The Alpha's Abused Mate

Home Sweet Home

The next morning Serena was the second one to awaken, waking up to find that Johnathon was lying on his side, watching her sleep, a little smile on his handsome face. He quickly gave her a small kiss on the lips as she blinked up at him dazedly. "Good morning sweetheart," he said with a grin.

Serena smiled back, even as she wriggled off the bed, desperate to take care of business, busting to pee. She had just sat on the toilet when Johnathon opened the door and came walking in.

"Johnathon" she hissed, unable to stop herself from going "I'm trying to pee."

"I know," he said calmly "and I'm not bothered. Married couples don't really care about that."

She did. Serena much preferred her privacy, but she didn't want to upset Johnathon by demanding it. Instead, she heaved a sigh, finished, flushed the toilet, and washed her hands, all while Johnathon scrutinized her. She headed back into the bedroom and began to dig through her luggage for some clothes. Johnathon got dressed at the same time, wearing a pair of slacks and a white polo shirt that made him look even more like a wealthy man. Serena put on a plain black dress, that flowed down to her ankles and was a maxi style. Johnathon frowned as he looked at it. "We need to get you some more clothes, deserving of your station," he said with a gesture of his hands.

"I really like this dress" Serena protested, staring down at it. It was one of her more comfortable dresses and her favorite.

"You're a wife to a wealthy man. That dress makes you look like a peasant" Johnathon said bluntly.

Serena flinched. Maybe the dress was a little on the threadbare side, she admitted to herself. He did have a point, she would have to try and remember that.

"Let's go down to breakfast" Johnathon suggested "and then we can go home. How does that sound?"

Serena smiled. "That sounds lovely," she said quietly, her eyes twinkling. She was starving, she admitted to herself, her stomach choosing that moment to let out a low growl. Johnathon laughed and grabbed hold of her hand.

"I guess I better feed you" he mused, helping her out the door and into the lift. They stepped out and wandered into the restaurant, which was much quieter than it had been the night before.

They sat down and Serena began to peruse the menu, eyeing the items carefully.

A young woman in a waitress's uniform approached them. Her long brown hair was tied back carefully in a ponytail, and she had full face makeup on. She was extremely attractive and Serena was uncomfortable with the way her new husband was eyeing the waitress. She told herself she was being ridiculous, that Johnathon was just being friendly.

"Good morning," said the waitress happily, her name badge reading Joan. "My name is Joan," she said winking and pointing to her name badge "and I'll be your server this morning. Would you like a drink to start with?"

"I would just love a glass of tropical juice," Serena told her.

"Not a problem" assured the waitress, before eying Johnathon with a wide smile "and what can I get you?"

Johnathon grinned and leaned back in the chair. "I'll have a bloody mary," he said firmly.

Serena was surprised that her husband was drinking so early in the morning but bit her tongue. She had no right to say anything to him, it's not like he'd gotten drunk the night before and maybe he was celebrating that it was the morning after their wedding night.

Joan stepped away and Serena frowned at Johnathon who looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Is there a problem?" he asked smoothly.

"I just wondered why you're drinking so early in the morning?"

Johnathon exhaled, looking annoyed. "Serena, are you going to question everything I do? What I eat and drink? I felt like a bloody mary, that's all. I'm not planning on getting drunk for heaven's sake."

Serena felt bad now for even bringing it up. "Sorry Johnathon," she said tentatively.

The waitress came back and placed their drinks in front of them. "What would you like to eat?" she asked them both.

Serena handed her the menu. She opened her mouth to order, but Johnathon got there first.

"She will have an omelet with toast and mushrooms" Johnathon ordered, "and I'll have the same."

Joan scribbled it down. "Great, I'll be back in a few minutes," she said, taking his menu as well. She almost skipped away as Serena watched.

"Johnathon, I didn't feel like an omelet" complained Serena "I was thinking of having something else."

"You need to watch your figure and so do I," Johnathon told her evenly "I was doing you a favor. You don't want to end up as big as a house now do you? God, how embarrassing would that be," he said shuddering "having a fat wife for my friends to make fun of."

Serena felt hurt. Were her looks all he cared about? But then she saw the logic in his thinking and to be fair, she didn't want to get large either. Still, she could have ordered her own food for christ's sake. She bit her tongue and sighed.

"Alright, but next time let me order my own food, Johnathon. I'll make sure it's healthy" she assured him.

"Fine, so long as you order healthy food, then I guess I can let you order your own food," he said with a smile.

She hoped he was teasing her because it sounded like he was being a bit controlling.

The waitress came back and the omelet looked heavenly and smelled delicious. Johnathon had done a good job with the ordering, she thought with a sigh. Johnathon smirked as Serena gave a low moan, having tasted the omelet.

"I did good huh," he said wagging his eyebrows and making her giggle.

"So when should I go back to work?" asked Serena as she watched the waitress head from table to table "I asked for three weeks off but I could always go back sooner" she offered "help with the finances somewhat."

Johnathon looked astounded. "Honey, you've married a rich man, why on earth would you want to work? You don't need to. You're going to have enough to do once we're home."

Serena frowned. "But I want to help out. I don't want you thinking I married you for your money. Besides, what would I do all day? I would be bored if I didn't work."

Johnathon nibbled on his toast. "You have heaps to do. But if you want, we can discuss this at another time. I don't want to start our marriage by arguing our first morning as a married couple."

Serena went quiet and began to nibble on her omelet, feeling a bit cold on the inside. Maybe she needed to take his feelings into consideration a bit more. He just didn't understand how much she enjoyed working, she thought to herself, but maybe in time, she could make him realize how much it meant to her.

She ate half the omelet and pushed the rest away, sipping at her juice. Johnathon finished his and then took hers, gulping it down.

"I think it's time we went home," Johnathon said gruffly, pushing his chair back. Serena nodded, getting up from her chair, Johnathon taking hold of her hand.

"What about the luggage?" asked Serena, looking back over her shoulder.

"I'll get my people to take care of it," Johnathon said dismissively with a shrug of his shoulder "they can bring it back to the house."

She was going to have to get used to this, thought Serena, not used to having people do things for her.

He led her out to the parking lot, where one of his cars, a bright red Ferrari, was waiting for them. He opened the passenger door for Serena, politely waiting for her to get in, before shutting the door. Then he jogged over to the driver's side and got in, starting the car as Serena reached towards the stereo.

"Don't touch that" Johnathon said sharply and she recoiled, bringing her hand back.

He looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, I just have it on my favorite radio station" he explained and she nodded.

"Sorry," she said in a small voice.

"No problems, now you know," Johnathon said casually as he pulled out of the parking lot.

The drive was long and mainly filled with silence. Serena had butterflies in her stomach, feeling apprehensive at actually living in Johnathon's home. They wound their way through the back roads of the forest, into the pack territory, and stopped in front of his house. Looking at it, Serena was blown away by it once again. It was so massive! A two-story cabin-style home, with a long winding driveway and lights at the front of it. There was a beautiful garden bed of roses in front of the house that made it feel homely to Serena. The windows were all large, showing magnificent views of the surrounding forest, which Johnathon's home was right next door to and on the outskirts of the pack. He claimed he liked his privacy and as far away as they were, they would certainly have that.

Serena climbed out of the car, just looking around her in awe. "Johnathon it's so beautiful" she gushed, unable to believe she would be living here. Johnathon grunted, looking at his house with a pleased expression on his face.

"It will do the job," he said calmly. "I'm sure you will want to make improvements to it."

Serena wasn't so sure. It had a rustic quality to it, that fitted with its surroundings. She couldn't imagine needing to make any changes to this perfect house at all, but she didn't tell Johnathon that.

She could hear the birds chirping happily from the trees and the sun was shining down on them both. The sky was a clear crystal blue with fluffy white clouds in the sky. It was a perfect day thought Serena happily. They began to walk down the driveway, Serena taking in the beauty of her new home. Once they reached the door, Johnathon began to rifle through his pockets, digging out the key to the front door. He didn't trust anyone not to enter his home and unlike the rest of the pack, he thoroughly locked his doors and windows while he was out. He would have to make sure that Serena would do the same. He could get a security system but it would go off with the number of small animals that tended to visit the house on the outside and he didn't know if Serena was capable of grasping how the security system would work. Besides, it would ruin the aesthetic of the house if he got one, and he didn't want to do that.

Johnathon unlocked the door, and then turned to his new wife with a smile on his face, his eyes sparkling with good humor. "Well, my love," he said with a low chuckle "this is our home and you know what tradition means" he added, grabbing hold of her as she squealed with laughter.

"Johnathon put me down" Serena protested laughing. He shook his head at her.

"I have to carry you over the threshold. It's bad luck if I don't" he told her seriously, a smirk on his lips.

She very much doubted that would be the case, but she stopped struggling and put her arms around the back of his neck, looping them together.

"Then by all means Mr Smith, we can't have that now can we" she muttered into his ear, nibbling on it softly as he sucked in a breath.

"Woman, you're killing me" he growled, kicking the door open. "You're going to regret that" he added as she laughed at him.

"Do your worst Mr Smith" she giggled and he kicked the door closed behind him as he carried her over the threshold. He didn't let go of her but instead headed for the stairs and towards the bedroom. She knew, it was going to be many, many hours, before they would want to leave it and that was fine with her.