Alpha's STOLEN Mate Chapter 69

Frost

As night fell, we gathered at the barrier to see Kaius and Elowen off. I watched the shimmering threshold seal behind them, my chest tight with complicated emotions.

I wanted to be fighting alongside them, protecting them—though I knew rationally that I'd probably be the one needing protection. Especially from Elowen, who grew stronger and more formidable with each passing day. And more beautiful. More captivating.

*Stop it. Stop thinking like that.*

I hated myself for these thoughts, especially when I glanced at Scarlett standing beside me, her face etched with worry. The guilt was crushing.

Evelyn, clearly reading the awkward tension between us, smiled with feline mischief. "Scarlett, perhaps you could give Frost a tour of the grounds? This is going to be a very long night, and two people can pass the time much more easily than one." Her grin widened. "I won't disturb you—I have urgent business with a certain cook who committed crimes against vegetables at lunch."

As the witch disappeared with obvious glee, panic flooded my system. *Fuck. Now I have no choice but to face my mate and the impossible situation she represents.*

Scarlett's voice was soft, almost tentative. "Would you... like to walk with me?"

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

She led me through winding paths, and I deliberately maintained distance between us, terrified that getting too close would unleash the desperate hunger my wolf felt for her. We arrived at a garden I'd never seen before—a secluded sanctuary with a massive tree at its center, covered in flowers of the deepest crimson I'd ever witnessed.

Scarlett's blue hair created a striking contrast against the red blooms, the combination both mysterious and achingly beautiful. The moonlight caught in her hair like captured starlight, and the flowers seemed to glow with inner fire.

Despite my resistance to the mate bond, I couldn't deny what was happening to my body. The closer I got to Scarlett, the more the exhaustion from the forbidden drugs faded. My nearly vanished scent was slowly returning, growing stronger with each step toward her. There was an almost magnetic pull, as if she were calling to something deep within me.

She stopped beneath the flowering tree, leaning against the trunk. Her expression had transformed from earlier shyness to something more composed, almost resigned.

"Stop hiding, Frost," she said quietly.

My heart stuttered. "I'm not hiding anything."

Scarlett looked at me with devastating clarity, her eyes reflecting a wisdom beyond her years. "You're hiding from me. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."

Caught, I tried deflecting with a nervous gesture. "But I'm here with you. I'm spending time with you."

"I spent all day hoping you'd give me some sign, some response," she said, her voice achingly calm. "You saw how anxious I was, how hopeful I kept getting. But now I understand the truth." She paused, and the pain in her eyes made my chest constrict. "You're running from me. You're fighting against our chemistry, resisting what your wolf so obviously wants. You're still... you're still fucking rejecting me."

"That's not—" I started desperately.

"You want to blame it on the drug? On losing your scent?" She cut me off. "Your alpha already told me about that. But I know that's not the real reason you're avoiding me. Because when you get close to me, I can feel your scent returning. Yet you still maintain that distance, that carefully measured space between us." Her voice finally cracked slightly. "You avoid me because you simply don't want me."

The words hit like physical blows. Her calm, matter-of-fact delivery somehow made it worse—she'd moved past hope into acceptance of rejection.

Everything I'd feared was coming true. I was becoming exactly what I'd always despised—a man who hurt women, who failed to protect those who deserved better. My childhood memories of watching my mother and sister suffer at the hands of careless, cruel males crashed over me.

Without thinking, I closed the distance between us, finally eliminating that careful space I'd been maintaining. My wolf surged to the surface, responding to her proximity with overwhelming intensity. Her scent—fresh, intoxicating, uniquely hers—filled my senses.

I grabbed her hand, my voice rough with emotion. "Scarlett, please. I'm not avoiding you because of anything you've done wrong. This is about me, about my own issues. Please don't misunderstand."

She laughed, cold and brittle. "Whatever the reason, the result is the same. You're rejecting me, aren't you?" Her voice hardened with determination. "Fine. Let's end this properly. I, Scarlett Morrison, reject—"

Panic overwhelmed every rational thought. The idea of losing her permanently, of never having the chance to explain, of hurting this beautiful, genuine person who'd shown me nothing but kindness—it was unbearable.

I kissed her, cutting off the words that would sever our bond forever.

The moment our lips met, something fundamental shifted inside me. My carefully maintained control, the rigid logic I'd used to wall off my emotions, all of it crumbled. For the first time, my wolf took complete control, and I let it happen.

I stopped thinking about my past, about my fears, about the reasons I didn't deserve this. I just felt—the impossible softness of her lips parting under mine, the small, desperate gasp she gave as my tongue met hers. It wasn't a gentle exploration; it was a claiming. I tasted the lingering sweetness of wine on her tongue, mixed with the raw, intoxicating flavor that was purely Scarlett.

She responded with a ferocity that matched my own, her earlier anger melting into a desperate, all-consuming need. Her hands were no longer hesitant; they tangled in my hair, pulling me closer, her nails scraping lightly against my scalp in a way that sent fire straight to my groin. I groaned into her mouth, one hand sliding down her back to cup her ass, lifting her tight against me so she could feel the hard ridge of my erection pressing against her stomach. A broken whimper escaped her, and the sound was pure fuel.

The world narrowed to just us—the taste of her, the sound of her breathing, the way moonlight filtered through crimson flowers to paint her skin in shades of rose and silver. We sank down among the fallen petals, the soft grass beneath us, and I let myself forget everything except this moment, this connection that the Moon Goddess herself had blessed.

For once, I allowed myself to accept what was being offered—to embrace the mate bond without reservation, to experience the joy that I'd denied myself for so long.

"Mark me," Scarlett whispered against my neck, her voice breathless. "Frost, please. Mark me. I can help restore your scent completely, make you stronger. Let me be yours."

My teeth hovered over her shoulder, the primal instinct to claim my mate overwhelming everything else. This was it—the moment that would bind us permanently, that would make her mine in every way that mattered.

But as I prepared to complete the bond, another face suddenly flashed through my mind.

Elowen.

Her strength. Her courage. The way she'd looked at me with trust when she made me her beta. The feeling I'd been denying, the impossible, forbidden emotion I'd locked away in the deepest part of my heart.

*Fuck. No. This can't be happening.*

Pain lanced through my chest as the truth I'd been running from finally cornered me. The reason I'd been so desperate to avoid Scarlett, the real source of my resistance—it wasn't about my past or my fears of becoming like those cruel alphas.

It was because somewhere along the way, without meaning to, without wanting to, I'd fallen for someone I could never have.

My alpha's mate. My queen. The one person in the world who was absolutely, permanently off-limits.

*I can't do this to Scarlett. She deserves someone whose heart is fully hers, not someone who's in love with another woman.*

My teeth remained poised at her shoulder, cold and still against her heated skin. I couldn't move forward, couldn't bring myself to complete the mark when my heart was torn in such an impossible direction.

The hesitation stretched on too long. I felt Scarlett gradually become aware of my stillness, felt her body tense as she emerged from the haze of passion.

"Frost?" Her voice was small, uncertain. "What's wrong?"

I tried to force myself to act, to push through and give her what she deserved, but my body wouldn't obey.

Scarlett's hands moved to my chest, pushing slightly. When I didn't respond, she pushed harder. Understanding dawned in her eyes—not just that I was hesitating, but why.

The slap came without warning, sharp and stinging across my face.

"You bastard," she choked out, scrambling away from me. Her eyes were bright with tears that refused to fall. "You were thinking about someone else. Even now, even during this—"

"Scarlett, wait—"

"Don't." She gathered her disheveled clothes, her movements jerky with hurt and humiliation. "I've been such a fool. All this time, I thought your reluctance was about the drug, about your past, about anything except the obvious truth." A broken laugh escaped her. "You don't want me because you want someone else."

"That's not—" But the words died in my throat because it was true, and we both knew it.

Scarlett looked at me with such profound disappointment that it felt like being flayed alive. "Stay away from me, Frost. I can't... I can't do this anymore."

Then she was running, disappearing into the shadows between the buildings, leaving me alone beneath the crimson flowers.