The Alpha's Runt Mate (complete)

Chapter 18: Nate POV

Chapter 18: Nate POV

After seeing Willa jump into action helping Luna Marie I got to thinking about how much my mate cared about other people. It didn't seem to matter who they were, someone in need was someone to help. To Willa helping others came naturally despite her upbringing. My mate could have grown up resentful and callous just like her birth pack but somehow she managed to become the wonderful, though at times fragile, woman she is. I got to thinking about how to utilize Willa's special skills and decided to talk to Robin who recommended that Willa be an apprentice at the pack clinic. It was perfect for her! How I had not thought of it myself I don't know. When I saw the smile that grew on her face when I brought it up to her one day I wished it had been my idea.

I loved making Willa smile. It had become my favorite thing in the world. It was the one thing that beat orgasms. Slowly but surely Willa and I had progressed some in the bedroom though we had not fully mated yet. We had survived her first heat but after everything with Luna Marie I started noticing Willa staring at me differently, a look of longing. Sometimes I got worried she was pushing herself too hard beyond her comfort level. She wanted to be like other couples, fully mated and having pups. I could see it in her eyes, the way she held the newborns in the clinic or pack house. We were only touching and performing oral on one another but the frequency and intensity was escalating. 

I continued to ask for permission to do anything, always resisting my wolf instincts to complete the mating. Willa, on the other hand, was the opposite. She was letting her wolf have more control. Occasionally her eyes would become pitch black and her wolf would tell me that Willa had called on her, granted her permission to help me with my release. It felt great, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I'd rather settle for an innocent kiss from Willa than a blowjob from her wolf.

They were very different people who inhabited the same body. While my wolf was like me just more blunt, Willa's wolf was like a different personality all together. Willa was reserved and warm while her wolf was very forward sexually and stubborn. I'd never seen a more polar opposite situation with a she-wolf but I had also never known a werewolf in my lifetime who had two wolf souls. I had heard of rare cases but it was not something common enough to research. 

I did learn from an elder that Willa's ability to control her wolf and never be blocked out was not unique to her, it was normal for her kind. "They have too many souls so they must always be in sync and present with one another," Elder Luana said. "I knew a wolf," she smiled, her eyes glazing over as if a fond memory was washing over her. "He had a third soul but it was not dormant. It was there, constantly nagging at him to be a better stronger man." I asked what happened to the wolf and she smiled proudly.  "His alpha made him a pack warrior and he lived 50 years longer than most. He was an adult when I was a pup. I looked up to him," she said. I stared in awe. I'd worried the second wolf may shorten Willa's life but if all wolves like her lived that way I had a long life ahead of me with my mate!

Willa's second heat was not as terrible as the first. I kept her in our room again and slept when she slept. She still clung to me like a baby koala at night but during the day she was less clingy. We decreased the impact with the s****l activity we were comfortable with. She even managed to keep her wolf under control, only giving her time with me if my wolf promised to stick to the rule of "No mating until everyone is mentally ready." He was patient, which surprised me. I think he was still gun shy after triggering her trauma during the marking. Willa reported to me that he was still verbally forward but always very gentle and giving when they were physical.

The third heat was not as easy. The first day of it fell on a full moon and Willa nearly broke a door down looking for me. She burst into my office, jumped into my lap, and tried to remove my shirt. To my horror this all took place in front of a visiting Alpha. I had to apologise to him and carry her upstairs to our room. "I need you now!" She screamed at me. Her eyes were green. This was Willa, not her wolf. It made me want to take her right then and there but I knew I had to be wary of her mood swings during the heat. What if she regretted it later?

"She is ready," Robin said after examining Willa that same day. My mate was winking at me and blowing kisses while the doctor looked at me stone-faced. "How can you be sure?" I asked, curious and concerned. "Do you want the clinical answer or the non-scientific she-wolf answer?" I felt myself clear my throat as I said, "Can I have both?" She nodded, a small grin on her lips. "Sexually she is mature enough now, proof being in how often she participates in activity with you as herself and not just her wolf. Yes, she tells me about it during counseling." I stared, a blush creeping on my cheeks. I didn't know how detailed their sessions got. "I also noted how devoted she has become to the pups. She isn't just looking at them thinking how cute they are. She has strong maternal instincts that will come in handy. She wants pups of her own. The want is real, not simple wolf instinct." I nodded, that made sense.

"As an Alpha female she is not going to be able to wait any longer. Her blood is literally screaming for you two to complete the mating process," she said out loud. Suddenly she opened our mindlink and closed her mouth. "Lastly, she is in love with you. If you two wait another month it may start to physically hurt her beyond the heat period. I've seen it before." That last piece of information alarmed me. "What? Why?" I mind-linked, almost letting my questions slip out. Willa was ignoring us, almost asleep on the examination table. She slept a lot during her heat.

"A wolf in love has to know her love is being returned, especially a runt with a family history of heart conditions," she mind-linked me. She didn't want Willa to know what she was telling me. The stern look she gave me told me so. "What are you saying?" I mind-linked back. What heart condition history was she referring to? "I took a chest x-ray and did tests. Her heart is smaller than it should be. Her mother had the same condition and she died of literal heartbreak after Willa's twin brother died. Willa told me the story and I verified it with her father and their pack doctor. We can't risk her heart taking any damage of that magnitude. It could kill her," she mind-linked. I felt my eyes bulge and my chest clench in pain. "Kill?" I muttered out loud unintentionally. I immediately checked to see if Willa was listening but she was fast asleep.

After thanking Robin I took Willa back to our bedroom. As she clung to my chest I stared down at her. She was so beautiful and loving. It all made sense but at the same time I was scared. I wanted Willa more than anything in the world but what if we took that next step and it didn't go well? What if it was as horrible and painful for her as she used to imagine it to be? When we first met she literally told me the idea of mating horrified her. Thanks to that slimy bastard Lucas she once looked at all mating as the same as the abuse she had endured by him. She seemed to be doing better, even enjoying our heavy petting. I prayed to the Moon Goddess that I wasn't making a mistake.