An Affair with the Alpha

An Affair with the Alpha

last updateTerakhir Diperbarui : 2023-09-29
Oleh:  Hazel LowellTamat
Bahasa: English
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Rhiannon is an Omega with a Luna's wolf. She's always wondered why she was different from the other Omegas. She's bigger, stronger - and she can never seem to keep her mouth shut the way the other Omegas can. She loves her sweet, funny boyfriend, Stephen, who she's been with for five years. They've always believed they'll be mates when they turn eighteen. But on the night of her 18th birthday, she realises he isn't. Her mate is the pack's powerful Alpha, duty-bound, war-scarred Caleb... who's already promised to another mate. Luna Amelia is perfect in every way - or so she seems. She's strong, dutiful, and she always knows the right thing to say. But she's hiding a secret, one that could threaten the safety of every werewolf in her pack. Rhiannon wants Caleb but, despite his desire for her, he decides to abandon their mating bond in the name of duty. What makes it worse is that her beloved boyfriend still believes they are mates. He felt the mate bond snap into place that night - but if it's not with her, then who? Lies and secrets threaten to ruin their lives. When Alpha Caleb can't stop himself from craving Rhiannon, will they be able to refuse the pull of the mate bond?

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Bab 1

001 | We're not mates - or are we?

Rhiannon’s POV

It was time.

Stephen and I had been waiting for this moment for years. Five years, to be exact. We were pack-school sweethearts, convinced that we were destined to be together. There wasn’t anyone else. There couldn’t be.

The seconds inched by on the clock. 

Dad leant forward in his seat, sat opposite us at the kitchen table, staring at it just as intently as we were. Beside him my twin sister, Hyacinth, leant back in her chair. She went too far, stumbled, and rocked forward hard enough to knock the jar of flowers on the table over. She leapt up and grabbed a tea towel, wiping up the spillage hastily before refilling the jar with water, flushing bright red all the while.

I rolled my eyes at her. “Are you turning eighteen or four this year, Cin?” I teased.

She stuck her tongue out at me as she re-took her seat, eyeing it warily and sitting very, very still this time. “At least I’m not turning into an ass,” she shot back, once she was sure she wasn’t about to wobble off her chair again.

Despite our shared genetics, Cin looked nothing like me. Well, okay, she was lucky enough to share my small, straight nose and full lips, but that was where our similarities ended. She was all pale and waif-like, with delicately arched blonde eyebrows and a splash of freckles across her nose, as if a painter had flicked their brush over it. My gaze hovered on the small scar slicing down the left side of her lips, my heart knotting over the old injury.

“It’s almost your birthdays,” said Dad, cutting in smoothly before we could start bickering. He repeated this little speech every year; usually, though, these words were spoken as he bid us goodnight the night before. We’d never stayed up to see in our birthdays before. “Eighteen,” he continued, on a heavy sigh. “Where has the time gone?”

Cin and I shared a grin; she rolled her pale blue eyes fondly. Stephen nudged me with his elbow and murmured, “One minute.”

My whole body tensed. Beneath the table, his hand found my thigh and squeezed. I relaxed into his touch, letting it soothe me as it always did.

Stephen was the love of my life. He was kind, sweet, considerate – and, even better, he was handsome as hell. His lean body was well-muscled, his brown skin gleamed in the lamplight, and his warm brown eyes met mine with adoration shining in them. We both wore jumpers his Ma had knitted for us – mine a new addition to our ever-growing collections, an early birthday present given to me before she and his dad had left for the snowy woods to hunt.

“Thirty seconds,” breathed Cin, eyeing Stephen and I with trepidation and some emotion I couldn’t read marring her rounded face. She tucked a lock of white-blonde hair behind her pierced ear, revealing a moonstone stud glinting in her lobe. 

Nervous, I brushed my fingertips over the matching moonstones in my own earlobes. Where Cin only had one set, though, I had hoops and studs lining the entire curve of both ears – as well as a silver nose ring. We’d done them ourselves, years ago, with a needle from Dad’s sewing kit and jewellery Stephen had nicked for us from his Nana’s boutique.

Well – he’d told us he’d nicked it, at the time. Later, we’d found out from his Nana that he’d bought the whole lot, paying for it by helping her out at her market stall. I’d called him an idiot, but in a nice way, the sort of way that suggested I thought he was sweet regardless of his stupidity.

I felt more than saw Stephen scrubbing a hand over his short, textured hair. I put my hand over his, my anticipation swelling to a crescendo. 

“Ten,” Cin whispered, “nine, eight…”

A sharp look from me shut her up.

Just as the clock struck midnight.

I expected to feel fireworks. I expected to feel love rushing through my veins, the kind spoken about by the pack elders in awe and fascination. I expected to feel something, anything – 

But I felt exactly the same as I always did.

No – wait. There was a tug in my chest. A tiny pull, which fizzled out as quickly as it had arisen. It was barely there, a translucent veil over my heart and nothing more. I didn’t have first-hand experience of how the mate bond felt, but I knew that wasn’t it.

Disappointment flooded my veins. Stephen, my boyfriend of five years, the man I loved, the man who’d waited two whole years for me to turn eighteen after he had, was not my mate.

My wolf, Tiger, cried out in my mind. She’d been quiet all evening, driven to silence by the anxiety of waiting for her mate to emerge, and at last she spoke. ‘It’s not him,’ she whispered brokenly, before disappearing back into the recesses of my mind once more.

‘Tiger? Tiger, talk to me. Are you sure it isn’t Stephen?’

She didn’t reply.

My face fell. I turned to look at him, tears brimming in my eyes that I swiped away angrily. A muscle flickered in my jaw. I schooled my expression, readying myself to offer him comfort. He’d need it even more than I did. 

I cupped his face – and felt the familiar way his cheeks rounded when he grinned. Frowning, I looked up at him.

“Rhi,” he breathed, his eyes wide, exalted, “we’re mates.”

Wait. What?

I blinked up at him, confused as hell. I looked over at Cin, needing to share a look with my twin, but she was staring at Stephen, her lips parted, her cheeks flushed. She’d be no help at all, then. Great.

“Stephen–” I started, but I was interrupted by my dad cheering. Cin was quick to join in, clapping her hands loudly and stomping her feet on the terracotta tiles as she whooped

He kissed me. His familiar lips felt wrong. I could taste the triumph spilling through him, his excitement apparent in the way his front teeth knocked against my own, in the way they hadn’t since we were over-enthusiastic teenagers making out for the first time. 

I could feel his heart thundering in his chest. He deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping over the seam of my lips in askance. He’d never normally kiss me like this in front of my dad. What the hell was going on?

Hesitantly, I let him slide his tongue over my own. I shivered, surprised by how wrong something I usually loved could feel. My hands curled into fists in my lap and, as he shifted closer to me, I pulled away. His eyes darkened with hurt, so I pressed a chaste kiss to his mouth – a promise that there would be more, later, in private. A smile hooked one corner of his lips up.

While we’d been kissing, Dad had dimmed the lights. I squinted at Cin through the darkness, waiting for my eyes to adjust. Before they could, candlelight scorched my retinas.

“Happy birthday to you,” he warbled, his voice pitchy, “happy birthday to you…”

Stephen joined in, slinging an arm around my waist and squeezing. “Happy birthday dear Rhiannon and Hyacinth,” they sung quickly, trying to shove in too many syllables, “happy birthday to you!” 

The candles were the same ones we’d had for the last two years, half burnt down but still usable, flaring brightly as he placed the cake between us on the worn wooden table.

“Dad!” we cried as one, staring in gobsmacked awe at the cake. Since our pack’s resources had started to run low, luxuries like cake were non-existent. Both amazed and glad of the distraction from my apparent mate, I reached for his hand.

“How the fuck did you get that?” I asked.

“Language,” he tutted, but his pride over the cake drowned out his disappointment in my crude mouth. “I did a favour for that mopey Warrior Wolf, you know the one?”

We nodded, and all three of us said, “Kieran,” in unison. 

“Yeah, him. Well, I laundered a suit for him – one guess as to what he needs it for, the poor chap – and when we were chatting I mentioned that it was my daughters’ birthdays coming up. The next day he pulled me aside at training, said he had something for me after, and then he gave me this as a thank you.”

“But where did he get those ingredients?” asked Stephen. “I’ve not even had a loaf of bread in months,” he shuddered, “let alone enough wheat and sugar to make something like that.”

I rolled my eyes at him, relieved by the normalcy of this conversation. “Luna Amelia. Isn’t it obvious?”

“Poor, lovelorn numpty,” sighed Cin. Then she clapped her hands abruptly. “Anyway, chop chop. I want cake.”

Dad ignored her, beaming down at Stephen and I proudly instead. “Congratulations, you two,” he said, leaning over and squeezing my shoulder. “Mates at last, as we all always knew you would be. Right, Hyacinth?”

“Right,” she murmured, too distracted by the birthday cake to listen properly. Of course. “Come on, Rhi, make a wish,” she hurried me. “I want a slice. Or two. Or three.”

I laughed, but there was a hollow feeling sitting heavy in my chest. Were we mates? Was this tiny tug how it felt? Was I broken, or had everyone been exaggerating my whole life?

I forced a smile. “Save some for me,” I joked weakly.

“Not a chance. Now, c’mon, hurry up.”

Stephen seemed convinced that we were mates, so I shrugged off my unease and tried to think of a wish before Cin blew out the candles without me and started gobbling our cake down. The same one that came to me, unbidden, as it had every year, for as long as I could remember, flitted through my mind. 

No, not that one, I thought, trying desperately to think of something else. But it remained, obstinate as a cat demanding to be fed, and when Cin raised her eyebrows at me, I gave in to it and nodded.

I wish I knew who our mum was.

The candles wafted into smoke, twirling into nothing. Disappointment lodged in my belly, burrowing down deep into my bones. As my family fell into easy conversation, our warm kitchen filling with laughter and joy, I felt like an outsider looking in on it. 

Stephen’s arm stayed wrapped around my waist. It didn’t feel soothing anymore. It felt like an iron chain, holding me in place against my will.

“Happy birthday, my beautiful mate,” he murmured, kissing my cheek.

I tried to speak, but the truth of what we were – or, more accurately, weren’t – to each other lodged my voice in my throat. Stephen was clearly confused, delirious, or just downright stupid. 

Because we weren’t mates. No matter how much I wanted to be his, I knew that this feeling, looped around my heart, wasn’t the mate bond.

* * *

When we finally stumbled into bed, over-full and bloated from the impressive amount of cake we’d shovelled down, unused to food so rich after an entire year on strict rations, I’d made a decision.

I loved Stephen. It didn’t matter what the Moon Goddess had planned for us. I’d loved him for five years, and I had no intention of stopping now. I knew him, his quirks, his humour, his kisses, and I wanted to keep every bit of him in my life.

Our embrace turned heated, his hands running possessively up my slim waist and palming my breasts. I arched up into him, kissing him hard. I thought that if I kissed him hard enough, I’d get rid of the feeling of wrongness that was making my heart pinch.

I tore off my clothes, laving kisses down his neck and along his broad shoulders. He groaned, grinding his hips against mine. He was quick to unbutton his trousers and slide into me, both of us moaning as he filled my slick heat.

“Mark me,” I breathed raggedly, my chest heaving, as he started to thrust. 

If he did, we’d have every gift given to true mates. We’d be able to read each other’s emotions, mindlink in our human forms, and always be able to find one another. 

And he’d never need to know that we weren’t really mates. He’d never come down from this high, never realise what we were missing.

“I don’t need to,” he said, pulling back slightly, a tiny frown line appearing between his eyebrows.

I bucked up against him. “I know,” I lied. What I actually knew was that we weren’t true mates, because I’d tried to mindlink him earlier and he hadn’t heard a thing. I’d decided I didn’t care, though, and I wasn’t one to go back on my decisions. “But I want you to. I want your mark on me, Stephen.”

Tiger hissed, 'No, Rhi. Our true mate could be out there somewhere.'

I ignored her, just as she'd ignored me earlier.

He groaned, low and guttural, and dug his teeth into my neck.

* * *

The next morning, I knew why I hadn’t felt the mate bond pulling me to Stephen.

It was pulling me to somebody else. 

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KLH
Beautifully written story, captivating from beginning to end. A definite roller coaster of emotions, but well worth it. Amazing job, author! :)
2024-02-25 10:20:47
1
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Theresa Holland
will this book be finished? just need to know if I need to move on. or has something happened are you still writing? please respond regardless of answer. thank you
2023-09-15 01:11:47
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S.W
i was hooked from the first page one of my favs on this platform interesting characters and well written story .. kindly finish the book asap
2023-08-05 23:39:58
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Winter Phoenix
can you please finish this book?
2023-06-26 03:01:04
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Delinda Schumacher
88 chapters 5-16-23
2023-05-16 23:54:25
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Charlotte Colman
I love this so much! Even though it's not the kind of story I usually go for I was hooked from chapter one, the world building is amazing, and I particularly love the wolves personalities and banter between the characters and their inner wolves (especially Brian) I can't wait for more!
2023-05-04 18:25:41
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Susan
I think this is your best one yet! Enjoying the take on fated and chosen mates and looking forward to the mystery of the eternal winter unravelling
2023-05-02 00:58:00
2
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T L Nichols
Love this storyline so far, can't wait for more.
2023-03-26 11:51:42
1
127 Bab
001 | We're not mates - or are we?
Rhiannon’s POVIt was time.Stephen and I had been waiting for this moment for years. Five years, to be exact. We were pack-school sweethearts, convinced that we were destined to be together. There wasn’t anyone else. There couldn’t be.The seconds inched by on the clock. Dad leant forward in his seat, sat opposite us at the kitchen table, staring at it just as intently as we were. Beside him my twin sister, Hyacinth, leant back in her chair. She went too far, stumbled, and rocked forward hard enough to knock the jar of flowers on the table over. She leapt up and grabbed a tea towel, wiping up the spillage hastily before refilling the jar with water, flushing bright red all the while.I rolled my eyes at her. “Are you turning eighteen or four this year, Cin?” I teased.She stuck her tongue out at me as she re-took her seat, eyeing it warily and sitting very, very still this time. “At least I’m not turning into an ass,” she shot back, once she was sure she wasn’t about to wobble off h
last updateTerakhir Diperbarui : 2023-01-14
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002 | It can't be you
Rhiannon’s POVTiger was still in a mood with me when we strode into the woods the next morning. I’d shifted into my huge white wolf form and was letting her guide us through the barren, snow-covered trees.We were stationed at the very back of the pack, amongst the few other Omegas that had been invited on this hunt. The Alpha had to be getting desperate to allow so many of us to come on a hunt led by him. I’d even been taken off breakfast duty so that I could come along. ‘I can’t believe you let him mark you,’ Tiger muttered, drawing my attention away from the thin, finger-like boughs of the deciduous trees. She was glaring at Stephen’s wolf, Brian, from behind, her upper lip curling back in a silent snarl. He trotted along happily, unaware and unbothered, his tail wagging, his paws padding merrily through the deep snow.There was literally nothing to glare at. Brian was even more adorable than Stephen. ‘Sorry, what was that? I thought I heard something,’ I retorted coldly. ‘Oh, w
last updateTerakhir Diperbarui : 2023-01-17
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003 | Wrong time, wrong place, wrong wolf
Rhiannon’s POVStill holding our gaze, Caleb narrowed his eyes.And then he sidled closer to his Luna.Balls.I’d never said or even thought the word balls before – at least not in that context – but suddenly it seemed to perfectly sum up exactly how I felt. It was a good thing that Alpha Caleb was showing me where he stood – because I had Stephen already, and I had no plans to jump ship to an arrogant arse who’d never once given me the time of day before because I was an Omega.If it’s such a good thing, an irritating voice in the back of my head whispered, why does your heart feel like it’s breaking?I huffed and moved closer to Stephen’s wolf. Brian nudged Tiger with his nose, but she didn’t turn to look at him. Her gaze remained locked on Alpha Caleb, taking in every inch of his muscular form. I sniffed the air discreetly, aching to smell that crisp, fresh, outdoorsy scent again.‘This is impossible,’ Tiger was saying. I had no idea how long she’d been talking or how much of it I
last updateTerakhir Diperbarui : 2023-01-17
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004 | A perfect, political choice
Caleb’s POVI really didn’t need this. Not right now, thank you very much. I glowered up at the sky, peering at it through the gaps in the branches, its blue never changing from its cold, wintry sweep. My lip peeled back from my teeth as I snarled up at the Moon Goddess.“Why now?”I’d meant for my voice to come out menacing, laced with an unspoken threat. Thank fuck nobody was around to hear the pathetic little squeak that actually came out.‘Hey, man, let me try,’ said my wolf, Knight. I’d wanted to stomp around with my own legs and feet for a while, even though I knew full well that doing so would scare away any and all prey in our vicinity, but maybe it was time to give my wolf control again.‘Go on, then.’ The shift tore through me, and Knight padded his huge paws in place, prancing anxiously on the spot. And then, all of a sudden, he spun around and raced back the way we’d come from.‘Hey!’‘You said you’d let me try.’ His voice sounded smug, which worried me. ‘Yeah – and I tho
last updateTerakhir Diperbarui : 2023-01-19
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005 | I know you better than anyone
Stephen’s POVLosing Michael was like a knife to the gut. My lip wobbled as I crouched down beside his wolven body, my hand reaching for his soft brown fur. “Here,” Rhiannon rasped, passing me a raggedy bunch of drooping snowdrops. They looked almost as dead as he did. Goddess, what was wrong with me? How could I even be thinking such dark jokes right now? Tears blazed in my eyes, but I was quick to blink them away.I was struggling to manage the dual fire of my emotions and Rhi’s. Hers were turbulent, more potent than any of my own had ever been. As I took the depressing bunch of flowers from her, I brushed my fingertips over her knuckles and held them there for a moment. My heart pulsed with wanton need – not for sex, but for comfort. I wanted to hold her, to be held, and to forget about all of this for a while.Finding out we were mates had been one bright star amongst a heap of shit. In some ways, I counted myself pretty dang lucky – none of my family had died in the brutal war b
last updateTerakhir Diperbarui : 2023-01-21
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006 | Who is she?
Rhiannon’s POVI straightened my leather jacket, touched the ring in my nose, and ran my hands down over the loose waves of my silver hair. As I stared at myself in the mirror I worried my bottom lip, watching as it started to swell. With a sigh I reached forward and plucked my liquid eyeliner off my desk. I unscrewed the cap and swiped more across my eyelids, making the existing wings darker and thicker. I felt like I was smearing my cheeks in war paint – but I looked just as unprepared as I had when I’d stumbled in here, my heart pounding a million miles a minute and tears prickling the back of my nose.The door groaned open and Cin shuffled inside, frowning at me the second she saw my expression. “You okay, Rhi?” she asked.My emotions were too fragile for me to speak, so I just nodded. Dropping the eyeliner back onto the pile of mess covering my desk, I sloped over to my bed and flopped backwards onto it. My room was small – we were only Omegas, after all, so our cabin wasn’t big
last updateTerakhir Diperbarui : 2023-01-26
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007 | Royally screwed
Rhiannon’s POV I reared back, hurriedly wiping tears from my cheeks. I hadn’t realised I’d been crying until the cold air outside had chilled them upon my burning skin. “You,” I spat. His face crumpled, but he slid his cool mask back into place so quickly I wasn’t sure if I’d ever seen the flash of hurt there. His throat bobbed. He opened and closed his mouth. Then: “Can we just… not do this?” His green eyes, bright as summer sunshine cast through leaves, even in the dark, grazed over my swollen lips and puffy eyelids. “You don’t have to hide with me.” “Yes,” I snarled, taking another step back, “I do.” “Look.” His shoulders sagged, and he ran a hand through his tousled dark hair. Most of it was stuck to the side, but a single strand fell in a jagged wave down over his forehead. He blew a puff of air at it; I lost myself in his lips, pursed almost as if in a kiss. His shoulders were broad, too muscular to belong to anyone but an Alpha. I was tall, especially for a she-wolf, bu
last updateTerakhir Diperbarui : 2023-01-28
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008 | Heart to heart
Caleb’s POVAmelia was reading in bed, a frown marring her perfect face. The lamplight warmed her dark brown skin, glinting off the shimmering gold she wore across her high cheekbones and the metal beads dotting her cornrows.She was beautiful. I wouldn’t be able to find a single flaw on her perfect face even if someone was holding a gun to my head. I’d grown to care for her, to rely on her, to love her over these past three years. She was the right choice. The only choice. I couldn’t be stupid enough to risk what we had for a feeling.But I had the horrible feeling I was going to do just that. Even as I sat on the bed beside her, her warmth spreading into me as she leant against my side, I couldn’t dredge up a single bit of emotion towards her. I was thinking about Rhiannon.I chewed on my bottom lip. Everything in me wanted to go to her. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to focus on Amelia. She turned a page, huffed, then grinned. My gaze darted to the cover.Alpha Enzo, the tit
last updateTerakhir Diperbarui : 2023-01-29
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009 | For so long I've loved you
Hyacinth’s POVI tugged on the moonstone stud in my ear and chewed on my bottom lip. I’d heard bits and pieces of Rhiannon and Stephen’s conversation, and my heart ached for them both.If I were being honest, though? It hurt more for my twin sister’s boyfriend than it did for her. Rhi had a short fuse and a smart mouth. Stephen was kind, and thoughtful, and sweet. And I had loved him for as long as I’d known him.Sighing, I dropped my hands to my sides and started drifting listlessly around my room. It was the same size and shape as Rhi’s, but where her room was cosy and cottage-y, mine was bright and pink and downright girly. A fire crackled in the hearth, under a mantelpiece draped in burned-down candles and empty vases that had once housed flowers. Flopping down on my bed, atop the huge bound of fluffy blankets in a myriad of shades of pink and purple, I pulled out my old diary and stared at the first page.Under the date, which was marked ten years ago, my handwriting stared bac
last updateTerakhir Diperbarui : 2023-01-30
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010 | Library books and longing looks
Stephen’s POVI still wasn’t sure why I’d gone to Hyacinth’s bedroom. Something had called me in there, some urge knotting my heart and tugging me towards her. I’d written it off as loneliness, a need to discuss our shared pain, but there was a lurking feeling in the back of my head that told me otherwise.Guilt gnawed away at me for the way I’d reacted when I’d first seen her, wearing those tiny pyjamas and that see-through robe over them. My throat had bobbed, and a hundred indecent thoughts had burned through my brain as I’d gaped at her. I’d never looked at Cin like that before. She was Rhi’s sister, which meant she was like a sister to me, too. But tonight… holy moly guacamole, she looked beautiful. Even the way her hair had brushed the tips of her shoulders had me in a chokehold. She smelled of strawberries and vanilla ice cream and she looked even sweeter. Her blonde eyebrows arched over wide, pale blue eyes, which had held my gaze with an intensity I rarely saw in her. With h
last updateTerakhir Diperbarui : 2023-02-01
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