False Mate, True Mate

Chapter 22

Xander had his mate nestled in his lap as they shared food from the same plate. Occasionally, he'd pick up a morsel and feed it to her instead of taking it for himself. The act both pleased and flustered her at the same time, much to his amusement.

As they ate, he took time to observe her. The scars were receding, and her breasts were starting to swell out. It was clear the rogue and chopped out a portion of each, for whatever reason. With the silver in her system declining, her regeneration was finally kicking in.

As they sat comfortably, chatting with George and Cheryl, along with a few other members of the pack who wandered in and out of the kitchen for drinks or to drop off plates, he also noticed she had some dark roots in her hair. At first, he thought it was his imagination, but as he started running his fingers through it, he could clearly see the barest hint of dark brown at the base.

Bleaching hair, so that's it. The rogue that got her must have been mated to a blonde. Well, lucky for her I prefer brunettes, he thought with a smirk. That thought caused him to actually check her out. With her scars fading to thin lines, and her body starting to flesh out, he could appreciate how very attractive she really was.

That, combined with her fantastic scent, caused a natural reaction. As she felt his erection nudging her butt, he felt the spike of alarm from her. This was followed by her spinning around, looking down, and then fleeing out the door. The last emotion he felt from her was panic.

"What's with her?" George asked in confusion.

Rather than answer, Xander stood up and stuck his nose in the dining room. "I need several guards to follow your luna discreetly. Make sure she doesn't get into trouble."

One of them questioned, "Why aren't you getting her?"

"So she won't wander far. Now go!"

Five warriors took off after her while he went into the den to wait. As time went on, he started getting a sense of unease and a strong desire to leave the house. Despite that, he forced himself to stay put. After a while, the unease backed off, only to increase again. Over the course of a few hours, the cycle of increasing and decreasing unease repeated, with the urge to leaving pointing in different directions.

Finally, near one in the morning, with his nerves nearly shot, one of the warriors came in. "She's collapsed, Alpha." He nodded and shot off towards his mate. When he reached her, she was huddled in a trembling ball.

Xander scooped her up and charged back to the pack house with her. Once inside, he could see she was basically okay. She was radiating fear and confusion, which warred with his own concern for and desire to protect her. He didn't wait or ponder, he simply carried her into his bedroom, tucked her into bed, and curled himself around her. Shielding her like that, he held her close. At some point, she fell asleep from exhaustion.

Xander took longer.