Mates: Melanie's Warrior

Chapter 7

~Geoff~

I’m in a fighting stance, sizing this oaf up. He had the audacity to have his hands all over my mate. My mate….I can’t believe I actually found my mate. I know nothing about her; I have no idea who she is or where she’s from. All I do know is that she’s mine.

“Who the f**k do you think you are?” I growl at him, watching him get into a fighting stance. I’m more than ready to rip him apart. Men like this make me sick. Men who think it’s okay to strong-arm women and demand them to do things that they don’t want to do. I would still feel the same way if she wasn’t my mate.

I grew up with men feeling like women were disposable. They treated women like doormats; their wants and wishes were never considered. Women were seen as commodities and would even be traded or leveraged. I was disgusted then and am disgusted now. No woman, no person, should ever feel like that. They should never be pressured into anything or forced into anything. I will always fight for those who have no voice, a small voice, and are weaker than others. I will always be their champion.

I narrow my eyes at this waste of space. I’m ready to go if he is. We start to circle each other. I know I’m looking for a weak spot, and I’d imagine he’s also looking for one in me. An older, burly man steps between us. “Hey, now! Let’s chill for a minute. There’s no need to do this right now; save it for the competition.” I keep my stance and continue to eye this fool. He snarls one last time and walks off.

“Al- Geoff, are you okay? What happened?” With my head, I turn to Hugo and motion for him to follow me.

I found her.

Found who, sir?

I found my mate. Hugo stops walking and looks at me with big eyes. I close my eyes and sniff the air around me. I can’t really smell her now. There are remnants of her in the air, but nothing is strong enough to hold on to. I sigh and open my eyes. This is going to be beyond frustrating. I don’t know how long it will take to find her, but I’m determined. At least I know her scent, and I won’t rest until I find her.

“Where is she? Who do I need to speak to?”

“No one, Hugo. I don’t know who she is or where she’s from. I wasn’t able to get that far. Hell, I don’t even know what she’s doing here.”

“What if she’s in the tournament?” Interesting, my mate being part of the tournament. I have met some really tough women in the past, but I guess I never considered that my mate would be one of them. To be honest, the idea doesn’t really bother me. I think a tough mate would be an asset, and my pack would greatly benefit.

“I hope she is part of the tournament. I hope my mate is tough and spunky. We will just keep our eyes out and hopefully come across her soon.” Hugo nods and resumes walking. “One thing, Hugo….”

“Yes, sir.”

“When we find her, do not tell her who I am.”

“Uh, do you really think that’s a good idea?” It isn’t ideal to lie to your mate, but I think it may be best for now. She had to have known who I was to her, yet she ran off quickly. Something tells me that getting to her won’t be that easy. I want to deal with one thing at a time, and my true identity isn’t that important compared to getting her to accept me in the first place.

“For now, just do as I say. Don’t let her know who I am.” Hugo nods in response, and we continue on. I have enough anger to do some real damage, and I need to be mindful of that. I need to expel this energy, and I’m in the perfect place to do so. It’s time to get ready to start this tournament, and now I have another goal. I need to find my mate.

~Melanie~

I can’t believe this is happening to me. I didn’t think I’d come here and find my fated mate; I don’t even want my fated mate. Now I have to focus on this tournament, knowing my fated mate is out there looking for me. And what was with that Brady guy anyway? Did he just decide that the best idea would be to push up on me? Who decides to be so bold?

I shake my head and recoil when a hand grabs my arm. I’m ready to knock out the next person who thinks I’m here strictly for their amusement. My body is swung to the left, and I let my fist fly. “Ahhh, Melanie! Damn that hurt! What the hell did I do?!” I look in front of me and exhale in relief. It’s just Jaxy.

“Apologies, Jaxy. I’ve just had a mess of a time, and I was in attack mode.” Jax rubs his chest where my fist landed. He puts his free arm around my shoulders and pulls me close to him.

“Tell Jaxy what happened?” I sigh and fill Jax in on everything I just went through. “The guy from yesterday??” I nod as we walk through the maze. “We will need to keep an eye out for him. Hopefully, he doesn’t cause too much trouble.” I lean my head on his shoulder. “Let’s talk about the great news, though.” I lift my head and look at Jaxy. What possible good news is he talking about? “You found your fated mate Melanie! That’s so amazing.”

I pull away from Jaxy and turn to face him. “I don’t want him.” I turn and storm off. I don’t want to discuss this; I just want to continue my day. My mate is a nothing burger, so there’s nothing to discuss.