The Alpha's Runaway Mate

WHO'S THAT SCENT?

Nathaly's POV

I was woken up by a constant beep, beep. At first, I thought it might be my alarm for lunchtime, but when I opened my eyes I immediately knew where I was. The pack's hospital, and right next to Sebastian was sitting on a couch with his tux and a book. Why on earth was I in the hospital? How was I carried here without even feeling it? Goddess had I been really that tired today? When Sebastian noticed I was awake, I could see he mind linked someone, and then directed his attention to me. "Aroon noticed I was hiding something, and he got me to tell him that you had passed out this morning, but I told him you were fine thanks to the Argent Moon Pack's Alpha, still he ran to tell your parents, and they brought you here. They took off a while ago to greet the final guests and the Luna is on her way here." Ohhh, they must be sooo mad at me for not running to ask for help, or not coming to the hospital. I know now that I am getting a lecture later on for sure. "So... what did the doctor say?" he rubbed his temple. "I mean, he said you were fine, that it had just been the lack of rest and said that you could leave immediately after you got up" at that moment a flash of clarity stroke me, the lunch... I had to be there, my parents wouldn't let me miss that for anything. I asked this a little panicked. "What time is it, Seb?" he shook his head a bit and chuckled a little. "Glad to see you are back to normal, don't worry, it is one pm, that's why the Luna has the whole pack stylizing team in your room and why she is here right now". Right after that, my mom stormed in and, making sure I was fine with a quick look, she took my hand and made me run to my room.

On the way, she started saying "Thank the Goddess, you are fine. Your brother and father almost shattered the room when they heard you had fainted. I am so glad you didn't get hurt. You are aware of how dangerous is fainting without anyone to help you out?, sweetie what would have happened if that boy wasn't there to assist you?, you could have ended up with a contusion?" I knew it, but this isn't even half of what she will tell me when she calms down, and when I see my overprotective father and brother this won't get any better. "Mom, I am okay, I was just tired that's it, now what exactly did they tell you about the Alpha's rescue?" I said as flatly as possible. "Well, that he found you fainted then helped you recover, and then you called Hannah, and she went to take you to your room with Sebastian, I am so thankful for that boy, he is always worrying about you, I think that the Moon Goddess plans are great for you, but to tell the truth we expected both of you to be mates" is my mother being serious?, me and Sebastian?, he is like a brother to me how could we be mates?

I know he is good-looking and all, but still I don't think there was a real chance for that to happen. "Mom, I think he is that way just because I am his best friend's little sister and Aroon has instructed the whole pack to keep a constant eye on me, so I am never under any danger", my mom rolled her eyes at me and said "Just keep in mind that even an order has its limitations... but enough with this it's about time for you to get ready for lunch, remember we have to look perfect" and without any warning I was dragged to the bathroom were the stylist made me take a quick bath, cleaned my hair and perfumed me.

After a while, I was wearing a knee-length strapless navy blue dress with a sweetheart neckline, accompanied by black 15 cm heels, diamond earnings and a diamond bracelet in the shape of tiny roses. My make-up was flawless, light but still noticeable, and my hair was styled in a half ponytail that left a couple of locks loose that fell on my face without getting to hide my eyes, while the rest of my hair was slightly curled and fell its whole length to my waist. The stylizing team did an amazing job in only fifty minutes. I still had ten minutes before lunch started. When I opened the door to tell mom I was ready, I found myself trapped by the amazed looks of my brother and father. "You... look..." and my mom interrupted Aroon "We all know you didn't notice the girl had grown into a beautiful woman, but we got to go, or else we will be late. By the way, sweetie you will leave every unmated guy downstairs with an open mouth", she said, winking an eye at me, and in response, she got a growl from my dad. "Where is Jainny?" I asked just before arriving in the dining hall "She will catch up to us, her mom was feeling unwell, and she took her to the doctor" I nodded as we proceeded to enter for lunch.

Mom was right. When we entered, we got bows from our pack members and respectful looks, while the guests from the other packs were nodding as a sign of respect towards my father, but some of the youngest couldn't keep their eyes away from me. That was until I went by the table where the Argent Moon guests were sitting. At first, all of them kept staring at me, but after their Alpha growled, very low, they snapped back to the table, suddenly interested in their empty plates. But when I saw Edward staring daggers at anyone who looked my way, I got his companions' reactions. For some reason, he was incredibly upset by the attention I was getting. Could it be that....NO no way, I shouldn't even consider it. It would just be too much. The Alpha from the pack that killed my parents would just be nuts. When we got to our table, almost immediately Jainny made her way to her place and excused herself for not being able to make a great entrance with us. "I am sorry I couldn't come in with you, my mom had got a problem with her blood pressure, but luckily she is just fine now. By the way, who's that scent?" "What scent baby?" "It's just that... ohhh... it is you", she pointed at me. I knew Jainny had her senses a bit more heightened than a normal werewolf, but not even I could tell a different scent in me. "You smell a bit like a male" For the name of... My dad's eyes were about to go out of their orbits, my brother was clutching the table's cloth so strongly that his knuckles had turned white, and my mom was looking slightly pale. I was in total shock. Only one male had touched me in the past twelve hours that was capable of lasting even after I had taken a bath.

"Okay, everybody calm down" I tried to ease things up, but my dad snapped at me with his wolf almost emerging due to his anger. "Who is the unworthy puce of trash that allowed himself to lay a finger on you? I will kill him." Oh, Goddess, please help me. "If anyone dared to even get close to you, I will rip his head off", Aroon had his eyes almost fully black. Now this had just escalated too quickly, they were jumping to unnecessary conclusions. "Dad, Aroon, nobody approached me with bad intentions. The scent Jainny caught belongs to the Argent Moon Alpha that caught me when I passed out earlier, so I wouldn't get hurt, and then carried me out of the elevator... See nothing to worry about and no need to kill anybody guys". After that, Aroon took a deep breath and calmed down, but dad was still concerned. "You know how dangerous it was for you to be all by yourself with the members of that pack? I know one of us had to greet them, but you should take better care of yourself. You cannot be under any insinuation like that ever again. I told you I don't trust them, but we need peace. That's all they are here for, nothing else, so be more careful around them, for the sake of your family's sanity, ok?" Now that was a short lecture, just because we were currently in a public place, and we had to project an image of power and unity, and as well because the first dish was about to be served "Yes dad, it won't happen again, I promise". And with that, we started to eat our lettuce, olives and sweet tomato salad.

When we had almost finished the first dish, my dad decided to make a toast. "Thank you all for coming to honor my son and his mate's naming day. We are glad to open our doors to friends and friends to be for this important event. Cheers" and the jingle of glass against glass set the entrance to the second platter, a delicious seafood pasta with white sweet wine. While we were still eating, my dad asked one of the hired waiters something, and a few seconds later he was telling something to Edward, who nodded and started making his way to our table. What is he planning? Sometimes my dad really gave me the creeps. He was always so unpredictable that I found it hard to follow up with his intentions every single time. My rumbling was cut suddenly by a bowing Edward, "You wanted to see me, Alpha Peter?" "Yes, Alpha Edward? As I understand" "Yes Alpha, I was named two months ago". That's a pretty short time to go, but apparently he's got this Alpha thing figured out. "I wanted to thank you. For helping my daughter this morning, I know this whole event has drained her of energy and her incident on the elevator was just a reflection of how much effort she puts into everything she does", Dad just turned my accident into a way of complimenting me?

"I am glad she is alright. I am sure that right now her efforts are paying off Alpha. Nobody stops talking about the impeccable organization and attention to detail the organizer has put into the entire event. From my pack we are especially grateful to your family for attending to us with such promptness on our arrival. Your daughter even managed to get us breakfast when we arrived, even though we interrupted her before going to rest. You should be very proud of her sense of responsibility and duty she has, and rest assured there will be no word of the incident, save this conversation".

I was expecting this even less. I could feel his eyes were fixed on me when he kept complimenting my job and me. I just managed a winning smile and waited for my dad to speak up, which he did after a few seconds. That felt to me like hours. "I am hugely proud of my daughter and her performance. Again, I thank you on behalf of the whole Silver Crimson pack for your help and understanding. I hope you and your companions could rest well and trust that you will enjoy your visit to our pack". Now dad looked straight at me, letting me know our conversation would go on later. "Thank you for your kindness, Alpha Peter, I am sure we will. Excuse me" and with that off he went back to his assigned place.

The rest of lunch, I could feel Edward staring at me, my dad checking in on me, and mom, Jainny and my brother laughing when they noticed how dad's overprotective nature had kicked into his conversation with the other Alpha. When we finished our pasta, we had a mint sorbet before they passed the passion fruit mousse that marked the end of lunch. When we had finished eating, and I noticed we were about to leave, dad said, "After we get out of here, I want you in my office. We have something very important to discuss". I thought he was speaking to Aroon, but then I noticed his serious eyes looking straight at me. "Sure dad, I'll head to your office when we are out of sight", I thought that would be enough when he replied, "That won't be necessary. Everyone is coming to my office. This concerns everyone". Oh my dear, now I think I am in trouble, and I don't even know why. This was just terrible. I nodded, we stood up, and dad addressed the room, "Thank you all for joining us for this lunch. I hope to greet all of you again for dinner. Excuse me and my family for the early departure. We have an urgent matter to discuss, if you know what I mean?", the room laughed at his joke, because he had winked an eye and looked in Aroon's way. If they only knew the lecture I was going to get.

We arrived in his study room and everyone got a seat. "Jainny, was that Alpha's scent the same as you caught when you arrived in the dining hall?" Was he really confirming that! I can't believe this. "Yes Alpha, it was definitely his" Well, is he happy now? I stared at im dumbfounded of the implications that his verification could have. "Good, now Naty, sweetie, I am sorry, don't get mad at me for double-checking, it is the force of habit". I just answered with a raised eyebrow and my "really" look. "You must be wondering why I got you here in such a rush. First, I want to be totally sure about something. Did anything happen between you two yesterday that you had omitted from your story? What he said? Anything", I was busted. I should have known dad would sense something was missing in my simplified version of the story.

"Well... I did cut out some details from the story... He got very worried that I had gotten hurt, and wanted to get me inside his room to rest unless I called someone to escort me back to my room, so I first told him to let me walk, which he allowed very reluctantly, then insisted I called him by his first name. I don't know why. Then, when I was about to walk to the elevator, he stopped me and made me call downstairs, so someone could take me to my room in case I was feeling bad again, and when Hanah and Seb arrived, he escorted me to my room with them. That's it, nothing else happened between us. He just lent me a hand because he was concerned about me being alright". Mom and dad were sharing a side look when they shook their heads and dad kept going. "That was a nice gesture of him, and now we are sure nothing happened to you. Remember next time you aren't feeling alright, use the connection you have with your brother, that's why we had you two make it", I nodded. We had some kind of linking ceremony back when we were children, so that I could mind link Aroon if I needed him, or he could know if I was in trouble, in danger or hurt. "Now let's get straight to business. After breakfast, we have our first meeting with Alpha Edward. I want all of you to be alert. As agreed, only Aroon, Sebastian, Jaison and myself will be inside the conference room with Alpha Edward, his Beta and Gamma. So this is what we are going to do> Naty will guide them from the entrance hall to the conference room, while we three wait for them at the door. This time I want Naty to stand right next to Sebastian when I introduce us to them. We start sharp at the established time, so that all of us and them can follow the timetable carefully. That's it for the general announcement. Please leave Naty and me alone for a few minutes". Everyone left and dad just stood there looking at me. I knew that this would be the time for the lecture.

"Naty sweetie, I am not going to scold you for putting this much effort into your brother's naming. I just want you to know that what I said back on the table, about being proud of you, I mean it. It's just that noticing that other males look at you like they were during lunch sets both your brother and me on edge, because we still think of you as the little baby girl that your mom brought home after the attack on your parents... You have grown to be a very good and respectable lady, for that I am thankful. And there is only one more thing. I want you to be more careful with Alpha Edward. We don't really know him and let's be completely truthful here. I saw how he looked at you, it didn't set me on edge, and he corrected his men when they looked shamelessly your way. Still, until I confirm if my suspicions are right or wrong about him, I want you safe and away from him, but you know if he asks you to dance at tomorrow's ball, you can just make sure he keeps his hands to himself" We both laughed.

"Don't worry dad, I will keep my distance, and if he was to ask me to dance with him, I'd make sure to let him know he must respect me. By the way, dad, do you know how old he is?" He raised his eyebrows, "Why is that?". I shook my head a bit and answered, "Pure curiosity, he seems very young to be an Alpha". That was true. I was wondering if he was older than he looked. It was very unusual to have someone about my age running a pack. "I think he is eighteen years old... This I am certain of. He had to take over his pack after his father, Cornelio, had a heart attack. That's why they allowed him to be named Alpha without a Luna". Well, that was definitely something. "Ohhh... I understand, thanks dad... See you around", I smiled softly at him before reaching for the doorknob. He laughed, "See you sweetie, take care and stay away from those unworthy boys, and get a good night's sleep today. We don't want anything like today's incident to happen to you again. Your mother almost went nuts along with me and Aroon who almost lost control". Now we both laughed harder as I got to the door and said "Sure dad, you take care as well". I closed the door to his office and made my way to my room.

Could it even be possible? There is just a minimal age gap between the two of us, and I felt that we couldn't be more different. Still, there was something about him...