Patient Mate

Roman POV

The last thing I wanted or needed was Alice appearing at that very moment. Yet, just my luck, there she was, mortified, pain, disbelief, anger, and betrayal all etched into her beautiful face. “Roman, I am asking you one last time. WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT SLUT!!!???”, She screamed, charging towards Dragana, who I could tell was shell-shocked and tried to cover herself up, blushing beet red. I could sense her obvious embarrassment and discomfort and did not know how to react or what to do. I meant everything I said to her. Finally, I was able to hold her in my arms, my heart on my sleeve and now this. “I told you that Alice is not our mate, and yet you did not listen to me. Now, look what mess you got us into!!”, Caleb was roaring, none too happy. “I will deal with this Caleb, now is most definitely NOT THE TIME, for one of your lectures”, I said, agitated at my wolf.

“Who are you???? And what are you doing with MY MATE??? Are you a pack slut? Is this what you do – take mated wolves and fuck them? You are despicable!”, Alice addressed Dragana while charging at her, and lifted her hand to hit her. I caught her hand in midair, stopping her, while Dragana did not flinch. The look of bewilderment and disappointment Alice shot me was one for the books. Directing her rage at me now, she continued “Roman, what is the meaning of this??? You are protecting this slut, against your mate???”, she asked, tears brimming in her eyes now. “Alice, I can explain.....”, I replied, not wanting to have this conversation with her in front of Dragana.

To my surprise, Dragana chimed in. “There is nothing to explain. Roman and I made a mistake – this will not happen ever again! Please accept my apologies, Luna Queen. I am just a guest here, passing through”, her words echoed in the otherwise silent room, and I felt like she punched me in the gut. “Your apologies are NOT ACCEPTED! You will leave my pack and you will leave it NOW!!”, Alice screamed at her on top of her lungs, her face contorting into a scowl, words seeping with venom. “Alice, this is not your decision to make!”, I interjected. “Dragana and her family are old friends of this pack, in fact, this is her pack too”, I said as calmly as possible. “Besides, we are working on a project together at the moment and she will not go anywhere until that is completed!”, I said, harsher then I wanted, causing Alice to start sobbing again, her lip quivering. As much as I knew that her expectation was for me to go over and embrace her and wipe her tears away, I could not make myself do it, Caleb was unwilling to help as well.

“I am going to find Art and discuss the upcoming trip”, Dragana said to me, looking at me knowingly. “Luna Queen”, she nodded at Alice, addressing her formally, even though we were not marked or mated, making her way gracefully out of my office.

“Run away bitch! That’s right, you should run, you should run before I come over and show you what we do with whores around here!!!”, Alice screamed. A feral growl escaped Dragana’s lips, and I could see her Lycan was coming forth, obviously none too pleased to be talked down to. I went over to her and held her hands in mine. “I am sorry about all this, Drgana… I truly am”, I said, pleading with her. “I still need to speak to you before I leave… please.” She did not reply, and I did not know if I would have the opportunity to explain anything or to talk to her. Art and I needed to leave as soon as possible if we were going to come back in time and if we ever stood a chance to save Jasmine. I felt an oncoming headache and cursed the day I got engaged.

“None of this would have happened if you had listened to me!”, Caleb was not giving up and I did not even know what to say to him at that point.

Turning around, I was met with a crying, pissed off she-wolf that I announced to all as my mate, that I had promised to marry. This is a nice mess you landed yourself into, I thought to myself. “Who is she?”, Alice asked again, softly, but growling under her breath. I did not want to share all of Dragana’s secrets with her, something held me back, however, I had to say something. “We grew up together. She is a good friend, and she is also a pack’s witch”, I clarified, trying to keep everything I actually learned about Dragana as private as possible. “Good friend???? A good friend??? How many good friends are you fucking behind my back??!! Is this what I am signing up for by marrying you??? That you will parade your whores, oh sorry, your good friends in MY PACK, in front of me and our children! And then you dare ask me why Caleb cannot feel Rina!!! My wolf knew! MY WOLF KNEW YOU WERE NOT WORTHY OF HER!”, she again ranted, sobbing in the intervals in between.

“And to think, I came here to you, hurrying back after I lost my dear father, hurrying to your arms, never stopping, just wanting to be with my mate”, she hickupped crying again. “And I came to a whore in your arms!!!! I do not deserve that Roman. I really do not! Why would you do that??? Why??? Have I not been a good mate??? A patient mate??? Loyal??”, she sobbed again, and upon hearing that her father died, I really had no choice but to wrap my arms around her and try to console her.

“Shhhhh… shhhhhh… I am so sorry to hear about your father” is all I managed to grit out, stuck in a situation I had no idea how to get out of. Interestingly enough, hugging Alice produced no sparks, no electricity. In fact - I was uncomfortable holding her, while she entwined herself as close to me as possible, not letting me go, sobbing in my arms.

Alice POV

To say I was pissed off would have been an understatement!!! Who the hell did he think he was??? I saw how he held her; I saw how he looked at her. There was more there for sure other than good friends. And that growl coming from Dragana, yeah, there was more to her than Roman was telling me, he was protecting her secrets. I knew that snarl – she sounded like a Lycan, which in theory would not be possible. How is a witch a Lycan? Dark Lord Khor never mentioned that she was a Lycan. Could that also be the reason why he was so interested in her and wanted me to find her in the first place??? I had to fix this, I thought to myself. I did not sacrifice everything for some whore, a friend or not, to steal my destiny, to steal my position of Luna Queen. The Dark Lord would know how to make her disappear, of this, I was sure. A plan was starting to form in my mind, a plan to resolve all my issues, and a small smile crept up on my face, all whilst I guilted Roman to hold me crying in his arms.