Unexpected Mates

Chapter Two

“Oliver, you are excused.”

Both the man sitting across from me and I snap our heads to the door, where we see the man from before standing with his arms crossed and his feet braced a shoulder’s width apart. One thing’s for sure, he’s definitely an imposing figure.

“What happened to my brother?” I ask, jumping up.

“He’s being dealt with,” he says, stepping forward.

“What do you mean ‘he’s being dealt with’? What does that mean? Please, don’t hurt him!” I’m begging, terrified for Jamie.

Instead of answering, his large hand cups my cheek as he stares at me. I try pulling back, but part of me doesn’t want to. His hand feels so right on my skin.

“I’ve been waiting my entire life for you,” he tells me softly.

“I don’t understand any of this,” I whisper before I can stop myself. My body has never been so confused. I’m terrified, yet I desperately want to throw my arms around this man.

He frowns, “What don’t you understand?”

“Everything?” I offer, stepping back to pace back and forth. “This morning, I had normal parents and a normal brother. We were coming here to congratulate somebody on their promotion and then we were heading back home. Now I don’t even know what’s real or fake anymore. I mean, werewolves?”

I pause, throwing him an accusatory glare, “And you called me your mate earlier. I am not your mate.”

“Of course you are. Can’t you feel it?” he steps closer again. This time, I step back at the same time so he can’t gain any leverage.

“Do not step away from me,” he demands, his voice deepening to almost a growl.

My eyes widen in fear and my body freezes.

He curses softly under his breath, “Don’t be afraid.”

“H-how?” I ask, my voice shaking.

He sighs and sits down on the coffee table, pulling me so I sit in front of him on the chair I was on before. “You have nothing to worry about. I was just upset.”

“But what if you turn into a wolf? There’s nobody here to protect me,” I say nervously. Never in my life have I felt like such a child. Normally I can fend for myself, but right now I just want a knight in shining armor to come and get me out of here.

“You don’t need protection from me! I would never hurt you,” he growls, obviously angered by what I suggested.

“Okay!” I cry, trying to calm him. Still, I can’t help but ask, “But what if you do?”

“I won’t. I can’t. It’s impossible for me to hurt you. The only thing I want is to make you happy,” he tells me, smiling softly at the end.

“Why?” I whisper, “You don’t even know me.”

“We’re mates,” he makes it sound so absolute, like there isn’t even a shred of doubt in his mind that we were born for each other.

“You keep on saying that like it should make a huge difference to me. Why do you even think that?” I ask, frustrated.

A look passes over his face, like he’s starting to realize that I’m not kidding. Finally, says, “Why don’t you tell me everything you know about us and I’ll fill in the rest.”

“Us? As in werewolves?”

He nods.

“Does Twilight count?” I’m only partially kidding.

His eyes widen. “Are you telling me that you honestly don’t know what’s happening right now? You’re not joking?”

I hold up a hand like I learned in Girl Scouts. “I swear, on my life, that I’m not joking. I’ve honestly never been so lost in my entire life.”

“What the hell is wrong with your parents?” he asks angrily.

“What the hell is wrong with you? My parents have nothing to do with any of this.” I say, instantly ready to defend my family.

“They have everything to do with this. What kind of parents don’t tell their daughter that she’s a werewolf?”

My jaw drops, “I’m not a werewolf.” This guy has to be kidding. In what world could I be a werewolf Hell, in what world were these kinds of things even discussions that people seriously had with each other?

His gaze shifts back to me, having been looking around the room, with a raised eyebrow. “You actually think that two werewolf parents would have a non-were baby?”

“My parents aren’t werewolves either!” I announce, shocked. Are they? I mean, obviously Jamie was, but that had to be why we were here, right? Not because all of us were.

He seems to find this amusing. “Baby, only werewolves even know how to find this place,” he says, resting one hand on my knee.

I shove it off with a scowl, “Well, Baby, how was I supposed to know that? I mean, for the past nineteen years they’ve been humans.”

“Don’t talk to me like that,” he says, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

“Sorry,” I whisper, feeling myself shrink. The idea of him turning on me like he did Jamie was terrifying. The image of him snarling at my brother and digging his claw into him keeps running through my mind. I had no way of protecting myself. If he did that to me, I would be dead.

Rubbing a hand over his face, lets out a long sigh. “Look, I am the alpha of this pack and that comes with a certain level of respect, no matter who you are.”

“What I if I don’t like you touching me or what you say?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.

“That’s never happened to me before,” he admits without a hint of humor.

I frown, “Why?”

“You’re full of questions, aren’t you?” he asks, suddenly amused.

“I can’t help but want answers. You’d want them too.”

He nods, “I would.” There’s a short pause before he talks again, “How about this, you ask me anything you want and I’ll answer.”

I bite my lip, wondering what I should ask first. Before I can ask, he groans and cups my chin in his hand, using his thumb to pull my lip from my mouth. He rubs it for a minute with heated eyes. “Just don’t do that,” he eventually says with a deeper voice.

I gulp, “Why?” Was it some kind of werewolf curse or something where something bad would happen if you bite your lip? No, I told myself, That’s so dumb.

“Because if you do, I’ll have to kiss you, and once I kiss you, I’m not sure you’ll appreciate what happens next. I’m holding myself back by a thread here.” His voice is so deep and raspy, washing over me like a cool breeze on a hot summer day.

I nod, finding that acceptable despite the blush covering my cheeks. I fight to forget about that and remember what I wanted to ask.

“Downstairs, my father called you Alpha and you just mentioned it again. That’s like the king or something, right?” I ask.

He shakes his head, “I am the alpha, but that doesn’t make me a king. I basically just run the pack. I’m responsible for everybody and all of the decisions, but I ensure that everything is kept under control. If something is going to affect the whole pack, I hold a pack meeting and take a vote. I try to keep everyone happy.”

“Oh.” I say, trying to take that in. “And who was the big guy who carried me in here?”

“That was Oliver.” He says with a fond smile, “He’s my second hand and best friend. We’ve been close since childhood.”

I gulp, “And how long ago was childhood?”

He grins, “Is that your way of asking my age?”

I nod. I don’t want to be rude, but I’m curious.

“I’m twenty-four.”

I narrow my eyes, “Is that twenty-four years old? Or the age that you stopped aging?” I ask carefully. I wasn’t kidding when I said I read Twilight.

He chuckles, “You read a lot, don’t you?”

“A bit…”

“I’ve been alive for twenty-four years.” he clarifies.

“Okay, so that means you age normally?”

“Kind of,” he nods.

“What does that mean?”

“Basically we live longer than the average human simply because we’re stronger and generally healthier. But it’s not thousands of years like you might’ve seen in movies.”

“So is this why my parents have always looked younger than other parents their age?”

He frowns, “I have no idea. Like I said, we age normally. You should ask them about it.”

“So I’m going to get to see them again?” I ask hopefully.

His eyebrows bunch together, “Of course. Why wouldn’t you?”

“Well it’s not like you really gave me a reason to trust you down there.” That reminds me, “Speaking of, where is my brother?”

“I sent him to the pack clinic. I think your mother went with him and your father is still here, waiting to talk to you.”

“Why did you do it?” I ask softly, remembering everything that happened in the basement.

He sighs, “You haven’t turned yet, but when you do, you’ll understand. Your father got our attention and I turned to look at you guys. One second, I was thinking about how beautiful you were and the next your scent hit me and my wolf was screaming ‘mate’. Then I noticed his arm around you and there wasn’t any stopping my wolf.”

“What do you mean ‘your wolf’?” I ask.

He frowns for a moment, thinking. “In human form, you can always feel your wolf inside of you. It’s kind of like a conscience but always present and almost tangible. You can practically touch it. Normally, I can control it but I couldn’t handle anybody touching you. It’s the same in my wolf form. My human is always present at the back of my mind.”

“So you basically wolfed up because you were jealous?” I ask doubtfully.

“Phased,” he corrects before grinning sheepishly, “I couldn’t help it. I know it doesn’t make much sense now, but the first time you phase and catch my scent, you’ll understand.”

“I’m never going to phase. I’m not a werewolf,” I tell him stubbornly.

“Okay, baby,” he smirks.

I huff, “Don’t agree with me if you don’t mean it!”

A deep chuckle rumbles in his chest and the sound makes me move closer, almost like I’m in a trance. I don’t even realize what I’m doing until I find myself practically on his lap. I gasp and jump back into my seat.

He sends me an amused look, “Everything okay, ‘not my mate’?” he uses air quotes.

“I have a name,” I tell him, trying to distract myself.

“I know you do.”

“What is it?” I challenge as I cross my arms.

“Avery Jane Woods,” he tells me confidently. “You’re on my list of people to welcome to the pack today. Now, can you tell me mine?”

I frown, remembering that my father called him something downstairs, but in the heat of the moment I forgot what it was. I feel like it started with a G or a J, but I don’t remember anything other than that. “Gggggregory?” I ask, drawing out the G.

He laughs, “No.”

“Jeffrey?” I offer.

“One more try. If you don’t get it, I get a kiss on the cheek.”

I scowl. There’s like a two percent chance that I’ll be able to get this. “Fine, but if I get it, you don’t get to tell me what to do anymore,” I say. I’ve always had a problem with authority figures and if he thinks I’m going to be okay with him bossing me around, he’s crazy.

He shakes his head and crosses his arms, “No. I’m your alpha.”

“No, you’re not,” I say, crossing my arms too.

“Yes. I. Am.” He says in what I assume is his no nonsense voice.

I tilt my head to the side. The more we talk, the less afraid I am of him.

“If I can’t even agree when you say I’m a werewolf do you really think I’m going to think of you as my Alpha?” I ask.

“You have no choice.”

“Yes I do.” I tell him softly, making as much eye contact as I can stand. I’ve always hated making eye contact since it’s kind of awkward, but this calls for it. “I get a say in this.”

He doesn’t seem happy about it, so I continue talking. “If you deserve my respect, you’ll get it, but trying to control me isn’t an option here. Trust me when I say that if you demand everything, you’ll get nothing.”

We’re both silent and brooding as we take in what I’ve just said until it becomes too awkward and I sigh, “George?”

The right corner of his mouth lifts, “Gabriel.”

I huff, “That was my next guess!”

“A bet’s a bet,” he says, moving his head so I can reach his cheek easier.

“Fine,” I pout, leaning forward and placing a light peck against his cheek. It feels like a spark ignites within me and I automatically move to sit on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. His arms wrap comfortably around my waist as we stare at each other. “What am I doing?” I ask in a daze.

“It’s the connection we share. Our wolves are calling out to each other. To be honest, mine’s f*****g frustrated that yours isn’t howling back, but yours hasn’t been awakened yet.” I blink when he swears, but I soon realize it’s yet another thing that draws me to him.

“If my wolf can’t howl back, how are they calling to each other?” I ask, tilting my head.

“It’s more of a tethering than actual communication.”

“This can’t be healthy,” I mumble, looking down at his arms around me.

“Why?”

“I just met you. I shouldn’t just be throwing myself onto your lap,” I tell him, frowning. I try to stand but he holds me tight.

“I don’t want to let you go,” he admits softly, looking like he wants to keep me in his arms forever.

I smile sadly at him, “You have to.”

It seems to take a lot of energy for him to release me but when he does, we both stand.

“Can we go see my dad now?” I ask hopefully.

He nods and grabs my hand. When I try pulling away, he just squeezes it a bit. “If we can’t complete the mating, please at least let me hold your hand,” he says.

“Complete the mating?” I ask, confused as we exit the small room.

He sends me a pointed look, like he’s read a few books in his time, too, and the realization that he means s*x causes a dark blush to spread across my cheeks.

“Oh.”