Bullied Mate (The Alpha Shifter Collection Book 17) Read online

  EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2022 Sam Crescent

  ISBN: 978-0-3695-0684-9

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Audrey Bobak

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  BULLIED MATE

  The Alpha Shifter Collection, 17

  Sam Crescent

  Copyright © 2022

  Chapter One

  “What exactly do you want from me?” Poppy Davenport asked. She stared at the alpha’s only son, and anger filled her. She had never felt this way about anyone else. Klaus Demon was a nasty piece of work, and she … hated him. He was cruel, manipulative, and just horrible.

  The fact that on her first transition, which was a grand whole eight months after his, he discovered that she might, by a tiny slither of possibilities, be his mate, was just ridiculous. What was more, he wouldn’t leave her alone. This had been three days ago.

  In the past three days, she’d seen more of Klaus than she ever cared to.

  “You know what I want from you, Poppy. Stop being a fucking jerk already.”

  She spun around to face him and glared. “I’m being the jerk?” She pointed at her chest. “How do you figure that out?”

  “Why haven’t you told anyone?” Klaus asked with his arms folded.

  Poppy continued to glare at him. The more time she spent in his company, the more she disliked him. She’d spent over a decade trying to avoid him.

  “Why would I tell anyone?”

  “Why not tell anyone? Come on, this is a big fucking deal.”

  She gritted her teeth and counted to ten in her mind. This guy. He thought because they were in some way mates, he believed she’d be happy. No one had seen them three nights ago. The way their wolves had been connected—it was this instant, undeniable attraction. It was fucking scary just how strong that instant hit of lust had been. Poppy hated it. She knew who Klaus was, and it hadn’t taken her long to realize what all of this actually meant.

  Her bully, the guy who made her life hell at school, throughout the pack, and just any chance he got, was her mate.

  This wasn’t fair.

  She hadn’t told her mother. No other pack member, certainly not the alpha.

  The alpha was known for his traditions, and he believed that mates should be together. If he knew the truth, there would be a ceremony, and she’d be with Klaus for a period of time. The alpha always asked his people to give their mating a chance.

  “How is this a big fucking deal to you, Klaus?”

  “You’re my mate. After all this time, we’re in the same pack. There’s nothing dividing us. We have found one another, and we both know that shit is rare.” He looked so excited.

  The truth was, she was utterly disappointed.

  “Poppy, the whore’s daughter. Fat Poppy. Fat Poopy. Look everyone, duck and cover, Fatty’s in the room. Whore. Slut. Bitch. Ugly cow. Do you need me to go on?” Poppy asked.

  The name-calling had started when she was young. Mainly because of her mother, who wasn’t a bad person. No, her mother, Anna, was complicated. Her only mate died many years ago, when Poppy was a young girl. So young that she didn’t even remember being near him or enjoying the experience of being a daddy’s girl, or having a father in her life.

  From what she remembered, her mother had mourned. For a long time, the full moon would be a painful experience for her only living parent.

  Poppy recalled sitting at her window each full moon and hearing the painful howls of her mother. Knowing deep in her heart, that her mom, even in wolf form, was crying. That deep-seated pain had never gone away.

  Until one day, she found comfort in one of the unmated men. Then another unmated man. There was never any constant lover or boyfriend. They were never married or mated. The men who were with her mother enjoyed a casual hookup. Of course, the pack knew of it, and it caused trouble for Poppy at school.

  They figured her mother was a whore. She wasn’t. There was never any money swapping hands. No negotiations of price. Just an encounter. A moment together. They never happened at home. Poppy was aware of the men, but they never happened at home, and if they ever did, her mother clearly snuck them out.

  She loved her mother so damn much. After hearing those howls every full moon for months on end, Poppy didn’t begrudge her that kind of happiness.

  The main person to make her life a living hell was standing right in front of her. Klaus. The egotistical bastard who had made her high school life insane.

  She hated him. There was no way she ever had a crush on him. Not even a little bit.

  Many young women had found him attractive and would kill for the shot at being his mate. Not her. She was never in line to see him in the hallways. Hated how he entered a room and they’d swarm around him like he was some big, hot-shot celebrity.

  She had never told her mother about the names she got called. Never told her mother about the bullies either.

  “Shit, Poppy, I didn—”

  “That was one as well. ‘You’re only good enough to clean the shit the pack leaves, Poppy.’ That was one I liked.” She tilted her head to the side and looked at him. “Care for me to go on? I’ve got a long list, and I’m more than happy to get started. This could be fun. Rehashing the past decade of school.”

  He moved closer to her, and she stepped away, keeping her distance. If she wasn’t careful, the pack was going to take note.

  After each initial transition within her pack, the alpha forced all of his fresh wolves to do a minimum of labor around the pack. They lived in a small community, complete with humans and wolves.

  There were wolves mated to humans, and so it had formed a wonderful place to grow up. They had everything that any other town had, a long town square, lots of homes for families, single pack members, and everyone else. Businesses that needed help. Jobs that needed to be done.

  They were not a big town built on tourism as they only had a big forest to lure people in. No lakes or waterfalls. Just a lot of space taken up by land and trees. Quite dense as well, so not even the ability for campers, but what they did have was successful online businesses, which was why she was working in her mother’s gift shop. She made everything from jewelry to personalized items.

  She had one of the most successful shops in town. They lived in a nice house, and she imagined that was why no one made waves for her mother. Anna was never hurting anyone. She was a very strong and independent woman.

  “I think we need to talk,” he said.

  “No. What you need to do is leave this shop before my mom gets off the phone and asks why you’re here, again. I honestly don’t know why you keep on coming.”

  “I can’t just ignore this, Poppy.”

  “I’ve been ignoring it for three days.” She smiled at him. “And trust me when I say this, I am fine.”

  He ran his fingers through his black hair. His eyes seemed to be bluer than she remembered. Why did it matter what color his eyes were? She had never taken the time to look at them. They were just freaking blue. Nothing else mattered about the shade of color.

  She hated feeling stupid.

  “What if I’m not fine?” Klaus asked.

  “Then I suggest you figure this out on your own.”

  “I could just go to my dad,” Klaus said.

  This was what she was afraid of. If he went to his father, she would have no choice but to accept the mating between them together. She’d have to give this a chance.

  “If you were going to go to your dad, you would’ve done it already. You would’ve told him. That’s not a wise choice. I wonder why you’ve not told him.”

  “Ugh, you told me not to, remember? You said that if I went to my dad, three nights ago, you’d make my life miserable. I also don’t need my dad to fight my battles for me. I can do them all on my own.”

  “Whatever you say,” she said.

  “You’re so fucking infuriating. There are other women right now who would be sucking my dick and begging me to mate with them.”

  She slammed the clipboard she’d been holding down on the large stack of boxes she was trying to inventory. “Then go and fucking find them. Let them line up and service your damn needs, Klaus. It’s never going to be me. Not ever.”

  Poppy hated that because they had become mates, or their wolves had recognized each other as mates, she actually felt … something. This was the worst feeling ever.

  Deep inside her heart, she hated Klaus. He was a horrible person, and she wasn’t going to be that woman who accepted him into her life so easily. Not just because they were mates.

  She couldn’t deny the shot of pain that went right through her at the thought of him being with someone else.

  That did hurt.

  In more ways than she cared to think about.

  ****

  Klaus left Anna’s shop even more pissed off than when he entered the damn thing. He had no fucking luck. None whatsoever.

  As the
alpha’s only son, he’d seen men and women go nearly hysterical when they found their mate. The one person who was supposed to be theirs for eternity. He’d watched people age, never finding the one, flitting from one woman to another.

  He had a responsibility from a young age to understand his role.

  The alpha of the Demon pack was never questioned or fought over. It was passed down to each generation. Just like his father stepped into the role after his father, and his father before that, and so on, until this line first existed.

  The pack had grown big and strong by then, forming a community.

  His father always put the community first. Even if it meant his mate had to wait on the sidelines, but when he asked his mother once if she liked that, she would smile and nod. Being the one every pack member looked up came with a certain responsibility, and she didn’t believe in turning her back on them.

  His mother, Nicole, was a well-respected woman within the pack. She owned the main beauty parlor. Many women, from within the pack to even outsiders, came to his mother for her to do their hair. She was popular, and he believed it was another reason his father hadn’t been to war with too many packs.

  Nicole had once told him the true leaders were the men’s mates. The females, as they always made sure they got what they wanted. Men wouldn’t make waves in case their women turned on them. Klaus had always found it hilarious at the time and a little unbelievable, but considering the past three days and nights, with his thoughts dominated by Poppy, he truly believed his mom.

  Mates were … everything.

  Poppy was the one he thought about as he fell asleep, and when he woke up. He’d also become a little … stalkery. It was only three days, so he didn’t believe he was full-on stalker. He just made sure she got home safely, would pace outside of her house, and hide when he thought someone would see him.

  His life had gotten a little out of control, but there was nothing he could do about it.

  Everything was just Poppy.

  He’d even gone through his old boxes of memories and searched for every single photo he had of her. That was something he kept hidden from his father. He hadn’t told his dad that he had found the woman for him.

  Once he did, Poppy’s life would be changed forever. She’d be expected to be with his mother, for her to learn her place within the pack. To understand her role as an alpha’s woman.

  His father had asked him each full moon if he had found his mate. If he even detected her.

  For seven months, that hadn’t happened. On the eighth month, Klaus detected the scent. He’d hunted her throughout the forest, and there she was.

  Poppy Davenport. The woman destined to be his.

  The only person he had bullied throughout high school.

  Luck was not on his side. He had a feeling his family was laughing at him, mocking him. The one true mate, and she couldn’t even stand him.

  Three nights ago, he’d at least gotten to kiss her. One passionate, lip-tingling kiss that made his dick so incredibly hard. He hadn’t been able to think straight. All he’d wanted to do was feel Poppy against him. Run his hands all over her body, to remember every single inch of her.

  His wolf had been so fucking happy. So had he.

  His mate was right under his nose this whole time.

  Poppy. His soul mate. The girl he bullied. The mate who couldn’t stand him.

  After that kiss, she’d shoved him away and told him to stay the hell away from her. That was where their conversation had begun. When he asked her what she’d do if he told his father.

  The warning.

  She had looked incredible.

  Nakedness was natural within the pack. On the first transition, clothes always felt too restrictive and uncomfortable. He, himself, hated them.

  There was nothing he could do about that though.

  He’d gotten to see Poppy naked, and she may hate him, but not as much as he hated himself.

  Klaus had been a jerk to her, and now he was paying the price.

  She had realized during their argument that she was naked, and she tried to hide her body, but it was too late. He would remember the full tits, large nipples, slender waist, and full, rounded hips and thighs.

  She was all curvy. All his.

  And you decided to bully her about her weight for years.

  Asshole.

  Moron.

  These blue balls are on you.

  He had turned into a masturbator. At night time, in the middle of the night, in the morning, and whenever he got hard, he had to take care of it. From what his dad had told him, mates helped with the sexual needs. He doubted Poppy would be helping him any time soon.

  Klaus paused halfway across town and turned back to look at Anna’s shop. Was Poppy masturbating? Did she have needs? Was she wet for him? Thinking about him?

  Crap, he hadn’t even considered that, and now, he felt himself getting aroused again. There was no way he was heading into the forest to take care of his needs. Not when he was needed elsewhere.

  His dad had him on mechanic duty. Cars were second nature to him, almost as much as alpha duty was. It probably had something to do with the fact his father owned the only mechanic shop in town.

  When he wasn’t busy dealing with pack business, he was fixing cars.

  “You’re late,” his father, George, said.

  “I’m sorry. I was dealing with something.”

  “Mate-related something?”

  Klaus tensed up. “Huh?”

  “Son, don’t think I haven’t noticed your little problem.” George nodded toward his groin area.

  “Dad, it’s nothing.”

  “You’re in the bathroom all the time. Your sisters are complaining constantly.”

  “It’s nothing, Dad. You ever thought that it was something else?”

  “You know I’ve got impeccable hearing, right?”

  “Ew, that’s just … gross.” Klaus scrunched up his face.

  “So, have you found your mate? Who is she?”

  He hated lying to his father as well as his alpha. Poppy was a pain in the ass, and she didn’t like him. He also knew that if his father got involved, then shit was going to hit the fan.

  Poppy had never told anyone about … what he did or said. The fact he would trip her in high school, sometimes pull her hair, and say nasty names.

  The hair-pulling wasn’t as bad as it sounded, in his head. The band she wore to keep those gorgeous blonde locks up pissed him off. He always tried to take her hair down, pulling the band from her hair, which of course, never went quite as smoothly as he would have liked.

  He wasn’t a bad guy.

  No, scratch that.

  He was awful.

  Some of the things he’d said to Poppy over the years were not good.

  This was a nightmare. His dad would be pissed at him.

  That was why he hadn’t said anything. Poppy’s begging aside, he couldn’t let his dad know that his mate was in the pack, and well, refusing to mate with him because he was a fucking bully.

  His mom would be disappointed. Not to mention the pack wouldn’t be pleased because they were a friendly pack.

  The bullying had occurred between him and Poppy, and no one had witnessed it. He’d made sure of that.

  You’re a fucking dick!

  “No. It’s no one, Dad. You know, I’m still a teenage guy. I have needs and all of that.” He wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole. This sucked. Like big time. A whole lot of sucky. Even bigger than he thought possible.

  “Well, don’t worry. I know we’ve got some guests arriving in a few days.”

  “Guests?”

  “Yes, Lionel’s pack. You remember him?”

  “The tall guy, lots of hair?” Klaus asked.

  “Yeah. You like him, remember?”

  He did like Lionel, but he was also aware of the fact that a lot of Lionel’s pack men were unmated. They hadn’t been quite as lucky as the Demon pack.

  This wasn’t good. There was no way he was going to be able to cope with all of those unmated men sniffing around Poppy. Shit was going to get complicated, real fast.

  Chapter Two