Fighting For My Mate (18+)

Chapter 9

After I get this new information from the rogue, I head into my office. First, I need to figure out how to get Christa here to keep her close and protect her. I can’t risk her being in town with no protection with a Sigma wolf somewhere out there, and I have no idea what he's after or what he can do. If he finds out that she’s my mate there is no telling what he would do to her. It’ll be better if she's in my protection with my warriors surrounding her.

I need to figure out how to get her here without anyone knowing she's my mate. I also need to call a meeting with all the Alpha’s in North America who are still intact. But first, I need to call a meeting with my father, my Beta, my Gamma, and the elders. I mind link them to come to meet me in my office. An hour later they all show up. My father is the first to speak.

”Son, what is this about, and why have you called the elders here?” My father questioned.

”I’ve called you all here today because we have a big problem on our hands. All Alphas are in danger, and werewolves are on the verge of war.”

The elders all look at each other with worry on their faces. One of them speaks.

”What are you talking about on the verge of war? We haven't been in a war in centuries!”

”I brought you here today because I heard something I’ve never heard of before. Have any of you ever heard of a Sigma werewolf?”

All of the elders gasp at the sound of that name. And their faces pale. I know this isn’t good. The eldest of the elders speak.

”It’s always been a legend but the ancient books spoke about a wolf that would come and be so powerful that no Alpha would ever be able to stop him. He would take over all of the werewolves in the world and destroy everything that comes into his path. Not even the most powerful Alpha werewolf can stop him.”

My mouth goes dry at the thought of that. I’ve always been the strongest Alpha, and to think that there is a werewolf more powerful. It doesn't sit well. How am I supposed to protect Christa and my pack if I can’t even beat this werewolf? I don't know anything about him. But maybe someone does? My father speaks up.

”Eli, it's time you claim your mate. The Blood Moon pack is the second strongest pack, and with them as our allies, we will be even stronger. You need to stop fooling around and take Eliza as your mate.”

Just the thought of claiming Eliza as my mate makes my blood boil. I’ve already found my true mate!

”I WILL NOT CLAIM HER AS MY MATE!” I yell out, slamming my fists against my desk.

”What is so wrong with Eliza? She's perfect for you and this pack! DO YOU REALIZE HOW HARD I HAVE WORKED TO SET THIS UP?” He said, slowly raising his voice little by little, getting more heated.

”I never asked you to do that. You know how I feel about having my true mate by my side. The one, the Moon Goddess, has chosen for me!”

”Well, she is nowhere to be found now, is she, Son? You will claim her as your mate in a few days.”

I want so badly to tell him I have found my mate, but I can not do that just yet. There is no telling how they will react when they find out my mate is human. So I simply shake my head and move on.

”It’s time to bring all of the remaining Alpha’s together in one place. We need to do something that has never been done and join our packs together if we are to even think about winning this war against this Sigma wolf. Ethan starts calling the Alphas and gets them all here. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

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After the meeting, I head down to the pack hospital to check and see how Chase and Pete are doing. I open the door to see Pete sitting down next to Chase’s hospital bed, holding his hand with his head down. It was difficult to see one of my best fighters laying there hooked up to wires and machines. He looked lifeless. As I slowly approach, Pete looks up at me, his face filled with sadness mixed with anger.

”How could this have happened? How am I going to tell Christa about this?”

”What did the doctor say? Why isn’t he healing like normal?”

”The rogue's claws were laced with a rare wolfsbane called Monkshood. There is no known cure for it. They said they were able to stabilize him, but they don't know what the effects of this wolfsbane will be or if it’ll run its course. At this point, we just have to wait and see.”

I’ve never seen Pete look so defeated. All I can do is provide him comfort.

”He's going to be alright. Chase is strong. I know he will pull through this!”

He nods his head in agreement, with a little bit of hope coming through.

”I know he will!”

I pull a seat next to him.

”I need to talk to you about something.”

”Sure, what is it?” Pete replies.

”I found out that a Sigma werewolf is orchestrating these attacks and it's only going to get worse. I have all of the Alphas in North America coming to our territory. We are going to have to start training new warriors and I want you to train them.”

”Alpha, what am I going to about my sister Christa? She can’t be in that house all alone with these rogues running rampant!”

”That’s another thing. Why didn't you tell me you had a sister? I thought it was always you and Chase? Why would you keep important information like that from your Alpha?” I ask, trying to keep my temper in check. He sighs,

”Alpha, my sister is human. You and I both know how you and other werewolves feel about them. We kept her hidden to keep her safe.”

I try my best not to get angry. If they hadn’t kept her hidden, then I would have found her a long time ago, and it enrages me that my mate has been right under my nose this whole time! But I still can't let on that she is my mate.

”You’ll need to bring her here. She's no longer safe out there. She’ll be safer at the packhouse.”

Pete abruptly stands up.

”I can’t bring her here! Do you know what they’ll do her?”

”No one will touch her. She will be under my protection, and no one will dare go against my orders!”

”Why? Why do you want to protect her? Why are you showing interest in my sister?” He questions.

I sigh and shake my head, unsure of what to tell him. I can't let on that she is my mate yet, but he needs an answer.

”From what we know, this Sigma will use our loved ones to get to us. You and Chase are my top fighters, and he will use any means necessary to take you out of the equation to make it easier to get to me. We need to keep her safe so you can focus on training new warriors. I need you, Pete. And I’m sure she would want to know what’s going on with Chase. You can’t keep what’s happened to him from her.” I reply.

I am doing my best to avoid his question. He finally calms down and sits in his chair, and rakes his hands through his hair.

”I don’t know how I’m going to tell her? This is going to break her heart.”

”Don’t worry, you focus on training new warriors, and I’ll go and find Christa and bring her here. Right now, there isn’t anything we can do for Chase here. You need to get some rest. Use one of the free rooms in the packhouse.”

I head out to go see Christa.

**Christa**

I get home from the mall and start putting my new clothes away. I keep looking at the time, knowing that Monika will be coming home any moment. It is getting late and I am hopeful that maybe she won’t be coming home tonight. I get ready for bed and start falling asleep. As soon as I start to fall asleep, I jolt myself awake, realizing that it's the weekend and I’m going to be stuck at home with Monika. Immediately my anxiety kicks up thinking about what I’m going to have to endure when I’m home alone with her.

While I’m thinking about what she's going to do to me, I heard the front door quietly click closed. Oh no, it's her. She's gonna beat the crap out of me for what happened today. I know it. Slowly I hear the stairs creak as I hear steps growing closer to my bedroom. I quietly get up to try and find someplace to hide. I don't know what she plans on doing to me, but it isn’t going to be good. I don't know if I can take another beating from her! Panicking I look around my room to search for a hiding place, and sneak into my closet and quietly close the door, trying not to make any sound. I huddle towards the back closet with my knees to my chest. I’m trying desperately to control my breathing, but my heart is hammering in my chest. I feel like I might pass out. Then slowly, my bedroom door begins to crack open more and more until it is fully open, and then I hear footsteps going to my bed. She stops and becomes still. I can only imagine she is looking around my room for me. The footsteps start to come towards my closet, and I have to put my hand over my mouth so that I don't make a sound, and my breathing gets heavier. Suddenly, my closet door opens, and I let out a loud shriek; and I try to run out of my closet to get away from her but instead, I run into what feels like a brick wall. I start to fall backward but a pair of big hands catch me. All of a sudden, I hear a familiar voice.

”Sssshhhhh Christa, it's just me, Eli, I’m not here to hurt you. It's ok.”

He speaks in a soothing voice while rubbing my back, holding me close to his body, trying to calm me. I can feel the sparks when he touches me, and they calm me slightly. He turns on the light to get a better look at me and he can see the terrified look on my face while I’m panting, my heart still racing. He once again brings my head to his chest, running his fingers through my hair as he continues to calm me.

”I’m so sorry; I scared you!”

I finally begin to catch my breath and calm down.

”I-It’s a-alright, ” I stutter, ”I-I-I thought it was s-someone else.”

I’m shaking violently against him, the adrenaline dumping from my body, Consequently making my whole body painful and sore.

”Why are you here?”

”Why don’t we sit down.” Eli said.

He carefully helped me to my bed and helped me sit, and then he sat down next to me.

”Something’s happened to Chase.”

At that, I begin to panic.

”Where is he? Is he ok? Where is Pete?”

”Sssshhh, it's ok, sweetheart,” he said while pulling me into him, ”Pete is with Chase, but Chase is in the pack hospital.”

I gulped, tears beginning to form in my eyes.

”Is-is he ok? Is he alive?” I ask as my voice cracks.

”He’s alive, but I came to bring you to see him. And it's not safe here for you anymore, so you’re going to stay in the packhouse with me.”

Not really hearing what he is saying, I just simply nod. My ears are ringing from the news I just heard.

”Let’s get a couple of things for the weekend and I can get Pete to pack more of your things later.”

I just sat there in a catatonic state. So many things are running through my head. I couldn't move. I couldn't react. I kept thinking not again. I can’t lose him too. Not again. My mind kept flashing back to when my parents died. I could hear Eli trying to get my attention, but I just stared straight ahead, unmoving. He got up and started packing a bag for me.

After he grabbed everything I would need, he came over to me, helped me up, and led me to his car. He helped me in his car and leaned over me to buckle me in. He got in the car and the ride was quiet. I stared out the window with tears in my eyes. A lone tear fell onto my cheek, and I wiped it away. Eli took my hand and just held it. Neither one of us said a word.

We got to the pack hospital and Eli led me to Chase’s room. As soon as I see Chase I run to him taking his hand, and I just start crying. Pete comes up to me and takes me in his arms, trying to comfort me.

”What happened? Why is he like this?”

Pete and Eli sit me down, both somber. Pete begins to explain.

”I know we don't tell you everything that goes on with us when it comes to our werewolf side. We’ve been keeping a lot of things from you so that you wouldn't worry.” He takes in a deep breath and continues, ”Chase and I are pack warriors.”

My eyes go wide at his statement.

”We take turns going to ally territories to train their warriors or to help our allies fight. We take turns to make sure at least one of us is at home with you. But we had an attack on our territory from rogues. We were overtaken by them. We didn't expect them to be this organized and their numbers so big. Normally, there is only one or two, but this time was different.” He shakes his head sadly.

”But why isn’t he healing. He's supposed to heal immediately, isn’t he? Why is he not waking up?” I rush through my questions, not taking a breath.

Eli takes over then.

”They had rare wolfsbane laced on their claws. When they overpowered him, they dug their claws into him, allowing it to enter his body. Now, all we can do is wait to see if it runs its course and see if he can heal on his own, but we don't know its long-term effects.”

I sit there with my hands on my face sobbing in disbelief. I can’t believe this is happening. Why did they lie to me all these years? All of a sudden, I become angry.

”WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME? HOW COULD YOU?” I yelled. I got up and stormed out of the room.