The Mate

Chapter Twenty Six

 "I didn't say you couldn't give me a home." She walked out the bedroom door. "What you need to do is simple, give a shit about me. Treat me like a Luna should be treated. Treat me the way you want your future wife to be treated." she turned to him, a finger in his chest.

"You want me to love you?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am."

"Then love me first."

"What?"

"Love me first." She repeated.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Love. Me. First." she repeated slowly for him.

She continued down the halls until she reached the car. She opened the door and sat down. She sat in the car and waited for Ethan to come by to take her home.

"If you leave me I won't be able to find out how to love you."

"Maybe this is a good thing then. Take me home to my mate. I need him."

"You need your mate and so do I." he reminded her.

"Then stay at my place so you can find out how to love me."

He started to protest but stopped when he saw her hand. "I need you to understand how to love me. So, stay at my place until you can figure it out. Now, take me home."

He didn't say anything else as they drove toward her pack. Thirty minutes in he finally decided to speak.

"Why do you love Alex?" he asked her.

"He understands me. He knows what I want. He knows what's in my heart. He makes me laugh. He is also my mate, without that he still takes care of me and wants to protect me. He's strong and it doesn't hurt that he is one of the sexiest men I've ever seen."

"One of?"

"Yeah, one of." she nodded.

"One of how many?"

"A couple." she blushed.

"Me?" he smirked at her.

"Yeah. I'm not going to lie to you. I do think you're sexy as well; however, Alex's tattoos make him even sexier. There's just something about them. It makes it seem like- I don't know. Bad?" she threw her hands in the air. "Having tattoos makes him so- MMMM." she purred.

When she purred it sent goosebumps along his spine, it was a pure animalist sound. One of the sexiest sounds he had ever heard.

"Can you do that again?"

"What?"

"That little pur you did."

"Oh," she blushed. "No. That's only for those who I love."

"Mmm." he couldn't say much because it was the truth and that's all she ever told was the truth. "So, what do I have to do to love you or to have your heart?"

"Love me."

"I know that but how do I do that?"

"If I told you then you wouldn't work for it and it wouldn't be true. Now would it?" she had a point, if he did what she told him it wouldn't be true love.

"Okay, I understand that. I really do. I just want to let you know, before we get to your pack house, that I did have fun this morning. I enjoyed the way you feel. I enjoyed the way you moaned. I enjoyed being with you because it was what I wanted. I have wanted to be with you ever since I laid my eyes on you. And I want to let you know that I will mark you. I will make you mine."

"Be that as it may, I can be yours but I am married to Alex and he is my home. I will not be able to go back and forth between my two mates, if I accept you. Keep in mind that I have all the right to reject you. And trust me, I will choose my husband and first mate over you."

Ethan didn't say anything because he already knew that. He knew that he was going to be her second choice. He knew that he wasn't ever going to be her first.

"Heard and understood." he was about to reach for her hand then pulled back. "May I hold your hand?"

She grabbed his hand instead. "You didn't have to ask. I love holding hands. I don't mind this Ethan, I don't. What I mind is the way you treat my mate and my husband. If you want this to work you and Alex have to work together because I am the common denominator. I am his mate and your's. So get used to it."

"You're telling me that Alex is perfectly good with this?"

She scrunched up her face. "Uhhhhh, not really. I mean, we kinda knew something like this was probably gonna happen and we were trying to avoid this. Well, not avoid it but this was gonna be a last plan kinda deal. He doesn't really want to share me."

"I don't want to share you either."

"Well, what if I want both of you?" she asked with a sly smile.

"I-" he wasn't expecting that.

"This is something that needs to be spoken about with Alex. I'm sure Alex isn't going to want what I have to say about it but it's time that I have a conversation with the both of you. At the same time. And there's time that I need with my husband alone."

"I understand that. I just don't want you to forget about me. Or say you'll give me a chance and then go off and marry someone else." he laughed when she gave him a look.

"Funny." she rolled her eyes. "I have to talk to you both though, in a serious matter. There are two major things that we need to talk about. And us, is one of them."

"The other?"

"Well, if I told you everything you wouldn't know anything." she teased.

"But if you let me know now then I won't be surprised when we talk about it."

"Oh, I think the 'us' situation is gonna be surprising to all three of us."

"I think this is gonna be good. If only your asshole husband is good with it."

"He's not an asshole. You are."

He nodded his head in agreement with her. She reached to turn the radio on and laughed when she heard the song come on.

"Oh, I love this song. Like, seriously!" she began singing along to the song. She sang her heart out.

Ethan looked at Melody as she sang, he watched her close her eyes as she sang every word and hit every note. As the sun was hitting her face from the side he could have sworn she was an angel in disguise. Her smile was all teeth when she looked at him.

That's the first time he truly saw her beauty. He saw her for who she was. She was damn near perfect. His heart felt like it was going to split in two. He didn't think this was going to happen with him. He never wanted a mate but he wanted her. He wanted everything about her now.

He wanted to wake up next to her every morning. He wanted to fall asleep with her. He wanted her to have his children. He wanted her to love him. He watched her sing another song, hands going with her notes, eyes closed, her vocals beautiful. He didn't want the song to end as she sang the song.

He watched her eyes tear up as she felt the emotion in the song. She sang as if she was going through a heartbreak herself. She sang as if she was the only one there. She had more beauty than the sun itself. He didn't dare interrupt her as she sang her way to her pack. When they pulled in and reached the gate she stuck her head out the window and smiled at one of the warriors.

"Luna!" They were happy to see their Luna return home. As her pack began to come out of their homes she was just as happy to see them lining up to wave to her.

"Luna Melody!"

"Luna!"

Some children began to run after the car waving to her as she went by, blowing kisses. When the car came to a stop she saw Alex step out the front door and walk down the steps. He stood there shirtless, with his hand behind his back. Sunglasses on his face; waiting for his wife.