The Alpha’s Hidden Mate

Chapter 13 Liam

I offered to go to lunch with Mae and Charlotte, but Mae refused and said she needed girl talk. I didn’t like the thought of not being around her but it had been several days now since I had actually gone to work so I needed to check in on things. After Charlotte picked up Mae, I mind-linked Garrett and Ronan to meet up.

20 minutes later we were sitting in my office getting caught up on business. A few things needed my signature, a couple things needed to be approved, but they had kept everything running smoothly without me.

“Thanks for all your hard work guys, I’m sorry I haven’t been around much. It’s been a whirlwind.”

“It’s our job. Besides it’s the least I could do after I stole the necklace and put the Luna in the hospital,” said Garrett. “How is she doing?”

“Way better than I ever could have asked for. Her life has completed changes in the last 48 hours and she is taking it so well. And she shifted this afternoon. First time and she was so smooth. And her wolf is beautiful, and big. It actually made me think she has Alpha blood. I have no idea what her lineage is but something tells me she was being hidden for a reason.”

“Why don’t you bring her down the training fields later this week? We can run some drills with her and test her natural skills. It could answer some questions,” said Ronan. As my Gamma, he was in charge of all of our warrior training. As an Alpha I was stronger and faster than the average wolf. If Mae had some extra strength and speed it could confirm the theory.

“Great idea. We’ll schedule something.”

“In the mean time, when do we get to meet her?” Asked Ronan. He had felt a little left out since he wasn’t part of the extracting Mae’s wolf mission. “Besides, you two caused a big stir when you walked through the main hall. Everyone is talking and no one actually knows who she is.”

“Wow you already heard about that? It happened an hour ago.”

“Well everyone has been waiting for 10 years for their Luna. Just like you. They’re just excited that you found her. Or potentially found her, no one actually knows,” explained Garrett.

“Yeah, we should probably say something soon. I don’t want wild rumors flying,” I said. “How about you two come with me to my place and you can meet after she gets back from lunch with Charlotte. I think the more people she meets the more comfortable she’ll feel.”

We finished up in the office and went to the top floor. Ronan and Garrett waste no time digging into my fridge. We sat around and watched tv and chatted, but I was feeling anxious. I wanted Mae to be here. We’d only been separated for a few hours but I already missed her.

I heard the elevator ding and was on my feet before I knew what I was doing. As the doors opened I saw Mae and Charlotte laughing, and relief swept over me as it was clear they had a good lunch.

“Hi there big brother, what have you been up to?” Charlotte asked.

“Waiting for you,” I said. I encompassed Mae in a hug and took in her scent, all my anxiety instantly eased and I felt very calm.

“Already wrapped around her little finger,” Charlotte chuckled.

“Happily,” I replied as Mae and I smiled at each other. “I have a few people I’d like you meet.”

I took her hand and led her into the living room. Ronan and Garrett were on their feet, looking like they were about to meet a celebrity.

“Mae, you’ve met Garrett, he is my Beta. My number two,” I said, pointing to Garrett.

“So, not your project manager,” said Mae with mock sarcasm.

“Sorry about the deception Mae,” said Garrett sheepishly while shuffling his feet. “We had to find out if we were right and I was the only man for the job.”

“It’s ok, Garrett. Did your girlfriend like my necklace?” Mae was definitely messing with him and I adored her for it.

“Oh, um, I don’t have s girlfriend. I haven’t found my mate,” said Garrett blushing.

“I know, I’m just making you squirm. No hard feelings, I’m really glad you went through with your plan,” said Mae giving me a smile. My heart soared.

“And you haven’t met Ronan. He is my Gamma, my number three. He is in charge of pack warriors, training and security.”

“Hi Mae, I’m sorry you had deal with these two knuckleheads to find out you were a wolf. If I had been asked I bet it would have been much more smoothly,” said Ronan in his gruff voice. He was still upset about not being included.

“I bet you’re right,” said Mae with a laugh. “I assume you’re the one who keeps these guys in line?” Mae pointed to me and Garrett.

“Pretty much,” said Ronan with a grin.

We all moved to the couches and Garrett and Ronan filled in Mae about their roles in the pack and tips on “how to deal with the Alpha,” as Garett put it. It was amazing to see Mae interacting with all of the people who were closest to me. It felt natural, like we had been missing her the whole time. I caught Charlotte’s eye at one point and she gave me a very subtle thumbs up. I owed Charlotte, she had really stepped up over the years to help me take over being the Alpha from our father. And without a Luna, she had taken over a lot of work to make things easier on me. I was sad that she hadn’t found her mate yet, but I wouldn’t have made it this long without her. The thumbs up was a good sign, her approval was really important to me.

The conversations had moved to the pack house and Mae admitted she hadn’t seen much of it.

“You need some tour guides, and we are the best in the business,” said Garrett with a wink. “Ronan and I have been messing around in this pack house since we could walk.”

“It’s true, there isn’t a nook or cranny that we don’t know,” said Ronan. “Do you want us to show you some high lights?”

“Yeah, I’d love to see more of this place,” said Mae. She did genuinely look excited so I took her hand and we all got into the elevator. Garret and Ronan squabbled for a bit about where to start but eventually decided on the game room.

The game room was part arcade, part board game room, part bowling alley. A couple of teenagers were in there, but we mostly had the place to ourselves.

We picked a few first-person shooter games and took turns trying to beat each others score. At one point Charlotte, Garrett, and Ronan were distracted so I pulled Mae to my side and kissed her forehead. She looked up and me beaming.

“How are you doing? I know this might be a lot. We can go if you need to.”

“No! I’m doing great, I’m having a blast actually. I feel like I’m fitting in really well and this game room is awesome. I love video games so if you can’t find me, check in here,” said Mae laughing.

I gave her another hug.

“Yeah, the guys like you, for sure. And Charlotte has been dying for a sister since she realized I was a stinky boy so I know she is thrilled to have you here too.”

Just then Ronan challenged Mae to an air hockey game.

“It’s on!” said Mae as she pulled up her hair and tied it in a knot. I so badly wanted to run my fingers through all of that hair again. Their game was impressive. Ronan won, but only by one point. And Mae swore she could get him the next time.

We ended up spending hours in the game room, it was like being in high school again. For the entire afternoon all of us forgot about our duties, pack politics, being adults. We just played games and got to relax. Mae seemed to have that affect on everyone.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Charlotte get a mind-link.

“Hey Liam, Mrs. Brown just let me know that they’re expecting about 90% of the pack for dinner tonight. I think the secret is out,” said Charlotte, nodding at Mae and me.

We served 2 meals a day at the pack house every day, but most of the time we only had about 40% of the pack at any given time. A lot of members cooked at home for meals. It seems that Charlotte was right, this many people usually only showed up when we had big events or holidays.

I looked at Mae, searching her face.

“We don’t have to eat in the dining hall tonight if you don’t want to. It’s a lot at once so if you’re not ready I get it,” I told her. We had such an amazing afternoon, I really didn’t want to spook her by introducing her too soon.

Charlotte hooked her arms around Garrett and Ronan’s wastes and lead them away another part of the room, giving us a bit of privacy.

Mae took my hand in hers and looked into my eyes.

“I’m ready. I’m scared as hell, but the more time I spend here, the more I talk to you, the more people I meet, it’s like there was a part of my life that I was missing before. I have never felt more at home than I do here. I want to be here, with you, and the pack, and I want to be your Luna.”

I didn’t know if she was done talking, but I couldn’t stop my self as I grabbed her face and kissed her. I felt like fireworks were erupting in my chest, I couldn’t have been happier. My Luna.

Sparks danced between us as we kissed, only to break apart when a loud cough pulled us back to earth.

“I don’t want to break up this moment, but it’s already six o’clock. So if we’re going to go to dinner, I think we would probably get ready and head there soon,” said Garret. He had the cheesiest grin on his face and I could tell that he actually took great pleasure in interrupting us.

We went back to our respective homes and started getting ready. I made a mental note that I needed to get the things from Mae’s apartment over here ASAP before she had a chance to change her mind, because she was still borrowing clothes from Charlotte.

Mae chose a dusty-orange sweater dress that hugged through her hips and hung off one shoulder, just enough to see her collar bone. She looked incredibly sexy, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to rip off her dress and take her on the bed, or show her off to the pack. I knew we would get to the first option eventually.

She was looking at herself in the mirror, doing one last check, I walked up behind her and put my arms around her, taking a deep breath of her smell.

“Are you sure you’re ready? I think the pack is going to love you but I know that it feels like a lot of pressure.”

Mae turned around and put her arms around my neck.

“I’m sure, I know deep down in my bones that this is the right move. Even if I feel out of my element, I can’t help but feel that this is the right path for me.”

I loved hearing those words. My hands started to wander down to her ass, I had been itching to grab it all day. But she pushed herself away.

“Oh no, mister. I need to be ready to meet the pack, I’m not going to let you distract me with all of that,” she said as she waved her hand at my general area.

I laughed. “I can behave, but Goddess you look incredible in that dress.”

She smirked at me as she started waking towards the door, and I heard the familiar ding of the elevator signaling that Charlotte, Ronan and Garrett were here, ready to go down with us to dinner.

“Thank you, I can only imagine how incredible this dress will look on your floor,” said Mae as she exited the bedroom. My pants instantly felt tighter.

Oh Goddess, help me make it through this dinner.