Siennaâs POV.
I wake up to the bright light of the sun shining through my curtains, I stretch and look up at my ceiling.
What am I going to do?
Why canât my mate just be some simple guy from my pack or something?
No, he has to be a member of the pack my own pack fears most. Iâm so glad I have Cade in all of this, itâs reassuring to have a familiar face around.
I jump in the shower and spend a long time washing my body, if only I could wash away all this stress. I let my hair dry into long curls and pick out jeans and a top. I take my time doing my make-up, wanting to look good for my mate.
Iâm screwed already, this mate bond is just going to get stronger. As I draw on my lip-liner, I think back to the kiss we had last night.
I text Cade to let him know Iâll be ready soon, and then pack my bag to stay overnight. It feels so weird to be going on a sleepover, like Iâm back in school or something.
I tell my parents that Iâm staying at Cassieâs tonight, and then I FaceTime the girls, so we can have a group chat. I put my headphones in, not wanting my parents to hear our conversation.
âYou found your mate?â Cassie screams and I wince, turning down the volume.
âOh, my Goddess, Si! This is so exciting!â Kayla shouts and I try to smile at them.
âOh, honey, I know that smile. Whatâs wrong? Is he with someone else?â Cassie asks.
I consider it for a moment, I donât even know if heâs single! I make a mental note to ask about relationships later.
âHeâs Cadeâs brother...and next in line to be Alpha of the Black Mountain pack,â I tell the girls,
For a brief, miraculous moment, it silent. They both look at me, complete shock on the faces.
âOh my...Sienna, Iâm so sorry,â Kayla says, her voice gravely serious.
âWhat did your parents say?â Cass asks, her eyes still wide with surprise.
âObviously I didnât tell them! I only met him yesterday; Iâm seeing him today to try and work something out.â
âItâll be fine, Si, just donât tell your parents.â
âYeah, I know. I wonât.â I roll my eyes, but I canât shake the uneasy feeling in my stomach.
âBe careful, Sienna, Iâve heard theyâre in the middle of a fight with some rogues at the moment, make sure you donât get caught up in it,â Kayla warns me, and I roll my eyes again.
âIâll be fine silly, donât worry about me. Anyway, Cade is outside, Iâve got to go!â
I say bye to the girls and then to my parents, I grab my bag and head outside to where Cade is waiting for me in his BMW.
âGood morning,â he says, his usual bright tone missing from his voice.
âWhatâs wrong?â I ask him as he pulls out of my drive.
âOh, nothing, just one of my friends is mated to my dickhead brother,â he jokes sarcastically, smiling at me.
âTell me about it,â I mutter, rolling my eyes at him.
âAre you excited to find your mate?â I ask and itâs Cadeâs turn to roll his eyes.
âNot after seeing you and my brother, no. Although, I doubt weâll ever have as many problems as you do,â he teases, but his words hurt.
There are so many âissuesâ in his family that I donât even know about yet.
âDonât worry, youâll find him soon,â I say casually, watching carefully for his response.
I notice as he subtly grips the steering wheel tighter.
âWhat do you mean him?â Cade asks, keeping his eyes on the road ahead.
âOh, come on Cade, Iâm not stupid. Iâve got gay guy friends, I know about you,â I tell him, and I can see him grinding his teeth angrily.
âDonât you dare tell anyone, Sienna,â he warns me, he glances over at me, and I feel awful as I see the panic in his eyes.
I lean over and put my hand on his leg, squeezing it.
âIâll never tell anyone, Cade, itâs none of my business,â I reassure him, and he visibly relaxes.
âThanks, Si, youâre the best.â
âYou shouldnât be embarrassed or worried about it you know,â I tell him, and he smiles.
âWhen did you first know?â I ask him.
âWhen I first slept with a girl at sixteen. After it happened, I just thought, nah, this isnât for me,â he says lightly, and I canât help but laugh at his blasé comment.
âEver slept with a guy?â I ask, smiling as his cheeks turn red, at least itâs not just me that blushes!
âThree,â he mumbles, and I grin at him.
âOoh, get you,â I tease, and he shoves me playfully.
âNobody knows about it obviously, the guys have all been randoms from town, humans, even. Iâm a big enough failure to my parents anyway, Goddess knows how theyâd accept this as well, hence, why Iâm dreading meeting my mate, heâs gonna give the whole game away,â Cade jokes, rolling his eyes and I feel so sorry for him.
âYou should tell your parents, they might surprise you,â I offer, and he frowns at me.
âRight back at you, Si.â
I bite my lip. Okay, he has a point.
âAnyway, letâs forget about it, weâre here,â Cade replies and pulls into a garage with about twenty car spaces.
I step out and grab my bag, we walk across the gravel to the grass square around which all the houses are centred.
My mouth drops open as I see two guys fighting on the grass, both shirtless, both wearing boxing gloves. A crowd of people are surrounding them, cheering them on and shouting.
âWhat the fuckâs going on?â I ask, nothing like this has ever happened in my pack.
âTraining, itâs a Betaâs job to train the new recruits. Your mate is giving a lesson,â Cade tells me.
As we get closer, Iâm very alarmed to see my mate punching a much smaller, much slimmer man. He grabs the guy and flips him backwards, so he lands on his back on the grass. I breathe out a sigh of relief as he helps the guy up and they both take off their gloves, shaking hands.
The crowd starts to break away; the training is obviously over. The poor opponent of my mate is sat on the ground, panting heavily, and chugging his water. My mate grabs his water and drinks some himself, Cade and I walk over, and I take my time admiring the absolutely incredible specimen that just so happens to be mine.
The sun is shining down brightly, showing off his dark, tanned skin, glowing with sweat. I bite my lip to stop my mouth falling open as I take in each and every contour of his abs and pecks and every ripple of his arms.
I frown as I see a group of girls stood blatantly watching him.
Have they no shame?
Iâm allowed because Iâm his mate. They, however, are not being subtle.
I hand Cade my bag and step onto the grass, Jax must smell me because he turns to face me, a heart-stopping grin on his face. I smile back at him and step into his open arms. I donât even care about the sweat; I throw my arms around his neck and press my lips against his.
His large hands reach down to cup my ass, squeezing it not so gently. He takes over, his lips moving confidently against mine.
Just as his tongue swipes teasingly along my bottom lip, Cade clears his throat loudly. I pull away and wipe the lipstick off his mouth. I sneak a subtle glance over at the group of girls who are watching me with looks of disgust on their faces.
Too bad.
âIâll be inside,â I tell him, quickly pecking his lips before turning around and walking over to where Cade is waiting, a scowl on his pretty face.
âSorry, it had to be done,â I tell him as I take my bag back and we walk over to the pack house.
âWell, I think it worked,â Cade joked, and I grinned at him.
Call me petty, I donât care.
I sit with Cade in the large pack kitchen and wonder when I will meet their parents, although Iâm not sure I want to. Jax comes in ten minutes later, his black hair wet from a shower, he looks delicious.
He comes over to where Iâm sitting on a bar stool and wraps his arms around me, kissing my neck. I never would have expected this yesterday, but Iâm finding it very hard to say no to him.
âCare to explain what that was about outside?â He asks and I stand up so I can look at him.
âI donât know what youâre talking about,â I reply innocently and Cade scoffs next to me.
âItâs alright, baby. Iâm possessive, too,â he mutters huskily, pulling me into his arms and kissing my forehead.
âOkay, Iâm leaving before I vomit,â Cade says, sighing heavily and marching out of the room.
âDo you want to put your things in my house? You are staying over, right?â Jax asks, and my heart melts at the hope in his eyes.
âThat depends, do you have a spare room?â I ask and Jax frowns.
âWhat? Baby, thatâs not fair. Do you have any idea how long Iâve waited for you?â He whines and I struggle to keep my resolve, I grab my handbag and head for the back door.
âWell, if youâve waited that long, you can wait a bit longer.â I smirk at him and step outside into the sunshine, laughing when I hear him growl behind me.
âCome on, itâs this way.â He takes my hand in his and I try to control my excitement at holding hands. It sounds so stupid, but I canât remember the last time I felt so...content.
He leads me over to a large, two storey house across the square. Itâs beautiful, with bay windows and shutters.
âMum designed it, donât ask,â he mutters, unlocking the door and leading me inside.
I take my shoes off as soon as I see the cream carpets and Jax laughs at me.
âSo well-trained,â he jokes, and I smirk at him.
I check my phone and see a text from my mum hoping Iâm having a lovely time at Cassieâs; I roll my eyes and quickly reply.
He gives me a tour of his house, he has a huge living room with a TV that puts mine to shame, a gorgeous kitchen, and two bedrooms with en suites upstairs.
He finishes the tour in his bedroom. The walls are painted cream like the rest of the house, but all the furniture is black, including his king-sized bed. The whole room smells of him and I think Iâve died and gone to heaven as I breathe it in.
âYou can put your stuff in the spare room if you want,â he offers, but he looks reluctant.
âI donât want you to get the wrong idea of me if I sleep in your bed straight away,â I tell him, knowing full well my dad would never allow him to stay in my bed at my house.
âSienna, youâre my mate, no one would think anything bad of you if we mated on the day we met! My parents did for fuck sake,â he shrugs, and I know he has a point. Itâs very different in our world, youâre more likely to be judged if you donât mate with your mate straight away.
âYeah, I guess, okay. Iâll stay in here, but nothing is happening okay?â I tell him and he grins, pulling me against that gorgeous chest of his.
âI canât promise anything,â he mutters, kissing down my neck. I push away from him and put my hands on my hips.
âFine, fine.â He backs up, putting his hands up in surrender. âI promise I wonât do anything you donât want, which means, if you want it, Iâm allowed to do it,â he teases, smirking cockily at me.
I scowl and grab a pillow off his bed, throwing it at him before running out the room and downstairs.
This is going to be an interesting night.