Chapter 9: The Lone Alpha

Chapter Seven. Mars.

Like the first time I set eyes on her, my world shifted on its axis. She is everything any man could want and more. Perfection a natural beauty designed to bring a man to his knees. I am holding my son, God my son. I am a father to a boy who has Alpha blood pumping through his veins. He is perfect, and with just one hug he has broken the walls around my heart.

“What the fuck was that?” Justin barrels towards me.

I am not in the mood for his shit, I am struggling enough right now, as shock begins to rise inside me, my old fear of not being good enough of an alpha to protect them rears its ugly head, making me doubt myself once again.

“Nothing to concern you with,” I snapped at him, shaking my head.

“Fucking hell, the one woman who I want, and you swoop in, hugging her kid. Not cool man,” Justin pouts.

I cannot control Ares, as the low rumble of his possessive growl rises from my chest and escapes my lips.

“Get out of my face Justin,” I growled at him.

“Fuck you,” Justin says, stopping back into the ranger station.

I am frozen in time, everything around me disappearing as I remember the look in her eyes. The shock, the desire, then the pain, followed by pure anger. Fuck I do not even know her name. I know my son is called Max, and I love the name. It suits his gorgeous little face. I am at a loss; I don’t know what to do.

“You go after her, you claim her and our son, you fucking idiot,” Ares bellows at me.

“It is not that simple,” I argued with my enraged wolf.

“No, you're right, it isn’t. Because you ran away from her like a god-damned pussy. Like a frightened rabbit, you ran away from her, from my pup!” Ares rages with an intensity I have never heard from him, since the days after I first found her, and left her, alone in the alley.

“I wanted to protect her,” I argued my point once more. But I know that it is not going to cut it with my enraged wolf.

“My son, Max, he said I was Thrax’s daddy,” I muttered to my wolf, unsure what to make of that situation. Max was five, according to my math. Wolves, even Alpha wolves, do not make contact until a pup is around ten years old. Shifting at around 14 or 15 years of age, sometimes even later.

“Yes, Thrax is his wolf,” Ares confirms my suspicions.

“His wolf has arrived early, too early, I wonder why?” I pondered.

“No shit Sherlock and you know why. You left them, and Max is an Alpha, Thrax too, they had nobody to protect them, because you ran away, so his wolf has manifested early in a bid to keep Max and our mate safe, you fucking moron,” Ares growls at me.

“Where you failed, our pup filled in the gap, as protector of his little pack!” Ares continues.

His words hit my heart like cold steal, and they are as painful as silver. I failed them. I left them to survive.

I have to put this right.

“Yeah, you think? And you had better convince our perfect mate to take you back, to let us be with our pup, because if you don’t, then I will disappear out of your life completely. How the hell did I get cursed with you as a human,” Ares rages.

I cannot deny his words hurt. Ares and I hardly ever argue.

I slowly stand up from my log, heading into the Ranger Station, Justin is standing by the desk pouting like a teenage girl, as he files the paperwork.

“Justin, what was her name?” I ask, I doubt he would answer, but I have to try, I need to speak with her. My son needs me more than his mother could ever realise.

“Fuck you,” Justin said, turning his back on me.

“Justin, I do not have time to explain, but I need to see her, and Max,” I tell him. He may be angry, but he will come around eventually.

“Do you know her?” he asked.

Clearly, I did, anyone could see that, yet still, I cannot bring myself to answer. I know she is my mate, I know the taste of her lips, the feel of her body pressed against mine. I know she birthed my pup, but do I know her? No, I don’t. The thought is like a sucker punch, taking my breath clean away.

I do not know my mate. I do not even know her name.

Unwilling to wait for Justin to answer, I pull the sheet from the file and looked down at the booking. My finger trails down the lines of names, when I see it.

Davina, and Max Morris, Caravan 7, Northfield. Paid in full.

I replace the file into the folder, and head out without another word to Justin, walking up to the top of the holiday park, passed the fields filled with caravans, until I reach the top. North field is stretched out in front of me, and I follow the caravan numbers, finding number 7, I hesitate, not sure what it is I am going to say, how I would explain my actions, or what I want to say right now to Davina.

“Just knock on the door, I can hear her crying!” Ares growls at me, desperate to comfort his mate.

With an inhale of breath, I gently tap on the frosted glass of the door. As it opens, I am hit with her scent, lavender and coconut, mixed with that of my son. Caramel. She stands looking like a vision before me, her hair scraped up, as her red-ringed eyes blink at me. Every cell of my body begs me to reach out, touch her, claim her. She is mine, and I may have once fled from the responsibility of having a mate, but I know one thing, I cannot give her up a second time.

“No,” she shakes her head, and attempts to close the door, but I have come this far, and I will not give in.

“Yes, Davina, we need to talk,” I whisper.

A look of bewilderment flashes in her features as she shakes her head once more. My arms itch to reach out and hold her, to show her how sorry I am, to plead for forgiveness, to comfort her and take away the pain I have caused.

“No, we don’t. I am nothing to do with you, and neither is my son,” she whispered back.

“Our son has everything to do with me,” my voice rises, and I see her body stiffen.

“How do you know he is yours? He could be anybody’s, I fucked you in the Alley, so let’s face it, I am hardly a woman with morals,” she snaps, the anger that bubbles beneath the surface of her eyes flares into a raging flame as she glares at me.

Her self-deprivation tears at my heart, as I stood there looking at her, shaking my head.

“We both know you were a virgin that night. Trust me, I know you have not so much as kissed a man since that then because I would have felt it,” I tell her, then inwardly kick myself for letting that nugget of information slip from my lips.

Her countenance changes as she looks shocked, and she knows that I know, no man has touched her but me.

“Davina, please,” I whispered once again, pleading with her to let me in, to talk, although I had no clue what I was going to say.

“Try the truth, you asshole,” Ares growls at me.

If only it were that simple.

Imagine turning up on her doorstep and saying, oh, by the way, I am a werewolf. A weak-assed one and you are my mate. I should have rejected you, but I didn’t. I should have walked away, but I couldn’t. Oh, and your son, he is a werewolf too, with a wolf who is already in contact with him. Yeah, she will call the men in white coats if I unload that onto her, or run off screaming her lungs out, never to be found again.

Davina closes her eyes and takes a breath, her chest swells, and despite everything, I am the asshole whose eyes fix on the swell of her ample breast, my cock straining against my cargo shorts in response.

Fuck!

She is beyond beautiful, her soft features, long hair, and natural curves that I defy any man not to find irresistible. Yes, she has gained a few pounds since the first time I set eyes on her, but to me, they are beautiful, a reminder that her body gave me a son. Plus, let’s be honest, it is more to grab hold of if she ever gives me the honour again. I can only hope and pray she does because nobody can ever come close to this beauty before me.

“I will give you ten minutes. You can come in, to talk about Max, and then you leave,” Davina states.

The coolness of her tone lets me know she means what she says. I have one chance and I pray I do not blow it.

I offer her a small smile, as she steps away from the door, heads to the U-shaped fixed couch and sits down, her head bowed as she fiddles with the clasp on her denim dungaree shorts, avoiding any eye contact with me.

I shut the door behind me. However, these tin cans have little to no privacy. I look around unsure if I should stand or sit. I tower over her, and I do not want to be intimidated by my size in her sanctuary. So, I pull up one of the small backless stools, and sit opposite my mate, the small coffee table between us, hiding my evident excitement of being in her presence once more.

“He is gorgeous,” I tell her, a small smile teetering on my lips as I think about my pup.

“Yes,” Davina nods her head but doesn’t look at me.

“Does he know about me?” I tentatively asked.

“No. I mean what the hell would I say? Sorry son, but your dad, I don’t know his name, he fucked and ran, literally ran,” her voice laced with venom.

“Mars. My name is Mars,” I softly tell her.

“Couldn’t give a fuck,” she spits at me.

But her eyes betray her, I can tell she cares, more than she wants to. The outline of her nipple through her white t-shirt where the dungarees had fallen to one side, is pointing at me, letting me know her body wants me, just as much as I want her.

“It was never about you, Davina,” I began, but her head snaps up her eyes glaring at me.

“Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare tell me it wasn’t about me? You told me I was unlovable, you took what you wanted, and fucking ran away from me like I was sent by the devil,” her voice raised.

“I never said you were unlovable. I said I could not be the man you deserved, that I could not love you,” I respond. It was not that she was unlovable, it was because I couldn’t love. Love hurts when the person is ripped from you. I couldn’t take that chance.

“Same fucking difference asshole,” Davina shouts.

“I love her,” Ares puffs his chest with pride as our mate rises to her feet, clearly able to hold her ground.

“GET OUT, JUST GET OUT. WE DON’T NEED YOU!” she bellows at me, when suddenly the door to the rear of the caravan opens, and out comes my pup, running between us, as I hear the faint sound of his wolf growling, and I am not sure if it is at me or his mother.

Shit.