Alpha Mate

VII

Morgan Pov

I took cautious steps as I followed Calum down the stairs.

I had no good reason to follow him other than that I was curious. He didn't give me any hints to what he was about to show me. The way I spoke to him earlier might've convinced him that I needed to be shown a real prison cell.

His expression didn't help me figure out what was going on either. He didn't seem upset in the way that he wanted to punish me, although he didn't seem excited to show me a great surprise either. My gut told me that I was safe for now. He may not be affectionate towards me, but he was still my mate and I believed that he wouldn't harm me.

When we got near the foyer of the pack house, my nose detected familiar scents. I wasn't sure who they belonged to until I met the expectant stares from my brother and his mate.

I wasted no time by running towards them. They both enveloped me into their arms and I finally a sense of belonging once again.

When I stepped back from their embrace, I handed Lilian over to Erin knowing that she would've missed her baby girl. It posed much more difficult than I expected now that I was realizing Erin had lost much of her right arm. All that was left was the part between her shoulder and elbow.

"Erin, what happened?"

"My arm was badly injured during the rogue attack. Afterwards, the doctors examined it and noticed that it wasn't going to heal properly. They had to amputate it."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. I just have to get used to it being this way. The only thing that matters is that I'm alive, Leo's alive, and you two survived the attack by coming here. We were so worried about you. I'm glad that we were able to find you and Lilian safely in this pack."

I held back a snort. We may be safe physically for my mate's pack members would not harm us, but my mental well-being was certainly not safe. Being held as prisoner with so few people to socialize with could eventually drive me to insanity and the emotional pain that my mate has caused me was enough that I could be considered unsafe.

With Lilian nestled into Erin's good arm, I reached out to embrace my brother once again. It was such a relief to feel him in my arms again. I would be lying if I said that I hadn't been worried about him during the time that I stayed here.

"How is the pack doing?" I asked stepping back.

"As best as can be expected. We're trying to rebuild the buildings that were destroyed and we're definitely mourning our losses while restrengthening our defenses. Many of our warriors didn't make it and most of the ones who did have some type of injury." Leo answered.

"Well I'm glad to see that you're in one piece."

"Yeah, I did get a few deep gashes from claws but nothing that won't heal up on its own in a short amount of time."

"Good."

Leo turned to his mate. "Here, let me hold her. Your arm must be getting tired."

"No. I can do it for a while longer."

Erin did look like she was beginning to struggle with Lilian's weight, but it would take much more to separate a mother and child once they've reunited.

"Alright. I think we should head back to our pack and we catch up further there. Let's go." Leo said. He turned towards the door and I took a step to follow him.

That's when I heard a low growl coming from behind me.

"You are not leaving with Morgan. She's staying here." Calum stated with authority.

I don't know what made me think that I could be free so easily. I had totally forgotten that Calum was present. I didn't even realize that he had stayed behind to watch me reunite with my family.

"And why would she do that?" Leo asked him.

"She's my mate."

I was surprised to hear Calum admit it. I had thought he was going to keep me a secret until he figured out what he wanted to do with me. I guess this means he's figured it out. He's keeping me. At this point, I think I would've rather him reject me officially. It would hurt initially but I knew I could get over it.

"Leo, please. I don't want to stay here. I want to go with you. I'm a prisoner here. Make him let me go." I pleaded with my brother.

"I'm sorry, Morgan. I can't do that. He's your mate and an alpha. Unless you reject him, you belong here." I heard a faint growl at the mention of rejection.

"Reject him?"

I was silent for a moment while processing the new information given to me. I had been certain Calum would reject me, so the thought of me rejecting him never even crossed my mind. Despite the way he'd been treating me, I didn't think I could do that to him. I wanted a mate so bad. It made sense to move past the first impressions and give him another chance, but forgiveness would not come easy.

"It might be for the best that you two are together. As your mate, he can take care of you and I believe he'll treat you right. If he doesn't, let me know and I'll make sure he regrets it." Leo told me.

"Ok. I'll stay."

While saying our final goodbyes, I hugged my family once more before they left. Now it was only me and Calum. I tried to wipe the tears out of my eyes before turning to face Calum.

He was the first of us to speak, "I have to finish up a few things in my office. My guards, Xavier and Lucas, will take you to your room, where you will wait until I'm done working."

Back to that god forsaken room. I should've known things would go back to the same once my family went home. The only thing that made me agree to it was the fact that he planned on coming to see me later today.