage in between my giggles. Between the two of us, I’m the one more suited for a tree-loving lifestyle and yet here Aiden is—one with nature.

I reach up to pluck a twig from his hair, and as I flick it away, my snickers start again.

Aiden is quiet, only watching me while I clean him, dusting the grass from his hair. But then his face softens, and he lays a gentle smile on me before hesays, “You should laugh more, Julian.”

“Then you should just fall more.” Before long, I’m hiccupping as my mind runs a replay of him turning around in a panic before he was on his ass. “Y-you were like ‘ahh,’ and then you were spitting out dirt.”

My laughter fills the woods as I let my head fall, but it’s cut short when soft lips press to mine. I freeze, startled, then melt, burying my hands in Aiden’s grassy hair and pulling him to me. He groans against my mouth, making me smile against his lips as he sinks onto me, braced on his elbows, his weight pressing me into the earth.

I tighten my grasp, tugging the strands of his hair until he gasps, letting me slip my tongue between those parted lips. He hums as I deepen the kiss, and I groan, already losing myself to him and how good he makes me feel.

He takes the lead, like he has before—but this time, I don’t fight it. This time, I let him. When his hand finds my hip, fingertips grazing the skin exposed by my raised shirt, I don’t bite back my moan.

“Fuck,” Aiden groans into my mouth, and the sound makes me burn hotter.

I don’t let myself overthink it. I like this—likehim—and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Rolling us over, I pin his wrists above his head, and I catch a flash of red before I kiss him again—hard, greedy. The kiss turns desperate as my free hand roams over his shirt just to feel the shape of him. His body trembles beneath me, beneath my touch, and the power of it is intoxicating—raw, unfiltered pleasure drowns out the world and all its noise, until there’s only him and me.

There’s nothing to think about, and so there’s no hesitation as I slide my hand under his shirt, needing bare skin and warmth beneath my fingertips. His body is art, even without the ink. It’s all sculpted strength—and it’s all mine.