A Mate Without A Mark

5. Acts Like He Cares

**Cindy**

The morning passed by in a breeze. The Alpha was nowhere to be seen during breakfast, but Cerberus was.

I strode out the front door, only to see him on his phone with his back against the wall.

His silky brown strands fell over his eyes instead of being styled back. There was a shadow over him that warned people he shouldn't be bothered.

Yet here I am, about to bother him.

"Are you going to waste your time staring? I smelt you a long time ago," Cerberus said.

I stepped back and rubbed my arm. "Sorry… I didn't want to say anything 'cause honestly, you don't seem all that happy."

The wind carried sweet magnolia flowers to my nostrils. Cerberus whistled, pushing the phone into the back pocket of his jeans. "Ouch, how rude. You know, you can admit that you were eating me up with your eyes because you think I'm hot."

I scoffed but faked a cough to hide it. "I won't even answer that. Alpha Reiss said you would be the one to show me around."

Cerberus sighed. He turned to gaze at me. His black T-shirt hugged his upper body like a bathing suit. "If I said to 'go by yourself and ask people for directions', would you?"

I shrugged. "If I said 'I will tell Alpha Reiss that you left me alone to wander around his territory as I pleased', would you still tell me that?"

He laughed. It was short and condescending, but still a laugh.

"Sure, sure. Let's go and pretend you don't think I'm the most attractive man you've ever met."

A retort popped into mind, but I figured I might as well let him have that one. Nothing wrong with kissing his butt for the next few hours.

"No, me as a man would be the most attractive man I ever saw."

"Oh, shut up!"

My body shook with laughter.

______

"And that's where most wolves keep their clothes when they go for a run. Don't have any funny ideas. We don't like perverts here."

"C-can we…" I placed my hand on a tree trunk, trying to catch my breath. "Can we take a break? It has to be noon by now. We've been walking all morning. Couldn't we have taken the car?"

"And miss journeying up and around rocky passages from Alpha Ress' gigantic house to Bill Major's poison therapy tent?" Cerberus said. "Why in the world would we do that?"

Without Cerberus with me, I definitely would have gotten lost. I grew up in the Maple Pack, where everything was organized to the shape of the windows.

Here, I nearly walked into a house four times. Not because I was blind... but because I might be blind. I was pulled out of a perfect community and thrown into a new one that resembled utter chaos. Nothing was in order. The Infirmary was down a hill for goddess’ sake! Why didn't they keep it on level ground? And the packhouse was pink! Who decided that?

They did an excellent job of keeping the houses separate so that each one had their own space. Even if that ended up with them being a long way from the main road.

Still, I was helpless to its raw beauty. When I left, the sun was hidden by hundreds of trees that continued uphill. Now, it shone directly on us, heating my skin and feeding the lush vegetation surrounding us. I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the preteens playing ball on the court in wolf and human form.

If I allowed it, I would have gleefully forgotten what they did and continued to do over the years. My being here was a constant reminder of that.

Beads of sweat ran down my forehead. "Please, just a quick break. We can sit on those benches by the lake over there."

Cerberus leaned on the same tree with his arms folded. "You can go by yourself. I don't want to look at it."

He sounded odd, like he swallowed something sour without chewing. I didn't question it.

There was a couple on the other side of the lake. I sat down on a bench in the shade, grateful to ease the tingles in my legs. The breeze pushed the tides forward until they disappeared at my toes.

"Does this lake have a name?" I asked.

Cerberus came closer and stood beside me. "The name is Wolf's Bane Lake," he replied with a saddened expression. "Named after the founder of this pack, who named himself after the plant. He took a group of rogues and turned them into a proper family. It's... kind of sacred."

"My little cousin loves the water. He would've dived right in if he was here."

"Children can enter the water, but not at night."

"Huh? Why not? Not even with an adult?"

"Not at all. Children are forbidden from coming to this lake at night. Alpha's orders."

I sighed. "If the big man insists."

Too bad. But that was none of my business. It's his pack, not mine. And I shouldn't even be here.

"I'm ready." I stood up and dusted my pants. "Where to next?"

________

Sweat, blood, and dirty bodies all in one room.

"Don't you dare go easy on me!" One of the men present said as his opponent stepped back.

"I'm just getting started," the opponent said. He lifted his arms in the air, showing off his tight muscles.

Emery stood close to the wall of the training room. She observed the fight and took down notes in her notepad. Men and women sat on the floor of the training room. Some wore gym clothes or anything else that gave their bodies room to breathe. Two of the shifters seated were sporting in their underwear.

Cerberus ushered me to a corner of the room where I could get a good view. "The Gammas like to test new offensive techniques on their best fighters," Cerberus explained.

One of the men dodged a kick. He aimed for his enemy's stomach, only to be blocked. Then, a knee was heading straight to his groin. He managed to dodge it and successfully planted a kick in the ribs.

"The guy who landed the final hit was Elijah," Cerberus pointed out.

"Not bad. Is he a Gamma?"

"No, but his opponent is." Cerberus' grin returned. Oddly enough, I was happy to see it. A mopey guide is not very fun. "Just watch."

Elijah must have thought he had the upper hand because his smile dropped when his opponent failed to move an inch. The other guy aimed an elbow to his throat, sending Elijah back a few feet while grasping at his neck. Elijah made the mistake of turning his back on him while trying to catch his breath. When he did that, his opponent sent him to the floor via a kick to his knees. Then he grabbed him from behind and used his entire arm to cut off his airway.

Elijah attempted to get him off by scratching and aiming for his face, but nothing worked.

"That's enough." Emery walked towards the center of the training room and clapped her hand. "Let him go, Allister."

Allister released Elijah. He rolled back his black shoulders, light from the ceiling reflecting off his sweat.

Elijah coughed then stood up, hand still rubbing his neck. "What the hell was that?" He yelled at Allister. "I nearly had you!"

Emery handed a bottle of water to Allister. She turned to Elijah, ponytail bouncing as she did so. "Actually, you didn't. You might need to train more with the other warriors before you fight a Gamma like him."

"She's right." All eyes turned to me. "You couldn't get him down because he knew how to maintain his stance. But he's not invincible. I could show you how to take him down."

He stared for a moment, taking me in, then he laughed. A few of the others sitting down started to laugh as well. Emery rolled her eyes. "Really, Cerberus? We're busy here, and we can't handle any distractions right now."

Cerberus shrugged. "I didn't know she was going to say anything. I'm not psychic."

"You," Elijah chuckled as he spoke. "You think you know about how we do things here? Go away human girlie. People like you can't even lift a jug without popping a backbone."

The rest laughed as if agreeing with his joke.

Emery folded her arms over her navy blue tank top. "Come on, Elijah. Leave the girl alone. Let's go again, one more time before we partner up for sparring."

With a grunt, Elijah turned his back to us. Cerberus seemed ready to leave, too. However, I wasn't.

I stepped forward, despite Cerberus' protests. "I know how to handle myself so I could offer some insights. Besides, it's not like I was wrong, right?"

Allister nodded. "True. I might be mistaken but she has an eye for these kinds of stuff."

With a cough, Elijah switched his focus from the Gamma to me. "Look girlie, do you wanna go for a round huh? We both know you can't do s**t against a bigger man."

"Sure, I can't fight you, but I can teach you how to win." Not that I wanted to with that attitude. I needed to establish myself somehow. If they think I'm a pushover, then they'll start talking down to me, like this man was doing now. "Plus, I trained with the wolves in my pack all the time."

"Of course, you can. Of course, I *completely* believe you." Elijah chuckled for one last time and rested his hands on his hips before becoming serious. "Tell you what, let's put your know-it-all ass to the test. Tomorrow, come to the old oak tree. Your babysitter knows where it is. If you pass, we'll let you join our morning training sessions and give your unwelcome advice. *When* you fail, however, you better not let me see you here again."

Emery shook her head but eventually gave in. She gazed at me. "Do you agree with those terms, Cindy? You don't have to, you know. Elijah is just being an ass. Ask Alpha Reiss and I'm sure he'll allow you to sit by and watch."

If that happens, no one here would respect me and only see me as a person who runs to the Alpha to have their way.

A reassuring smile graced my lips. "It's okay." I glared at Elijah. "You're on."

_________

"Seriously, why can't you mind your own business?"

We were on our way back to the Alpha's house. Along the way, I hummed the tune of a song that had been playing over and over in my head all day.

"You didn't ask that guy why he was so rude," I retorted.

"You're gonna get me killed sooner than I thought," I heard him mumble.

We arrived at a type of square where the area was more populated. I tried not to look anyone in the eye, yet I could still feel their eyes on me.

Outside of a stall, a middle-aged woman stooped down to offer some pups candied fruits on a tray she held up.

For some reason, Cerberus drew closer to me. He whispered low enough for me to hear. "You see that woman in that awful brown skirt and blouse with those peaches on it?" He pointed to her.

I followed the direction of his finger. There was a small boy, no older than 8, chatting with the same lady. His hair was a darker shade of red than Emery's. "Yeah?"

"That's my mother." My mouth dropped before I had a chance to stop it. "Don't talk to her, ever. Pretend that she doesn't exist."

"Does she have something against people like me?" I asked him. She seemed so harmless, and other than Cerberus, no one here treated her differently.

"No, but she's the type who would use you to her advantage all the same. So if you value your peace of mind, don't trust her."

I wanted to ask why he said that. I refrained from doing so. Since he said that about his own mother, he must have had his reasons. And I'm not close enough to him to ask what they are.

I nodded. "Alright. I promise not to go near her unless I absolutely have to.

He snorted. "Let's hope you never have to."

________

Dinner with the Alpha passed while being uneventful as ever. Reiss remained silent for most of it. I ate the food his cook prepared while trying to get a read on him. When I looked at him, he had his attention focused on an iPad laying on the table. Yet as soon as I kept my head down, I could feel the power of his gaze.

But honestly, it didn't affect me as much as it could have. There was a devil in me that wanted to find out how he would react if I didn't give him a chance to stare.

So I waited and stared at him nonstop. At some point, he must have noticed that I wasn't looking away because his movements became more sluggish as if he wasn't in a hurry. I only stopped staring at him to blink. After a grain of rice was left on his plate, he started coughing, and I smiled, knowing that I made him uncomfortable.

Still, he left the dinner with his last words being *goodnight*.

Seeing that I had nothing else left to do, I began to make my way upstairs when I spotted two lovebirds standing by the front door. Alpha Reiss and Emery were discussing something. Suddenly, she hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her waist. While he whispered in her ear, his eyes met mine. They glowed, emitting an eerie, dangerous aura. I didn't like the way it made me feel. Heck, I didn't even know what I felt. I stomped up the stairs, leaving them to their own devices.

I sat up in bed, leaning with my left arm resting on the windowsill. From here, I could see most of Alpha Reiss' territory. Streetlights lit up paths and people's faces.

So far none of the pack members have actively tried to hurt me or threaten me. Maybe Colt was right when he told me nobody would risk getting punished, just to sink their claws into a worthless little human. But I needed to do more than just sit still to help my pack.

A knock sounded at the door, effectively scaring me.

I calmed my racing heart before answering. "Hello?"

"I forgot to ask, how was your first day?" Alpha Reiss asked through the door.

Oh. Aw, he's pretending to be sweet. Too bad he sounded so awkward.

"I liked it. The lake was especially very beautiful. I would like to go there more often if you don't mind."

"Please, feel free to. I won't stop you. But don't go there at night."

I nodded, then cursed myself when I remembered he couldn't see me. "That won't be a problem, Alpha Reiss."

Silence. I wished I knew what he was thinking.

"Do you have classes tomorrow?"

"Not until the evening."

"Come to my office in the morning. I have something for you to do."

I nodded, then cursed myself before replying, "Yes, Alpha Reiss."

Silence again. "'Night," was the last thing he said to me. He left for his room, footsteps telling me that he walked faster than he usually did.

I was about to close the window and drift off to sleep, when I noticed something that caught my eye.

The same woman I saw in the square. Cerberus' mother, whom he warned about. She traveled along a dirt path that wasn't lit up by the streetlights. Either she was heading home or she was going somewhere she didn't want others to see.

That wasn't all. Someone held her hand as they traversed through untamed grass. He looked up at her and I recognized his face. He was the young boy she handed candied fruits to.

And then it hit me. I knew where they were going.

She was taking that young boy to the lake.

But why would she go against Alpha Reiss' rule?