I'm the Alpha's Mate

Chapter 2

"Who put you in the cell?" He asks, not fazed by my words.

"I don't know."

"You do," he corrects me.

"I don't know his name."

The Alpha moves my eyes in the right direction again. "Tell me, Evangeline."

Again, I refuse to answer. Andrew did indeed lock me in a cell, forcing me to lay in the dirt, but I will not turn him in. Something tells me he would be punished. "Why do you need to know who? They couldn't have known."

"Nothing will happen to them," he assures me, though I have my doubts.

"If I tell you, I can go?" The Alpha, my mate, nods. "Okay, it was Andrew but—"

"Marina," he calls out. It only takes a few seconds for the doors to open, revealing a short woman with caramel colored hair. She has an apron wrapped around her body and white tennis shoes, ones that older women tend to wear, which is understandable. Her skin is tan and glowing.

"Yes, Alpha?" She asks, quick.

"Take Evangeline and get her cleaned up," he says to her. Hearing him say my name makes lips part, never has it sounded so beautiful, so desirable. Before I know it I am being led out of the room by the woman, Marina. When I climb out of the trance, my mate placed me in. My eyes grow wide. "Wait. I have to go," I tell her.

She turns around with a soft, welcoming smile. "Come on honey, let's get you cleaned up."

"But—"

"Come," she links my arm with hers and leads me down a hall, then unexpectedly, to a room upstairs. The room is at the end of the long hallway, guarded by two large doors. She pushes one open and pulls me in gently, and I do not plan on fighting her. My head spins when I enter the dark room, as his scent is everywhere, everything seems to hold it. In the center of it all is a bed, a bed with silky sheets peeking out from the side. My face flushes all possible shades of red. I tear my eyes away, and they land on a doorway which connects a bathroom. Marina is inside, folding fluffy, white towels and resting them on the edge of the substantial tub. Beside the bathtub is a modern, dark brown tiled shower. Everything is dark.

"I'll leave you to shower, and I'll grab some clothes from Fiona. They will be on the bed when you are done." Before leaving, she smiles again, almost excitedly. I nervously smile back.

I hear the door shut and I know I am alone.

Surely she cannot expect me to shower in a bathroom that does not belong to me, or anyone I know. This is all so bizarre, but knowing my mate is down the steps, so close, makes me feel less uncomfortable. He said I could go home, he said it to my face, but the bond between us has blinded me.

Maybe he meant after I get cleaned up? Oh gosh, I just want to be at home in my own bed, wrapped up like an infant. This has been the most insane, most unbelievable day of my life. Why did the creek possess me, as if it grabbed onto my feet and used me like a puppet? He is why I felt so attached to the idea of crossing, and I know that now, but look where the action has gotten me. I have found my mate.

Hesitantly, I take off my filthy clothes after checking to make sure the door is locked. Never have I felt so bare.

Under the water's current, my mind continues to question and conjure. The Alpha, the stranger, my mate, he can play me like a violin and part of me would not see the wrong in it. Something about him has me addicted, hooked on by his every word, move, breath—like he has cast a spell over me. Never have I been so undecided. Of course, I cannot help but think about abandoning my old life, leaving it all behind to be with someone made for me. A mate, oh, how sweet the possibilities sound. Then there is the other half of me, the half that worries for my grandmother. What if she has gone out looking for me, what if she accidentally crosses the land as I did? They cannot put a fragile, old lady in a grimy, noxious cage as they did to me.