The Mark of a Beta

thirty- six

Axel's POV

Something about this weekend feels abnormal to me. It is entirely because I am supposed to be on my way to Lunar territory to pick up my mate and bring him back to my home territory. I had so many things planned. Most of those things revolved around fucking him, but I also overheard some female pack members discussing a new bakery that a friend was opening on the territory.

Although it went against my every instinct, I approached the group and inquired about the opening date and the location. It seems like something Cooper would enjoy- copious amounts of sugar as well as a light, comfortable environment to eat said copious amounts of sugar in.

It's strange having to do work while my mate isn't with me. I got into a routine of spending my weekends with him and working around the work I have to do. With the free time, Grayson scheduled more meetings for me to attend and more training sessions to supervise.

Although Cooper will not be able to contact me this weekend, I am still in contact with his past Alpha- Alpha William. As much as I despise having to converse with another not of my pack- or just converse with another in general- for the safety and well-being of my mate I will do just about anything.

Alpha William has assured me that there are multiple chaperones on the trip and if there were any type of emergency regarding Cooper, I would be notified immediately. I still do not trust this Alpha's word- he allowed for Cooper to be abused and did nothing to rectify the situation. Although he is perfectly okay with Cooper's biological parents "randomly" going rogue, he still did not play an active role in Cooper's safety.

However, unless I want a full pack war, I cannot enter Lunar territory to visit. I have a feeling that Alpha William would be uncomfortable with me around "pups" as he would refer to them as. I don't think our packs will have much of a relationship after Cooper lives on Dark Wood territory.

Grayson has advised me not to provoke the Alpha of the Lunar pack, and as much as I would like to visit Cooper, I will do what is best for him, even though it is difficult for me to stay away from him for so long. I know that I have snuck onto Lunar territory in the past, but that was before I threatened multiple pack members. I could easily visit him this weekend, but the consequences will affect Cooper and his future relationships with his close friends. I cannot be the reason that Cooper loses contact with Larry, Lane, Anya, and the other two males.

It doesn't help that Cooper informed me that there will be minimal cell service that far out in the woods. I just have to stay busy until Sunday when I pick him up from his high school- which is what I have been attempting to do.

It is very distracting to have a mate out of reach from me. Without a cell phone, the distance becomes unbearable and I find myself unable to focus for long on any given task. While training pack members this morning, I found that I was not paying attention while sparring with Alric, one of the pack guards. So much so, that he landed a punch on me. It was a soft blow because I had moved out of the way, but not enough to completely avoid it.

I hit him repeatedly until he blacked out.

Now that it is Saturday night, all I can think about is how I will see Cooper tomorrow. He already spent one night on the camping trip, but with no contact from him, I find my mind wandering to what he is doing.

This type of distraction is dangerous. I should not be wrapped up in my emotions, but Cooper has made me vulnerable in a way that actually makes me crave the openness and calm that I feel around him. I miss him talking my ear off. Even though I don't say much around him, Cooper can talk for hours about the smallest things.