Alpha Tristan

I'd never truly noticed Tristan before. Not in the way I did as I cooked us dinner. Before, I'd avoid looking at him at all costs since I knew that it only lead to me wanting him more. But, I'd began to pick up on things I never would have if we hadn't kissed.

I noticed that his rosy lips felt softer than they looked and that he used his tongue to enunciate words clearly and properly. I couldn't pinpoint an exact accent, but the way he spoke exuded intelligence and made him more s.e.xy to me. That was all he seemed to use on his face.

He had to be the most inexpressive person I'd ever known. His eyebrows were straight and dark, almost never moving unless he was angry—which I had experienced firsthand, and gave him a brooding look that made me understand exactly why people described him as unapproachable.

Hell, half the time I didn't even want to approach him. The only thing that made me daring enough to be close to him, and even touch him was the fact that I'd never faced his rejection before. My c.h.e.s.t tightened as I thought about how he'd experienced my rejection many times in such a short period of knowing him.

We were moving at a snail's pace yet I didn't even know what direction we were headed towards. To my knowledge, most mates completed the mating process within the first week of knowing each other, marking and consummation and all. The thought sent a chord of discomfort through me. I knew I wasn't at the stage of wanting to be with him in that way.

At this point in time, I wanted to see what he was about and still believed that there wasn't anything too romantic between us—at least on my side. I knew what I was supposed to feel, but I was good at blocking things.

I sensed his presence in the kitchen when I began to slice the bell peppers, feeling the warmth that his body emitted. The mate pull ensured that he was irresistible to me and I forced myself to put the knife down when I couldn't concentrate. He was simply leaning against the counter, watching me grip the cutting board tightly.

At that rate, I wasn't going to be able to make dinner at all.

"I can't concentrate with you in the room." I muttered under my breath, closing my eyes and unwillingly honing in on the slow pounding of his heart. A stark difference to my racing heart.

Tristan didn't say anything and instead stayed exactly where he was, folding his arms across his c.h.e.s.t. Gingerly, I picked up the knife again and finished cutting the ingredients. I hummed a tune in my head to distract myself from his domineering presence.

Everything about the damn man screamed dominance. He didn't have to demand attention—it was given to him with no hesitation.

When I placed the cover over the pan, I swiftly turned around, burning for his touch. Something switched in me when my gaze levelled on his. It was like I couldn't control myself around him. "Kiss me, Tristan."

He didn't hesitate and pushed himself off the counter to pull me into his arms. His lips slanted over mine perfectly and he applied just the right amount of pressure to drive me crazy. I eased my d.e.s.i.r.e and buried my fingers through his soft hair, hooking my arms around his neck and stepping up onto my tips toes.

His arms wrapped around my waist and he lifted me slightly just so my feet hovered above the ground as I tilted my head to deepen the kiss. It was like the fire burned between us, wrapping around both our bodies until there was no space left.

My body curved into his and I felt dizzy as his tongue expertly delved into my mouth. He kissed me fiercely until we both couldn't breathe, desperately pulling back for air. I gasped as he tightened his hold on my body, knocking his forehead onto mine.

Both feet touched the floor as his body pressed tightly against mine. When I opened my eyes, the weight of my request dawned on me. I had landed straight back in his arms, and if the way his muscles tensed around my body, he didn't want to let me go that easily.

My hands slid down from his hair, passed his neck and against his c.h.e.s.t before I put some space between us, but not enough to step out of his embrace. I couldn't meet his eyes, instead staring at the way his shirt stretched across his broad shoulders.

I sighed in defeat, knowing that he didn't even have to talk to pull me back in.

Closing my eyes, I tried to cool the burning d.e.s.i.r.e I felt for him by turning back to the food. He slowly let me go, not saying anything as I lifted the wooden spoon to mix the ingredients for the fajitas. He was closer than before so I had to stop myself from touching my lips and fuelling his ego.

His kisses drove me insane.

"You can't resist me, Kara." He lowered his mouth to whisper in my ear and I stood extremely still. I was sure that I stopped breathing when his hands settled on my waist. I could feel the heat from his hand through my sweater.

The first thing that came into my mind was that every time he did touch me, it became harder to fight what I was feeling. My guard was up, but the mate pull ensured he would use every weapon in his arsenal to break it down, ensuring mutually assured destruction. He was on his way to destroying everything I first thought about him.

He pulled me flush against him and I dropped the spoon back in the pan, barely registering any movement from him as he switched the stove off. His hand fit against my curves perfectly and the mere sound of him breathing softly in my ear was enough to make me relax in his arms.

What was happening to me?

"That's it, αγάπη μου." My head fell back against his shoulder as he pursued his lips against the skin of my neck. "It feels exhilarating, doesn't it? You'll never have to wonder what my touch feels like if you give me a chance."

I sighed as he kissed the part of my neck where he was expected to mark me. His lips hovered over my pulse and I felt weak in his arms, like I was floating.

"Say you'll give me a chance, Kara. Say you'll let me be your mate." His arms wrapped around me from behind and I was intoxicated by his touch. I remembered exactly why I didn't want his hands on me—because all sense went out of the window when he did.

The words were lodged at the back of my throat and I seemingly couldn't say it. Unwillingly, I thought of what it would be like to love Tristan and a part of me couldn't accept it. Giving him a chance was one thing, but baring my soul and giving him my heart was another.

I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Tristan—stop." I whispered solemnly, scared that I'd hurt his feelings again. I refrained from saying what was on my mind because I didn't know if I could handle him ignoring me again. I was just coming to terms with the fact that he was my mate, and it was all too intense for me.

"We need to slow down." I said as I slowly pulled myself from his embrace. I felt colder than I did before, and when I turned around, I guessed he felt the same. His face showed no emotion, but I could tell he too had been affected by our moment because his jeans looked tighter. I quickly lifted my gaze and blew out a breath. "I'll give you a chance...but not as mates. Let me get to know you as a person and an alpha only."

His gaze was intense and he narrowed his eyes slightly. "How long will you punish me for, Kara? How long will you continue to believe I'm exactly like the stories say?" his voice was sharp and I sighed when I realised I had offended him. "One minute you say you hate me, and the next you're asking me to kiss you. I'm not an alpha to you—I'm your mate, so you either have all of me or nothing at all."

I stared up at him and couldn't deny that I felt an ache in my c.h.e.s.t at the thought of never seeing him again. F.u.c.k, the mate pull was too strong.

"Decide now, Kara. Am I your mate or not? Ramiel won't let you be in his pack, and I won't let you be a part of mine unless you're the Luna."

The silence stretched between us and Tristan waited rather impatiently as he stared at me with a serious look in his eye. He was on the defensive, shoulders squared and arms folded across his c.h.e.s.t. I weighed up my options. Accept our mating or live a life in exile. I had to think about never seeing him again, and living with the fact that I had rejected my mate.

I didn't know whether I could be that cruel.

I must have taken too long to answer because Tristan took my silence as one and nodded his head. "Fine. If you really hate me that much, you can go."

He didn't wait around for me to reply as he turned around and headed towards the door. I couldn't bring myself to say anything and watched him leave. Brielle's words from earlier instantly seeped into my mind. He's the most misunderstood of all the alphas.

I listened to my body and easily located him in his bedroom. He was facing the window and seemed truly upset. It was then I realised that he hadn't been the cruel person I expected him to be. I was the cruel one—I may not have flat out rejected him, but I used my words to hit him where it would hurt the most.

He had a heart and I was so hell-bent in trying to break it that I overlooked his kindness the entire time. He made sure there were wolves staying guard outside and protecting me around the clock, even if he wasn't in the house. And he had never once pushed me away.

Guilt washed over me and I stepped into the room. He didn't move a muscle, and I guessed that I had to be doing the chasing. It was silent between us as I tentatively wrapped my arms around him from behind, resting my head on his back.

"I don't hate you, Tristan." My hands settled on his muscled abdomen and I welcomed his heat. For the first time, I truly felt the effects of the mate pull—it was the first outwardly willing display of affection I'd shown him. "I just don't understand you, and that's on me. I've hurt you so much already that you're the one that should hate me."

He relaxed in my arms and I pulled on his hand to turn him around. There was a light frown on his face and I peered up at him apologetically.

"I don't hate you, Kara." He sighed tiredly and he didn't seem at all like the Tristan from the stories. "I'm just disappointed. You were supposed to be the one person who didn't care what people say about me. I understand that you can't be that person no matter how much I want you to."

I stared at him quietly, seeing a whole new vulnerability to him. He couldn't be as heartless as the rumours said. Someone so heartless couldn't look so heartbroken.

Stepping up onto my tip toes, I cupped his face in my hand and forced him to look at me again. In that moment, I acted on what I felt. I wasn't scared of him, nor was I going to break his heart in the worst way. "I can be that person."

He blinked and the silence loomed above us. His blue eyes were dark with guardedness and he closed them, knocking his forehead gently onto mine. "Don't make promises you can't keep. I know you feel like you're here against your will."

"I feel like I'm here against my will because you never let me outside of this house." He opened his eyes and listened carefully as I continued. "I want to be around people, Tristan. I want to know where you go during the day, and for God's sake, I want to shift. I haven't shifted in so long."

"You know why I can't let you meet my pack, Kara." He took my hands from his face and brushed passed me. "If they get attached to you and you leave..."

I watched him pace around the room and it was a stark difference from the calculative Tristan I knew. He was expressing his fears to me without even knowing if I'd stay.

"They'll be hurt and weak. And that kind of weakness gives you a one way ticket to Death's door. Weaknesses are always exploited, Kara, and I'd be damned before I let all those people be exploited—my people."

I stopped him in his pacing with a hand around his arm. "Does it look like I'm going anywhere, Tristan?" I asked angrily. "You gave me the green light to leave and what did I do? I came up here—to you."

A crack deepened in his stiff exterior and he frowned. "What am I to you, Kara?"

The icy blueness of his eyes strongly resembled a lake of frozen emotion and he waited as I squared my shoulders, spurred by the expression on his face. "My mate, Tristan. You're my mate."

His lips came down swiftly on mine and he grabbed my face to plant a hard kiss to my mouth. It was a short kiss, but I felt the emotion all the same. He pulled back abruptly and his nose brushed against my cheek as he breathed lowly. I opened my eyes, studying his face closely. His skin was flawless; it looked and felt smooth.

We lingered face to face and I dragged my gaze over his closed eyes, his dark eyelashes and strong eyebrows. It was an oddly sentimental moment between us, completely silent and unmoving. I was sure that he could feel my eyes on his face, but he stayed as still as stone. It was beginning to get weird for me.

But before I could say anything, Tristan pulled back and slowly trailed his hand down my arm to link his fingers through mine. This was the second time he had held my hand, and it felt just as exhilarating as the first time. He lead me back downstairs to the kitchen and I watched him as he assembled the fajitas and reached into the fridge for two beers.

"Um, no thank you. I don't drink alcohol."

He stared at me for a moment but nodded his head and put them both back before taking out bottled water. I reached for my plate, taking a seat on one of the stools. Like I thought he would, he sat in front of me as we both ate our dinner.

His eyes were particularly blue in that moment and I cleared my throat to cut into the silence.

"What's your full name?" I asked curiously, seeing him crack a small smile. My heart almost stopped. He was magnificently beautiful; he looked like a King even as he was eating.

"Tristan Vasilakis." He bit into his fajita and slowly chewed before asking, "What's yours?"

I cracked open the water bottle and took a long draw. "Kara Collins. Don't you think it's weird that we didn't even know each other's last names?"

Tristan didn't seem all that bothered. "You would've known it eventually—it would've been your name too."

I stilled and glared at him. He chuckled lowly and the sound was music to my ears. I could feel my glare soften until I was just admiring the way his perfect lips parted in a wide grin and the way his c.h.e.s.t rumbled with his laugh. He was still smiling when he looked at me and I suddenly felt the urge to kiss him again.

He teasingly leaned forward on the table as if sensing what I wanted, but stayed at a distance so I had to lean in too. I squinted when I tried to figure him out.

"Are we on a date right now?"

Tristan's smile widened a fraction. "I've never been on a date before, but I'm sure if we were on one, there'd be a lot more kissing going on."

I was slightly confused but somewhat relieved. He was a grown man and had never been on a date. I knew that I would always want to save myself for my mate, and that included everything; first kiss, first time, first love. I just didn't expect him to do the same. At my old pack, there were a few people who didn't value mates as much as I did. I had even been asked out on dates but always declined.

"Haven't you ever been attracted to anyone?"

"Have you?" he rebutted and I stayed quiet. I did really walk into that one. He watched me inquisitively and was tense as he answered. "I do have needs and d.e.s.i.r.es, so I have. But, I've never acted on any of them and always turned down s.e.x.u.a.l advances."

My grip tightened around my water bottle at the thought of Tristan being propositioned by a woman. I couldn't really blame them, he was dangerously handsome, but it didn't stop the jealousy coursing through me. "Women from your pack?"

He took a moment to answer. "No. Boundaries are set in my pack. They respect me and themselves too much to throw themselves at me. Your turn to answer."

"It's the same answer you gave." The tension ebbed from him and I couldn't stop myself from saying what I said next. "But, none of them even come close to you."

Tristan seemed surprised by my honesty and when I realised what I said, I stopped moving. Heat flared in my cheeks and I swiftly dropped my gaze down to my empty plate. He waited until I looked at him again to smile softly.

"That's exactly what I think when I look at you. I mean it when I say you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

I didn't think my face could get any hotter. "That's only because we're mates."

"I thought it way before we touched. I'd told Ramiel to let you follow us because I was intrigued by you." He suddenly reached over the table and gripped my hand in his. It was like the first moment we touched all over again. "I've been an alpha since I was eighteen. I always thought I'd rule alone and when I saw you, it was the first time I didn't like the sound of that."

I felt him squeeze my hand and I listened closely to what he had to say. There was something about it that spread warmth all across my body. I'd never felt that way before ever.

"People call me the King of the Underworld. You're not just my mate, Kara. You could be the queen of this place."