Claimed by Two Alphas

Chapter 5

"Sure, mom," I reply, doing my best not to let my emotions show.

I briefly close my eyes to steel my resolve. I did nothing wrong. I mated with my destined mate. That is every wolf's right. Not even a parent can deny you that.

And then I open the door, smiling politely. "What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow night. I am going to meet with Alaric and will probably be gone by the time you come..."

I see the exact moment my mom notices the angry red bruise I tried to hide behind my hair. Her eyes go wide, and then she sniffs the air around me, her jaw dropping slightly.

"What have you done!?"

I lift my chin and look her straight in the eyes. "Not that it's any of your business, but Darius and I mated. He claimed me, and I bear his mark now."

My stomach clenches uncomfortably as I watch dozens of emotions cross her face. I will never admit it, but I value her opinion greatly. The disappointment I see in her eyes hurts me more than I care to put into words. But whatever she feels, she never voices it. I expected nothing less from a Beta like her. She knows better.

Instead, she lifts her hand slowly and pushes my hair behind my shoulder to see the raging bruise. She observes it for several seconds and then focuses on my face again.

"Are you alright?" she asks gently.

At that moment, I fall apart. The tears I've been trying to fight back start falling in a rush, and a sob escapes me. My mom says nothing as she hugs me tightly and holds me, her familiar scent of lilac and honey making me feel safe and warm for the first time since the mating happened.

***

The next day, I wake up with a headache. The bright morning light hurts my eyes, and I run toward the bathroom to throw up. f**k my migraines.

"Wanna lend me a hand here?" I ask my wolf sarcastically, my head pressed to the cool surface of the bathroom floor. There's nothing but silence in my chest, a place where everyone says my wolf will be one day. Of course.

So, push myself up with a groan and head for the medicine cabinet. I fish out two painkillers and drink them with water straight from the tap.

Not very ladylike. If only Darius could see me now, I sneer to myself.

Once I shower and dress up for school, I feel more-less like my old self—well, if you don't count the huge red-blue bruise on my neck. But a fancy scarf and carefully styled hair take care of that problem easily enough.

"What would you like to eat, Miss Ellie?" Clara, one of the housemaids, asks me as I make my way through the kitchen.

"Cereals, please. My mom already left?" I ask and nod in thanks as Clara places a bowl filled with milk and my favorite brand of cereals in front of me.

"Yes. Mr. Allison left at 5 a.m. She wanted me to remind you that she won't be coming home after work. She and Mr. Alaric have plans for the evening."

I cringe as the unwelcome thoughts of what those might be pop into my head. She is a grown-ass woman, and after being widowed for four years, she is entitled to her life. I just wished I didn't know about it. In my head, parents did not have s*x. Ever.

As I munch on my cereals, I briefly wonder if Alaric's son feels the same way. I did not know much about this hunk from another pack that caught my mom's eye almost a year ago, except that he also lost his mate many years ago and had a son a bit older than me.

A car horn breaks my weird train of thought, and with a quick goodbye to Clara, I run outside to meet my mate.

I hop into Darius's car, and he greets me with a kiss on my lips, taking me by surprise. He just laughs and starts the engine. "You are mine now—in every sense. I have no reason to restrain myself anymore."

His smile is happy and all-male, and I grin back at him. "Fine by me," I tell him and put on the seatbelt.

We are quiet for a minute or two before he asks, "What's with the scarf?"

I blush and answer carefully. "Oh, the mark still looks... raw. I don't want people to see it in this state and start spreading rumors."

Darius seems to ponder over it but nods in the end. I swallow my relief.

"And are you still sore?"

My cheeks burn even brighter at his question. But this is my mate, I remind myself. I have nothing to be embarrassed about.

"Umm, yeah. A bit. But it's getting better."

Darius's face becomes a bit animalistic, but it passes in a second. "Good. I want you to think of me every time you move today."

I kinda like the possessive attitude, so I flirt right back. "That's a given, baby."

Darius parks in front of the school. There are students everywhere, but I can easily spot our group of friends waiting for us by the entrance. Briana and Laura are going to lose it once I tell them I am now an officially mated and marked wolf. Well, without the whole wolf part, but potato-potato.

"Elara, wait a second." Before I can open the door, Darius stops me and hands me a small white box. It takes a second, but I recognize the morning-after pill, and it dampens my mood a bit.

"Ah, yeah. Thank you," I say to him, forcing myself to look grateful. He did save me from an embarrassing trip to the pharmacy.

"You know I will always take care of you," he says fondly and hands me a bottle of water.

Alright, I guess we are doing this right here. I take the pill without another word and briefly wonder why fairytales never mention these ugly parts of the story.