Her Alpha Mate 11

Zack rubbed the crease between his eyebrows in frustration. His mother was so stubborn sometimes, and he'd to wonder how his father put up with her.

"Mom, you don't have to come here.
She's fine. Chance and Reece just went down to check on her," he said, ignoring her loud protests.

"And why didn't you check on her?" she snarled. Zack could imagine her deadly stare that would make most wolves wet their pants.

He stared silently at the paperwork.

"The thing is, I would have gone, but I didn't think Freya would want to see me. I felt bad about letting her go through her heat cycle alone, but it all happened so fast I couldn't even think straight. My wolf was taking my mind away."

"Zack, I'm disappointed in you," his mother said softly. He winced at her tone - no matter how gentle it was, it felt like a thousand knives were stabbing into his skin. Knowing that his mother was so disappointed in him for the first time in his life really hurt. He'd let her down.

"Mom, I'm sorry. But you know my reasons," he said, trying to explain the situation to her from his point of view.

"You're living in the past, Zack. You haven't realized how much you've evolved as a person. You've to trust yourself to make the right decisions, because how else is the pack going to trust you? If they find out you don't even trust your own mate, how are they going to trust you to tell them everything? They're going to think you're hiding something."

"It's not that I don't trust Freya, Mom. I just want to see what she's like before I get involved in this relationship."

"How are you supposed to figure out her personality if you keep avoiding the girl?
How are you going to accept that she's trustworthy if all you do is watch her around other people you barely know? You need to talk to her, Zack. Communication is the key. Do you know how many relationships are destroyed because the couple doesn't communicate? I'm not going to let that be the reason why you and your mate don't get along. I'm not going to let that happen."

His mother had some good points, he'd to admit. Maybe it was time for him to visit Freya and talk to her. That would help her figure out whether or not she was right for Luna.

A few minutes later, his mother finally hung up after promising her that he would visit Freya as soon as possible. He decided it would be best if Freya came home and settled in. It wasn't a good idea to stress her out in this state. She would not be willing to listen to him then.

There was a knock at the door, and Chance and Reece entered the room with serious faces.

Zack pursed his lips and tried to look casual, although he was a little worried.

Had Freya's condition worsened? he thought.

Zack cleared his throat and looked at him expectantly: "Well?"

They exchanged a look before Chance hesitantly opened his mouth, "She wants to reject you."

Of all things, Zack hadn't expected that. His lips gaped apart and his eyes widened as he stared at Chance in disbelief.

Was he serious, he thought.

His wolf panicked and began running around frantically in his head.

'Go to mate. Beg her not to reject us.'

Zack gently silenced Dickson, trying to convince him that Freya wouldn't reject them, but he wouldn't relent.

'This is your fault. Mate don't want me. I'll have to grow old and live with squirrels.'

Zack inwardly rolled his eyes at Dickson's dramatic remarks. The way Dickson was acting, you'd think Freya had already rejected them.

"Zack," Reece said, interrupting Zack's wolf, "you need to start acting like a real mate. She's pretty much done with you after you abandoned her during her heat. She didn't deserve the shit you put her through."

Zack thought: Why is everyone on her side? Why didn't anyone see my side of things? Why the hell is she so impatient? I can't figure her out. It's like she wanted me to mark her without us getting to know each other first. That's so stupid.

Zack stared at the paperwork and decided to change the subject, "What did you two find out about the rogues? Did other packs have anything to report?"

Chance shrugged, "The rogues have been very quiet lately. No attacks anywhere."

Zack didn't like the sound of that. It only made the situation scarier when they did nothing. It made it seem like they were planning something bigger than a normal attack.

"Freya seems to know something, though.
We told her about the witch the other day, and she reacted very strangely. Then today she mentioned something about a blessing from the moon goddess, but that's all she'd say," Reece said quietly.

Zack froze.

If she knew something, why didn't she say it? It could save hundreds of lives if she did. This made Zack very suspicious of her, and he suddenly felt very determined to get her to talk.

Zack stood up and ran his fingers through his hair, "Well, let's see what she has to say. We need to know more before we make our next move."

Chance and Reece exchanged glances again, which made Zack very annoyed.

"What?" snarled Zack, giving them both a sharp look.

Chance rolled his eyes, "She's not going to tell you anything. Why should she? To her, you're just an asshole who can't get her head out of her ass."

Zack snorted. 'Girls can be so complicated. I thank the moon goddess that I'd enough sense to never pursue a relationship. That would have made my life a lot more complicated than it already was.'

"Listen, be nice to her. Don't rat her out the minute you walk in. She'll hate you even more."

Zack thought about Chance's words and nodded, "Duly noted."

They nodded in agreement and followed Zack out of his room. Once outside, they parted ways while Chance and Reece checked on the new pack warriors. Zack strolled over to the pack hospital and was about to go inside when Luna Jennifer opened the door and stepped outside with Freya at her side.

Zack's eyes travelled over every inch of Freya's body to see how badly she was affected. A wave of concern came over him, and his wolf whimpered at the sight of his mate, trying to convince him to comfort her.

Zack thought Freya looked terrible, and he didn't mean that in an insulting way. It was quite obvious how much she was suffering from the heat - the exhaustion was clearly visible on her face. But one thing was for sure, even if she wasn't feeling well, she still looked extremely attractive.

He tore his gaze away from her and nodded respectfully to her mother, "Luna."

Jennifer gave him a half-hearted smile, "Alpha Zack."

Zack could see that she wasn't exactly pleased with him at the moment, so he turned to Freya with an expectant look. Freya looked surprised that he was even looking at her.

"Freya, do you think we could talk for a few minutes?" he asked.

She stared at him in silence for a few seconds before nodding, "Sure. I know just the place."

He followed her hesitantly, trying to ignore his wolf's kinky hints about her butt.

He wasn't going to look.

She led him to a small cabin on the edge of the pack boundary, which made him frown.

He didn't know if he could trust himself around her. There was a very faint smell from the remains of her heat. If his wolf took the time to smell her properly, he'd go crazy.

She turned to him and gestured to the couch, "Sit down. Would you like something to drink?"

"No, I don't want anything."

She nodded and sat down across from him on the couch, "What did you want to talk about?"

He studied her features with a curious look as she did the same to him. When their eyes met, there was a new energy in the air. He felt a small shiver run down his spine as his eyes bored into her beautiful brown ones. Her cheeks turned slightly pink, and he'd to force himself to resist the urge to smile.

"Well?" she asked softly, as if she didn't want to interrupt the moment.

He thought: What am I going to say? I don't know how to start the conversation. Why am I so nervous to talk to a she-wolf? She's like a pack member... except that she might rule by my side and have my pups.

He blinked and dropped his gaze to the coffee table, "How are you?"

"I've had better days," she said.

Even though she didn't sound angry, he felt worse than before. She was still ready to forgive him and accept him after what he'd done to her.

"Listen, Freya. I didn't mean to hurt you.
It's just that my wolf wanted to mark you.
He was out of control, and I couldn't push him back, no matter how hard I tried. If I'd seen you, I'd have marked you with force. I didn't want to do that. When we mark each other, it's because we really like each other and are ready to take our relationship to the next level," he said, running his fingers roughly through his hair.

She licked her lips slowly as she thought about what he'd said and her wolf was running rampant in her head.

'Let's pull...'

'No. The last time I let you take control, you pulled her tail. Have you forgotten that?'

'I bet mate liked it.'

Zack thought, Is it possible to slap your wolf without slapping yourself?

"I understand that you were trying to protect me, but I'm not just upset about that, Zack. You never once tried to talk to me before this happened. How are we supposed to get to know each other if you're avoiding me?"

"You didn't try to talk to me either, Freya.
Don't blame this all on me," he said angrily.

He thought: If she wanted to talk so badly, why didn't she approach me?

"I tried. The first day you were here, I introduced myself to you, but you ran away.
Then you sort of locked yourself in your room. How the hell was I supposed to talk to you then, Zack? I didn't want to follow you around like an idiot. I shouldn't have to. You're my mate. Didn't your parents give you the mate speech?"

"Don't be silly. Of course they did."

It was also a damn awkward conversation. His mother made his father tell him about mates, and his father wouldn't stop making embarrassing jokes.

She raised an eyebrow, "Zack. Chance and Reece told me what happened five years ago, but you don't think I'm capable of betraying the pack like that, do you?"

He suddenly felt angry that she was questioning his decisions. It made him seem like an ignorant leader.

He blocked his wolf from growling and snarled, "You've no right to talk about this. This has nothing to do with our relationship."

"Really?" she muttered sarcastically, her eyes flashing angrily.

"Yeah, I can even give you three good reasons why I shouldn't accept you right now," he retorted, standing up so that he towered over her. She did the same, except her head only reached his chest.

"All right. Give me three reasons."

A scowl etched its way across his face as she stood her ground. Most wolves would have pissed their pants, but she remained calm. He was furious that she was influencing him without even trying, her scent enough to boggle his mind.

"I don't know if you're a good Luna."

She nodded slowly, "One."

He opened his mouth again, but nothing came out.

'Shit.' he sighed.

He racked his brain for a second reason, but the only things he could think of were covered by the first reason.

"You know what, Zack? Find me when you can talk to your mind and not your ego," she muttered, turning to leave. She was almost to the door when he grabbed her hand and pulled it back, catching her off guard.

"What the...?" she stumbled backward, and he quickly grabbed her waist to steady her.

At the feel of her warm skin touching his, a tingle ran up and down her body. She seemed stunned, but she didn't try to break free of his grip.

He'd to admit that he could understand the excitement. It felt wonderful just to hold her, and he wouldn't be comfortable with another man touching her like that. They weren't even doing anything remotely romantic, but the whole scene felt intimate.

He was about to say something when she gently broke away from him and looked toward the window, "Do you smell that?"

The fog in his mind cleared instantly as a foul odor rose to his nostrils. With a worried expression on her face, she turned back around.

He pondered: Is it a rogue? After all, not all rogues have the same smell.

The smell became stronger, and he felt like gagging. It was like the smell of rotten eggs and skunk mixed together.

"Zack," she whispered, "it's not a werewolf."