The Alpha's Other Woman by Vielle Nye (read a book .txt) 📗

37 Relieve

Jason

It was great seeing my former pack mate and meeting her mate, but Andrea’s near constant stream of words did start to get a bit tiring at a certain point. How she managed to talk without breathing was a mystery to me. I let it wash over me, while occasionally nodding, when distress leaked through my bond with my mate. Although I didn’t like her experiencing negative emotions, I also didn't think too much of it at first since she was frequently furious with Bluegorge or the Alpha Assembly.

But the feeling only increased, and if it was just her temper, she would have calmed down. "Carrie? What's wrong?"

"Jason?" she almost sounded surprised to hear my voice.

"Yeah. You feel upset."

"Sorry about that," she said, and she shut her feelings away from me totally. It was frustrating when she did that, and it reminded me of how she had acted when she wouldn’t tell me about her past.

"What is it?" I asked again, since she hadn't actually answered.

"Nothing. I’ll tell you later."

I stood up from where we were. "Sorry, Andrea, Trevor, but I've got to check on my mate. Something’s up. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not. We know what it was like to be newly mated," Andrea said with another knowing smile.

It was probably not what she was thinking, but I didn't argue.

I hurried to the office, and Carrie smelled even more enticing than usual. Pushing open the door, I found my mate sitting in my chair behind the desk.

Sitting, and wiping away tears. Her eyes widened when she saw me, as if she hadn't expected me to come to her after her shitty response to my questions.

"What is it, babe?"

She opened her mouth and then groaned. She leaned her face in her hands on the desk. "I'm so stupid."

"About what?" I asked, not letting her get out of answering so easily.

"About...ugh, I felt pain, and then I just...it's my heat."

I was confused. "It's not your heat?"

"It is," she said.

"Then what?" I was confused about what was upsetting her. Heat was, from what I had heard, only really excruciating if the wolf's mate wasn't around to help deal with it—a situation that rarely happened since it was the mate who triggered it by marking. I walked around the desk. She whimpered, and I put my hand on her bare arm and slid it up to rub her shoulders. "Does that help?"

She nodded.

"Then, what did you assume, if not your heat?"

She moaned. "I started imagining something ridiculous."

"The wrong thing?" Suddenly it made sense. "You thought I might cheat on you?"

"Not really, not when I think about it, but I was jealous of how happy you were to see Andrea, and I've been feeling off all day. Don't be angry, Jason. I know I was being irrational. Please. I think the heat’s messing with my emotions."

I wasn't angry, but a bit of a sick feeling that infidelity would even cross her mind formed in my gut. I knew we hadn't been together that long, and our first meeting hadn't gone that smoothly, but things had been so good since, surely she knew well enough by now how much I already adored her.

"I just, I don't know, still feel undesirable after everything that happened at Greenwoods, like why would you want me? I mean, I understand the bond..."

The answer was simple. It was because she was my beautiful feisty mate, but that apparently was not enough to reassure her when she was overthinking everything. I wanted to smash in that asshole alpha's face for making her ever feel like she wasn't enough, but that was a treat I would dream of getting later. For now, I needed time with just her.

"Porter?”

“Yeah. What is it?”

“Carrie's heat has come, so I'm going to need you to cover for me with our guests. Give Andrea my apologies that we’ll have to take a rain check on supper, and tell them they’re welcome to come back."

"Will do. Good luck. I've heard good and bad things about heat. Having an insatiable mate seems great and all, until you break your—"

"Yeah, thanks man." Porter sounded a bit more like his old pre-mate troubles self for a minute there. With a human mate, heats were at least one thing Porter would never have to worry about heat, but I doubted that thought would comfort him since Amanda refused to even have contact with him.

I turned my attention back to Carrie. She looked devastated, probably with herself. I picked her up, and she didn't fight me as I carried her to our home. I avoided contact with everyone, especially other males. None of them would do anything to her or against me, but I didn’t even want them breathing the same air during this moment. I slammed the door behind me, and took her to our bed and lay her down carefully in the center.

"Carrie, I don't know what to say to make you feel more secure with me. I think I've been pretty open about how happy I am to have you," I said, and I pulled off her shoes and tossed them out into the hall over my shoulder. She wouldn’t be needing those any time soon.

"It's nothing you've done," she told me, and then groaned again. It seemed the heat was getting rapidly worse, and I would have to do something about it, but I needed her to understand me first. My wolf needed her trust. I needed it.

"I've already said it, but what I said that first time we met was stupid. Stupid and wrong, because obviously I need you. I wanted you even then, from the moment your scent hit my nose. All I saw was a beautiful curvy woman, smooth skin, curly black hair, a female that I wanted but didn't have the ability to properly protect. Then you were going to leave because of my idiot reaction, and my wolf demanded that I stop you by whatever means necessary. So I confined you and tried to figure out a way to win you over."

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