Page 12 of His Temporary Alpha Mate (Sweetwater Pack #5)

Testing

Larken

O ver the weeks that followed the announcement about the beta gene, I watched Dalton withdraw from everyone. He watched me when he thought I wasn’t paying attention just as much as his eyes followed Axel.

We spent less and less time together. Mainly because I was busy, as was Dalton. There was so much going on in the pack, we just didn’t have the chance to get together as much as I would have liked. He made excuses other times, helping him pull further away.

When news came that Tate had fathered one of Hiroshi’s twins, the ripple effects traveled further than anyone could have thought.

Dalton was so hopeful about the news. As soon as he heard it, he came to me to celebrate. A quick hook up in a closet wasn’t all I wanted from him, but it was enough .

Unfortunately, Tate’s ability wasn’t met with joy all over. Even in the pack, there were still those who denied this was possible. They eventually came around after Aldrin and James explained it better.

Everywhere else was the problem.

All over the world, shifters were looking at the Sweetwater pack, and many of them didn’t like what they saw.

In us, they saw a pack where more babies were being born compared to other packs. Fertility issues, we didn’t know her! My parents and Karina would have loved studying what was going on in the pack and would have helped us foster better relations with groups such as the Northarbor pride, like Blake was trying to do.

The pride, unlike the aviary, was open to forming an uneasy alliance. Made more difficult because their Alpha was the father of the alpha who had sexually assaulted Hiroshi. This was after the omega was forced into an arranged mating with the young man. Yeah, it was complicated.

Alpha Jason was a decent guy by all accounts, it just meant tension when he was on our lands. All the enforcers were on duty during those days, to ensure everyone’s safety. He visited with the samples of DNA of the betas who had succumbed to the beta sickness. Unlike us, the pride and most other packs and clans only had a few betas come down with the illness.

Another thing which set us apart. Every single one of our betas had slept for at least two weeks. None had escaped the sickness. In other places, it was only around half at most.

With the elves in the pack to research the sickness and now the genetic component, it meant other shifter groups wanted that expertise for themselves.

There had been shifter trafficking attempts in other places. Betas were being stolen because they could become omegas. The omegas were always at risk. Now things were just worse for them. Being a shifter, unless you were an alpha, was scary for most.

Trust was thin on the ground. The pack was dealing with too much, and something had to give.

Then the kidnapping happened. Omegas in the Sweetwater pack were sick of being kidnapped, just as much as the alphas and betas sent to rescue them were. Jared, Hiroshi’s ex betrothed, used members of our own pack to get to them. He thought Hiroshi’s bond with Roan was fake because of the bond with Tate. Turned out both were very real and fated, meaning unbreakable. When fate gave you a mate, you couldn’t give that gift back once you accepted it.

Jared’s plan had been to kill Roan, likely the twins Hiroshi carried too. Then mate the omega to get his own cub. The plan was stupid, but no one had ever said Jared was blessed with brainpower, just a lot of alpha entitlement. Thank the goddess my mother and aunt had trained that out of me.

With the omegas returned to the pack, along with an injured Roan, the priorities of the pack shifted. Alpha Blake had to defend his people against outside interference. So there were no more packs visiting us.

The Sweetwater pack broke from the council, no longer having any faith that they were truly there to protect all shifter kind, and not just the alphas in charge.

Honestly, it was a relief to have them and the alpha enforcers who followed them gone from our lands. There were fewer people to do the protecting, sure, but there were also less to protect the others from.

Then the worst news came.

Just as the testing program was scheduled to start, Alpha Blake abruptly canceled it for the pack’s safety, which left more than one beta feeling distraught.

My first thought when I heard the news was of Dalton. Though the beta had been pulling away from me, putting up those barriers I’d previously broken down, I knew he would need me.

He wouldn’t find me in the mansion. I didn’t live there anymore. We hadn’t discussed it since we were only friends with occasional benefits. Yet in my heart, it felt like the right thing to do.

It was my fault the omegas had gotten taken. That Roan had been hurt trying to get them back. If I’d just listened to my gut, I would have known Carl was up to something. The alpha had joined forces with Jared, who was paying him to get the omegas. Tate they wanted for research and payback.

If I’d spoken up about the feeling the other alpha gave off, I might not have found myself knocked out. Again. I fucking hated being knocked out. This time had been a potion, not a head injury at least. I was just lucky that the potion Carl slipped me didn’t contain something worse.

In my guilt, I’d taken the offered room and moved in with Roan’s family. I had already spent most of my nights there without Dalton to occupy me and keep me in the mansion. It felt like the right step for me, no matter how much I felt like an outsider.

A call lit up my phone. Dalton. I scrambled to answer, just so happy he had reached out.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey, can you come over? I… I don’t want to be alone right now.”

Checking the time, I agreed without hesitation. “I won’t be able to stay, though. ”

“Where are you staying? I checked your room, and it’s empty.”

“I’ll explain when I see you.”

“Have you had dinner?”

The comforting, warm scent of meat, spices, and cheese met my nose as I let myself into Dalton’s home. I looked for Spice, the ferret. The little noodle was usually the first to greet me, instead he left that honor to Priscilla. Guaranteed, he was nosing about whatever that amazing smell was.

She wound around my legs, covering my jeans in her white fur.

“Sorry about her,” Dalton called as he looked through the doorway into the living room where I stood holding his cat. “Hold on, Spice!” He held a piece of cooling chicken in his hand. Clearly a treat for the animal on his shoulder.

Satisfied it was cool enough, Dalton held the morsel for Spice to take. The ferret took it with his grabby hands and scuttled down Dalton’s body to the floor. He vanished quickly to avoid us taking the food back.

“No worries. I don’t mind a Princess Priscilla reminder.” I followed him into the tiny kitchen, growing more and more worried about him. Everything was off about him. His usually well styled outfit was haphazardly put together. His hair wasn’t his artfully styled coif. Dalton was always present in the moment, not this distracted.

“Okay,” Dalton said absently. “Dinner won’t be too long. Hope you like enchiladas.” He set the timer on the oven as the dish baked.

“Yeah, they’re great. Thank you.”

He turned to the sink to wash a dish. “I wanted to make pozole, like my abuela used to make when I felt sick. Before we lost her.”

“Are you sick?” I reached for him, alarmed.

Dalton shrugged me off, folding into himself. “I can’t believe they canceled the testing!”

Tears streaked his face, his shoulders shook as he sobbed.

Unable to offer any words of comfort, I took him into my arms.

“It’s not fair!” he wailed into my chest.

“No. It’s not.” I smoothed his hair and rubbed his back. “There’s all sorts of promises I could make to you. I could say the testing will start soon. You won’t have to wait long. Those would be lies, though. I don’t know when you’ll get to be an omega, but I swear to you, Dalton, if I can make it happen, I will, okay?”

His sniffles slowed. “Okay.” He stepped back, wiping his eyes. A determined light changed his expression. “I’m not really hungry for food right now. How about you take me to bed instead?”

It had been a while since I’d last been with Dalton. I knew this was just him masking his pain, but despite that, I really wanted him. I missed the feeling of his body. The taste of his kisses were a drug to me.

“Sure.” I darted forward and hoisted him over my shoulder, startling a laugh out of him.

“Wait!” he yelled as I turned for the bedroom. I knew Dalton’s house well enough. “The oven!”

I backtracked, switched off the oven and smacked his ass. “Done. You can feed me after I feed you my cock.”

“You say all the right things,” he giggled as he hung down my back. He cupped my ass cheeks as I made the short walk to his room.

Carefully, I eased him from my shoulder onto the bed, then covered his body with my own. His body fit so perfectly against mine. I pressed my lips to his gently for a sweet kiss, getting that hit of his taste.

“What do you want?” I asked as I pulled away, making sure he was completely on board with this .

“Just you. I only want to be in this moment with you.” His eyes shone with sincerity.

With painstaking slowness, I stripped Dalton, then myself, stretched him for my cock and fucked him. I really took my time with him, despite my need to get back to my post. Dalton needed me more than them. I wanted to give him so much pleasure it washed away his sadness.

I spent hours milking his sounds and come from him before knotting him and giving into my orgasm. After I cleaned him up and he fell fast asleep, I salvaged the food and took a plate for myself.

Before I could leave, I had to ensure his beloved pets were taken care of and the dishes finished. Wouldn’t want him to have to tidy up first thing after he made us a meal. I also left Dalton a note explaining where I lived and what I’d done.

If anyone would understand my feelings, it would be Dalton. We both had a strong sense of responsibility. It was part of what I found so attractive about him. He would get that I couldn’t spend as much time with him while the omegas were still pregnant. I had a duty to protect them.

Leaving him was hard. I tiptoed into the bedroom, plate in hand, and kissed his forehead. “See you soon, Dimples. It’ll be okay, I promise,” I whispered as I left, leaving me with an ache, a need to return to his side