I wasn't imagining it.

She was totally checking out my mate.

Her eyes kept wandering to our table every few seconds, as though waiting to make eye contact with the gorgeous man who sat across from me, carefully cutting his steak into square pieces. I grudgingly admitted to myself that she was nearly equally as beautiful, with auburn hair that fell in waves down her back and eyes as bright as the sky.

The waitress came to our table to ask how our food was for the third time since she delivered it ten minutes ago. She was young and pretty and incredibly flustered, but more so because she was trying to get a good tip on her first week at the high-end restaurant than because of my mate's intimidatingly good looks, which I noticed she took note of when she came to take our drink order and stumbled over her words as she looked at Alpha Alexander.

I twirled some pasta onto my fork and chewed on it thoughtfully, watching my mate's chiseled jaw work around his own food. Without thinking, I reached across the table and stabbed a piece of meat with my fork. It practically melted in my mouth. On impulse, I snagged another steak square. If he was bothered by my food thievery, he didn't show it. I pushed my plate of chicken alfredo toward him in silent offering, but he shook his head, his eyes never rising from his large plate of steak, mash potatoes, and asparagus.

"Are you sure?" I asked, nibbling on a piece of bread. "It's only fair since I picked off your plate."

"Decades ago, when the mating of two wolves concluded in a formal ceremony designed to connect us with our ancestors, the male would participate in a hunt alongside all the unmated males of the pack." He put his utensils down and wiped his mouth with the edge of the cloth napkin in his lap. His arms folded in front of him as he continued, "The male had to kill the scouted prey before any of the other males, which often led to blood shed, to prove himself strong enough for the female. He was to bring his kill back to his intended and lay it at her feet, to prove he would fight for her and he could provide for her and their future pups. Traditionally, she was expected to accept the kill, but let her mate have the first bite of their first shared meal. Essentially, she submits to him; she puts her mate before all else, even herself."

"Submits to him, huh?" I chewed on my pasta thoughtfully, my mind wandering to an hour earlier, when his hand was gently but meaningfully wrapped around my throat on the training yard. "Interesting . . ."

"It is instinct, Phoebe, as well as tradition." He picked his fork and steak knife back up.

"Sure it is." I chewed slowly, swallowed. "I'll have you know, I'm not an easy conquest, Alpha Alexander. Just because you let me have some of your steak doesn't mean I'm gonna roll over for you."

"You wouldn't be my mate if you didn't put up a fight, Phoebe," he said casually, as if telling me the sky was blue or water was wet.

My eyebrows rose. "Hmmm," I mused as I chewed on a piece of chicken. "So, moral of the story: I can steal your food whenever I want."

I could practically feel his eye roll, even though he didn't actually do one. Before he could answer, the waitress came back and asked if we needed boxes. We both declined and she laid the check on the table, conveniently close to Alpha Alexander's elbow.

The girl from the neighboring table watched as he slid a black credit card into the small black folder without even glancing at the receipt. She smiled to herself and gave my mate another appreciative once-over. My fist clenched around the napkin in my lap. I looked back at my mate, who had finished his meal and was sipping on his water, his eyes trained on the door that stood over my left shoulder.

When we first entered the restaurant and were greeted by the hostess who took us to our table, I moved to sit in the chair against the wall, but Alpha Alexander had gently taken my elbow and pulled out the chair on the other side of the table, seating himself in the chair I originally intended to sit in. Every once in a while, like whenever someone entered the restaurant, Alpha Alexander's eyes traveled to the door, sharp and observant. I had noticed earlier that quite a few pack members were scattered around the room, seated in different sections of the restaurant. Surely it wasn't a coincidence that every one of them were enforcers—pack members specifically trained in every aspect of warfare and weaponry—including Sarah. I knew we weren't truly alone from the moment we entered the restaurant, but given recent events, I wasn't too bothered by it.

The King must have his own personal guard after all.

The auburn-haired girl bit her lip as she once more looked over to my mate, completely ignoring the two girls she sat with, who were chattering amongst themselves. My annoyance peaked and when the waitress returned with the transaction receipt and his credit card, Alpha Alexander tucked everything away and asked if I was ready to go. I nodded and stood. I turned to head for the door, but before I took a step, I spun back around and stood on my toes to pull Alpha Alexander into a quick, passionate kiss—or, rather, what I had intended on being a quick, passionate kiss. The moment our lips touched, he deepened the kiss, forcing my mouth open and nearly bending me over his arm that snaked around my back.

He released me with a small kiss to my forehead before taking my hand to lead me out of the restaurant. I threw a triumphant, smug grin over my shoulder to the auburn-haired girl, who looked rather put out.

Sarah raised her glass of soda at me, mouthing, "Atta girl," as we passed her table. I beamed.

We headed for the Ford pickup that Alpha Alexander had driven us into town in. Apparently, he had a plethora of vehicles available to him. How he could afford such luxury was still a mystery to me. He moved to open the passenger side door for me, but at the last moment, grabbed my arm and pressed me into the side of the car, molding his body against me. I felt his chest rumble as he spoke lowly, "That was quite a show."

I gave him a look—my you-don't-really-think-I'm-that-stupid-do-you? look. "As if you didn't see her drooling over you."

"I wasn't paying her any attention."

"And why would you?" I asked. "It's not like she was the literal epitome of supermodel or anything." The sarcasm in my voice was not easily missed.

He lips twitched. "I will never understand the pettiness of women."

I gave him another look—this time, it was my oh-really look. "Says the man who tried to tear my shirt off because it smelled like my ex-boyfriend."

"That is another subject entirely."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is it?" I glanced over at the sidewalk, where a man was jogging in our direction with his golden retriever. "If that man stood there for thirty minutes, checking me out, giving me once-overs, undressing me with his eyes, you wouldn't do exactly what I just did in there?"

He frowned. "No, I would not."

I scoffed. "Bull-"

He cut me off. "I would tear his eyes out."

I stared at him. His expression was completely serious, but his eyes shone with amusement. I gave him a slow smile. "Thank you for the birthday dinner."

"Your birthday isn't over yet."

"Oh?"

He stepped away and opened the truck's door. "Get in."

. . .

His chest was warm against my back. His hands covered my eyes and my hands covered his. I leaned into his warmth as he forced me to stop walking. I felt the soft earth under my sandals and grass tickled my bare calves. His hands lifted off of my face slowly and he took my hands in his large palms.

"Open," he commanded softly.

I lifted my eyelids and grinned at the sight. We were in a field filled with daisies, but my eyes zeroed in on the blanket—as in, my dog bed blanket—laid out on the grass with a large, modern, expensive-looking telescope standing guard beside it. A small basket sat in the middle of the blanket.

"Julie mentioned an app you showed her that tells you all of the constellations."

"SkyMap," I confirmed.

I had shown it to her the day before when we were sitting on the front porch and she had pointed at the night sky and said, "There's the big dipper . . . or is it the little one?"

I stepped out of his warmth and toward the telescope. It looked expensive and, knowing I was a natural magnet for bad luck, I was afraid to touch it.

I pointed at the basket instead. "What's in there?"

"Dessert." He opened the basket and pulled out a single cupcake with a candle stuck in the center. He pulled out a lighter and carefully lit the candle. He held it between us. Our eyes met. "Happy birthday, Phoebe."

I grinned. I closed my eyes and tried to think of a good wish. When I opened them again, I blew the candle out. He handed me the cupcake and a napkin. I smirked at him. "Is this the part where I let you have the first bite?"

"Eat the cupcake, Phoebe."

I chuckled and took a bite before handing him the rest to finish. I looked around the meadow. "Are they here?" I asked lowly.

He swallowed his large bite of cupcake and nodded.

I looked into the distance. "I can't see them."

"My training methods would be useless if you could."

"Can they hear us?"

He stared at me, his eyes curious and cautious. He shook his head slowly. "They're running a perimeter. I can reach them." He pressed his fingers to his temple. "But they know to keep their distance."

I smiled coyly. "Good to know." Before he could comment, I turned to the telescope. "How do I work this thing?"

. . .

Stargazing. I was stargazing with the King of Northern American werewolves. I was sipping hot chocolate with the most powerful man in the continent. This was like a freaking Nicholas Sparks movie. And, dammit, if I wasn't tempted to tackle him every time he looked at me and my knees shook.

I found some of the constellations using the telescope with the help of my star app. The sky became cloudy quickly so it cut our stargazing short. Alpha Alexander packed the telescope equipment up and moved it to the cab of the truck while I sat on the blanket, nursing a mug of cinnamon hot chocolate. Marshmallows included.

I hugged my knees to my chest as a breeze came in. The night was chilly but not unbearable; the hot chocolate helped. His body suddenly folded around me, his heat almost suffocating me. His long legs were on either side of me, his arms wrapped around my chest, his chin rested on the top of my head. I smiled, wholly content as I leaned into him.

"This was an amazing birthday. Thank you."

His head moved my shoulder, his lips ghosting against my throat. I gasped sharply, my fingers clenched around the mug of hot chocolate. I tried to remember how to breathe. His arm lifted from around me, his hands coming to rest on my knees. I stared at his right palm, which held an little blue box that I had only seen in movies. My heart squeezed inside of my chest and I definitely couldn't remember how to breathe.

"Open it," he said against my skin.

His open hand took the mug from my clenched fingers and he placed the little blue box into my cradled palms. I tried to force my fingers to stop shaking, but it was to no avail. I managed to open the box without too much difficulty, my fingers numbly removing the white ribbon and sliding off the lid engraved with Tiffany & Co. A small cloth bag sat in the center of the box and I let out a small relieved breath.

It's not a ring.

But then I remembered I wasn't dating Alpha Alexander—I was his mate, which meant so much more than simply being married to him.

I opened the small bag and tipped its contents into my hand. It was a pendant, a little larger than a quarter, of a star partially encircled by a crescent moon. It was entirely made of a diamonds and the chain was silver. It looked oddly familiar.

Alpha Alexander took the packaging out of my hands and held the necklace up by its long chain for me to admire. "Do you like it?"

I shook my head. "I love it. It's beautiful." I swallowed. "I can't wear it."

I could feel his frown. "Why not?"

"I'd be terrified it'll break or I'll lose it somewhere." I couldn't stop staring at it. I couldn't place where I'd seen that image before. "It has to cost a fortune. I can't wear it."

He took the necklace between his two fingers, unclasping it before sliding his hands around my neck, clasping it closed around my throat. The pendant settled between my breasts under the low-cut top Julie practically forced me into before I left the house earlier in the evening.

"Never mind the cost, Phoebe." His finger toyed with the chain resting against my chest. "It was made for you, just as you were made for me and I for you."

I touched the pendant, rubbed it between my fingers. I pulled away from Alpha Alexander's body and turned to face him; my lips pressed against his briefly. "Thank you. It's an incredible birthday gift."

Instead of responding verbally, he responded physically, pulling me back into another kiss. The heat that had settled inside of me for the past two days flickered to life and burned through my body. With little effort, I pushed Alpha Alexander back down on to the blanket, my thighs placing themselves on either side of his torso. His hands roamed my body, leaving trails of burning passion in their wake. He sat up, pulling our chests together as his lips broke from mine to assault his mark on my throat. My fingers curled into his hair, my thighs clenched around his hips. His palms slid underneath my shirt, exposing my skin to the chilled night air. I held his head tightly—desperately—to my throat, as if my life depended on the fire that burned inside of me every time his lips brushed against my suddenly hypersensitive skin.

Then something wet dripped on my forehead. I opened my eyes as another drop splashed on the tip of my nose. Alpha Alexander pulled himself together a lot more quickly than I did. He removed his hands from under my shirt and gently moved me off his lap and on to the blanket.

"Get to the truck," he said softly. "I need to pack everything up before it gets wet."

The raindrops started to fall more steadily and more heavily. I stood and tried to help Alpha Alexander fold the blanket, but he stopped me and turned me toward the direction of the truck several yards away. I started for it, Alpha Alexander behind me. He opened my door and I obediently got inside. He tossed the blanket and the basket in the backseat and climbed into the cab with me, slicking his hair out of his face with his hands. I watched as he started the engine before looking over at me. His expression was passive, but his eyes were curious as they took in my damp hair and even damper clothes. I chanced a glance down at my attire and folded my lips together to contain the small laugh that threatened to spill.

The low cut blouse that Julie insisted I had to wear for my birthday date was a nude shade and apparently when it got wet, it hugged every crevice of my chest, especially emphasizing my breasts. I glanced back up at Alpha Alexander, who seemed to force his eyes toward the windshields, his hands gripping the steering wheel as he slowly maneuvered the truck out of the field and back on the road.

"Seatbelt," he grumbled at me. I glanced over at him once more. He continued to glare at windshield as the rain furiously pounded against it.

Without a word, I slid across the bench seat until our thighs were touching. I bent my right knee and placed my foot onto the seat before I leaned against Alpha Alexander, my head resting against his shoulder.

"Your seat doesn't have a seatbelt," he growled.

"You better drive carefully, then."

His right arm abandoned the steering wheel to reach across me and scoop up both my legs, pulling me even closer to him as he rested them across his right knee. His right hand tucked under my right thigh, his arm acting as a seatbelt across my chest. I smiled, curling my hands around his rather large arm and leaning against him, my cheek rubbing into his damp shirt sleeve.

A slow R&B song played on the radio, filling the comfortable silence between us.

___

Author's Note:

Comment and Vote!

This chapter is riddled with SO MUCH FORESHADOWING I can't even handle myself. Any ideas?

Media is the design I had in mind for the pendant he gives her. Just imagine it studded with diamonds!

Side note: SkyMap is a legit app. I'm low key obsessed with it. Download it. You'll love it. Disclaimer: #notanadvertisement

xo -Willow