The Exiled Alpha

Chapter twenty-three

I pace around my room, my heart racing. Just a few hours ago Elliot accepted me as his mate. And I had to say my father was right yet again. The wolves that didn't accept their mates were punished for disrespecting the Moon goddess. A painful fate to suffer.

My hand goes to rest on the muscles that connect my neck and shoulder, where the claim mark will once be. I stop in my tracks, my fingers brushing against the spot.

Maddison's words keep playing on repeat in my mind and I wish I could somehow shut my mind completely off. I lift my gaze up to the window, watching the world outside of my room. It's been three days since I last saw my own father. He barricaded himself in the pack house with everyone except Mary, trusting her enough to lead the rest of the pack while he makes a plan to save us.

I scratch my neck, my anxiety spiking at my uncertain future. Elliot said we could stop the war between our packs because we're mates, but I feel so afraid to tell everyone my mate is the son of my enemy. What happens if my own pack turns on me, seeing me as a threat just because of Elliot? Is that actually a possibility?

A frown tugs at my lips, as I start to pace again. My family doesn't trust Elliot anymore. Not after what happened at the well. And will Max be quiet about me and Elliot being mates now that he finally found out? Or will he tell Rebecca? There are so many unanswered questions that are just going to drive me insane. I need answers on them and I need them now.

As if on cue, there's a soft knock at my door. Samantha's head pokes inside my room, a concerned expression set on her face.

"Hey. Are you okay? I could hear your heart beating from down the hall." She tells me and steps inside of my room. I sometimes forget how much stronger Sam's senses are just because she has had her first shift and because she has such a strong mate by her side. "Just nervous." I answer, keeping my eyes glued to the floor, the hand by my neck still brushing against the claiming spot.

Samantha crosses the distance from the door and to my bed and sits on the edge of the bed. She's wearing one of Tyler's old t-shirts, that are way too big for her. It exposes Tyler's mark on her shoulder. It's deep, but healed completely. It has been there for quite some time now. But she always keeps it covered while in school.

"What's wrong?" She asks me, crossing her legs. I stop pacing finally, my hand falling from my shoulder, while my eyes stay glued to her mark. "I'm just on the edge." I mumble, trying to avoid conversation with her about my secret mate bond. Sam furrows her eyebrows together, noting how I'm avoiding her.

"I think you should calm down. David will figure this out." Sam tries to comfort me, assuming I'm panicking about our pack. The decision has to be declared in four days. And I really don't know if dad came up with anything, but my problems come from a different source.

"Still... it's frustrating." I take the bait, hoping to completely avoid to cause suspicion. Samantha nods, agreeing with my words before giving me a comforting smile. "But I have hope David gets us out of this." I hope his plan works as well. If it won't, me and Elliot will have to step in and I just have a feeling that things are going to blow up in our faces.

"I heard you ran out of class today. Are you alright?" I tense at her question, hoping I'm not acting too weirdly for her to notice. I glance over to her, before I start to pace again.

"The stress of our situation has been getting to me and I felt my wolf take over." I lie, my fingers gripping my mother's wedding ring and twisting it around. I feel Sam's eyes move with my figure, which makes me even more anxious about this whole situation. This day really hasn't been going how I hoped.

"I didn't know you were burdening yourself so much with this." I hear concern lace her voice, making me twist my mother's ring one more time. All of the muscles in my body felt like cold stone, rock hard. I didn't know if I was actually moving normally or was it obvious that I was completely tense.