My Possessive Alpha Mate

Chapter 6

Quickly rushing to the door, I tripped over the edge of the coffee table. Derek was a step behind me and caught me easily. I smiled and continued on my way to the door. When I was about to open the door, he put his arms around my waist. I found this strange but comforting so I didn't say anything.

On the other side of the door was Jason. He smiled at the way Derek had his body wrapped around mine so carelessly and I thought I saw a bit of jealousy in his eyes. I remembered Derek saying something about a friend who's mate thought he was evil for two months. Could that friend have been Jason?

"Come in. Did you need something specific or are you here for this mutt?" I joked around and then quickly covered my mouth. What if Jason wasn't a werewolf at all? Much to my relief, Jason burst out laughing and Derek gave me a light tap on my butt.

"That wasn't very nice," He whispered into my ear. I smiled and turned to kiss him, "Neither was shifting in my living room."

Sitting down and making himself comfortable, Jason cleared his throat, "Well actually, this won't be your living room for much longer. She'll be staying at the pack house with you, right?" He asked Derek. I think I almost fainted. Move in together? So early? I had only known him a day. The practical human side of me was going into worry overload.

"I was thinking that. She could just stay home and relax with Alexa. As Luna, she'd have a lot of duties. She can take over from Rylee and--," I cut him off. Stay at home? He was delusional! I was planning on finishing school! A small jealous part of me wondered who Rylee was.

"What's a Luna?" I wondered out loud. Jason covered his mouth so he could choke a laugh. Derek took my hand and walked over to the couch Jason wasn't occupying.

"A Luna is the mate of the Alpha who is basically in charge of a pack. It's hereditary, like a kingship." Derek tried to explain. If he had called me Luna, that meant that he was Alpha right?

"So you're Alpha of your pack?" I asked, trying to understand. He hesitantly nodded, "What does an Alpha do?"

"Protect the pack, look out for the interests of the pack, expand your territory, train your warriors, provide heirs that will be the new Alphas after something happens to me, and of course take care of my mate and make sure she's happy and well taken care of. You'll have your duties as Luna of course but I don't think that will be much of a burden for you since you won't go to school."

"And you expect me to sit around, look pretty, play good little first lady and not finish school?" It was obvious by the way that his brows furrowed that he realized the trap he'd walked into. It was obvious he'd expected that, but confirming it would piss me off and he knew it.

"Kind of. As Luna, you'll be very busy with the pack just like I am as Alpha and not finishing school wouldn't be that big of a deal because I'd always take care of you." Derek said, cautiously. He reached for my hand

"Nice try but no, I'm finishing school and whatever Luna duties there are, I can do them simultaneously." I told him straight up. He winced and Jason came to his defense.

"Being Luna is a bigger responsibility than I think you realize, Arabella. You are responsible for the happiness-- the livelihood-- of our people, making sure the Alpha is taken care of, and keeping the women and children in balance. It's a lot of work and we have a larger pack than most. School would take up most of your day, I don't think it would be sensible to try to balance both." I'd never realized how old Jason was but at that moment I was sure that he was older than Derek. His eyes held a sort of serious sadness in that moment and I couldn't figure out why. Then the pieces began to fall together. Derek had said I could take over for Rylee, not his mother. What had happened to her? How long had this pack gone without a Luna?

"I managed to take care of my sister-in-law, Alexa, go to school, keep my GPA up, and do cheer. I think I can handle it." I was not going to be controlled, even by Derek.

"We can talk about this later. I'm sure we can compromise," Derek said, his warm emerald eyes boring into mine as he reached for my hand. I let him distract me from the topic because we definitely would talk about it later.

I mistakenly thought he just wanted to hold hands. Instead, I was gently but firmly tugged into his lap. It was then that I noticed how careful he was being with me. He was clearly significantly stronger, but he was taking extra care to be gentle. I should've felt scared, I knew that was the normal reaction, but somehow I knew he would never hurt me.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your time with your mate, Alpha, but I'm here to inform you that there has been a rogue sighting on the northeastern border. No one has made contact and it appears to be clueless. Most likely harmless."

At the word "rogue," Derek stiffened.

"Even if they seem clueless, never let your guard down and ALWAYS detain them for me to question." He sounded pissed off, his jaw clenched. His grip on me had tightened. I had the urge to reach out and hold his tense jaw but I knew my place and now was not the time. Not when I knew so little about the situation.

Instead I did what I thought was right. "It's alright if you want to go handle this yourself. I need to feed Alexa and make some calls anyway."

He looked skeptical but I gave him a reassuring smile. Was this how our whole lives would be? Forever is a long time to always have to ask permission to do the smallest thing. After a long moment and perhaps an inner battle, he nodded.

"You can have some time to think things over and I'll be back in a few hours for us to discuss everything." He must have seen how quickly the smile fell from my face because he reached out to hold my cheek, his thumb on my lip. His warm hand felt so right there that I couldn't help the rush of dopamine to my brain.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be okay. I know this is a big change for you and completely not what you're used to." He smiled and kissed me softly. As amazing as his lips on mine felt, I was already formulating a plan.

***

After Derek and Jason left, I fed Alexa and gave her a bath. Very recently she had developed a dislike for water, I hoped it passed quickly because it felt like I was torturing her when I bathed her. The way she cried was so dramatic, it almost brought me to tears. This had been going on for a few weeks. At first, I had double checked the water temperature. I knew now it was probably just a phase but I vowed to consult a pediatrician in the town we ended up settling in.

"Baby girl, you're going to have to bathe for the rest of your life. Don't give me that look, everyone has to bathe." Alexa looked doubtful and made a face. I wasn't quite sure how much she understood but I often talked to her in an adult fashion.

Odd feelings had been haunting me all morning since Derek left. When we were both dressed, fed and ready for the day, I let them fully take me over. Intense feelings of anxiety plagued me. Would he come back? Was he safe? Was he hurt?

These thoughts and anxiety over his welfare and our separation only served to make me more fearful of what my life would become if I stayed. I could still leave, it was still very early. There was a chance I could forget all of this, forget him. My hands began to shake as I packed what little we had in the hotel suite. I just had to hope and pray that no one in the pack saw me leave until it was too late.