The Alphas’ P**n Star Mate

Chloe

POV

The air sucked out of my lungs. It was like time had stood still in my moment of breaking down, and I realized in slow motion how I had just snapped. I cracked open and released all my pent-up emotions in one whining burst.

Crap. I didn't want to break down like that. I didn't want to crack. I didn't want to be the reason for that cold look on Miles's face. Mick has been distracted, stressed and working non-stop, and Miles has been stiff and cold. That coldness has been freezing me over for days. Where his hands were holding me was so warm. It just wasn't enough to thaw the ice around my heart right now. Especially since he had that faint smell of the mysterious she-wolf on him still.

"Chloe, I... I didn't...." Miles's voice sounded stiff and forced, and it just hit me what position I had just put him in. He doesn't need a whiny mate right now. "It's not that I don't want to have pups with you. I just.... We just agreed not to right-"

"Stop," I begged, pushing away. I didn't want to hear any excuse or the reason why. It hurt enough just to hear the confirmation that both he and Mick indeed didn't want to get me pregnant. They agreed not to. I'm too scared to find out what brought them to that decision. Mick wanted me to get pregnant with their pup. What changed?

"Baby." Miles's voice softened as he tried to hug me again.

I pushed away. I couldn't. I would break down again and crying in front of my mate is something I don't want to do. I want to break down when I'm alone. Not here. Not now. Not when he was looking down at me with those intense, sharp eyes, icy blue and so cold. "Lenny!" I called out, trying not to let my voice crack. I knew Lenny would be close by. "Lenny, please. I know you're there."

Miles was looking at me with frozen shock. His blue eyes were wide, and his large body was even more rigid. I tried not to let my feelings of being tricked show. The deception hurt a lot though.

A second later, Lenny appeared from literally nowhere. He moved like a ghost and was at my side without me seeing where he emerged from. I was startled, but then moved back a step, letting Lenny be between me and Miles. I needed space. I needed to smell something other than his scent mixed with others I didn't know. Lenny sent a worried look to Miles, then asked me, "What do you need, Chloe? Are you alright?"

No, I'm not, and I need a lot of things, but to start, "I just want space. Please. Just babysit me somewhere I can feel like I'm alone." My voice was barely a whisper, and I felt a tightening in my chest at the pitying look he gave me.

"Wait," Miles snapped, his frantic tone having a hard edge to it. "Chloe, you can't just run away again. You can't-"

"I'm not running away," I murmured, trying not to meet his gaze. "I'm taking my babysitter, and I'll be in the pack house. You can still get reports on what I'm doing." I felt like I was pleading now. "Please. I can't breathe when I'm with you."

I didn't wait for a reply, but I could feel a tinge of pain coming from him. I couldn't look back to see that cold look on his face again. I walked away, heading to the same abandoned rec room I had discovered before.

"Chloe, you should have just stayed and talked to him." Cortina was pacing nervously in my head. "Fighting with him, being angry and getting it out would have been healthier than this."

"No. I don't want to fight with my mates." I don't want to pick at the festering wound in my chest until I bleed. I just want to curl up under a pool table, and imagine that I'm as alone and I feel.

Mick POV

"That's where they're keeping him?" I asked, looking through the binoculars, lying on the ground upon a hill. "And there are no viewpoints into the basement?"

"None," Kai said. "I've gone as far as using magic to try and see inside, but couldn't close enough for anything to be effective. There's been too much activity with their renovations."

Estel was leaning against a tree out of sight, filing her nails with a knife she kept hidden in her sock. I was worried about sending her in there without knowing what she was going to find. Rodger seemed sure we could keep her safe with his help, but we would be entirely relying on magic. She's not a part of the pack anymore, so mind linking won't work. If his magic failed, it could be fatal.

"Quit staring," Estel said, glancing up from her nails. "I can tell what you're thinking and I can handle myself. Quit worrying."

"You're a girl," I scoffed. "Of course I'm worried."

"Gee, that's not misogynistic. I'm the top female warrior of my pack, you douche. Not every chick needs protecting."

"Even if you were a man, you're going in there alone. There's still a risk." I pointedly looked down at her legs, then chest, then back at her face. "I don't think it's misogynistic to point out why the risks are greater for a girl."

"I volunteered, sunshine. I'm okay with the risks." She looked at me with annoyance. "You've been irritating for the past few days. Did your time spent as a porn star automatically make you into a tool bag too?" "Excuse me for being worried," I muttered and looked away.

"She's right," Beau gently pushed my shoulder. "You've been up tight as shit. Like a stick's been shoved up your ass." His face suddenly turned to a look of surprise. "Is that what happened? Did Chloe give it to you in the ass instead?" "Fuck you," I growled.

His serious expression broke as he started snickering to himself. "Is it bad I can totally picture her with a strap on?"

"It's bad that you're picturing her at all." I'm irritable enough to punch him in his face right now. "I don't think this is the fucking time to joke around either. Quit thinking about Chloe and start thinking about how we're going to get Boyd out of there without getting him or Estel killed." Estel rolled her eyes, and Beau's amusement died down.

"You're right," Beau said with a much more solemn tone. He sighed, "I'll be happy when this is all over. I'm going to celebrate for days and might let someone fuck me with a strap on."

"I volunteer," Estel smirked, raising her hand.

Beau eyed her up and down. "I don't know. You look like you could do some damage."

"Thank you," she smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should. I'm not worried at all about you holding your own."

Estel beamed, then stuck her tongue out at me. "I'm glad someone does."

"I think you'll do fine too," Kai said. "Chloe was the one that saved you and the other Alpha, Mick. I don't know why you're acting like women are so frail now."