Six months ago Xander became alpha of Blackwood Pack, the second largest pack in North America. Tired of watching his pack suffer under his father's abusive regime, Xander challenged and beat his father in an alpha contest to the death. Regrettabl...
Elsbeth did not know what to make of the room she had been given. Clearly some work had been done to it very recently, and it must have been done with her in mind. There was no other possible explanation. This type of kindness was so foreign to her, it almost made her suspicious. A few days ago, Brexton was flipping through a home magazine showing her rooms and designs he liked. At his insistence, and Brexton could be extremely persistent, Elsbeth had pointed at one of the pictures showing her approval. The room she sat in now was almost a carbon copy to the one she had indicated even down to the wall hangings. The walls were a light lilac with white trim around the base. She could still smell the fresh paint. On the floor was an extremely plush gray carpet and white furniture was spread across the room. Her bed had a mixture of blankets and pillows in various shades lilac. With further exploring Elsbeth had found a spacious attached bathroom and a huge walk-in closet. Both of them were already stocked with things for her. She had seen price tags on the clothes, all of which appeared to be in her size, and the beauty supplies in the bathroom did not look like they had ever been opened.
However, with everything that she had discovered, the kindest and most satisfying gift Elsbeth found were the two giant bolts on her door that seemed to be freshly installed. The key the alpha had given her, controlled one of the bolts, but the second could only be locked or opened from inside the room. Elsbeth knew a key was only good if she was the only one in possession and she had no way of confirming that. The second bolt could only have been added to give her peace of mind. When the alpha had said this was her room, not for anyone else, he clearly meant it.
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"So what did she think?" Zack asked when he barged into Xander's office. Zack had spent a ton of time managing the renovation work the last few days and wanted to know if the pack's efforts had been worth it.
"No idea," Xander replied as he looked up from his work.
"Is she still ignoring you? I would have thought the room would have thawed her out a bit," Zack commented with a disappointed sigh as he plopped into one of the chairs.
"I haven't seen her since I gave her the key. I hope she has been making herself at home," Xander replied nonchalantly.
"Whatever for?!? You know you just give up a perfectly good opportunity to get on that girl's good side. What were you thinking?" Zack demanded.
"Zack, I am not trying to get on her good side. I am trying to prove myself worthy of her trust. How long do you think it has been since she has had been allowed to be possessive?" Xander inquired of his beta.
Wolves were naturally possessive if allowed, especially she-wolves. As she-wolfs aged they typically became more and more guarded of their dens and possessions. Those they recognized as close friends or family were allowed in. However, it was still considered incredibly rude to enter without their permission. If a stranger or someone not close to the she-wolf were to enter, the she-wolf would typically respond with acts of aggression. Unfortunately, his father had encouraged those fights as he found them amusing. Too many injuries had occurred as a result. Xander did not show his little mate the room because he didn't want her to imagine him in it without her invitation. If she were to become possessive over her room, Xander would know that it had truly become her home.
"I suppose you may have used some logic, but still a stupid choice," Zack said to mock his friend.
"I will worry about my mate, you Beta, need to worry about the pack," Xander growled out in response.
"Well speaking of the pack, what are you going to do about the counsel? Isn't your month to force mate Harmony about up?" Zack asked.
Now it was Xander's turn to sigh. "I have one more week. The only good thing about giving the girl my blood and forcing the mating claim other than healing her is that they cannot force me to mate that councilman's brat!"
"The council will require proof of your mating claim. The girl has not marked you, nor do I see her marking you in the near future. They threatened the pack. How are you going to stop them from moving against us?" Zack queried.
"I don't know," Xander slowly answered. "It is not uncommon for an alpha to travel with their mate, but there is no way I would subject her to them."
Xander let out a harsh growl at the thought of the council near his precious girl.
