Alpha Mate

VI

Calum Pov

"Who is that girl?" Ashlyn asked me. She hadn't even waited for me to take my seat before she started questioning me.

"That's Morgan. She came here after being attacked by rogues." I told her.

"I know that. I know our pack offered her medical care after she was injured trying to protect her daughter, Lilian." I slightly winced as she used the word daughter. It was an action that Ashlyn couldn't ignore. "There's more. You treat her differently than you do others."

"That's not true." I denied.

"It is too. She's fully healed yet you're keeping her here instead of allowing her to go home. That's not like you. And don't think for a minute that I didn't notice the way you challenged her out in the hallway. With anyone else you would've been friendly and welcoming. I'm your sister and I can tell that you're different with her. Why?"

"You have to swear not to tell anyone."

"You can trust me, Cal."

"Ok. She's my mate."

"What?"

"She's my mate." I repeated louder.

"If she's your mate, you should be introducing her as the pack's luna and showing her around not locking her up in some room."

"It's more complicated than that."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"She didn't wait for me."

"So? It's not like you're virgin Mary either."

"Stop it, Ash. That's different. I could live with her having sex before me," Though just the thought made my fists clench. "But she has a child. She probably has a whole family started without me."

Ashlyn gave me a look of sympathy. She hadn't found her mate yet, but she could understand how much it would hurt to know her mate planned to live out their life with a family that didn't involve her.

"Maybe we're mistaken and that's not really her daughter."

"You saw that baby, Ash. They're far too similar."

"What if the father isn't even in the picture anymore?"

"It doesn't matter."

I was done talking to her about this. It was far too painful to discuss. I wanted to be my mate's everything, but that clearly wasn't going to happen.

"But-"

I would've cut her off if the phone ringing hadn't done it before me. I gave her a look that told her to remain quiet before picking up the phone.

"Hello. This is Alpha Calum Barrens of the Blood Moon pack."

"Good afternoon, Alpha. I'm Evan, the beta of the Moonlight pack."

"What can I do for you?" I asked assuming he wanted to set up a meeting for his alpha to discuss an alliance with me. I often got called by other packs to form alliances because rogues were vicious these days. They were also getting more confident in their abilities as several packs in the past few months were attacked by rogues.

"I was wondering if there has been a women in her early twenties with a small girl spotted passing through your pack."

My blood ran cold at the mention of the familiar pair.

"No." I said before immediately hanging up.

Ash glared in my direction. Unfortunately, she hadn't left my office and that meant she overheard my conversation with Evan.

"What?" I asked irritated with my younger sister.

"Why didn't you tell him the truth?"

"I didn't have to tell him anything."

"No, but for the sake of your mate you should've. I get that you're hurt, but hiding her here isn't going to do any good." She advised.

"Stop pretending to know what's best for everyone."

"I'm not pretending. Keeping her here like this is only hurting her. If you won't accept her as your mate, you need to let her go. If she has a family out there looking for her, she needs to be with them. As the very least, her family should be able to know where she is and that she's safe."

"That was actually very good advice, Sis. Alright, I'll call him back. Please let me do this alone."

"Ok. Good luck, Cal." Ashlyn said before prancing out of the room.

I picked up the phone once again and called the most recent number in my phone's history.

"Hello. This is Beta Evan of the Moonlight pack."

"It's Alpha Calum again. I want to know why you're looking for these girls."

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm not certain that I should share that information with you." Evan replied.

"If you want to know where they are, I suggest you tell me who these girls are and why you're looking for them."

"Alright, I'll tell you. The baby girl is my alpha's daughter."

My eyebrows rose in surprise. That meant my mate had been sleeping with another alpha.

"I see. What happened that you can't find them?"

"Our pack was attacked by rogues a week ago. They must've been chased off the pack by rogues and now we can only hope that they survived."

"How does Morgan fit into this?" I asked. My mate was really my only concern.

"So you do know them?"

"No."

"I never told you her name." Evan pointed out.

"Fine. Maybe they did pass through my territory. Answer my question and I'll tell you what I know."

"Morgan is the alpha's sister. Our luna entrusted her baby to her during the attack."

"So that would mean the baby is Morgan's..." I trailed off.

"Niece." He finished for me.

Damn it. My assumptions of my mate couldn't have been more wrong. I've been treating her badly for nothing.

"They're here. They've been staying with me for the past week." I admitted. "Your alpha and luna are welcome to come here to see them."

"Great. They'll be right there."

After ending the phone call, I felt awful. I put my head in my hands, not sure about how I could ever make it up to my mate.

I left my office and walked to the guest room my mate was staying in. I motioned to Xavier to let me in and he opened the door without question.

When my mate looked towards me, her eyes were cold and distant. They should've been full of love and longing at seeing me. They would've been had I not messed everything up.

"Come with me."

I could tell she felt uncertainty in following me. It was my fault she didn't trust me, so I could understand her hesitation. Lucky for me, she hated this room and would do anything to leave it, including follow me to an unknown place.

I turned back out the door, know her and Lilian were following me.