Alpha Aria

Chapter 9- Mate

**DIEGO**

My door burst open and I shot up in bed, instantly awake. My father stood in the door frame. "Diego." He stated plainly, as though he hadn't just busted into my room in the middle of the night.

"What is it, sir?" I asked, trying to remain calm.

"Get dressed. You will probably want to go to the hospital. Aria is there again." Without telling me any more details, he turned and left.

It took me all of two seconds to process what he'd said and I leapt out of bed. I grabbed a pair of shorts and a tee and glanced at the clock as I hurriedly put them on. It was shortly after 11pm so I hadn't been asleep for long.

Questions whizzed through my brain as I bounded down the stairs, almost running into my mom. She was wearing a lightweight nightdress and holding a mug of freshly brewed tea. I didn't see my father anywhere.

"What happened?" I asked her as I headed to the front door and slipped on my running shoes.

"No sé." She replied, shaking her head sadly.

Her eyes were worried. She loved Aria as much as most of the pack did, so I'm sure she was concerned, too.

"I will link you when I know anything." I reassured her, and left the house. I ran all the way to the hospital and rushed into the main entrance.

"Aria Campbell." I said to the registrar. The young man at the desk immediately replied.

"Room 107, young Beta." The title caught me off guard, as most in the pack didn't use formalities with me. Remembering that the Alpha Summit was tomorrow I figured it was probably something Alpha Brian was encouraging to present a more professional appearance to the visiting packs.

"Thank you." I nodded my head to him and quickly moved down the hall to the right of the desk where I knew that room would be, grateful that it wasn't in intensive care. That was a relief, at least. Still, I held my breath until I came up to her room and knocked lightly on the door before opening it, not waiting for a response. I was beside myself with worry and needed to see her, to know what happened. As it opened the most enticing scent of green grass and sandalwood hit me, and Dante was spinning in circles with excitement in my head. Mate! Mate! Mate! He yelped.

Standing next to the hospital bed stood a beautiful young woman. She was definitely not from our pack or I would remember her. She was tall, with slender arms and legs, light skin and short, spiky hair in the most vibrant violet shade. She wore black high top converse with bright purple shoelaces, army green cargo pants and a black tank top with thin straps. There was a tattoo on her right shoulder that I couldn't make out the design on from the doorframe where I stood. She had a leather bracelet on her wrist, a nose ring and her earlobes were gauged. She was almost completely opposite of Aria in every way but she was breathtaking to me. She glanced up at me and her clear blue eyes scanned over me, her face curious about the person who had just barged in.

I made myself break my gaze from her and saw there was another person in the room that I didn't recognize, along with my father. They were talking quietly in the corner of the room.

That was when I realized the mystery girl was holding Aria's hand, almost discreetly, as though she didn’t want the other two to see. When she saw me looking at it, she quickly pulled her hand away, as though it had burned her.

I was so mesmerized by this beautiful stranger and the butterflies from the mate bond swirling in my stomach, I almost forgot why I was there. My thoughts were jerked back to reality as Dante whimpered, reminding me of Aria. Even though he was thrilled to find our mate, we still loved Aria and he was worried about her, too. My eyes darted to her, searching for any obvious signs of injury but I couldn't see any. She was attached to an IV and had a pulse oxygen monitor on her finger.

The mystery girl was staring at Aria, her face unreadable. I cleared my throat. "Uh, hi. I'm Diego." I said.

Without looking away from Aria she replied. "Jade."

I nodded, even though she wasn't looking at me. Her scent was so strong, so alluring, but my heart was breaking. If this Jade girl was my mate then Aria... Aria couldn't be. I wanted to be exhilarated to have found my mate, but I couldn't let myself be happy about it. I didn't understand how it was possible. I was so sure it was Aria. I felt guilty, almost as though I was cheating on Aria by just looking at Jade.

Dante, satisfied that Aria was okay, was growling Mine! and jumping up and down in my head.

Traitor. I accused him.

Wait, why wasn't Jade seeming to be affected by the mate bond? She looked more than old enough to have her wolf, but she barely even acknowledged my existence. I was so confused.

"What happened to Aria? Why is she here?" I asked Jade, but she ignored me. I walked up to Aria and grasped her hand gently. Jade growled lightly.

At that moment, my father and the other stranger finished their conversation. My father clapped me on my shoulder as he walked by, leaving the room. My eyes drifted to the other stranger and I addressed him, hoping he might know what was going on.

"What happened? Why is Aria here?" I asked him.

He held his hand out to me to shake so I shook it. "Brandon Masterson, soon to be Dr. Masterson." He introduced himself. Jade scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, in like three years, Brandon."

"Ignore Miss Sourpants, that's just my sister." He smiled, his eyes twinkling. Looking between the two of them, the resemblance was obvious. He had the same clear blue eyes and light skin. Their cheekbones were similarly shaped, but his face was slightly wider and more masculine. The only real difference was their hair. Jade's was short and purple while Brandon’s was blonde and a bit shaggy.

"I'm Diego, and Aria here is my ma-" I caught myself. "My best friend."

"Well never fear, your bestie just had a little accident right outside of your packlands and luckily we were there. Jade found her and we brought her in. Your patrol wasn't too happy with us at first but then they realized we were just trying to help."

I looked at him incredulously. "Outside of packlands? That's impossible."

Brandon put his hands up defensively. "That's where we found her, I swear. She was running like she was terrified of something, but we couldn't find a trace of anything suspicious anywhere. I just reported all of this to Beta Carlos." He pointed his chin toward the door where my father had just left.

I looked back at Aria. She looked so peaceful, like she was dreaming away blissfully. Why had she left the packlands? That was so unlike her. "So what was the accident? Why is she here?"

Jade spoke up, her voice strained. "She fell and hit her head on a log." She turned to look pointedly at me. "She has a concussion along with a previous injury." The last part she said almost accusingly. Did she think I had something to do with it?

"She fell off a bench earlier this week and hit her head on the concrete. She didn't concuss, though." I explained.

The siblings looked at me, an unspoken question in their eyes. Finally, Brandon broke the silence.

"She's almost 18, right? That's what Beta Carlos said."

I nodded, knowing what they were really asking. "She hasn't gotten her wolf yet."

Jades eyes widened and she looked down at Aria. Brandon shook his head. "That's too bad. She'd probably be fine by now, even with a concussion." I nodded in agreement.

"So where are you two from?" I asked, deciding to try to get more information about my mate.

"Swift Claw. We came here for the Alpha Summit." Brandon answered.

"Ah, that makes sense why you were close to our packlands, then."

"Yeah. Jade is here to assist your shaman with the opening ceremony. I'm of course hoping to find my mate."

I looked with new interest at Jade. "So you're the shaman in training I've heard about."

She answered "Uh, yep." She popped the p, sounding slightly bored at our conversation. I glanced at Brandon. He rolled his eyes at his sister.

"So talkative, this one." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Whatever." Jade practically spat out. "I'm going to find some coffee." She stormed out of the room in a huff.

"Rude, much, Jay? Sheesh." Brandon said quietly after she was gone. "I'm sorry about her. I really don't know what's gotten into her."

I was a little relieved she had left so I could grill her brother without her there, but part of me felt empty now that she was gone. Dante whined at me.

Follow her! We need to tell her she's ours! He demanded.

I ignored him. "So has Jade found her mate yet?"

Brandon opened his mouth to answer then rapidly shut it.

"Uhh..." he drawled slowly. "No?" He said the last part with a question in his voice.

My eyes scrunched in confusion. "Did you just answer my question with a question?"

He laughed nervously. "Why? Are you interested in her?"

I shook my head. "Nah. I was just wondering." I tried to feign nonchalance.

"Well that's good." Brandon said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Why is that good?" I asked, my confusion growing by the second.

"Uh, well, let's just say you're not really her type."

"Not her type. Okay. What, does she like pretty boys or something?"

Brandon laughed. "Oh, Diego, come on, you're a pretty boy if I ever saw one!"

"Huh? No, I'm not." I said indignantly.

"Are you kidding? Look at you with your fancy model looks and muscled body. You probably have girls falling all over you." I could tell he was joking around and trying to be friendly, but he and I had different ideas of what a pretty boy was. To me, a pretty boy was a douchey guy that only cared about his appearance and spent hours in front of a mirror to attain his desired look. I truly hoped that wasn't the vibe I gave off.

"Sorry, man. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable. I'm not like flirting with you, or whatever. I just like to lighten the mood and it seemed to be awkward in here. I sometimes don't know when to just shut up and so I just keep talking and talking. It can really piss off Jade. She's my twin, you know. We are like polar opposite of each other. I talk a lot and she is usually quiet."

"You don't say." I deadpanned, my voice sounding unamused. "Here I thought you were the quiet one."

Brandon stared at me for a beat before he realized I was messing with him, and he burst out laughing. "Dude, you got me!"

I smiled at him, pleased that my mate's brother was pretty cool. I grabbed a chair and pulled it closer to Aria's bedside so I could sit next to her.

"Any word on when she might wake up?"

"Beta Carlos said the doctor would fill us in soon. He wasn't very informative, to be honest. He just asked a whole bunch of questions."

"Yeah, my father is a man of few words. He likes to keep it simple. No time to waste, and all."

Brandon’s eyes widened. "No wonder your aura is so strong! You're the Beta's son!"

"That's me. But I'm not the only son. I have a kid brother, Alejandro. He's six."

"We've got a kid brother that's six, also. Conner. And three other brothers. Plus two big sisters."

"Wow, what's that, like eight siblings? Big family!"

"Yeah. Mom and Dad clearly couldn't keep it in their pants." Brandon complained and I snickered.

The door opened and Dr. Manning stepped in, holding Aria's medical chart. She was smiling at both of us. "Hello, young Beta Diego. Hello, Brandon." Yep, the formalities must be because of Alpha Brian. Dr. Manning never calls me young Beta.

"Hi, Dr. Manning. How is Aria? When is she going to wake up?" I bombarded her with questions, my worry for Aria that I had been tamping down suddenly overwhelming me.

Dr. Manning chuckled. "You really love that girl, don't you?" She asked, glancing at Aria in the bed.

"What? No! I mean, as a friend, obviously." I could feel my cheeks flush and I knew I was protesting too much. Brandon raised his eyebrows at me in amusement.

"Well, your secret is safe with me." She winked at me. "Aria should be waking up soon. She has a minor concussion and will need to take it easy for a few days. Once she wakes I will perform a check up and if all is good, she should be home in time for the festivities tomorrow evening."

I let out a breath of relief. "Oh, thank goddess."

Just then Jade walked in the room, holding a small paper cup.

"Your coffee here is disgusting." She informed Dr Manning with a monotone voice, and took a loud sip while making a sour face. Then she plopped down in the other chair in the room.

Dr Manning chuckled. "Don't I know it. That's why we have an espresso machine in the staff lounge. I don't touch the stuff in the vending machine."

Jade scoffed. "You guys get the good stuff but we have to drink this... this abomination?" She set her cup down and sighed wistfully. Dr Manning smiled at us and left, closing the door behind her.

"This really is crap." Jade said, picking up her cup and peeking at it with a frown. She stood up and walked over to the sink and dumped the coffee down the drain. She crushed the cup with one hand and tossed it into the trash can across the room. It bounced off the rim onto the floor. "Ugh!" She stomped over to it and picked it up, then shoved it into the can forcefully. Then she plopped back into the chair with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

"Geez, Jay, what is wrong with you tonight? You'd think you'd be in a better mood after finding your-" Brandon got cut off by a snarl from his sister as she jumped out of the chair, giving him an angry glare.

"I'm. Fine. Brandon." She said through gritted teeth. They stared at each other wordlessly for a few moments, clearly sharing a brief conversation via mindlink.

"I'm going to go to the packhouse and find our rooms. Feel free to stay here as long as you want. Or at least until you cool down." Jade turned her shoulder to him and moved over by the bed. He turned to me and smiled. "It was nice to meet you, young Beta Diego." He gave a nod of respect before walking out the door.

Mate is upset. Dante noted the obvious.

I had no idea what was going on and was thoroughly confused. Why was Jade acting the way she was? Did she sense the mate bond but didn't want me? Was she going to reject me? She wasn't acting like she felt it at all. Maybe she really couldn't feel it. Maybe her wolf was resting or something. She was training to be a shaman. Maybe that interfered with the mate bond.

Then again, why was she hanging around still if she didn't sense it? It's not like she was friends with Aria or me. She must feel it. But why was she so upset?

Suddenly I had an idea. If I just accidentally-on-purpose touched her, she was sure to feel the bond and not be able to hide it. Watching Jade carefully out of the corner of my eye to see her reaction, I inched closer to her to take Aria's hand. I brushed my arm lightly against her and immediately felt a surge of pleasurable tingles rush up my body, warming me.

Jade's eyes flew to me as her breath hitched and her mouth dropped open in shock. I smiled shyly at her and whispered one simple word to her. Little did I know that one word was going to change everything.

"Mate."