Mated To The Alpha Of The North
Chapter 33

Willow

I was fairly certain my wolf had fallen asleep sometime between the water fight, the subsequent wrestling match that ensued later by the bank of the river, and now.

After we had exhausted ourselves in the chilly stream and our wolves had finished frolicking by the water, Jax and I had collapsed in a tangled heap underneath a nearby tree, still in our wolf forms.

I remembered my wolf nuzzling against him until she had found a more comfortable position to rest in, but that was it. The next thing I knew, we were glancing up to a darkening sky and Jax’s wolf looking out over the horizon.

My wolf got up, stretching out her legs before moving forward and gently butting her head up against Jax’s wolf to get his attention.

While this little adventure had been much needed, it had also been an incredible bonding experience with my mate. He had exuded nothing but patience with my continued worries throughout the day, and, though I knew he could be vicious if warranted, I had never felt safer in my life. I was reluctant for our time alone to come to an end.

However, my wolf and I also knew that it was beginning to get late. I was honestly getting a little hungry too now that I thought about it.

My wolf seconded that opinion, practically salivating over a nice bloody steak she could already envision. I personally liked my food cooked a little more, but I supposed my wolf was the one in the driver’s seat for the moment.

While I was busy daydreaming about food, Jax’s wolf utilized my distraction to his full advantage and darted forward, playfully nipping my flank with his sharp teeth, though my wolf and I knew he would never hurt us.

She reacted swiftly, attempting to even the score, but she was unable to replace any purchase due to his wolf’s skillful evasive maneuvers and quickly gave up, turning and sprinting through the trees towards our original destination.

I could hear Jax crashing through the dense undergrowth behind me. My wolf’s small size allowed me to pass through areas other larger wolves like Jax’s could not. It should have given me a slight advantage in our little impromptu race.

Or so I had thought, but when I chanced a rapid glance over my shoulder, Jax’s wolf was much closer than I had anticipated. He had apparently opted for crashing straight through the low hanging branches, using his brute strength and quick healing to power through the minor nuisances.

My wolf pushed out one more burst of speed in an attempt to outpace our mate, but his wolf quickly caught up to us. However, instead of flying past like I had expected, Jax elected to run beside us, providing for a pleasant run back to our clothes.

My wolf piped up in my head, saying how nice it would be when we could communicate back and forth while we ran. Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the reminder.

Once we arrived back at the small break in the trees where we had eaten our food earlier, Jax’s wolf pulled ahead, blocking my path and forcing me to come to a standstill. While I was confused, my wolf and I trusted him, so we stopped without complaint.

After a minute or two, Jax’s wolf moved aside, but he had apparently thought better of the decision as he quickly dashed forward and gripped his jeans with his muzzle before scampering off behind a large oak tree that grew nearby.

While I sincerely appreciated his effort to make me feel more comfortable, I really did not want him to leave my line of sight.

My wolf’s not-so-subtle reminder a few minutes ago was nothing new. She had been constantly annoying me about when I would be ready to claim our mate.

I knew a lot of it was the mating bond pushing us together, or I thought so anyway, but I found I also caught myself craving Jax’s presence on a cellular level when I had tried to evaluate the situation independently.

I moved to throw on the clothes hurriedly so that Jax would come back, but I noticed that the top half of my pants were hanging over the edge of the natural seat, right where I had tossed them earlier in my haste. Unfortunately, I had not realized that there had been a small puddle just on the other side, just where my only pair of pants had landed.

I debated what to do for a moment while I threw my large t-shirt over my head, the hem reaching a few inches above my knees. I pulled my long hair out of the neck of the shirt, letting it fan out behind me down my back.

Well, the pants were too tight anyway, not that I would complain, but Ronnie was quite a bit smaller than me. I was lucky to have squeezed my rounded a*s into the stretchy fabric to begin with, but something told me that that would not be happening when they were wet.

Before I could change my mind, I called out to Jax, making a split-second decision to go as is. I knew that I had been making too big a deal out of the whole situation, and I was eager to see my mate again.

Hopefully, we would be able to be apart for longer periods of time after we cemented our claims. I was not entirely sure I would last if I could not go more than five minutes without seeing Jax’s face, gorgeous as it was. I loved the feeling of being around him, but I was still my own person too. I bit down into my lower l*p out of habit as I waited for him to move around the tree.

Jax responded to my words without any delays, immediately coming into sight, his hazel eyes searching for mine. As soon as they met his, he froze in place momentarily, just taking in my appearance while I mirrored his stance.

I would have felt self-conscious normally, but the heat emanating from his eyes was like a direct line into my soul. Instead, I felt powerful for once.

My eyes trailed down his broad chest, enjoying the fact that he had not taken the time to put a shirt on, but my attention was drawn further south when his large, calloused hand casually reached down.

I was not sure what the countenance on my face beheld, but based on Jax’s next actions, I was assuming that it reflected the blazing inferno that was busy igniting itself in my core as his mesmerizing eyes caused me to melt into a puddle the moment he swiftly closed the short distance between us and put an end to my suffering by sealing his soft lips over my desperate ones as he pulled me tightly against his hard body.

The sun continued sinking in the sky, plunging the surrounding area into darkness as we continued to melt into each other’s embraces.

A soft hooting sounded in the muggy nighttime air in an odd sort of stuttering rhythm, while crickets chirped on in the background, unaware of the life altering moment occurring right before them.

Jax’s firm lips continued to move expertly over mine, gently coaxing a response from my unpracticed mouth before his tongue rushed out to lick the seam of my lips, encouraging me to open.

His hands had remained resolutely planted on my curved h**s, not daring to venture any further, probably trying not to scare me with too much too fast. I really appreciated the gesture, like I said I had won the lottery with my mate. Thank you again, Luna!

However, even without my wolf’s insistence, I wanted, no needed more in this moment. I parted my lips without hesitation, allowing Jax’s tongue to invade my mouth, bringing his intoxicating flavor flooding into my eager mouth.

I enthusiastically returned Jax’s heated k****s, tangling my tongue with his as he angled my head exactly right so that he could deepen the k**s even further, using the long strands of my hair that he had wrapped around his fist at the base of my neck as an anchor.

I allowed my hands to explore his wide chest and strong shoulders before my hands began to wander downward across his rippled abs of their own accord.

It was a bit difficult to maneuver them, what with me being pressed so snugly against my mate’s large, muscled body and all, but no way in hell was I wasting the opportunity to touch his carved body without any barriers.

My wolf continued pushing dirty images into my mind, further spurring on the need I felt building in my core. I should have felt embarrassed, but all I could feel in that moment was the burning heat in the center of my body, urging me on.

Jax’s hands began to test the boundaries as the steamy make out session progressed. His right hand remained firmly rooted in my long tresses, securing my lips in place so that he could plunder them more easily.

Yet, his left hand began to slowly creep downward across the wide expanse of my a*s as my own hands became bolder, reaching down to run my fingers over the rough fabric at the top of his jeans.

His hand paused in its downhill descent to squeeze a large handful of my rounded bottom before continuing on to loosely grab the bottom of his huge shirt that I was currently wearing, while he slowly steered me backward until my back was pressed against the rough bark of the tree he had rounded earlier.

The first hints of nervousness began to creep in, but a piercing scream rend the air just then, causing us both to jump apart before anything more intimate could occur. I looked around, startled by the loud sound, noticing a dark brown owl perched high up in a nearby tree. I allowed a small chuckle to escape as Jax backed away to give me a little breathing room.