Love Impossible: My Mate is Married?

Chapter 2

Xander pov

I was enjoying the run in the woods near my house when a delectable smell of lemon bars hit me. I followed to find a beautiful woman. I watched her flip her long red hair over her shoulder while she lovingly chatted with an extremely small dog. "Mate," my beast started to get excited. When the dog noticed me, I froze. Her eyes lifted to me, and her plump lips dropped in surprise. Her doe brown eyes were not leaving me while she slowly tried to grab the dog. I couldn't blame her. One sniff told me she was human. Staring at a giant wolf had to be alarming. "Nice puppy," I heard her say. I nearly snorted. OK, woman, can't you tell the difference between a dog and a wolf? It took all my willpower to not jump at her and mark her. My beast wanted her now. I saw the wedding ring on her hand and knew it might not turn out the way I wanted.

I watched her put the dog in the house, but she didn't run from me. I tried lying down to see if she would feel less threatened. My beast whined, just wanting to touch her. It took so much convincing for him to take it easy because there was no way she was going to know what we were. The last thing we wanted was for her to run.

She stood watching me warily, and I rolled onto my back, exposing my belly. She slowly took steps towards me. Just as she got at arms length from me, my beast rolled over, and I had to fight to keep him from jumping her. She startled but then patted our head. The sparks that evidently only supernaturals could feel were euphoric. I could sit next to her all day.

As I slowly sat up, she murmered "OK, a good puppy. Come on, puppy. Do you want some water?" I noticed the red tinge on her cheeks. Freckles scattered over her nose. Her skin was rather pale. I followed her inside and took a drink from the disgusting community dog bowl. Keeping up appearances is key right now. She started rubbing me around the neck. I quit listening as she looked for the identification a dog normally would have. I nearly jumped hearing a male voice yell, "Frankie?!"

I smelled around and observed a middle-aged man limping into the kitchen where we sat. His hazel eyes immediately went to me as he raised an eyebrow and tried to hide a small grin. "Another one already?"

I sat back and watched them interact. I could smell sickness from him. My beast was begrudgingly acknowledging he was weakened. He had a build that would rival a football player. I am sure at his peak he was extremely strong for a human. But something was poisoning him. When she mentioned him leaning, he sighed. The expression in his eyes was saddened. I gathered from their conversation whatever illness he had. It had been around for a very long time.

When she kissed his cheek, I had to stiffle a growl. I reminded my beast that it was obvious they were married, so there was nothing we could do, no matter how jealous we got.

I followed her to a bedroom and from the smell of it it was the master bedroom. Her scent permeated the room. I forced myself to stay at the door while she looked for her puppy. Gently, she pulled him out from under the bed and sat in front of me. The pup was terrified, so I tried to push a calming aura onto him. It either worked or he stopped being a chicken s**t because the next thing I knew, I was getting slobbered and nipped at. She grinned and looked relieved. "Just don't eat him, but you could teach him to bite less." I internally groaned, knowing he was at the stage of being a pup all of us hated. He grabbed my ear, and I pushed him down with my paw to make sure he knew not to go for the face. My natural Alpha aura made it pretty easy to make him submit. I followed her back into the kitchen with the annoying Ass pup nipping at my heels. I watched her chopping vegetables while her husband pulled out raw meat. My stomach growled. I knew I needed to get home sooner rather than later. Thankfully, the pup started scratching at the door. She smiled and wiped her hands on her pants before grabbing his leash. I followed them outside and bolted. I had to get away from temptation before I gave in.

What was the moon goddess thinking of pairing me with a married human!?! As I approached my house on the opposite side of the woods, I found my shorts that I hid and shifted quickly. I knew I couldn't reject her. Seeing her, her kindness towards her animals, her understanding towards her husband. I couldn't take that from her.

Besides, there was something off about her husband's health that didn't feel right. I mind linked Sable. "Alpha Xander. I was expecting you. Do you have questions about your mate?"

It always gave me the heeby jeebies when she knew why I was reaching out to her. Sable was our seer, a woman born blind yet saw more than the average wolf.

"Come over for tea. Let's chat, "she said, and without waiting for my answer, she ended the link.

I snorted as I made my way towards her home. My pack, the White Moon pack, bought out a large section of lots from the town to build after losing everything to a tornado. We lost so many pack members that day, so I decided that instead of staying in the bluffs, we would move closer to civilization. I loved the area because of the woods surrounding each neighborhood. It made it feel as if we were secluded from our human neighbors. The pack knew we had to lay low for now, so shifting and pack runs were done strategically so as not to alert the entire town of wolves in the area.

I walked to Sables cabin. She chose to replicate her old home down to the scratches on the walls when she designed her home. The log cabin-looking home was a single bedroom, tiny home. It was already surrounded by herbs and medicinal plants. The only real change from the old home to the new one is that I insisted every pack member had a basement for storm protection.

"Ah, Alpha perfect timing. Come in, come in, " her voice rasped. I ducked through her door and was pushed to a chair by her little dining table in the middle of her kitchen.

"Sable, I have so many questions." I started

She nodded solemnly. "Yes, your mate, the married human. What a deal who would have thought your fated one after all this time was already married with a family."

"What do I do?" I asked quietly. I had waited to meet my mate, assuming they were too young or dead.

"She is on a journey, Alpha. One of healing and acceptance. Her past troubled and painful. However, this journey was needed to provide you with the strongest luna."

I raised an eyebrow. "That makes no sense." I responded.

"I am not able to see details this time. Feelings are all I can find, and these feelings are not some any person human or supernatural should go through. There are monsters in her past. Go for a run in your human form. Go down the road to the trails and follow them. You will know when to stop."

I sighed, knowing she would have no more answers. "Sable, do you see anything about her husband?"

"I can not see his future. However, he was the healing balm needed for our future Luna. Be her friend, fate has a lot in store for her."

A friend. My mate was to be my friend. What kind of joke is the goddess playing at? I shook my head, thanked Sable for her help, and left her cottage. I ran back to the pack house to grab some supper. I could hit up this run afterward.

I had been jogging for around an hour along this nature trail. Sweat from the heat was rolling down my back. I came to a road and realized it was close to my mates house. I saw her sitting on her front porch watching her dog run circles in the yard. I grinned and made my way up to her.

I could feel her eyes watching me as I stopped at the end of her driveway. "Hey there! Have you seen a giant dog running around?"

Her suspicions left her as she smiled. "Actually, yeah, I saw a dog that probably came up to my chest a few hours ago. He ran off in the woods. " I nodded and made my way to her.

"Sounds like he is on his way home then. Thank you, I know he can look scary."

She nodded. "He is startling. What kind of dog is he?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure. He was a stray, and I took him in. He looks like a wolf, though." She chuckled.

"I'm Xander," I said. "Just built a house about 4 blocks from here. Was checking out the trails. Didn't realize the trails go around the town."

"I'm Frankie, and yeah, it was a huge project a while back. But I am glad they put an inlet so close to my house. The mulberry trees are so plentiful. We always get some at peak season."

I smiled down to her. She stood right at my chest. From this angle, I could appreciate the curves of her breasts, the slimming of her waist to her curved hips. A perfect hourglass.

"So, are you from the area and just built a new home or new to the area all together?"

"I'm new to this town but have lived in Iowa my whole life."

She smiled. "So what brought you here?"

I felt my face turn sad. "My family and I lost everything in a tornado a year ago. We have been living out of hotels until we found this town. The schools and safety were a huge selling point."

Her smile fell some "oh I am so sorry to hear that. Were any lives lost or just possessions?"

"A few too many lives were lost. It hit us too quickly to get everyone to safety." I noticed her eyes moisten

"I am so sorry for your loss, Xander. It's not easy."

I felt her hand on my arm in a comforting way. "Would you like some water before heading anywhere? I've got cold water bottles in the garage fridge."

Whoever came up with the term Iowa nice must have been thinking about Frankie. Offering condolences and water to a stranger. "I would love that Frankie,"

she smiled and stood up and walked to the open garage. Grabbing 2 waters from the fridge, she tossed one my way. I caught it easily and enjoyed the refreshing water. I could feel her eyes wondering over me, and I smirked, knowing she was appreciating what she saw at least.

"Oh, thank you so much for the drink," I said, finishing up. "You're so very kind."

She flushed. "Can't have new neighbors falling over from heat stroke in this weather." She quietly responded.

I followed her out back to the front porch. She patted the step next to her, and she continued to watch the puppy playing.