Refusing my Alpha mate
Chapter 26

Clair

When I arrived with my father at the Council's gym, I saw Arthur already doing some exercises, he was wearing looser pants and a tank top, and my eyes were drawn to every inch of his muscles, each repetition made them contract more, score more, and the memory of my lips on every inch of his body took me over the edge. Every turn of his biceps, every mark on his back, was an invitation to me, and I lost myself in each look.

I was trying to concentrate, but I almost dropped a weight on my feet looking at him. And with each device I changed, I got closer, closer to him, almost without control. I was finishing my squats when I heard Arthur grunt, loud enough to get my attention, I knew he wasn't finished but he threw his towel over his shoulders and left.

I left my father on the treadmill and went after Arthur, to understand what had happened, I called him twice, and I had to run to catch up with him.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked holding his arm, and when he turned, his eyes were red, and glowing, his wolf close, he tried to control his breathing to contain himself.

"The sound you make in the gym is almost the same as when you cum." He said growling, his teeth clenched.

"Last night you enjoyed listening." The words escaped my mouth, almost out of control, at the same time that a malicious smile appeared on my lips.

I didn't expect the next movement, Arthur held my jaw with his hand, making me look at him, he didn't hurt me, but he held me firm, and his gaze danced between my eyes as if he was going to find some answer there. Like he was trying to read me.

"It's the most fucking perfect sound in the universe." He said in a husky whisper that made me flutter inside. "But what happened yesterday, will not happen again." He said louder, letting go of me as he turned to leave.

I was washed with disappointment, and I'm sure it was written all over my face, but I took two more steps and pulled his arm again.

"Why not?" My voice was choked, and broken, and only then did I realize I was crying.

He quickly turned around and cupped my face with both hands as he placed his forehead against mine before saying.

"Clair, if you want me as your mate, you have all of me, mind, body, heart, and soul, I will be all yours." He took a deep breath. "But if you want to reject me, as is your plan, you also reject me entirely." His words were heavy and had so much pain that I could feel them. He let go of our foreheads and took a step back.

"Arthur." I tried to call him, I tried to make him understand.

"This shouldn't just be physical Clair, and much more, it's..." He sighed and took another step back. "You always manage to screw up."

And in that last sentence, I blinked hard and felt more tears run down my face, I wanted to tell him, I wanted to try to make him understand.

It wasn't just physical, for me it wasn't just physical either.

I had never even thought about it exactly, but the strong and overwhelming feeling I felt around him, was love. I loved him, but I would never dare say it out loud, especially now. I watched him leave, and with each step, I felt my heart shatter more and more.

It took me a few minutes to compose myself, but I went back to the apartment, took a shower and we went to the final meeting. This time I wore a straight dress, pumps, and a trench coat, and at this meeting, all the Alphas from our region would be present, and it was my first meeting officially as an Alpha.

This auditorium, instead of a tribune, only had a large round table. When I arrived Arthur was already there, sitting next to Tommy, instead of yesterday's full suit, today he was wearing a white shirt with a blazer, and I can't say which of the two he looked hotter in. His eyes went straight to me when I arrived, he looked down analyzing every inch of my body, but when he returned to my eyes, he had a heavy look, full of pain, and I wished I could end this pain, I wished I could take it away all his suffering, but I was afraid of suffering more.

The triad arrived and took their places, Simon began saying.

"Dear Alphas, I would like to begin this extraordinary meeting, due to the events of the last few days. It is with regret that we announce that there were members of the Council responsible for the attack on Miss Troffendoll, but the investigations remain firm to find all those responsible, we know that there are more, in addition to those who were captured. And in light of this, I ask Alfa Clair Troffendoll, who is already Alpha by virtue of her role, to wait a few days until her possession ceremony takes place, for her own safety." He finished speaking directly to me, I saw Arthur swallow hard.

"Sure, no problem," I responded, trying to hide my frustration.

"Great, and besides the possession of the Misses Troffendoll, yesterday we received the request for emergency possession from Mr. Arthur Hausen, who would like to announce that he is already acting Alpha, and will be able to take over from tomorrow." I looked directly at Arthur, who had his hand on his chin in a relaxed position in his chair, he always seemed so ready, so capable of any obstacle. My jaw dropped knowing he would be nominated so quickly, but he just gave a curt nod to Simon, who continued the meeting.

After some more boring business, it was finally over, but before Simon ended the session, Arthur raised his hand.

"Yes, Alpha Arthur," Simon said and Arthur stood up, adjusting his suit.

"I would like to invite the Alphas present here to my possession meeting, that will be held tomorrow, with this release from the Council and the state of my father's health, I cannot wait any longer." He said with his imposing tone, which I need to say, made me tremble.

Everyone gave him their nods, and the meeting ended, I wanted to talk to Arthur, I wanted to explain, I didn't want to leave the subject as we ended, I wanted to be on good terms with him. But even though I was waiting for him to leave, Arthur just followed Tommy.

"Bye Arthur, see you tomorrow," I said trying to hide all the pain and regret I was feeling.

"Bye Alpha Clair. See you." He said seriously, nonchalantly, and with every step he took away from me, I felt my heart sink and shatter. The feeling was one of clear despair.

The trip back made me think a lot and get nowhere, and even with all the problems in my Pack, I still could only think about the next day when I would see Arthur at his meeting. And the seconds seemed to pass slowly until the time I went to his Pack, I never thought so much about what clothes to wear. Normally I would wear a guard uniform, it was my favorite outfit, but at the same time, it was a possession, maybe a dress?

I opted for a tight, formal black dress, and it was strange that my father wasn't going with me, but officially I was Alpha, alone. I went to his Pack, together with David, who wanted to see Monica, we went earlier and when we got there, Arthur was already at the door welcoming us. We entered the living room, and I took a few seconds trying to read his expressions, there was anxiety, pride, and fear. Everything was justifiable, he was doing the most incredible thing which was taking over his father's Pack, but with it came responsibility, and the fact that he wasn't taking it willingly, he was taking it on an emergency basis because his father was about to die.

"Alpha Clair." He told me extending his hand.

"Alpha Arthur," I answered.

David and Monica bonded instantly, and I wanted to do the exact same thing with Arthur, but soon a guard came running through the door, catching the attention of the four of us.

"Alpha, there is a guest who is not on the list, but she arrived with a letter." The guard said directly to Arthur, who broke into a smile as a girl wearing a tight feminine suit walked out from behind the guard. She had white skin, wavy brown hair, and brown eyes, she was very pretty and looked like an executive.

"By the Goddess, Danna? You came." Arthur screamed as he opened his arms, and the girl dropped her briefcase and jumped into his arms. Seeing their bodies collide, my wolf growled inside me. I wanted to just jump on Danna's neck, and I felt my jaw lock immediately.

"You called me, I couldn't refuse the invitation." She said while still in his embrace, and at that moment I heard her sweet voice, which for me was too shrill, I clenched my fists and took a deep breath.

"This is Danna, my friend from law school," Arthur said turning to us while Danna just nodded and smiled.

"Will you excuse me, Monica take Alpha Clair to the meeting room, I'm going to show the Pack to Danna while the other Alphas don't arrive," Arthur said, placing a hand on Danna's back and walking with her into the Pack House.

"Honey, next time try to hide your jealousy better," Monica told me in a calm voice, she opened her eyes wide and gave me a smile. I thought about protesting, about saying it wasn't, but I felt my blood boiling inside and it was probably also on my face. "Come on, I'll take you to the meeting room." I stood still for a few seconds watching Arthur leave, and my heart broke inside. Only then did I realize that my nails were digging into the palms of my hands. I slowly released my hand, practically tearing off the nails stuck to my skin, observed the red crescents on my palms, took a deep breath, and followed Monica to the meeting room.

David and Monica stayed with me until the first Alphas arrived, first Trent arrived, then Tommy, Clark, and then David and Monica escaped, probably to have sex while the meeting was taking place. Arthur soon walked in the door adjusting his jacket, and my thought went straight to the fact that if he had sex with Danna would he be putting his clothes back on? But he passed behind me, and his scent was pure, it had a feminine scent but only of closeness, not of sex, I felt my shoulders relax, but the jealousy still gnawed at me inside.

Arthur talked to the other Alphas and waited, and it was very difficult to keep my thoughts aligned, with him around, it was as if the whole time I just wanted to jump on him, it was as if with every move he made, Arthur was hotter and hotter, and like if his every move was designed to provoke me. Just before the meeting started, Arthur quickly left and returned with Augustus in a wheelchair, he was even thinner, seemed weaker, and was coughing every minute.

We all stood up when he arrived, as a sign of respect, and Arthur positioned his father at the end of the table.

"It is with great pleasure that I welcome you here today for the possession of my son, Arthur Hausen." Augustus' voice was weak and hoarse, but the pride he had on his face was clear as water.

Arthur's eyes were red and watery, he was clearly emotional, but at the same time he was also proud, and he should have been, I felt my heart warm, I didn't know if it was my feeling, or his, or it was a mixture of us two.

Augustus stood up slowly and with difficulty, he held Arthur's face with both hands and said looking into Arthur's eyes.

"How proud of you, my son." The voice was hoarse, but it was firm. At that moment Arthur's tears flowed freely down his face, but not as a weakness, as a release.

Augustus slowly lowered Arthur's face and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"I officially declare you Alpha." Augustus' words echoed in the room and were followed by howls and screams of joy, including mine.

But after that, Augustus had a coughing fit.

"Sorry friends, I have to get away," Augustus said and, Annie, Arthur's mother, came to get him.

Arthur wiped his tears with the back of his hands and sat at the end of the table.

His first official meeting, as Alpha.

He was already imposing, he was already firm in his speeches and attitudes, but it was as if now he emitted an aura of power, of leadership, and that made me growl inside, it made me almost moan softly.

"My first official meeting as Alpha." Arthur started to speak, but I confess that I got completely lost in the words, I was leaning back in the chair, appreciating him, just analyzing every inch of that hot body. The way the suit marked his arm, and his shirt marked his chest, and I only needed to search my memory to see him in my mind without clothes, I had recorded in my memory every inch of his body. I didn't pay attention to the words, I just heard their vibration inside me, it was as if his voice echoed inside my chest, making me tremble. All of his grandeur, his power, and his leadership, reminded me how easy it was for me to let myself be dominated by him, the scenes from our last night flooded my head, to the point where I felt my breathing quicken and my panties get wet.

"A break, we'll be back in 5 minutes." Arthur's voice was louder than normal. And I watched the Alphas get up and go to the bar to get their whiskeys, and my gaze went to Arthur who nodded towards the door behind his chair, which I knew led to his office. I just nodded yes, got up, and followed him inside. And as if he was holding his breath, there he released the air from his lungs.

"Restrain yourself." It was a firm, clear order.

"What?" I asked trying to understand.

"When we're in the same room, after mating, our thoughts mix and…" Arthur said shaking his head. "I can see inside your mind." The second sentence he said directly looking into my eyes, his gaze going from one of my eyes to the other, and a flash of embarrassment passed across my face as I felt my cheeks blush.

I just nodded and swallowed hard, as Arthur walked out the door and I felt a tear run down my cheek.

We have a lot of things in this chapter... Tell me what was your favorite part?

We had a lot of Team Arthur, and some Team both. Clair has no team until now... Let's see if this will change...

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