~Nikki~
To say I was scared shitless is an understatement. I was so busy talking to myself that I didn’t realize Paul had walked up on me in the clinic. Suddenly my mouth goes dry as I stare at him. His jeans are tight enough that I can make out his muscles, and his v-neck is stretched across his body with his arms crossed. I move my tongue along my lips, watching his eyes watch that action. This can’t be real…..he can’t really be into me. I’ve let my mind create magnificent delusions. “I….I’m sure there are many other things you could be doing.” Paul drops his arms and saunters up to me, a smirk on his face. He stands behind me, and I feel his breath on my neck.
“I’m a retired Alpha, so I have a lot of free time. That being said, who would pass up the chance to spend time with a beautiful woman? To add to that, you’re a doctor, so I get free medical instruction. It’s a win/win for me.” I swallow but immediately wish I hadn’t. That just made my mouth even drier. Paul brushes against me as he reaches toward the table, running his fingers along my materials. “Why do you have raw chicken here?”
“We…..well, it is a tool….a trick….a ttttt-teaching aid. I use the chicken to help me with sutures.” I’d swear Paul just sniffed my neck if I didn't know better. I must be really losing my mind.
“Do I make you nervous, Nikki?” Oh hell, how am I supposed to answer that question?
“Nnnnn…no. Why would you think you make me nervous?” Paul leans closer, his lips barely brushing against my neck. I feel goosebumps, and my body shivers.
“Your heartbeat has picked up since I’ve been in the room. You are stuttering, and you are making sure you don’t look at me. I’d say you are nervous because of me.” I will not give him the satisfaction. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I turn around; Paul and I face each other. We maybe have an inch or two between our bodies, but Paul’s heat consumes me. I stand tall and lift my chin to look him in the eye.
“I’m looking at you now.” The corners of Paul’s mouth turn up, and his smile grows to show his perfect teeth. I’d classify this as a panty-dropping smile, and I wish I could drop my panties for him.
Me too. I’d drop my panties in a minute. He could have me on every surface in this room.
Shut up, Aluma! I put a block up, and my vision clears, showing me a laughing Paul.
“I’m not going to ask what your wolf said to you. I’d imagine it’s something you don’t want to be repeated.” I sigh and roll my eyes.
“Have you always been so sure of yourself? You seem a little…..”
“A little…..what? A little cocky?” I shrug, keeping my gaze locked on his. “Hmmm…..maybe not cocky. Maybe I just know how to tell when someone is into me.”
“I’m sure all you Alphas swear that everyone is always into you.” Paul throws his head back and laughs.
“You may be right. Many women become attracted to us because of the title. In this case, though, I’m going to guess the attraction is due to me being my amazing self.” I push Paul back and turn around to finish my sutures.
“You are assuming there’s an attraction at all.”
~Paul~
Oh, I do like her…..a lot! She’s feisty, and I love it. I quietly watch Nikki complete her suture practice then the clinic opens. I spend the morning watching Nikki write reports, see patients, and basically run the clinic. As an Alpha, I’ve never taken the time to see about the clinic. I knew it was there and running, and that’s it. This is a different side I’m experiencing, and I’m glad for the chance.
Nikki kept shooing me out of the way for the first couple of hours. She swore I was invading her space, but I kept catching her smile or blush. Once she got used to my presence, she went about her normal duties with little commentary. I became the perfect shadow, only asking questions when absolutely needed. I didn’t want to bombard her with a bunch of chit-chat.
Nikki is so smart, and she’s so compassionate. I can see why so many pack members love coming to see her, children included. She has always been the favored pack doctor. Nikki truly cares for her patients, which shows in everything she does.
Hey, dad, where are you?
I’m in the clinic, Landon. What do you need?
Can we talk?
I’ll be right there. I swear kids have the worse timing, even when they are grown. I’m sitting across from Nikki in her office while she’s completing paperwork.
“What are your plans for dinner?” Nikki looks up, startled. It was pretty quiet in here for a while, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she forgot I was in here.
“Uh, I hadn’t thought about it.” I lean forward, elbows on her desk.
“Great. Have dinner with me. I will cook for you, and you can see my new home.” I watch Nikki’s eyes get big, and she starts to chew on her bottom lip. “Well?”
“Sssshhhh…..sure.” I rise out of the chair.
“Great. Be there around 7.” I turn to the door and place my hand on the doorknob.
“You’re leaving?” I turn and catch the blush on her face before she looks away. I lean against the door, my arms across my chest, eyebrow raised.
“You sound as if you’ll miss me.” Nikki clears her throat and looks at me.
“Why would I miss you? It isn’t like you are always here.” I shrug my shoulders.
“I could be….”
“Could be, what?” I smirk.
“I could always be here. I could always be where you are, day or night. We can always tell the pack members that it’s a new way to practice medicine.” Nikki rolls her eyes, and I suppress my laugh. “Seriously though, Landon needs to see me. I will see you at dinner. Don’t be late.” I open the door and walk out, whistling on the way.
I hate to pull myself away from Nikki; I swear I feel an actual pull to her, which is crazy. The only way I’d feel a pull to someone is if they were my fated mate, and Nikki isn’t that. I ignored my feelings and the pull to leave her. My son is waiting for me, and I can’t keep him waiting. I head into the packhouse, greeting pack members as I go. I always wanted to have a pack that respected me, and I was able to accomplish that. I love the fact that my pack members have always found it easy to talk to or come to me when they need to. I will never forgive myself for allowing the treatment that Tia went through, though. She always says it isn’t my fault, but I feel if I had been more diligent, I would have seen what was going on. I had a feeling things were off, but I allowed Stuart to push me off the path of realization, and there's no excuse for that. The office door is open, so I walk right in; Landon is sitting at his desk. He looks up from his paperwork, and a smile breaks on hi
~Nikki~I swear I couldn’t concentrate for the rest of the day. I kept thinking back to Paul being at the clinic with me, and then my mind went to dinner tonight. Why did I agree to have dinner with him? It’s probably one of the dumbest choices I’ve ever made. I sigh and get out of the shower. I wipe a part of the mirror clear so I can see myself. I look haggard, feeling like an old woman. I have no idea what I’m doing right now. Am I trying to….to date?! I must be going crazy if I think I’m going to date with three grown daughters. Not just date, but date the former Alpha! I’m officially off my rocker, for sure. Oh, stop, Nikki. You still look as good as the day we finished puberty. As good as we did before the pups. You need to go and show Paul the woman you are and let him show you that he’s a man. Wear something slutty. I roll my eyes but say nothing. Aluma and I have been back and forth about this since I stupidly accepted his dinner invite. She sees nothing wrong with this, ye
~Paul~I stand in the dining room and turn slowly, trying to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I have two candles on the table, lit. I have wine ready to pour, and the meal is complete. I made my specialty: Mississippi pot roast, roasted asparagus, potatoes au gratin, and white rice. I didn’t bother with dessert because I hope this evening turns out well. If not, well, I’m sure I can find some ice cream somewhere. I can feel the butterflies in my stomach, which only increases when the doorbell rings. She’s here, and I’m not sure that I’m ready. I take a deep breath and walk to the door. I place my hand on the handle, take one last deep breath, and open the door. I swear my jaw hit the floor. My heart is pounding in my chest, and I really can’t breathe. If I had thought Nikki was beautiful before, nothing could prepare me for what I’m looking at now. She is absolutely stunning. She’s wearing a black halter dress. It fits her body like a glove and stops mid-thigh. The window from the h
~Nikki~Paul stands up swiftly, which untangles our bodies. I’m breathing heavily, and my mind is cloudy. I have no idea how we arrived here, but I want to see it through, no matter how nervous I am. I want Paul back on me, but I’m still confused about everything. The food was terrific, and I wouldn’t mind finishing the meal, but this…..this is quickly becoming even better. The time to think is not there for me because Paul quickly grabs my arm and pulls me up. He pushes my body flush with his, his hands finding their way to my ass. He backs me up until my waist hits the edge of the table. Paul’s hands find their way to my thighs, and he lifts me, causing me to wrap my legs around his waist. Paul sits me on the table, spreading my legs. Paul settles between my legs and attacks my neck with his mouth. I run my hands up and down his torso, enjoying the feel of his muscles clenching beneath my touch. Paul uses his tongue up and down my neck. He nibbles on my marking spot, causing my bo
The morning light hits me, and I try to cover my face. I turn in bed, feeling the soreness of my body. My eyes pop open when I remember what I did last night. I’m sore because my body was worshipped all night long. After the dining table, we stopped in the living room, on the stairs, and had a few rounds in the bed before collapsing. Even when I was younger, I’d never gone so hard with someone. Stuart and I did what we did, but it was always when he was in the mood. He wasn’t horrible, but he wasn’t the most sensitive when it came to making me feel good. Paul was so attentive that I started to feel bad. I felt I didn’t give him nearly as much as he gave me. I move sharply to the side at the thought of Paul. The bed is empty, and I’m slowly starting to panic. I hear no sounds from the bathroom or scents indicating food being made. Maybe this was just a one-night thing. Maybe Paul isn’t here to try to make it easier to walk away. My phone pings and I look over at the nightstand. I ha
~Tia~I’m super excited! My mom and Paul…..together. I knew there was something between them. After the entire ordeal, they started to lean on each other. I guess it made sense after finding out your chosen mates were betraying you and with each other. Mom needed someone to talk to, and that couldn’t be me. Paul seemed not to hesitate to be there for Mom, and I loved him for that. I thought I was reading into things when Paul left to travel, and Mom returned to her everyday life. I thought I had imagined their interest in each other and was prepared to let it go. It was when they came back from the wedding and were at breakfast together that I saw what was really there. Paul couldn’t keep his eyes off Mom, and she kept blushing like a schoolgirl. I was so tempted to call Mom all night to see how things went, but if they got super close, that would just interrupt. I don’t want to block anyone from anything. I hope Paul liked the dress I picked out. I didn’t see either of them at brea
~Stuart~The door opens, and Kimberly walks in slowly. She sweeps the room with her gaze, and she stops when it lands on me. We lock eyes and stare at each other. I have so many things I want to say and so many questions I want to ask, but my mouth is glued shut. Kimberly doesn’t make a sound. She eventually closes the door and walks to the bedroom. I get off the couch and go to the kitchen to get some coffee. I’ve been spending the last few days rethinking the choices I’ve made in the past. I remember when I found out that Kimberly was my mate. I was dating Nikki at that time. We met at school, and I liked how innocent she was. Our high school had different packs in attendance, along with humans. We had to make sure we kept our behaviors in check so the humans didn’t realize what we were or that we were anything other than human.Kimberly didn’t finish school with us. She went away to a boarding school and didn’t come home until she was 19/20ish. By then, I was dating Nikki heavily;
~Third Person (Texts)~P: How was your day, gorgeous?N: Ah, it was…..interesting….how about you?P: Interesting? What do you mean?N: Well, your sons came to see me……P: Shit! How’d that go?N: ……..N: It went pretty good….lol…P: Damn….I was over here stressing out…..lolN: They did bring up an interesting point, though.P: Lay it on me.N: What happens if you find your second chance mate?P: I don’t pretend to know what the future holds for me. I can do one of two things. I can hold off on love, waiting to see if a second chance mate comes along, or I can live in the present and love those close to me. I guess the question is……do you want to live in the present with me?N: I’d love to. We can tackle anything else together when or if the time comes.P: Exactly…..gotta run……↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝P: I know it’s the middle of the night, but I just had to send you this picture. This is what thinking about you does to me. I can’t wait to see you again……↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝↝