Alpha Mate

XXII

Calum Pov

I tried my best to remind myself of why I was here. One look down at my beautiful mate and I knew exactly why. This was for her. It was all for her.

I would've rather had dinner be just the two of us, but if this is what she wanted then I would do it. This date had started off in agonizing silence. Morgan tried her best to involve everyone into a conversation but it either quickly died or stayed between only Talia and her. Darren was obviously uncomfortable with talking to me. I could tell he was unsure of how to address me and didn't seem to know what to say. The girls had been hoping for a less awkward dinner, but Darren and I aren't as talkative as they are.

Things got slightly better once the food finally arrived. Then we had something to focus other than the silence at the table.

Talia cleared her throat and looked towards me. "Alpha, how did you meet Morgan? She never told me the story."

"We met in the infirmary."

Talia gave an uneasy glance around the table. Morgan sent me a disapproving glare. It hurt that I continued to disappoint her. I needed this date to go well so we could be on good terms again. If she didn't like my short answer, I would expand on my story a bit more.

"Morgan's pack was being attacked by rogues. She and her niece were chased by a few of the rogues into my pack lands. Having been wounded, some pack members took her to the infirmary. When she woke up, I stopped by her room to discuss the rogues."

"What did you do when you realized she was your mate? Did you kiss her? Hug her? Growl at everyone around her?" Talia was now more intrigued than ever to hear about how we met. I didn't want to tell her what came next because I wasn't proud of it.

Luckily, Morgan didn't mind finishing it for me. "Nope. He didn't say a word to me and he left the room."

"Why would he do that?"

"He thought my niece was actually my baby."

"I can't believe that." If Talia thought well of me before, she sure didn't now. To her, what I had done was unthinkable. Detestable even.

I thought of ways to make it seem like what I had done was less horrible than what it sounded like. Maybe I just needed someone else on my side.

"How would you react, Darren? If when you first met Talia, you thought she started her own family before knowing you, what would you do?" I asked him.

"No thanks. I think I'll pass. I wasn't looking to get in trouble tonight."

"Answer the question." Talia ordered him. He was clearly uncomfortable at being put in the spotlight. This is why I hadn't planned on talking about this topic. The night could very well end in a fight because of me.

"Of course I would initially be upset. But we would've worked it out had that happened."

"Good answer."

Darren leaned in to kiss her and I found myself hoping that Morgan and I could reach the same level of love and affection they had.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The car ride from the restaurant was silent, but Morgan held my hand as I drove. I thought that tonight actually didn't go that bad. I was hoping Morgan thought the same and wasn't mad at me for anything I said or did during dinner.

We walked up to our room together and I made my way to the couch as she moved into the bathroom. I was just about settled in to sleep when she came out.

I sat up to see her. She looked gorgeous tonight when she dressed up and used makeup to accentuate her best features, but I found her even more beautiful wearing one of my oversized tshirts and having her face plain of makeup.

"I want you to sleep by me tonight."

"Are you sure?" Her request surprised me and I was a fool for not jumping at the chance to be nearer to her.

"Yes."

I stood up from the couch and laid on the bed next to her.

"Thank you for going on the date tonight. I know you would've preferred to do something else instead, so I'm proud of you being there like you were."

I reached out to caress her cheek. Her face was even more beautiful close up.

"I would do anything for you."

Slowly, I leaned in for a kiss. She had the opportunity to back out if she wanted. She didn't.

When our lips met, I felt the sparks that reminded me the she's mine and we're meant to be together. She opened her lips, offering me even more of her mouth. I took full advantage, deepening the kiss as much as I could. This wasn't like the first kiss we had. That had been innocent and sweet. This kiss contained a passion I never felt with anyone else before.

I pulled away when it was time for both of us to get some air. I didn't want to stop kissing her, but I knew she wouldn't want to do more than that and my control was beginning to slip. During that kiss, not only did I want to claim her mouth, I wanted to claim every single part of her.

"Goodnight." I pressed my lips against hers for one more short kiss.

"Goodnight."

Morgan closed her eyes and fell asleep with a small grin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This morning, Morgan and I ate breakfast together. It had first seemed like a small thing to me before I realized how important it was for me just to be around her. She was becoming everything to me. Every small smile, every laugh, and every kiss was something I held onto. I needed her more than I needed anything else in the world.

When I stepped into my office, I knew that someone had recently been in here. No one had permission to be in my office. At first nothing seemed out of place, until I noticed something lying in the middle of my desk.

It was a note that read, "YOU DON'T DESERVE HER."

The parchment crumpled in my hands after I read it. I would find the person who wrote this and I would snap their neck. It may be true that Morgan is better than me, but this note sounded like a threat. No one was going to get between me and my mate.

Lance barged into my office. I was about to yell at him for coming into my office without knocking before I noticed his panicked state.

"Alpha, you need to come to the training fields." Lance was out of breath but followed me nonetheless.

There were always many people at the fields, but they weren't training like normal. This time, they were gathered in a huge crowd. I started to shove past people before they began parting to let me through. I walked until I reached the center of what the crowd had gathered around. And there stood Lucas.

"Good morning, Calum."

I growled at him. He was supposed to use my title. Morgan was the only person who got to call me Calum.

"What is this?"

"I've come to challenge you for the alpha title and your mate."