Alpha Jaxon POV
As soon as I say the words I can see the nervous expression on her face, accompanied by another expression that almost looks like she's terrified. I thought she would be happy to learn that we were mates and I'm stung to realize that isn't the case. She looks scared. Is she frightened of me? Of the fact that I'm a Lycan or something else? I struggle to maintain my composure as I see her eyes welling up with tears. Part of me wants to lose control while my Lycan roars with fury in my head, not sure why our mate is rejecting us or not wanting us for her mate. I struggle to hold him back in my mind while I stare down at Riley who is trembling, I suddenly notice, in the chair.
"Mates" she whispers, her voice shaking as Thomas shoots me a concerned look "I'm sorry but are you sure?"
Is she doubting the feel of the mate bond? I try not to growl. "Yes, we are mates Riley" I say lowly "I feel the mate bond with you. My Lycan is desperate for you. Nobody else would have that effect on the both of us."
She continues to tremble. I'm becoming concerned now. Is it because I'm the King? I can feel a lump in my throat. She looks up at me and I inhale sharply as a lone tear trails down her cheek.
"Please don't put me in the dungeon" she whispers while I stare at her in shock.
Put her in the dungeon? My Lycan roars at such a thought. The notion that our mate has even considered us capable of such a thing has us wanting to tear the table to shreds. Did she think we were cruel? That we would harm her? I shake my head and try not to show my anger.
"I would never put you in the dungeon. Why would you think I would do something like that, to my own mate no less?" I ask, my chest tightening as she avoids my eyes.
What is she not telling me? What secrets are lurking in that mind of hers. She licks her lips and stares down at the floor.
"My last mate put me in the dungeon" she mumbles.
I almost fall over in shock. She had another mate? One before me? I knew such things were possible but...then the other thing she said made me straighten back up. Her mate had put her in the dungeon?
"Why?" my voice is hoarse, disbelieving.
How could someone do that to their own mate? Had he rejected her? I was feeling a whirlwind of emotions. My Lycan was pissed and it was taking everything inside of me not to let him take over.
"He said I was a danger to him and his pack" Riley confessed in a small voice, finally looking up at me "he said it was for the sake of the pack. He was going to keep me, but take a chosen mate."
I heard Thomas's sharp intake of breath. This was the ultimate cruelty. To force your mate to remain locked up and take another, while they could feel the bond and feel you with them. I try not to look repulsed but it's not easy. It's disgusting that her first mate had wanted to do something like that. No wonder Riley looks so scared. I don't know what she had to do or go through to get free of her first mate, but it can't have been easy.
I try to muster up some compassion and patience. "Riley, I'm not your first mate. I wish I was" I admitted a little forlornly as she looked at me surprised "but I'm your second chance one from the sounds of it and unlike him, I want you, very much."
"No you don't" she blurts out, shaking her head in desperation and leaping to her feet, backing away slightly in panic "you're going to be just like him when you realize what I am. You'll think I'm dangerous."
"I know you're a siren" my voice is firm, reassuring "and I assure you I don't care. I don't fear your kind" she looks shocked "they never deserved to be killed for what they were. I know you and you would never just use your powers to kill. You're too kindhearted for that. Not to mention if the stories are true, your song doesn't work on your mate, at least it doesn't entrance them like it does with other men."
Her eyes are troubled. "It doesn't" she confirmed "but your pack, won't they..."
"Accept you? We have other supernatural creatures here, vampires, witches, hybrids" I commented "other Lycans. We don't discriminate. I am the King and my mate will be the queen. They will accept you because I won't be giving them a choice" I added as she bit her lip and looked between Thomas and me.
"I don't know" she said hesitantly "I mean, I don't even know what I'm capable of."
"Well how about we just start to get to know each other first. I'm under the assumption that because I feel the mate bond with you, that you must have rejected your first mate, whoever he is?"
"Alpha Jaxon" she said timidly "and yes I did, but he refused to accept it."
"Then he's an idiot" I said fiercely "because he'll feel the pain whenever you're with someone."
"How do I know he's not going to try and force me to go back to his pack?" she whispers.
"Because he would have to go through me first" I said easily as my Lycan agreed with the sentiment.
If the Alpha was stupid enough to come to my pack, he would find himself beheaded before he made it halfway to the pack house. I did not suffer trespassers to the pack lightly, although I kept that fact to myself. Riley already looked distressed enough.
"But um, aren't you worried that if we have children, they might not be shifters?" she blushes a brilliant red color.
I notice that Thomas begins to discreetly leave the room while I nod appreciatively t him.
"No" I say nonchalantly "if they turn out half siren then so be it. I can hope they look as beautiful as their mother" I add teasingly as her mouth parts slightly open "and that their hair reminds me of the sea."
I swoop in for the kill. I move, gathering her tightly in my arms for an embrace. She doesn't resist. I held her before but this is better. This is different. Her heart is racing, I can hear it and I can hear the hitch in her breath while she looks up at me with those big eyes of hers. I slowly trail a finger down her smooth cheek, relishing in the feel of it. She feels so good. She smells so delicious. Her cheeks are flushed a becoming pink. I stare down at her pale pink lips and then I bend my head down and capture her lips with my own.
It's like electricity runs through my veins. She tastes divine. My Lycan practically purrs in my head. I want more. I deepen the kiss and am rewarded by the sound of her breathy moan as she willingly opens her mouth wider for me. I slide my tongue inside, exploring the inside of her mouth and caressing her sweet tongue. God, so good. I'm lost in a state of bliss. This is heaven. For a moment it's like time is suspended and there's just the two of us, lost in the moment, unable to do anything but clutch desperately at each other as we express our feelings without words or gestures. I reluctantly pull back and see that her eyes are sparkling and her lips are slightly swollen, causing me to smile. She looks a little dazed.
"Do you feel that?" I whisper, reaching back and tucking a loose tendril of hair behind her ear.
She nods shakily, still looking stunned, a hand going to her open mouth. "Yes," she whispers.
"That's the mate bond, Riley. That's what I feel when I touch you. You are my other half and the person I've been waiting for for so long" I commented, gazing down at her tenderly "and now that I have you, I have no intentions of letting you go."
She nods, still looking disorientated. I take her hand as she willingly lets me and begin to lead her out of the kitchen and dining room and towards the front of the pack house. "Let's get you acquainted with the grounds," I say coaxingly as she obediently follows me "why don't I give you a tour?"
I'm proud to show off my pack to her. To introduce our members and show off my mate to them. I don't want her to feel like she has to be hidden away. I intend for her to be front and stage. Somebody as beautiful as her, deserved to be in the limelight, where she could be appreciated by many and not just by any one individual. We step outside and begin our tour.