The Duty of an Alpha (Book 2)

Work Together

Chapter 9

Arden POV*

I immediately hit the call button, my nerves went higher with each ring. Finally he picked up, and I let out a breath that I had been holding.

“Hey.” He sighed into the phone. “I hadn’t heard from you, and I was worried you may have been attacked at the same time.”

“No, everything has been quiet here.” I reassured him. “What makes you think that whoever attacked you is connected to what happened here?”

“The rogues were too strong.” He explained. “Teo had said that his mate told him about the fight. He described wolves that smelled like rogues, but were entirely too well taken care of. Not only that, but someone knew where we were. My pack hasn’t been openly attacked in years. We are too well hidden, but they knew exactly where to hit.”

I thought about what he said, and it made sense.

“What doesn’t make sense to me is, what is the connection?” I asked. “It isn’t very common knowledge that we are mates, and other than that there isn’t much of a connection between our packs.”

“True.” Roman hummed into the phone. “Maybe it has something to do with when I had the wards broken to save you?”

“I don’t know.” I whispered, not sure how to answer. “Did you lose anyone?”

“Luckily no.” He sighed, his relief could be heard in his tone. “Perry took a nasty hit, but Nela said it shouldn’t take too long for him to be back to normal.”

“Ok, that’s good. Can you tell everyone I’m thinking about them?” I asked, “I know some of them might not want to hear it since we haven’t figured anything out yet, but I miss them.”

“Arden. No one is upset with you. Sita is a little grumpy because you’ve been avoiding her, and Fred wishes you would have joined our pack, but other than that, none of them would let what is going on between us affect how they feel about you.” Roman assured me.

I wanted to believe him, but deep down, my own insecurities were rearing their ugly head, making me doubt my importance in their lives.

“Thank you, Roman.” I said, then an idea popped into my head, making Fae make herself known, purring happily. “I think we need to work together on this. If it is the same group of rogues going after our packs, it’s best if we pool our resources and try to get things taken care of quickly. I don’t want to lose anymore pack members.”

“I- uh.” He cleared his throat, “I think that is a fantastic idea, Arden.” His voice was low, containing hope and what I hoped was a promise. “We would need to spend more time together, and probably would be best if we went to a neutral location so there isn’t too much travelling back and forth.”

“I’ll look into that, and you should try to figure out if there is anything your pack can tell you.” I agreed with him, my heart was swelling at the idea of spending more time with my mate. “Since the attack on your pack was more recent, hopefully one of your more gifted members can pick up something. I remember Killian was especially gifted with tracking down information as well.”

“Sounds good.” Roman’s voice rasped a little, making my insides squirm. “Text me when and where? We should probably meet as soon as possible to map out a plan.”

“Ok.” I said breathlessly, effected by him even through the phone. “I’ll let you know. Bye, Roman.”

“Good bye, Arden.” He answered as he hung up.

I could have sworn there was a promise in his words, but I had been so affected by the bond ever since we touched, that I could have easily imagined it.

We get to see our mate! Fae was bouncing around happily in my head. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

You know this is only business, right? I tried getting her under control. I had missed her so much, but she was the one who had tried to block me out. We aren’t going there to do anything but try to save our packs.

You can say what you want, but I know you’ve missed him. She argued, and I could have sworn she was mentally flipping me off. Just because you have decided to ignore the mate bond doesn’t mean I want to. At least when we are close to Roman, I can talk to Jaxon.

I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. Most mated wolves can only talk to each other after their human counterparts have marked each other. However, Fae was far from normal.

Hey! She yelled, having heard my thought. You’re even more not normal than me, miss fire starter.

I laughed out loud at her indignation. It had been so long since she had been sassy with me. She was usually moping around, ignoring me unless it was time to go for a run.

And just so you know, Jaxon doesn’t want to ignore the mate bond either. She pointed out. He agrees with me, and he knows that we are meant to be together. If you and Roman would just get your heads out of your asses, everyone could be happy.

You know it isn’t that simple, Fae. I sighed, knowing she was going to start the same argument that made her ignore me in the first place.  How about this… when we meet up with our mate, you talk to Jaxon. If you both will actively try to help find out what is attacking our packs, I’ll make more of an effort to find a way to be with our mate. Sounds good?

Yes! Fae shouted loud enough to give me an instant headache. She was running in happy little circles, but then randomly stopped. Wait. More of an effort? You need to agree to make a decent effort. You haven’t made any effort these past few months. We are meant to be together, but you and Roman have both been ignoring the mate bond. I need you to promise that you will actively try to be with our mate.

I- I promise. I managed to say.

Good! Then I will talk with Jaxon. Fae said smugly before retreating back to her safe space to get some sleep, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

The only reason I had agreed to try to make things work with Roman was for her. She had been so depressed, and I could feel her pain weighing down on me like a suffocating blanket.

If I was being honest with myself, Fae wasn’t the only reason, but I didn’t want to think about that. I didn’t want to think about how much I had missed Roman. How ever since he wrapped his arms around me and comforted me, I had craved his touch. I couldn’t focus on how badly I wanted him to be with me every moment of every day.

I couldn’t admit any of it.

First, I needed to protect my pack and Roman’s pack. Then, maybe, I would be able to give into my desires.