Hate Mates (The Alpha Shifter)

“A bunch of assholes.”

“Totally.”

The young woman brought out their food. They thanked her and dived in. After just a few minutes, Alexa became aware of the fact she and Landon were holding hands as if they still had the cuffs on.

She stared at their fingers, touching. Alexa loved it when he touched her. She felt at peace, calm, collected, sure that she could do anything and everything.

“Er, Landon?”

“Yeah.” He looked up at her and then down at their hands. “Oh.”

At first, they didn’t move. Seconds passed, and then, at the same time, they moved their hands away and picked up their knives so that they could enjoy their food.

Alexa felt a pang fill her body. One that she couldn’t make go away.

“Alexa?” Landon asked.

“Yeah.”

She looked up when he didn’t say anything else straight away.

He stared at her.

Waiting, she nibbled on her lip.

“Do you, I mean…” His hand clenched into a fist, then opened up, “Do you miss me holding your hand?”

She could lie. Tell him he was being stupid, but that would only serve for her to be a liar.

“Yes.” She stabbed a piece of bacon on her plate and shoved it in her mouth, hoping the moment of discomfort would disappear.

The sounds of the café flooded through, but they were not a welcoming distraction. If anything, the noises only served to make her acutely aware of Landon, of this thing between them.

Every other full moon, they were close but at a distance. What was going to happen tonight with no pack? Would the pack be hunting for them?

They were not experienced wolves. Yes, they’d been transitioning every full moon, but that didn’t make them professionals.

Alexa still felt the pain. The last full moon, she got injured. What would she do if Cheryl was out looking to finish what she started?

Landon didn’t say anything. He reached across the table and held her hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and it was.

****

After enjoying a large lunch, they headed back into the forest. There wasn’t much they could do. With the full moon due that night, they couldn’t exactly escape far. They needed to be ready for the transition. It was how he knew his father wasn’t too far away. His alpha, his father, would never put him in danger.

There had to be a reason why Marcel didn’t go chasing after them last night. This was all part of Marcel’s plans

“So, what will we do after tonight?” Alexa asked. “I’ve never been away from the pack for any length of time.”

“Me neither.”

She chuckled. “That’s a lie. You often go away with your dad to go and visit other packs.”

“That doesn’t count.”

“Why not?”

“Simple, I’m always with my dad. We even share a room. We got two beds in one room at a hotel. I’ve never been away from the pack. Never wanted to, to be honest.”