Rejecting the Alpha
Chapter 33

The restaurant was not anything overly fancy, but it was nice considering the rural location. The vibe was slightly more adult than a family restaurant. I did not feel out of place in a dress, and Vander didn’t look it in his semi-casual shirt and pants. On the other side was a bar, and I could clearly hear the sound of the music pounding from where we had been seated, although probably the nearby humans wouldn’t have been able to.

"Next time I go to the city I'll take you somewhere nicer—that is, if you want to tag along—but this is the best to be had in a reasonable distance."

I chuckled at him. "It's nice enough here." A waiter brought us water and I took a sip and added privately, “When you found me I was living in the forest mostly as a wolf. Pretty sure I can manage with only the nicest restaurant in the area."

He smiled. "Well, I want to give you diamonds."

"I don't need diamonds. You make me feel safe again."

"Doesn't mean I don't want to give you more than that."

"Well, I won't say no to diamonds," I added with a laugh. "But what can I give you in return?"

"Oh, I can think of a few things," he said, winking at me.

I had the strongest urge to give him a few things, if only we weren't out in public, surrounded by oblivious humans. I was pretty sure they'd be a bit shocked if I jumped him in the middle of a restaurant and I didn't need to feel nervous about Stonemason to want to avoid that.

I hadn’t had enough of him yet, and I was sure the more I got the more I would want. He made me feel so good.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I smiled and cast him a knowing look he would not be able to misunderstand.

"I want to know everything about you."

The waiter returned with menus and I looked over mine quickly. I chose a steak and salmon combo, and Vander did the same, glancing at me with a grin.

"I guess we have similar tastes," I said.

"Seems like it." Although most werewolves liked meat so it wasn't that surprising.

While we waited for our meals, we conversed out loud, and then when they came we largely spoke between our minds. We didn't talk about anything important, but it still felt meaningful.

Everything I did with him felt meaningful.

Once we were finished in the restaurant, he walked me outside. Then, once we got to the car he pulled me up against him. His mouth captured mine and his lips and tongue sent heat and desire shooting through me, making me want him again, desperately. I made a noise of complaint when he pulled away and opened the passenger door for me.

"We're not heading home yet, are we?" I asked, slightly disappointed at the thought because I really just wanted to get him somewhere where I could sate my lust for him.

"Not yet." He slipped into the vehicle, and I watched the way his muscles contracted as he set himself behind the wheel. He shot me a knowing look, but he didn't say anything else, just reversing and taking the car out onto the main road.

A few minutes later, he pulled off onto a grown-in bit of gravel that could only in the most generous terms be called a road. There had been nothing but trees lining the deserted stretch we had been on before we turned, and this thing was nearly overgrown. I cocked an eyebrow at him and said, "This looks more like the place you would go to hide my body than a date location."

He just laughed. "Don't worry. I do have plans for your body here, but hiding it is not one of them."

I couldn't help but laugh with him, and I liked the promise in his tone. He parked his car at the end of the semi-road, and I eyed the trees dubiously. "I'm really not dressed for a hike," I complained as I got out of the vehicle.

He began unbuttoning his shirt, and my attention was instantly fixed on the skin he was revealing. "Who said anything about being dressed? We'll get there faster as wolves."

"Fair enough." I met his eyes again and turned so he could undo the back of my dress. I slipped it off, enjoying the way he watched me. My underwear followed, and I marvelled at the fact I was excited rather than discomforted by having his eyes fixed on me.

I folded my dress and put it in the trunk of the car, and then I shifted into a wolf. Vander was not far behind me, and we ran off into the forest together.

"So, where are we going?"

"Somewhere I think you'll like."

"So mysterious."

"You wanted to be surprised, right?"

I grinned with my maw and continued pushing forward.

After a couple of minutes, I could hear the sound of rushing water, and another moment later a small waterfall came into view. Vander turned and looked back at me.

"It's beautiful." And it truly was, water cascading down from an overhang a few feet taller than me and slamming into rocks at the bottom and gathering into a pool before continuing to wind its way downstream. Trees lined the area, a willow trailing its branches down near the water as if wishing to touch it.

"Glad you like it. My parents used to bring my brother and sister and I here to camp when we were little."

I moved forward and dipped my paw into the water. It was fairly warm. I glanced at him, wondering if he had planned for us to go skinny dipping there, but found he was already in his human form, perfectly naked in answer to my question and unspoken desires. My eyes ran over his strong frame and I didn't want to be a wolf at the moment, either. I wasn't even sure that I even still wanted to swim when he was on dry ground tempting me.

My fur disappeared as my body contorted back to that of a human, and I stood up. He walked towards me and pulled me into his arms, his body hot against mine. I could feel the evidence of his arousal already pushing against me, and I leaned into the kiss as his hands began to wander over my body, burning a path wherever they went.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to swim with me here, but...I think you've made me forget how. I might drown."

"It was you who distracted me. I was thinking about swimming, too, until a minute ago," I said with a smile against his mouth.

"We could argue about this all day." He cupped my behind, pulling him harder against me. "But the question is, do you want to swim now, or later, or at all?"

"I don't know," I said, and he wrenched me up off the ground. I wrapped my arms and legs around him, because I didn't trust him not to throw me in. Instead he walked forward, straight into the water.

The pool wasn't very deep at its lowest point, only coming up to the level of my chest. The water was cool, but not so cold it was unbearable, and I clung to his heat for another moment before I pushed off of him, diving under the water and swimming away. My core still throbbed, but I had the sudden competing desire to make him work for it.

I popped up from under the water and shot him a challenging look. He caught it, if his smile was anything to go by.

"Running away from me?"

I just laughed at him. He was not the one I was running away from. The thought put a damper on my playfulness and I shooed it away and swam past him, just out of reach.

I pulled the same trick a couple more times, and then he caught my foot on the last pass. I kicked away with another laugh. I felt at home in the water, I had spent every summer growing up swimming with the other Glenhaven children while whichever adult had drawn the short straw acted as lifeguard.

I took another lap past Vander, and he did nothing but watch me. I paused and treaded water because I didn't want to touch the gross bottom of the pond. He took a step forward and I moved back, then I swam towards the waterfall, but he lunged forward and caught me around the middle.

"Caught you. What's my prize?"