Her Alpha Mate 23

"All right, thank you, Alpha Dennis, we'll get back to you soon," Zack said, nodding to Freya as she entered his office. She gave him a small smile and placed his lunch on the desk in front of him. He hung up and put his phone aside before staring curiously at the food.

"Italian drumsticks with garlic thyme sauce," Freya announced before he could ask what it was. He cut into one of the drumsticks with his knife and popped the meat into his mouth. He chewed slowly and seemed surprised by the flavors.

"Damn," he muttered, "this is good."

"Thanks," she smiled.

"Have you eaten yet?" he asked, pausing in mid-bite.

"I've, don't worry."

He nodded and continued to shovel the food into his mouth.

"So, did all the alphas side with us?"

"Most of them. Some are a little hesitant because they don't really know who you're. One of them even said they wouldn't go to war over a woman. Apparently, this is like a werewolf version of the Trojan War for them."

Freya groaned, "I don't want to be the next
Helen of Troy."

Zack snorted, "You're not the next Helen of Troy, Freya. We go to war for your blessing, not your beauty. Besides, you rightfully belong to me. She didn't take you from anyone."

Freya pursed her lips at his words. As nice as it was to hear him say that she was important to him in some way, she didn't like being called something he got to keep.

He must've noticed her expression because he corrected himself, "I apologize.
How about you rightfully belong 'with' me?"

She smiled slightly, "That's better."

"Just a warning, I can get a little possessive sometimes. I've been like that since I was a kid. Don't hesitate to call me out if I offend you."

"As long as you're not too overbearing, you'll be fine."

Before he could say anything back, the door opened and Chance walked in with a stack of files. Chance smiled when he saw the two of them and kicked the door shut behind him.

"Oh, good, I was afraid I was going to catch you two breaking in his desk." Freya glared at him, and he chuckled, ruffling her hair, "Calm down, little one. I know you two are too innocent..."

Zack interrupted his statement with his own look: "Why are you here, Chance?"

"I've Delta's requests for funds and transfers."

"Great," Zack muttered, pushing aside some of his papers to make room, "This is going to take me forever to finish."

"I can help," Freya said, looking over the stacks of papers on his desk to get a better look at the files.

"Do you know how this stuff works?"

"Yeah, I used to help my dad with the paperwork."

Zack nodded, "Perfect. Then we'll both take half."

"I'll be going then," Chance interjected, "Try not to get interrupted again if you want to kiss at some point."

They stared at him blankly, which made him grin, "You can't fool me. I know you were about to kiss when that griffin showed up. The signs were there."

Zack growled softly and Chance winked at Freya, "I'm off. You two have fun."

When he was gone, Freya turned to Zack and bit her lip when she saw the indecipherable look on his face.

"I'll take half now," she said softly, snapping him out of his thoughts. He nodded and pushed a small stack of files toward her. With a small sigh, she cracked her knuckles, reached for a pen, and prepared to write until her hand hurt.



***



How long had it been? Freya thought.

She felt like they'd been sitting here for hours going over paperwork. Her mind was so exhausted from all the information it had absorbed.

"Let's take a break," Zack murmured, noticing her frequent yawns.

"Yes, please," she whispered, resting her head on the desk with the intention of taking a long nap. But Zack had other ideas.

He stood up and turned up the volume on the music player a little louder. Then he walked to her side of the desk and gently pulled her up, "Come here."

"What're we doing here?" she asked wearily, letting him take her hand. He placed his hand on the lower part of her back and began to gently rock her back and forth.

She gave him a confused look, to which he shook his head, "We need to get our blood flowing again."

She raised an eyebrow, "Do you always dance when you want to get your blood flowing?"

He chuckled softly, "No. I usually go for a jog. But since it's raining, I figured it was best to do something indoors."

She turned her head toward the window.
Apparently she hadn't even noticed that it was raining. It wasn't pouring, but it was enough that they could hear the soft patter against the roof and the windows if they were quiet.

"Who taught you to dance?" she asked, turning her attention back to him.

"My mother. She thought every man should be able to dance, or at least waltz."

Freya nodded and leaned her chin languidly against his shoulder.

To be perfectly honest, it wasn't embarrassing at all. It felt natural, especially because neither of them seemed uncomfortable being close. In a way, Freya believed that this near-kiss had brought them a tiny bit closer together. It was like a stepping stone to them being able to touch without being uncomfortable.

Freya didn't know if he'd officially accept her or not, but she didn't feel like ruining the moment by asking questions. Besides, as far as she knew, Zack had shown no signs of resisting letting their relationship blossom. She'd a feeling he liked the idea of taking things slowly and getting to know each other before they jumped into a mateship.

Zack pressed his cheek against hers: "The alpha ball is in two weeks, by the way. Do you feel like going with me? We can dance to much better music."

She laughed lightly, "Sure."

"Good," he whispered.

Freya didn't know if it was the music or the cradling, but soon she closed her eyes and moved her head so her cheek was on Zack's shoulder.

In a few minutes, she was asleep.