BOUND BY THE ALPHA

CHAYSE POV

I kept touching my mark so often, I knew I had to stop. It was like a magnet to Xander, and every time I touched it, a spark came from it. My scent had changed slightly, more towards Xander's scent.

More mint, and with three days of living in this pack, pine had become my overall scent besides my main vanilla scent that my mother told my brother about when I was nine. I guess that scent is my personal scent that wolves identify me by.

I was sitting on the couch at nine at night, watching "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" on a movie channel. I knew that it was the third of January, but what can I say? Christmas sticks with me through the year.

The holiday cheer just gets more exciting during December. I sang the songs, laughed like the Grinch, and imitated his funny noises he makes between the narrator's pauses.

I still had the pumpkin bread wrapped up on the table from this morning, so I had decided it was the best idea to eat the whole loaf. Yeah, best idea if I wanted to throw up. Eh, oh well.

The bread made me all too sleepy, so I went up to bed, taking a quick shower before crawling into bed with just running shorts and a long shirt-I note that was actually mine this time.

Of course, by the time I showered, I couldn't sleep a wink. I groaned and lifted myself from the bed and down to the kitchen, drinking some milk, then trying to find some source of starch.

Starch made me sleepy, such as pasta, bread, and corn. Luckily, I found some leftover macaroni in the fridge and decided to eat the whole container. My wolf purred again like a cat at the cheesy, creamy taste of the macaroni.

I moaned happily, earning a growl from a door across the hall. The door burst open, revealing a Xander with messed up hair and pink eyes. He was probably sleeping until he heard my moan of pleasure from the food.

Huh, same difference, no? He made his way over to me and ran his hand over my mark, sending even more sparks than when I touched it.

I shut my eyes as he cupped my cheek tenderly and pecked my cheek before going back to his office. I couldn't blame him. If I were him, I wouldn't want to sleep with me either. I mean, who doesn't want a piece of me? No one can resist Chayse Veg-LAVEN... He, he, keep forgetting.

I shrugged and continued to eat my pasta until everything was gone. I dropped the dishes in the sink and returned to the palace of comfort, the bed. I slipped underneath the covers and cuddled with a pillow, until I had sweet dreams.

"Hey sissy? How's your life with that killer over there?" My brother, Jonas, growled.

"Has he attempted to kill you yet? He killed mom after all..." I gasped, moving away from Jonas as he mentioned mom.

"No, he didn't! I saw mom die myself! Xander wasn't a part of it!" I yelled, running forward and pushing him.

Jonas didn't fall, the impact only damaged my wrists, making the bruises I once had on the first day I met Xander more purple.

"Well, if you don't believe me, ask him yourself. He did hurt you, too, Chayse. Your wrists, your hips, your bite," he chuckled, spinning me around to face an angry Xander.

My eyes widened dramatically as he grew larger and larger, his fist rising above his head, ready to strike my face. Jonas pushed me underneath his fist, but I rolled away, dodging my mate's fist by a few inches. I yelled at how close that was.

Jonas picked me up and threw me at Xander, who caught me and crushed my frame. His giant head came close to mine and whispered softly:

"Who said I loved you?"

He didn't. He didn't go there. He told me himself last night he loved me. I looked back up at him as he tightened his grip, my rib cages hurting badly.

A snap was heard in my torso as a couple of ribs broke, making me let out a cry. My Beta-trained body could only take so much before it snapped.

"You thought I was honest with you, Little Mate? Oh, naive you certainly are. I thought you were supposed to be the next Beta, Chayse Vega."

Tears were streaming down my face as the name hit me. Vega. It hit a hole in my heart. He changed me back. A zap was felt on the place where he marked me, but when I checked, the mark was gone. Vanished. He had rejected me.

He let me go, my body falling from at least 120 feet in the air. I took a deep breath and braced myself for impact.

The wolves in the Amber Sky Pack said being rejected felt like your whole body being crushed, then your mind being set in a depression, then you begin thinking suicidally because you can't live without your mate. I wanted to die at that moment. I was inches away from the concrete and...

I gasped, forcing open my eyes to the bright sunlight shining through the windows and a distressed Xander beside me, his worried eyes cast upon my face. I curled up in a ball, my face covered in sweat.

"Xander, you love me, right?" I sniffed, my tears falling slowly down my face. He pulled me close like he had done many times before.

"I love you more than anything, Little Mate," he whispered.

"And you would never reject me, right?" His face turned serious. "Chayse... I would never in a million years reject you. I would die without your presence near me and your personality gone." His face hardened.

"Never say that again," he growled harshly before claiming my lips as his. Dominance was already his before the kiss even started.

He laid me back on the bed, our lips still connected and his strong body on top of mine. The smell of desire emanated from his body in waves, my nose catching the scent quickly and begging for more.

I clung to his frame, nearly digging my nails into his back as I struggled to hang onto his smooth skin. He trailed kisses down my neck and moved lower to my collarbone, making my heart speed up. He moved to my belly and lifted my shirt up, giving kisses on my abdomen.

He suddenly realized my expression of shock and lifted himself from me, looking into my eyes.

"I know you're not ready, and I won't do this today," he muttered. I nodded.