The Alpha's Mate

Chapter Seven

Adrian's POV

I ran my fingers through my hair and paced outside the door that led to the guest room—Rose was asleep in there. And my brother was with her—he'd gone to see her as soon as we got back home. It infuriated me to watch him take the stairs two at a time in order to get to her, but there was nothing I could do about it. At least being a few feet away from her helped to calm me.

I had several pack wolves running the perimeter to make sure that there weren't any rogues on our territory. Nobody had detected any yet, though I was positive that something was up.

I heard footsteps and turned my head to see Lily walking up the stairs, giving me a stern look that said, we need to talk. I growled and followed her down the hall, to her bedroom. After searching her thoughts, I'd discovered that she suspected Rose and I were mates. I was positive that this was what she wanted to talk about.

Lily closed the door behind me and I strode over to her window, leaning heavily against the sill and watching the woods, listening to Rose's even heartbeat at the same time. I remembered how right it felt to kiss her moist lips. How she melted against me and pulled me closer, whimpering every time I'd pull away. My pants tightened and I immediately thought of something different, remembering that Lily was in the room. I couldn't help but remember that she was still wearing the booty shorts and tank top.

"Adrian. The truth. Now." Lily's voice was firm.

I laughed humorlessly. "You know the truth, Lils."

Her breath caught and her voice softened. "God, Adrian, why did you let it get this far?"

I spun and faced her, clenching my jaw. "What was I supposed to do, Lily? Hm? I can't exactly tell her why she has to be with me instead of that bastard. She'd run without a second thought. We both know she would."

"That bastard," Lily hissed, "is our brother." Then she took a deep breath. "And I wouldn't be so sure about that. Rose understands things."

"I know she does. She's my mate." It felt weird saying those three words aloud, but it gave me a sense of pride.

"Then tell her."

"No, Lily," I muttered.

"Goddamn it, Adrian! Why can't you realize that by doing this you're making things worse? Rose doesn't know why she's feeling like that toward you, which is why she's going to try and be closer to Diesel! So maybe she can switch those feelings and feel like that toward her boyfriend!" Lily exhaled loudly. "For fuck's sake, you boys are complete idiots sometimes! If you'd gone after Rose instead of waiting for her to come to you, she'd be sleeping in your arms right now! Not Diesel's!"

I snarled and felt every muscle in my body ripple in anger, simply by picturing my mate sleeping in another man's arms—even though I knew she was sleeping with my brother. I took deep breaths, attempting to calm myself, but nothing worked. My muscles were expanding and my body was shifting. Only one thing was on my mind: Kill Diesel—and anyone who gets in my way—and claim Rose. Lily was shouting and screaming, attempting to calm me down. When that didn't work, she called for Gage, Piper, and my parents.

My front paws hit the ground and I was a full-out alpha wolf. I growled and glared at the four other people who entered the room, but at the same time I was painfully aware of Rose's presence a floor below. I heard the blankets rustle as she rolled over and the small sigh that left her lips. I needed her. Now.

"Son, calm down." My father packed as much alpha power into his voice as possible. So much that there was a tiny part of my brain that wanted to be submissive.