My mate and my gift

Chapter twelve: Matthew

I was sitting in the office at the alpha residence, informing alpha Adal about what we had found on our patrol – which was nothing, just like I expected. After all, I hadn’t made the request because I was worried.

Once in a while he nodded as he was taking notes.

“You put in this request for a patrol with this particular she-wolf, Mira, a couple of weeks ago. I’m sorry it has only reached me now. Why did you want to do this extra patrol?” he asked me.

I shifted nervously in my seat, not sure how to explain my situation.

“Can I ask you something else first?” I inquired.

“Go ahead” he answered with a nod.

“What happens when a wolf rejects their mate? And what happens to the rejected wolf?” my voice was tiny and brittle, and I felt embarrassed by this silly question.

Alpha Adal put down his pen and looked straight at me. He furrowed his brows.

“I have never heard of any such situation, so I do not have an answer” he said “Most wolves abide by the fates they have been given and do not question their instincts”

I looked down on the floor. When I had put in that request, I had hoped to get a chance to have a proper conversation with Mira and get her to know me better. But now it had happened at the worst possible time. Her words were still ringing in my head. ‘It’s only fair’.

“Is there anything you want to tell me, Matthew?” he asked me. I squeezed my eyes shot and shook my head. The situation was bad enough as it was, I didn’t want him to take action against Mira. He would most definitely call Mira in for a meeting, asking the reason for her behavior, and she would hate me even more. I felt a pinch in my heart when I thought about how much she must dislike me to deny our bond, especially when I don’t think she has any reason to.

“I’m sorry I can’t give you the answer you are searching for, Matthew” Adal said as he slowly got up from his chair.

“It is not your fault, alpha” I said, even though I did feel a little disappointed.

“You will join is tomorrow evening though, won’t you?” he asked, his voice soft and pleading. He knew something was wrong, but he probably had more important things to attend to and was hoping that a night out might cheer me up.

The bachelor party was tomorrow. Although I was in no mood for being around a bunch of people, maybe the alcohol could numb my body so I could finally get a full night’s sleep.

He walked me to the door and as I turned to leave, he said “I would imagine that a wolf who denies herself the love of her mate, is like a river without water”

I smiled at him, turned away and made my way back to the mansion.

The following evening, I was dressed from head to toe in black: black jeans, a black long-sleeved shirt, and black shoes. Even though black usually made my eyes stand out, in this case it highlighted the dark circles under them instead, and I could tell the shirt wasn’t as tight as it used to be. Even though I had been going to the gym more than usual, I wasn’t eating as I should, and I didn’t have the strength to keep in shape. But I was still broad around the shoulders and my arms were still twice the size of my fists.

I joined the other male wolves in the alpha residence, as the females were in one of the common rooms in the mansion. I had passed Mira on my way to the stairs but had made no attempts to approach her. She had frozen in place when she saw me but had nowhere to run to. Her reaction made me wince and walk away faster. I had decided to try and enjoy this evening without thinking about her all the time. Clearly, I was failing. Colin grabbed my shoulders and looked me up and down. “Man, this is really getting to you, huh?” he said. He had been asking for updates a couple of times.

I offered him a weak smile in response. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me into the dining room where he grabbed me a beer from the fridge.

I had spent most of the evening on a couch drinking beer. I didn’t know what time it was when the guys decided we should go to a club in a nearby town. I let them drag me along, feeling nowhere near drunk enough to pass out on my bed yet.

Once there we walked into the sitting room, settled in the large booths along the corner of the back wall and placed our orders of shots and beer. We took up a total of four booths

I was on my third beer when a familiar scent hit my nose. Strawberries. I shook my head and downed my beer in one go, got up and walked to the bar while the others shouted their orders after me.

I ordered a bit of this and that, not really paying attention, and took it back to the booth. The guys attacked the tray as if they hadn’t had a thing to drink in days. I looked down and saw that the only thing left on the tray was a pink cocktail with a little pink umbrella and a red twirly straw. I had no idea why or how I had ordered that. Colin came up next to me and smacked me on the shoulder, laughing as hard as he could. “That is the most girliest drink I have ever seen!” he laughed. He was pretty drunk at this point. “Wait! Let me have a sip!” he said and grabbed the drink. Fine by me, I had no intention of drinking it. I went back to the bar and ordered another beer. While I waited, I looked at the cocktail card, searching for the pink drink I could now see my best friend consume with gusto. ‘Strawberry swirl’ it was called. Great! Just what I needed.

I got my beer, went back to the booth, and sat down. I looked at Colin dancing around with his pink cocktail. He winked at me and lifted the drink in the air. I shook my head and emptied my beer in three big gulps. I got up to get another beer, but instead I noticed that I had to use the toilet. As I was walking back from the toilet, the strawberry scent hit me again. I traced it to the dance room. I stood in the door, looking at the crowd of people. It was packed to the brim, and I wondered if I was just smelling someone’s perfume. It was highly likely, considering the amount of people and the various other perfumes I could smell.

But then I saw her. She had her back to me, leaning against a bar, wearing an outfit I would never have thought she would choose. The mini skirt fell just above mid-thigh, the top she was wearing was tied behind the neck and it was short, showing off her back and slim waist. She was wearing heels that I recognized all too well. Roxy’s. I looked around to see if I could spot Roxy anywhere, but considering she wasn’t very tall and loved to dance, there was a good chance she was hidden in the mass of people on the dancefloor.

My eyes wandered back to Mira. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She turned her body slightly and I noticed the top she was wearing was too tight around the chest. I also noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra.

I sent a small prayer in Roxy’s direction for giving me a chance to see more of my mate’s perfect curves. However, the prayer quickly turned to curses when I saw the guy standing next to Mira. They were doing shots, and as soon as their glasses were empty, he ordered more. My temper was rising at the way she was looking at him. She had never looked at me that way. And the guy was practically undressing Mira with his eyes. He lifted his hand and brushed it against her arm, saying something to her I couldn’t hear. He leaned forward towards her. I could feel a growl rumbling within me, and I had to fight to keep myself from ripping that guy to shreds. Mira was my mate, and it was about time I let her know once and for all that I was not going to give her to anyone.