The Alpha’s Forced Mate
Chapter 3

Blake

Five cars lined the circular driveway leading up to the porch. Engines thrummed underneath the general buzz of noise as my pack gathered on the lawn, many of them standing with their families and friends. Servants stood on either side of the porch as my mother fanned herself elegantly, sighing as she shrugged in her sleeveless beige pencil dress.

She looked like she was attending a meeting with lawyers rather than greeting the women who would be participating in the mate trial. Her sunny demeanor rivaled the annoyance evident in her tense jaw and her strained neck muscles.

She beamed at me. “Isn’t it a lovely day?”

“It’s hot and muggy.”

“Don’t be such a grump,” she warned through a fake smile. “These women would do anything for you.”

I sighed. “Yes, I organized the trials myself. Or did you forget, Mom?”

“That rotten attitude will end this event before you’ve even had a chance to find—Oof!”

My mother released a strained g***n while catching herself on my shoulder. She’d hardly budged, yet her struggle to stand was more obvious than anything else. Even the muggy heat couldn’t have distracted me.

It couldn’t have possibly amused me more either. I tried not to smile.

She rubbed her gut while straightening her posture. “Mother, that was uncalled for.”

My grandmother, no taller than a garden gnome at this point, planted her pudgy hands on her h**s and tipped her head back. Laughter rattled the porch. None of the servants responded to the quake, having gotten used to the explosive sound resonating through the house.

But my mother had an opinion about that. As she did about most things.

“You’ll scare them off, Mother,” she argued, while somehow maintaining a professional grin. She managed to shoot a critical look at my grandmother. “And I told you to change. You look like a bog witch.”

My grandmother snorted. “Someone has to add a family touch to this event. And it sure ain’t you two.”

The smile that slipped over my lips was the first I had worn all day. My grandmother looked all too pleased with herself—and I quietly thanked her for being the comic relief. This was too much for me to handle by myself, especially with my mother breathing down my neck about finding a mate.

The same icy blue eyes that ran on my mother’s side of the family observed me with quiet amusement. Leathery skin showed an abundance of chocolate freckles as her thick figure continued to shiver with chuckles like aftershocks. Her long maxi dress swept the ground, earthly greens dashed with sky blues and tied with a purple sash. Her long black hair displayed a streak of gray that was tucked into a braid over her left shoulder.

“Besides,” my grandmother added with a wink, “I’m the one who chose the girls.”

My mother huffed indignantly. “Some of them are from…poor families.”

I gestured behind us. “Do we really care about that?”

“Genes can be poor too, dear,” my mother stated poshly. “You don’t want weak children, do you?”

“I thought you only cared about whether or not I’m mated.”

Her face turned beet red. But she didn’t have time to argue with me. The first woman was already approaching the porch and Mom had to act the proper diplomat—which meant the fan was fanning much faster now. Some of the hot air beat my cheek.

Mom flipped the script in a heartbeat. “Jade Wise, a pleasure,” my mother greeted cheerfully. “How was the trip from St. Helena?”

A tall, sleek woman with acorn-clay skin beamed while pushing a lock of kinky black hair from her face. “Long, but nothing I didn’t enjoy.”

Her amber eyes fell on me and brightened significantly. I bowed my head slightly as she stepped forward.

A polite smile sat on my lips that I could sense didn’t quite reach my eyes. I extended my hand to her. “It’s lovely to meet you, Jade. Welcome to the Hayden Estate. Beatrice will show you to the den.”

Her fingers lingered on my wrist. There was nothing invasive about her touch, merely curious. As if she was searching for something that wasn’t there.

Pleasant as she was, I didn’t feel a thing.

After she left, I studied the four remaining women with a sense of defeat. This is going to be a long week, isn’t it?

My mother patted my shoulder. “And this is Carrie Greer from Hilton Head.”

Wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, petite but athletic build with sandy-tan skin—she would have been my type if it hadn’t been for the incessant smack of her bubble gum. She smelled like day-old coconut and salt. A beach mutt, for sure.

“Totally psyched to be here,” she said brightly.

I tried not to cringe as I bowed my head. “The feeling is mutual.”

“This is a huge place, wow,” she exhaled all at once. “If the house is this big, I can’t wait to see everything else.” The implication of that bashful smirk accompanying her statement wasn’t lost on me.

I practically rolled my eyes. And it begins.

I felt nothing as I shook her hand or heard her speak. It was too depressing to linger on the encounter, so I turned to the next woman.

My eyebrows rose as my eyes swept south. A full figure with bark-brown skin tinted like a harvest moon and hazel-green eyes shimmering much like those of a cat. Even though she smelled like a wolf—and like a beach—she had a mischievous prowess about her. Her choppy black hair hung over her forehead. When she shook my hand, she practically purred.

Her nose wrinkled slightly with her smile. “I’m Marianne. My father sends his best.”

I smiled warmly as I took her hand. “That’s kind of you to extend. Will you join the others in the den?”

She winked. “Only if you’ll be there.”

I felt a wiggle. But not much else.

Once she had walked past us, my grandmother shoved my mother out of the way and took my upper arm. “Don’t be picky. Lean into what you feel.”

“I don’t feel anything.”

Another woman eagerly stepped up to the plate. She was petite with sepia skin that seemed to glow. Bright green eyes and black hair made her appear more like a goddess than anything. But as much as I knew I should be attracted to her, I couldn’t muster up more than the usual garbage I had been spitting since this whole greeting event started.

“Hi, I’m Blake. Join us in the den.”

The woman lost some of her luster as she shook my hand. “Norma. I’m from the Burke Pack.”

“Great to have you here.”

Her smile faded as she walked past me.

My grandmother jostled me. “Here’s the last one—I chose her personally.”

I laughed. “You chose them all, Grandma. What’s so special about her?”

And truly, what the hell was so special about this chick? Other than her voluptuous figure, the fiery red hair resting in long tresses around her shoulders, and hazel-yellow eyes with flecks of gray that spiked with aggravation when they landed on me, nothing set her apart from the others. Her warm wheat skin reflected the midday sun, hosting a hint of coral.

She squinted up at me from the bottom step with a defiant glare. While the others had tripped over their own feet to meet me, she was holding the banister like it was her only lifeline out of this situation. Unpainted nails as sharp as talons dug into the wood. Had it not been for the servant urging her to step toward me, she probably would have flipped around and run off.

A smile curved my lips.

Now, this was more my speed.

She tilted her chin and approached me rigidly. “Hi.”

Her gaze pierced right through me—along with all the passion in her pupils. She didn’t blink as she looked into my eyes. She hardly looked amused at all.

She didn’t want to be here.

Well, that makes two of us, I thought.

I extended my hand. “Blake.”

She waved away my hand. “Yeah, I know who you are. Got any food? I’m literally starving from my trip.”

My heart skipped a beat. She wasn’t flinging herself at my feet or dropping innuendos. She wasn’t flirting at all. She was just bored and tired and ready to dig into some food. More than a wiggle happened then. More than anything I had ever felt.

And part of me hated it. “If you’re so eager to get inside, then let’s skip the pleasantries.”

“I thought you’d never say that.”

She attempted to push past me, nudging me with her shoulder. I grabbed her hand and watched her entire body stiffen as I traced the main vein in her wrist with my thumb. Something inside me quickened—a wretched feeling overwhelmed me then, a horrifying flash of sensations melted into my chest and rooted me to the ground.

She stared at me like I was a murderer preparing to stab her.

And I couldn’t figure out why that made me so angry.

My grandmother touched my shoulder lightly. “This is Veronica Gilbert from Charleston.”

“Veronica,” I repeated, her name tasting like velvet candy on my tongue. “It’s so nice to meet you, Veronica.”

Her pupils exploded. Her lower l*p curved slightly as her plush tongue made an appearance. She licked her upper l*p and then swallowed hard, pressing her lips tightly together to keep herself from speaking. What was she trying to hide behind that luscious tongue?

And why did I so desperately want to suck it to the surface?

“Blake,” she whispered. “A pleasure. Truly.”

She snatched her hand away and hugged it to her chest as if she had just been stung by a bee. After she marched inside, I huffed and shrugged my shoulders, trying to regain my composure.

Definitely more than a wiggle.

My grandmother elbowed me gently. “That looked promising.”

I shook my head as I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t read into anything just yet. They’ve only just arrived.”

“Mates always know immediately.”

And then, it struck me.

A scent.

An all-too-familiar scent.

The kind that made my heart slam in my chest like I was defending myself to the death. It was sweet, almost mocking in its gentleness as it wound through my nostrils.

Rose.

Soft powder.

My eyelids fluttered as I clutched my grandmother for dear life. Seconds later, I was seated at the far end of the porch with my head of security and my grandmother begging me to say something, anything.

I shot up from the chair and fixed my collared button-down shirt. “Why is everyone out here?”

I looked at my head of security, who had paled about three shades. “Jermaine, what’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “Boss, you don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine,” I argued. “Inside. Everyone. We have to prepare for the first test.”

And just like that, I was fine. The smell dissipated. The feelings retreated. Grandma held my hand as we wandered into the foyer and made a sharp left. Beatrice had gathered the participants in the rear den and served them tea. Every woman sat or stood with eyes expectantly hooked on the doorway.

Every woman except Veronica, of course.

She was staring at the grand view of the gardens behind the mansion. Nothing about my appearance interested her. Two scones were piled on her plate and a third sat between her fingers. While she chewed, her ears twitched and her eyes shifted back and forth—yet they never once landed on me.

Irritation swelled in my chest as I addressed the participants as a group. “Welcome to the Hayden Estate. We’ll be getting started this afternoon with a test of physical strength and skill.”

Hums of approval swept through the room.

No reaction from Veronica.

“As you can see from our friend standing at the window, the gardens are set up with various areas to test your abilities,” I explained.

All heads turned to Veronica. She perked up and then blushed violently when she realized everyone was staring at her. She hugged her plate to her chest and drifted toward the right side of the den where my grandmother stood. Grandma appeared more than eager to welcome Veronica into her personal space.

I sighed quietly. “You’ll choose a weapon and show me what you can do with it. Sound simple enough?”

A round of agreement met my ears. It put me at ease for a moment until I realized Veronica was staring daggers in my direction. The fact that she managed to look so adorable doing it while she chewed on a scone entertained me beyond belief.

But something bugged me about her. Something deeply unsettling. She didn’t grant me respect as easily as the others. In fact, it didn’t seem like she wanted to give me any at all. It irked me as much as it lured me in.

Was that her plan? To bug me?

Because it was working.

And I wanted to return the favor as quickly as possible.