The Human Mate

My Mate

Mateo

I scrub my hands hard over my face a few times trying to rub the stress away, day in and day out its always something. The things I would do for a vacation I think as I lean back in my office chair, s**t at least Luna to help ease the load and trust me I’ve been searching long and hard for my mate. I have my beta Derek to help but he has his own workload that I already delegate to him and my delta Aaron and gamma Cody are already spread too thin. And my parents the former Alpha and Luna are busy enjoying their retirement in the Caribbean islands. So why am I seeking an alliance with the Silver Ring Pack if we already have enough going on over here in The white lotus Pack? As the Alpha of my pack, I have a duty to do right by them and protect them in any way possible. My pack is strong, sturdy and flows without complications but you see there is a growing number in rogues as well hunters due to the growing number of wild wolves. Forming an alliance with The Silver Ring pack brings even more strength and safety if anything were to happen. It’s not my first choice because I prefer not to depend on anyone but if it came down to it and the rogues magically were able to overcome either pack they would need a helping hand, a safe haven. This was just a precaution and nothing more.

I pick my head up and look at the door as I hear a knock.

“You can come in Derek” I say as I already knew it was him by his scent.

“Alpha, it’s time for you to start heading out, it’s going to take almost a little under two hours to get to Silver Ring Pack, and I know you don’t want to be there overnight so the sooner you get there the sooner you can leave,” Derek says smirking.

He’s right, he knows me all too well. I don’t like spending the night anywhere other than my own bed, it was made just for me. Im too tall, standing at a whopping six feet seven inches any bed other than my own is like sleeping in a crib.

“I’m just going to change clothes really quick,” I say as I stand up, “You think you can handle everything while im gone?” I smile, I know Derek can handle it because he has many times before when I had meetings with other packs in the past and would leave him in charge. I would trust him with my life, we have been best friends since kindergarten and his father was my father’s beta. He knows me better than I think I know myself. He knows how to bring me back when my temper gets the best of me. It doesn’t happen often but having a black wolf comes with extreme aggressiveness, a bad temper and possessiveness. My father got lucky, and the black wolf skipped a generation and came right to me. Luckily, I have grown to control it but as a teen I was a terror.

“I’m just going to ignore that question” Derek rolls his eyes before he continues “Cody and Aaron are already in the car waiting for you so stop stalling,” I chuckle and slap his shoulder as I walk past him and out my office door. I quickly change out of my sweatpants and t-shirt and into a black button up and jeans. This wasn’t a formal meeting, so I didn’t feel the need to dress up, I was touring the land to see if it was suitable for my pack members to stay here in an event was to take place. Alpha Marcus has already been to my pack back when my father was Alpha before he and my mother decided to retire and travel, so he didn’t need a tour. As I walk outside, I see that Aaron has Cody in a head lock while he ruffles his blonde hair. You would’ve thought these two were siblings the way they get along when they are left alone. The ladies love it, they find it cute, and they sure do take advantage of it. At least I can say they work just as hard as they play.

“Aaron leave Cody alone, you know how he feels about his hair,” I chuckle, Cody takes pride in his hair always making sure his blonde straight locks were slicked back.

“Sorry Alpha, he thought he was getting shot gun after I already called it, sneaky dickhead tried to jump into the passenger side as soon as we got to the car,” Aaron laughs as he tries to put Cody in another head lock.

Cody swats him away before saying “He always rides shot gun and I hate sitting in the back I feel like a little kid, and YOU never let anyone else drive.” He’s right I never let anyone else drive if Im there, let’s just say it’s a control thing.

“Aaron just let Cody have shot gun this one time,” I say as I hop in the driver’s seat.

“Fine” Aaron says, grinning he then whispers in Cody’s ear “p***y” just before he pushes him and hops in the back seat not giving Cody enough time to react. I just chuckle looking at my Delta and Gamma act like two eight-year-old boys.

“Do you think you’ll find your mate Alpha?” Aaron asks me from the back seat. Im Twenty-four now and have been searching for my mate since I was eighteen. I went to every meeting, ceremony and party hoping I would find her at one but left empty handed every time. I gave up last year, it was tiring, and the constant disappointment was starting to wear me down.

“I don’t think so, at least I don’t expect to,” I huff “I doubt my mate magically popped up within the past year.” I was here last year for Alpha Marcus’ daughter eighteenth birthday party, thinking she could be my mate, and that’s when I decided to give up on my search. I’ve then decided to focus on my pack and if my mate was out there we would eventually find our ways to each other.

I can tell we have reached Silver Rings border from the patrol wolves that lurk between the trees watching us, they were already expecting and im sure they linked their Alpha, so we continued. My wolf was on edge, he didn’t like that were surrounded by some many wolves even though we were here in peace. I had to take deep breathes just to keep my wolf at bay. I haven’t lost control in a long time and I can’t have the first time happen here.

We were about twenty minutes away from the pack house, finally, I hate long drives, I take a deep breath in, and instantly this sweet honey and vanilla smell invaded my nostrils. I slow down to savor the smell and glance out my window to see a small figure in a barn. I perked my ears up and I could hear humming, it was the most beautiful sound I’ve heard and im not just saying that because I was in a trance. Her hums were smooth and soft, like a Disney princess. Cody cleared his throat while giving me a confused look.

“Uh Alpha?” he said pointing, “You might wanna keep your eyes on the road.” and I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I couldn’t get the sound of her out my head. Was the little figure in the barn my mate?

Mateo

I decide to keep driving, making a mental note to have Alpha Marcus bring me back to the barn. I pull up in front of the pack has where I can see Alpha Marcus, His Beta Elias, and Delta Thomas waiting for us. I hop out and almost immediately was greeted by Alpha Marcus with a handshake. We all exchange handshakes and ranks before heading into the pack house. We all gather in his office, six huge full-sized wolves in one office, crammed wasn’t even the word.

“Did you run into any rogues on your way here?” Marcus asks.

“No, surprisingly, I was sure that I was going to run into some type of problem in the way here” I replied. And I was, the fact that I didn’t made me nervous. Rogues took any opportunity to attack no matter the outcome.

“I doubled our patrols at the border and a little beyond the border just in case for your arrival, maybe that scared them off,” his beta said. We exchanged more small talk before heading outside to tour his lands. He had a lot of land for shifting and running, a well-equipped hospital, schools, diners, and training quarters. He was doing well for his pack, they looked happy and well cared for. It took about two hours to explore everything but there was one more thing I wanted to check out, the barn right by the border.

“Alpha, the barn by the border…what is it used for?” I say and I could see his Delta Thomas tense up. Alpha gives him a weary look before looking back to me.

“That’s my Deltas barn, his house is right on the other side of it.” Marcus says

I turn to his delta and ask, “You live there by yourself?”

“No,” Thomas responds and pauses before speaking again, “My mate and my daughter lives there with me,” he grits his teeth when he said daughter.

“I would like to see it,” I say. Thomas lets out a growl which instantly puts me on edge. How dare he growl at an Alpha? I straighten my shoulders ready to walk to him before his alpha interjects.

“Thomas, STOP. NOW, he must see all the land and that includes your home especially since it is near the border.” Marcus says with a stern voice. Thomas nods and retracts his claws that came out before leading us to his property without a word. We walk in silence until we reach his front porch where his mate stood waiting. She was beautiful and radiated a kind aura instantly, but she was also nervous. She was twisting a dish towel had in her hands so hard her fingers were turning white.

“Thomas, you’re home,” she smiles nervously. “Dinner is almost ready, I made enough for everyone just in case and of course if you are all hungry.” Thomas nods before walking to his mate and giving her a long kiss on her lips before letting her go like he had something to prove. She looked shocked and scared at the same time. Weird.

“You know I love your cooking Juliette,” Marcus says to her while grinning then turning back to us “Let’s walk through the property fast so I can eat, just the thought of Juliette’s cooking is making my mouth water.” Thomas was quiet and I can see him clenching and unclenching his jaw constantly. What the f**k was his problem? We walk through his garden which was beautiful. It was colorful and well-kept. The flowers were in perfect bloom. It was even more beautiful than my own garden at the packhouse. I even gave him the compliment, but he just grunted a thank you. I was trying to figure out what stick suddenly went up his ass all because I wanted to his property.

Just a few more steps and the smell of honey and vanilla was back. I followed it to the barn walking with urgency, picking up on the humming again. Thomas was hot on my tail and Marcus was hot on his. What was the problem here? I get to the barn, and I see her, my mate, sitting looking like a graceful goddess. She was painting and humming unaware of us coming towards her. She was wearing a white sundress, the hems were a brownish color as if she was walking through dirt and her hair was pulled into a ponytail showing her caramel shoulders and perfectly slender neck that my mark would look perfect on. The white dress against her tan skin made her look like she was glowing. I didn’t see her face yet, but I knew she was beautiful, and I knew she was my mate.

Mateo

I cleared my throat, and she whipped her head around, her eyes wide from shock as she saw the group of males standing before her. She stood up so fast and almost fell back knocking her easel down, spilling all her paints and the water cup that held the brushes. I rushed to help her hearing a growl rumble from Thomas’ chest from behind me, and Alpha Marcus growling back, but I didn’t care, my mind was on my beautiful mate.

“I-I’m so sorry Thom- father, I didn’t hear you guys come in,” my mate stuttered as she bent down to clean up her mess avoiding making eye contact with her father. That was weird. I bent down helping her pick up the paint brushes, she avoided making eye contact with me as well. We reached for a paint brush at the same time our hands touching, I felt sparks shoot up my arm and all the way to my chest where my heart skipped a beat. She gasped and pulled back staring at me with those beautiful glowing green eyes, I knew she felt it, the sparks, she could feel that I was her mate. She quickly lowered her eyes before standing and backing away then looked at her father who was ten shades of red. I’m missing something here, but I didn’t care I wanted to touch my mate again, to feel those sparks.

“I’ll clean it up Father, I didn’t mean to make the mess, you guys startled me…I…” she rambled without catching her breath. Thomas opened his mouth to speak and was cut off by his mate Juliette walking into the barn saying dinner was ready. I didn’t plan on staying for dinner but now I definitely was.

“Well let’s go eat, Im starving.” Alpha Marcus yelled while clapping his hands together. The tension in this barn was so damn thick you would need a saw to cut it.Thomas huffed and lead the way to the house, and everyone tailed after him but me. Juliette walked over to her daughter realizing the mess on the wood floors of the barn.

“Emerald, what happened?” her mom said with worry laced in her voice. So, her name was Emerald, to match the color of her eyes, it was perfect, she was perfect. She was her mother’s twin, inheriting her mother’s beauty. She was a sight I never wanted to let go of.

“I didn’t notice them behind me and when I did, I jumped knocking everything over. He’s so mad mom. I didn’t know. I did what he said. I didn’t know… now he’s going to….” Emerald says all in one breath.

“Shh Emmie..it’s okay,”Juliette holds her daughter’s face and whispers to her while looking back me. She had a pained expression on face. It was just paint and water, what was the big deal? Juliette and Emerald walked towards me, Emeralds eyes on the ground.

“Let’s go eat Alpha, if we leave all those wolves in there with the food, we’ll have nothing, but bones left for us,” Juliette say with a strained smile.

“We won’t even have bones with the way my gamma and delta eat,” I chuckle. “And I’m Mateo,” I said looking at my mate and her mother.

“My name is Juliette, and this is my daughter Emerald,” Emerald bowed her head to me in respect, but she still wouldn’t look at me. I would fix that, no Luna of mine would be timid. She would learn to hold her head high as she commands her pack.

Juliette leads the way to the house with her daughter by her side and me following just a couple feet behind. I walked so slower so I can observe my mate, memorizing every piece of her body and letting the wind send her scent back towards me. She was so small, no more than five feet tall. I could see her round bubble shaped ass move beneath that sundress; my d**k twitched. I had to control myself because as soon as that happened, I saw Emerald turn her head back making eye contact with me and I smiled, the smile was so damn big it probably took over my whole face. She didn’t return the smile instead she gasped and turned her head straight. Damn that hurt.

The house is big, big enough to host me and my guys as well as Alpha Marcus and his own comfortably. The walls are decorated with paintings, each telling its own story, they were breathtaking. I must ask Thomas where he gets them so I can hang them around my pack house. Everyone is already seated around the table that was heavy with different kinds of food. Juliette sits next to her mate and Emerald turns to leave the room.

“Are you not joining us?” I said in a rush while grabbing her wrist. She blushes from the sparks flying between us from our touch but then gives me a scared look. I let go as quickly as I grabbed her causing confused looks from my gamma and delta. I was nervous for her to leave the room; she was fighting the pull and I was afraid she wouldn’t show her face for the rest of the evening.

“ I..uh”she stammers, lost for words.

“Find a seat Emerald” Thomas says with an annoyed look on his face. I see him gripping his mates’ hands as if that took all his energy to say. His Alpha and beta gave him blank looks, but I can tell they were mind linking.

“You can sit next to me,” Cody says as he scoots his chair over causing me to growl. I clear my throat hoping no one heard that. Emerald takes her seat, keeping her head down, this girl is seriously lacking some confidence. Maybe it’s all the High-ranking auras in here and she been around this type of situation before.

“Everything looks good Ma’am,” Aaron says.

“Thank you but it tastes better than it looks, stop staring and eat, you know you’re all hungry.” She demands.

We began dishing and passing around plates for the first few minutes. You can hear the serving spoons clattering against the plate every time someone served themselves something but underneath all that I could hear my mate’s heartbeat rapidly beating from nerves. The food was amazing, like seriously amazing, not one thing to complain about. Complements to the chef were being thrown out left and right by everyone at the table along with some small talk.

“Thomas, you have to tell me where you get those paintings you have hanging from.” I spoke. I saw him grip his fork tight before swallowing the food he had in his mouth.

“Emerald paints them,” he says as he uses his fork to point towards her. Emerald picks her head up in shock, her face turning beet red.

“They are beautiful Emerald, you have to paint some for us when you move into my packhouse,” I ease out staring into my mate’s green eyes. f**k it, the cat had to come out the bag sooner or later.