Hidden Alpha [Alpha Mates] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (2 page)

When she was done, Dmytri took the book back to the shelf. “Do you need me to do anything else for you, Miss McKinnon?”

She shook her head and told the class it was time to go outside for recess. The entire class jumped up and ran to line up at the door. Dmytri and Adryk both went to the back of the line because that was where Amalya walked, and they always held her hands. They told her it was because they were fierce warriors, and they needed to protect their favorite human. That usually got her laughing. But she continued to let them protect
her when they left the classroom.

The rest of the day passed quickly with a few games and making sure all the kids had all their belongings packed in their backpacks. She reminded Dmytri to take his picture he had drawn for his new baby sisters. She saw the rest of the kids off to their parents or their buses before taking Dmytri and Adryk to the office. Just before classes were released, the principal had called to say that their mother had gone into labor, and their uncle was coming to pick them up. She left them at the office door, and when they let go of her hand they ran to a man standing inside, yelling, “Uncle Chase.” She returned to her classroom alone. She looked around and made sure everything was placed where it was supposed to be. Checking to make sure no one was around, she let the past come back again. As always when she thought of Gavin too much, she let a tear slip down her cheek. Before she knew it, she was sitting at her desk sobbing, completely unaware of anything around her.

Alone
again
. She hated the last day of school.

Devlin Mikhail had gotten a call from his sister, Anya, that she had gone into labor a month early and needed him. So, he and Chase Tanner had made the hour-and-a-half drive in an hour flat. Chase had dropped Devlin off at the hospital and was currently waiting in the office of the elementary school for Anya’s five-year-old twins to finish their last day of kindergarten. Devlin and Chase were both on the emergency list, so it wasn’t a surprise for him to pick them up.

After hugging them, he put the boys down. “Momma is at the hospital having the babies, so it’s just us for a little while. Then after they are born, I will take you to the hospital so you can meet them.”

Both boys were all smiles as he took their hands and led them out of the school. When they got almost to the truck, Dmytri stopped and tugged on Chase’s hand. “Uncle Chase, I forgot something. We have to go back.”

They turned around and headed back into the school. They passed the principal in the hallway, and she asked where they were going. Chase said, “Dmytri forgot something in his classroom. Is it okay if we go in and get it?”

The principal looked down at Dmytri and grinned. “Dmytri is always forgetting something, aren’t you?” She winked at him. “Of course you can. Miss McKinnon should still be in there.”

Chase asked, “Miss McKinnon? Is she any relation to Gavin McKinnon?”

The principal tilted her head, studied him. “You know Gavin?”

He shook his head. “No, ma’am. Just heard of him when we moved to Montana. We live with our family about an hour and a half south of here. Our family knows Gavin’s family, but my brother and I didn’t move here until after he had left, so we never got the chance to meet him.” Chase wondered if the principal was pack or knew of the wolf pack living in her town. He knew she wasn’t a wolf herself but thought maybe she knew of the pack living in and around town.

She nodded her head. “She is not technically related to him. His parents adopted her when she was a teenager, and she and Gavin were always close. So, Mr. Tanner, head right down the hall, and you can get Dmytri’s stuff.”

Chase nodded to her and let the boys lead him to their classroom. As he got closer, the most delicious scent hit his nose, and it kept getting stronger the closer he got to their destination. He knew right away that it was the scent of his other mate. He had been mated to Devlin since they turned seventeen, which was eleven years ago. They had kept it quiet at first when they lived with their birth pack, because being gay or bisexual was not accepted. That was why they had moved to Montana. They had heard of a pack in a small eastern Montana town that needed a new alpha and beta. The old alpha had been challenged and killed due to his intolerance for anyone that was different from him. The wolf that had made the challenge had only done so to protect his male mate and didn’t want to be the alpha. Devlin should have been the alpha of his pack by birthright, but being bisexual, that would never happen. They both knew that there was another mate that would complete their family and had hoped to find her when they left home. So far, they had been leading their pack for four and a half years and had traveled around most of the country but had not found her. He knew his luck was about to change because she was in this building somewhere and probably in the classroom he was about to enter.

There was something wrong, though, and he could feel her sadness and could smell her tears. Something had upset his mate, and he knew he had to make everything right. It was ingrained in his DNA to make sure that his mates were taken care of and as happy as he could make them. He stopped in the doorway and watched as the beautiful Miss McKinnon sat crying silently at her desk, not even noticing that there was anyone in the room with her. Even though she was sitting, he could tell she was tall, probably five eight or so. Her hair had a slight wave to it and came to just below her shoulders. The color was amazing, almost like the color of dark chocolate with streaks of copper in it that looked natural. Her skin was lightly tanned, and he could smell a hint a jasmine in the air he knew had to be her natural scent. He was in awe of her beauty, and she hadn’t even looked his way.

Dmytri broke the silence. “Miss McKinnon, I forgot my picture for the babies, and they are coming today.”

She jumped at the sound of the little boy’s voice and wiped her eyes quickly before she turned to look at them. “Hey, Dmytri. How did you forget it? I thought we checked your bag, and you had everything.”

Adryk rolled his eyes. “He forgets everything, Miss McKinnon.”

Miss McKinnon chuckled. “Be nice, Adryk. Everyone forgets things sometimes. Come on, Dmytri, let’s find your picture for the babies.” She led Dmytri to his cubby and retrieved the picture he had made. Chase had to get closer. While she was squatting down helping Dmytri put the picture in his backpack, he moved into her personal space. When she stood up and turned around, he found he was right. She was about five foot eight. A perfect match for his six-foot height. She would be perfect in his arms. She tried to take a step back, but the cubbies were there, and she had nowhere to go. This, of course, was Chase’s plan. Dmytri pulled on his hand. “Come on, Uncle Chase. I got the picture. Can we go have some ice cream now?” Chase looked down at the little boys and asked them if they could sit on the carpet and look at a book while he talked to their teacher, and then they could go get ice cream. The boys looked at him like he’d grown a second head but went over to the reading carpet and started looking at a picture book.

Chase knew he had to talk to this woman. Talking was not really what he wanted to do, but with them being in a school and him watching his nephews, talking was as far as he could go right now. He brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheek, and she gasped. When she seemed to regain her voice, she said, “Um, mister… um… what is your name?”

“Chase. My name is Chase. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss McKinnon.,” he replied as he cupped her cheek and traced her bottom lip with his thumb. Her eyes dilated, and her breathing sped up. She stared into his eyes for a few moments. She tilted her head back, probably hoping to break the contact, and licked her lip he had been rubbing.

Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts, she stuttered, “Uh, um, Chase, I really have to get going, and you have two little boys that really want some ice cream. Thank you for coming back and getting the picture for the babies. Dmytri worked very hard on it, and I’m sure his mother will love it.” She tried to step around him, but he moved closer until there was only a breath of air between them. Looking down into her eyes, he lost his train of thought. He had never seen eyes that color and knew he could stare into them for hours and never get bored. They were the color of honey. He knew he needed to show her that she belonged to him, and the best way to do that was to kiss her. He could feel her emotions. She was aroused by him but confused, and he thought he could sense sadness and anger. He wasn’t sure if the anger was directed toward him, but he was about to find out. He couldn’t wait any longer to taste her sweet lips. He knew she was either going to melt in his arms and he would be taking her back to Anya’s house where he and Devlin were going to be staying, or she was going to slap him. He hoped it was the former. He really needed to get her home and introduce her to Devlin, and then they both needed to claim her and officially make her theirs.

He lowered his lips toward hers slowly, giving her time to stop him, or so he told himself. He was going to kiss her, but he just didn’t want her to feel forced into it. He knew she felt their connection and that it would get stronger after he kissed her. The bond between mates started when they first saw each other and became stronger with each touch and kiss they shared. As her got closer, both of them held their breath. Their lips touched, and he literally felt the bond between them strengthen. She inhaled swiftly and he knew she felt it, too. He gently touched his tongue to her bottom lip, silently asking for entrance. At first she didn’t respond, and he thought she was going to pull away. By the third swipe of his tongue, she gave in and opened for him. He wasted no time. With one hand holding the nape of her neck and the other caressing her cheek, he took the kiss deeper. She tasted like white chocolate. He wondered if she had just eaten some but thought it was just her natural flavor. When they were both breathless, he pulled back enough to let them catch their breath but feathered his lips across hers softly while staring into her dazed eyes. He wondered how he got so lucky to find his other mate and have her be perfect for him. He studied her, wanting to ask what she was thinking but not wanting to break the spell she seemed to be under.

* * * *

Amalya was stunned. She had never wanted to kiss anyone except for Gavin, but now that she had kissed this man, she wanted to continue kissing him. Sometime during the kiss she had wound her arms around his neck and found herself pulling him into her for more. He tasted amazing. She had never tasted anyone quite like him and knew she never would. She looked up into his eyes and was lost. She had never seen eyes that color green before. They were almost the color of her emerald earrings that Gavin had bought her for her last birthday they had spent together. She tried to think of a reason that she should stop, but her mind had gone on vacation at the first touch of his lips. She pulled him down to her again and went back in for another taste. His taste was a strange combination of spices and grape. She felt the hand that had been caressing her cheek slip down her arm and around her lower back to pull her flush to his rock-hard chest. It was then that she realized that his chest was not the only hard part of his body. He was definitely turned on, and she really wanted to find out if the bulge she could feel was a big as it felt pressed against her stomach. Just as she was about to lift her legs up and wrap them around his waist, she felt a vibration from his pants pocket. It was enough to snap her out her daze as she quickly pushed him away. She couldn’t believe she had completely forgotten she was standing in her classroom with two of her students in the room. She had never acted like this. Even when she was with Gavin, she never completely lost her mind to lust. She didn’t know where these feelings were coming from. She had never been with a man, and she was just ready to basically jump a complete stranger because he smelled and tasted good.
What the hell?
She brushed past him and put some distance between them while he answered the phone.

Amalya couldn’t hear the other half of the conversation, but as she watched the color drain from Chase’s face, she knew something was wrong. She listened to him talk to person on the other end. “Yes. Oh god, no. No, baby, I’m so sorry. Yeah, I’ll be right there. I love you.”

By the time he disconnected and slid the phone back into his pocket, he had tears running down his cheeks. She didn’t know why she was having the feelings she was, but she had to comfort him. She quickly returned to his side and wrapped her arms around his waist. He dipped his head down and placed it on her shoulder, softly crying. He was trying to be quiet, probably trying to not scare Dmytri and Adryk. She whispered in his ear, “What’s wrong? Is there anything I can do?” He shook his head and held her tighter and mumbled something she couldn’t understand. Amalya walked slowly backward, leading him into the hallway. When they were out of the room enough so the boys wouldn’t be able to hear, but she could still keep her eyes on them, she lifted his head from her shoulder and placed her hands on each side of his face. Wiping his tears away with her thumbs, she asked, “What happened?”

The way he stared at her reminded her of a lost puppy she had found on the side of the road one day and taken home. He licked his lips and tried to talk but couldn’t seem to be able to find the words. She waited patiently for him to speak. When he did, her heart broke.

“That was Anya’s brother, Devlin. There was a problem with the delivery, and Anya started hemorrhaging. He said the doctors did everything they could, but they couldn’t save her.”

Amalya was speechless. She looked past him through the open doorway at the two little boys looking at a book on the story-time carpet. She looked back at Chase and said, “Oh, Chase. I’m so sorry. What about the babies?”

“The babies were born before she started hemorrhaging, and they are both perfectly healthy. They will be fine. Devlin is there with them now. I have to take the boys to the hospital to see him and the babies. Will you go with me?”