It's Never Easy

Chapter 4 - Astor

Astor

As I was gifted more time alone with Arianne, I tried to put aside my sour mood aside. My wolf was not happy that our unsuspecting mate had been living with another wolf and he liked it even less that she appeared to be very comfortable with him. But I pushed it aside, not wanting it to spoil the precious time alone I had with her.

She made me a tea and I chatted as casually as I could with her. Trying not to seem eager or over-bearing. I was just desperate to get to know her. And despite whatever darkness laid within her that forced her to stay at arms-length, the conversation flowed easily. The more we spoke, the more comfortable around me she seemed to get and I watched as she visibly relaxed before me.

She was a year older than me. She already had her bachelors in psychology and was now about to start her masters in law and business management. So she was definitely smarter than me but the skills she picked up from those degrees would make her the perfect Luna. Lena was her adopted sister and they had been friends with Dion since they were kids. But she didn't appear to know he was a wolf.

I didn't want to take too many liberties with the mate bond, especially when she clearly didn't know that I could hear her thoughts. But her thoughts were so loud to me and they were more honest than what she spoke out loud. She was guarded, because the trauma some man had inflicted on her in the past, and if I ever found that man I would let my wolf rip him limb from limb. But she did feel our connection. She didn't understand it. But she felt it.

She passed me the large mug of tea, which, without asking, she had made perfectly - one sugar and just a drop of milk. By the time she had finished making her own tea, I could tell her social battery was dying and she was becoming anxious that she was speaking so much about myself. I wanted to tell her about me, my life, the life that would be ours, but without telling her about the supernatural world, they would be half-truths and I didn't want to lie to her so the words died in my throat. Besides, I loved hearing her speak, her voice was sweet and light and soothed my wolf, replacing any darkness inside me with her warmth. But I saw as she realised how much she had disclosed to an essential stranger and watched as she became closed off to me and quickly retreated to her room.

I was about to head to my room to finish unpacking, when Dion reappeared. Before he could say anthing, I knew I had to take action, let him know his place and force him into submission. I let my wolf out, let him know I was a Prince among wolves, I was the Alpha here, stronger and more powerful than him. He immediately dropped to one knee in front of me and bowed his head.

"Jeez, okay, you're powerful." He grunted, "I'm not going to challenge you, will you let me up."

Sure, just one more thing. "She's mine." I growled, in case I hadn't made that insanely obvious. He gave a sharp nod and I held out my hand to help him up. He took it and shook it once, still not able to make eye contact with me. His wolf had submitted fully, but the man was still wary.

"You're powerful." He said, looking me up and down. "Good."

"Good?"

"That's the least she deserves."

"Is she..." I wasn't sure how to word what I was asking, "Okay?" He sighed and ran a hand down his face.

"No, not really." That answer only agitated my wolf more. He didn't like that our mate was hurting and we didn't know how to fix it.

"Care to elaborate."

"It's not really my place."

"She doesn't know about our world?"

"No."

"Why?

"That was her father's decision. I'm just following orders."

"Why doesn't he want her to know?" I pushed, but I knew if he had been given specific orders by his Alpha, I wasn't going to get anything out of him.

"Listen, it's complicated and it's not my story to tell. But you don't have to worry about me. I make no claim on her. I'm just here as here as her bodyguard, and her friend."

"I appreciate that." I shook his hand again, glad that any tension from earlier had been put behind us. Now I could focus on Arianne.

"I guess I need to speak to her Dad then, so we can discuss introducing her to this world. Can you get me in touch with him?"

"Yes, but just so you know, he's not going to go for that. He thinks the best way to keep his girls safe is to keep them out of our world."

"I disagree." Hiding my wolf from her was painful. She was his mate as much as she was mine. It wasn't fair to keep her from him and it was dangerous too. The more I kept him locked down and away from his mate, the more volatile and unpredictable he would become.

Before I could get into it with Dion about that there was a knock at the door and he went to get our food. The girls emerged and we all crowded around the coffee table to eat, Lena putting on Friends in the background.

While they may have looked the same with short bleached hair and green eyes Lena and Arianne were very different people. Arianne was reserved but radiated warmth and smiled easily despite her trauma. And Lena was...abrasive and overly sexual. Lena's emerald eyes could cut you whereas Arianne's were bold but soft and curious. Arianne's eyes held the soul of mother nature, bright and beautiful, and nurturing, and more than once I found myself getting lost in them as we ate.

She seemed to be actively ignoring me, but I didn't mind, I knew it was just because she was confused and didn't understand our connection. Although the one time she did look over and her eyes met mine, her cheeks tinged pink and she ducked her head quickly to look away. But I heard her thought - she liked my eyes too. And that was enough to have a stupid grin on my face for the rest of the day.

Dad had told me to take the week to get to know her and then we would decide what to do. So I wasn't going to push the mate bond on her, I just wanted her to like me, and it appeared I was already making progress.