I wanna start with a huge thanks to every reader who is reading this story<3! The story has almost reached 60,000 reads and i couldn't have done it without you!! And also a special thanks to the silent readers for commenting on the last chapter. I enjoyed reading your comments.
I also wanna dedicate this chapter to @Bamagranna love reading your comments.
Xx
Shawn Pyfrom as Jeff Thompson >>
Brian Crain - Promise
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I looked up to see a very pissed Nathaniel standing in front of my desk, followed by an overprotected looking Jeff. “Not now,” I said as I laid my head back on the desk.
"Oh we're doing this now! Why didn't you contact me?" he said, anger clear in his voice. His clenched fists indicated that he was trying to control his anger, which by the looks of it took a lot of effort on his part.
"I wasn't thinking," I said trying to sound calm so he wouldn't explode. I thought back at how I reacted with Andy and Jeff, this was the opposite of that. I guess the mate bond made sure I had a soft spot for Nate. It was probably both ways, maybe that's why I let him get it out of his system and not go all Alpha on him like I did with the guys.
"Damn right, you weren't thinking!" he said, raising his voice.
I tolerated his yelling because I knew he only did it because he was worried. That thought made me rethink some things.
I found myself being pleased that he was worried. It showed me that he cared for me, yet if Jeff showed any sign of worry it would make me feel suppressed and incompetent. As manly as it may sound, it felt really like he crushed my ego.
I tolerated Nate's yelling, but Jeff wasn't too pleased with the way he spoke to me. He came to stand protectively next to me, taking in his position at my right flank as my Beta, ready to protect me if the big angry Alpha tried to hurt me. I admired his courage at that moment, he knew Nathaniel was stronger, but it didn’t stop him from protecting me.
Little did he know, Nathaniel would never hurt me.
"Why the hell do you even care, huh? What's in it for you? Did you want to know so you could've gave him a better getaway?" Jeff glared accusingly in Nathaniel's direction as he took a step in his direction, placing himself between Nathaniel and me.
Jeff let his guards down in case I needed him, because he still thought there was a possible danger. That also made him move closer to Nathaniel, that way if Nathaniel ‘decided to strike’ he would get to Jeff first. I felt a little proud of Jeff that he took his duties seriously, but Nathaniel couldn't tolerate more by the looks of it; he was ready to blow.
Therefore I spoke before Nathaniel lost his patience, "Jeff-"
"No no, let him vent," Nathaniel cut me off and waved his hand dismissively in my direction. "It was his fault he escaped in the first place. He needs to get this off of his chest," Nathaniel held a grim expression on his face.
His words were making Jeff mad, he already felt bad about the whole thing and here Nathaniel was shoving it in his face.
"You think you know everything, don't you?" Jeff snapped, taking another step forward and gave Nate a little shove before he continued. "Only it seems to me that you forgot one thing, this is NOT your pack. So if she chooses not to contact you about something that happened on OUR land, she's free to do so."
I felt the guilt go through me and guarded my thoughts before Jeff could hear them. He didn’t know Nathaniel was my mate and I was the one keeping that information from him. I was about to tell him that Nathaniel was my mate, but the murderous glare he was giving Nathaniel stopped me.
This wasn’t exactly the perfect timing to drop a bomb that big on him. An Alpha finding his/her mate didn’t just effect the Alpha in question, but the whole pack.
That meant that I needed to make Jeff warm up to the idea or at least wait until he and Nate could be in the same room without arguing before I told him.
"I think you're the one that's not getting who's the boss around here. Heard about your little problem with taking orders," Nate's signature smirk was back as he stood unaffected by the little space that was left between him and Jeff. A small part of me wondered how long it would take him before he would show us his cocky smirk again. I guess it didn’t take long, even in the angry state he was in.
Jeff seemed to forget that he was dealing with a powerful Alpha, because he dared to take another step closer to Nate.
"You wanna know what my problem is? YOU are my problem." Jeff stood inches apart from Nate's face. If you saw them from a distance it would've looked like Jeff leaned in for a kiss.
"Kid, you better get the hell out of my personal space and fast before I do something I might regret. I tolerated you at first for her sake," he pointed at me, "But if you cross the line I won't hesitate to put you down."
"Is that a threat?" Jeff growled.
I understood where Jeff was coming from, to him this was just a stranger, Alpha or not, who didn’t do anything yet to earn his trust. He was trying to do his job as a Beta by protecting me, but his intentions got switched somewhere along the way when Nathaniel pointed out his flaws. It almost made me reconsider and tell him the truth about Nathaniel, but I couldn’t risk it.
Seeing Nate's furious face got me out of my thoughts. I walked around my desk to meet the guys and pushed both of them aside to make room for me to stand between them.
"Alright that's enough. Both of you calm down," I ordered them.
"Haley get out of the way," Jeff warned. ‘I don’t want to risk hurting you,’ he added through the mind link after seeing my raised brow.
"They were right. You really do have a problem with taking orders from your Alpha," Nate shook his head smiling.
"Nate!" I glared at him angrily, not realizing that I just called him Nate in front of Jeff.
Jeff tried to push past me to get to Nathaniel, “I don’t want to accidentally hurt her, you fool!” Nate shrugged saying,
"Keep telling yourself that," Nate smirked.
I pushed Jeff back with too much force, making him stumble back as he tried to stay balanced.
"Jeff, maybe you should go home," my voice sounded stern.
"What? You're making me, your Beta, leave for a possible enemy?" he said taken aback and I had to admit from his point of view it sounded a little ridiculous.
"Woow, so you do understand the order, but you simply refuse to follow it. Interesting.." Nathaniel acted like he was thinking something over.
"Nate, shut up!" I almost growled. He was making this situation impossible to fix. The problem was, I was already angry at Jeff for what he did today and if they didn’t stop I might be the one hurting Jeff more than necessary.
Jeff avoided my grasp as I tried to stop him from going to Nathaniel and went for him anyway. Nate didn't seem impressed by his move and stayed put, my wolf on the other hand didn't like the fact that someone was trying to attack her mate. She was pushing me to shift, but I was trying to contain her with everything in me. I couldn’t risk Jeff finding out that Nathaniel was my mate and I couldn’t risk him getting hurt again by my uncontrolled wolf either. Guys and their testosterone.. The fact that they were werewolves made it only worse, because they were more aggressive.
I turned around and grabbed Jeff by his collar to get him away from Nate. "You know what, I changed my mind. Both of you, OUT!" The room filled with my power, which made Jeff bow his head. This was his second Alpha command in one day. I let him go and he left the room quietly.
My command seemed to have some effect on Nate, but since he was an Alpha himself and my mate it didn't have its full power. Our eyes met and by the looks of it he just realized he was behaving like an ass.
"Haley.." he started.
"Leave," I said determined.
I really just needed to be alone and couldn't take any more discussions. Even if a part of me wanted him by my side I needed to stand my ground. My wolf was wasn’t happy and just wanted to be in the arms of my wolf, but luckily I was getting better much better at keeping her under control. Nathaniel held my gaze a moment longer then he nodded after seeing that I wasn’t going to change my mind. He walked out of the office and slammed the door behind him.
I closed my eyes and waited a bit until they were both far from the pack house before I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
I ignored everyone I passed and went straight to my room. I stripped off all my clothes and stepped in the shower, letting the hot water wash away the tears that I was holding back before. I sobbed quietly and hugged myself, feeling torn about what happened earlier.
As much as I wanted a normal life, where I can be with my mate and not have to worry about things like the pack, I knew it wouldn’t happen. It was times like these where I longed the most for my old life, the life were both my parents were a part of. I wondered what it would have been like if I met Nathaniel when my father was still alive.
I would have been part of Nate’s pack by now, but what would have happened if they still killed my father after I mated with Nate? Would the killer have been the Alpha or would it still have been me? The questions and what if’s were making me even more upset. I had to remember myself that Nathaniel was able to sense if I was upset, which still creeped me out a bit because we weren’t even mated yet.
I closed my eyes letting the last tear fall down as I collected myself to start washing myself. After showering I dressed for bed. I crawled in bed and wished Nate was here if only to hold me. I sighed and whispered to myself, “It is what it is,” before I fell asleep.
The next few days past slowly by with no sign of Nathaniel or Jeff, not even one phone call from either of them. I hated to admit that both their absence bothered me, especially Nate’s. I was used to having Jeff around me and missed our talks. I even missed our discussions about his stupid over-protectiveness. I almost felt sorry for going all Alpha on him, but I knew I had to do that in order for him to know his place.
With Nathaniel I was a little pissed because he took his anger out on Jeff, but that didn’t mean I didn’t miss him. I found myself missing everything I knew and didn’t knew about him. I was eager to get to know Nathaniel better and spending time with him even if that meant working on finding the attacker, but it felt like Nate didn’t share the same thoughts.
“What’s on your mind,” I turned around from the kitchen window to face a curious Katelyn.
I took a sip from my coffee to stall for some time before I responded. “Just pack stuff,” I shrugged.
“I’ll bet,” she said not believing me and walked to the kitchen counter to pour herself a cup of coffee.
“You can let your walls down once in a while, you know. To show us your human side,” she said as she sipped her own coffee, holding the mug with two hands. You really don’t want to see what’s behind those walls, I thought.
“I’m not human, remember?” I smirked, hiding my pain.
“You know what I mean. I know you’re Alpha Female and all, but you were my best friend before that and you still are after that. At least to me you still are,” she sounded sincere and I knew she was. I just couldn’t bring myself to unload my burden on her, yet again.
“I know that and I appreciate it, I really do. There’s really nothing going on, other than pack business which is tiring and dull most of the time. And I consider you more than just a friend. Don’t ever question that,” I tried to convince her with a genuine smile.
“Alright, if you say so. I need to get to my classes. If you need to talk you know where to find me.” She put her empty cup in the sink and came to give me a hug.
“I know, same goes for you.” I hugged her back and looked at her retreating back. When she reached the door I remembered something I wanted to say, “Oh and Kate?” She stopped to turn around and look at me eyebrows raised.
“I’m sorry if I’m being…distant lately-”
“And don’t forget moody,” Katelyn added smiling.
I rolled my eyes playfully and was about to explain that it had nothing to do with her, that it was all me, but I couldn’t find the words to express it. “It’s ok,” she said smiling before she turned away. No, it wasn’t, I thought. I didn’t like keeping secrets from her. If it was only pack matter it wouldn’t really be an issue, because I couldn’t share everything with her about that.
Having a mate was a different thing. I was suppose to share that with my best friend and at times like these, where I missed him so much, I missed my old life more than ever. No responsibilities, no problems, just the little bumps that came along the way. We don’t always get what we want…
That evening Annabeth made a wonderful dinner, but I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy it. I was too worried about Nathaniel. I knew Jeff was mad and needed time to cool off, but I didn’t see a reason for Nathaniel’s absence. Unless something happened or he was also still mad. Although, I think I should be the one to be mad at both guys for behaving like jerks.
My untouched plate was returned to the kitchen and replaced by dessert when Brian turned to face me.
“Where’s Jeff at? I haven’t seen him in days,” he asked. My eyes darkened a little at the mention of Jeff’s name. I still couldn’t believe that neither him or Nate had showed up. My wolf was getting impatient about the absence of our mate and didn’t make it easy on me.
“I honestly don’t know, Brian” I answered him as I ate two bites of my dessert before I got to my feet and excused myself.
I had to keep myself busy or else my thoughts would make me go insane. I grabbed my short shorts and a big t-shirt before heading to the bathroom. I changed my clothes, washed my face and brushed my teeth. I tied my hear back in a messy bun and went back to my bedroom. I let myself fall on the bed and sighed deeply. I couldn’t stop my mind drifting off to Nathaniel.
His hazel eyes and the intense look he tends to give me sometimes filled my mind. The more I thought about him, the more I felt his presence. I guess the mate bond was stronger than I thought, but I didn’t complain. His presence made me feel safe and loved. Thinking about this made me realize that maybe he stayed away because he didn’t want me. Maybe I was the only one that felt this way about him.
Once in a while we would hear about a werewolf getting rejected by his or her mate. It didn’t happen a lot, but there was a possibility that it could happen. My heart rate started to pick up at the thought, but before I could think it through I heard a crack coming from outside my balcony. I was deep in thought before that I didn’t sense a presence of someone before. I should really pay attention more often, I scowl at myself.
I closed my eyes and focused on the person to identify him. My wolf was getting more excited by the minute. There was an invisible pull towards the person and a sense of calm washed over me. I realized instantly who it was, because there was only one person who could make me feel like this, Nate.
“What are you doing here?” I asked rudely as soon as I opened the door that led to the balcony. I was really happy to see him again, but he didn’t need to know that. For all he knew I was still mad at him.
“I thought I would make a habit out of it,” he grinned, referring to the night he came through my balcony. He stepped in my bedroom and gave me a once-over.
“You look gorgeous,” his voice came out a little hoarse.
Seeing him made me realized how worried I really was and how much I missed him. I moved a step backwards as he attempted to plant a kiss on my cheek.
“I guess you’re still mad..” he said looking a little regretful for some reason. I kind of had an idea about what he would be regretful for. “No shit, Sherlock,” I tried to sound mean. “Can we put this fighting to the side for just a couple of minutes? I haven’t seen you in a while and the last time I saw you I was worried sick that something had happened to you..” he trailed off, but still holding my gaze.
“I just had a rough couple of days and right now I just need you at my side,” he spoke after a short silence.
I saw in his eyes that he meant it and that made me feel silly about my previous insecurities. I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around his neck as he wrapped his arms around my waist. Sparks shot through every part of my body that was connected to his. His tense body instantly loosened which made me hold him tighter.
I took in his scent and enjoyed his body close to mine, feeling content in his arms. I couldn’t believe we let some silly argument drift us a part, even if it was for a couple of days. I’ve heard it before that mates couldn’t stay apart that long. I didn’t think it was that bad until I experienced it myself, which made me for a second think about how my mother felt. I shook the thought away and focused on Nathaniel. This embrace was what we both needed to relax and calm down our wolves.
“I was worried about you,” I blurted out in a soft whisper before I could stop myself and unfortunately for me, he heard it. He pulled back a little out of our embrace and had a thoughtful look on his face.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve called,” he said and kissed the top of my head which made me blush a little. God, I was turning in to a little schoolgirl again. “There were some suspicious things happening that I needed to check out and I was being a stubborn jerk because of our argument.”
I pulled back a little too to look at him while he kept his arms around my waist.
“What suspicious things?” I ignored the jerk part, knowing that we’ll discuss that later. I wondered if the suspicious events had something to do with the intruder I chased.
“We’ll have plenty of time to discuss business later. Right now I just want to enjoy the presence of my beautiful mate, that I really missed over the past few days by the way,” he said, pulling me closer to him. He really knows what to say to make a girl feel special.
He gave me one of his breathtaking smiles again and inched his face closer to mine.
“I missed you too,” I managed to say against his lips, closing my eyes. I enjoyed his closeness again as he pressed his lips against mine and deepened the kiss.
The passionate kiss proved just how much we missed each other and all previous doubts of him not wanting me were gone. He broke the kiss first pushing me slightly away from him so he could see my face. I reluctantly let him put a little distance between us, knowing that he wanted to say something.
“I just have to get one thing off my chest,” he looked distracted as his gaze fell on my lips. My lips were probably just like his right now, red and swollen. He brought his hand to my face and brushed his thumb over my swollen lower lip. I closed my eyes again enjoying his touch.
A soft growl erupted from his chest, “Your sweet lips are distracting me.”
I opened my eyes to see him closing his and shaking his head. I giggled and pressed my lips on his softly, “Good, don’t waste time talking then.”
I didn’t know where this bold side of me was coming from, but my wolf was certainly enjoying this side of me. She was even encouraging me to move further.
“I need to say this,” he opened his eyes and I saw them change from electric blue, the color of his wolf’s eyes, to his own hazel eyes. That change made me even more excited, which wasn’t helping him to calm down at all. He cleared his voice before he spoke,
“Why didn’t you call or contact me when you had an intruder on your land?” His voice still sounded a little husky, but not as much as it did before.
I sighed, knowing that we were going to have a serious talk. I stepped out of his embrace and went to sit on the chair next to my dresser. I needed a little space between us to think clear. He probably felt the same way, because instead of walking up to me he took a seat on my bed. He leaned forward and put his arms on his knees looking straight at me.
“You want the truth?” I asked Nathaniel. He nodded. “I wasn’t lying when I said I wasn’t thinking. My third in command missed his chance to catch him. After I did the math I realized I was the closest one to him so I went after him."
Nathaniel stayed quiet as he held my gaze.
“I wasn’t thinking about you, my pack or even myself. I was only thinking about avenging my father’s death,” I said honestly. A look of understanding and compassion crossed his face. “I just.. I feel like I’m doing a lousy job at being an Alpha.”
I didn’t know what came over me, but I felt like I had to tell him how I felt. Something inside me told me that he would be the only one to understand what I was going through.
He narrowed his gaze on me. “No, you’re not!”
“You have to say that, you’re my mate,” I said, rolling my eyes playfully. “But seriously, I still can’t find who was responsible for killing my father, I can’t always control my wolf and my pack seems to think I’m not fit for the job because I’m a girl.” I thought about what more reasons I had for thinking I was a lousy Alpha.
“Oh and my mother agrees with me about being lousy at this job,” I quickly added.
“You won’t be a girl when we complete the mate bond,” he finished my list waggling his eyebrows.
“Nate!" I scolded. "Of course that’s the only thing you picked up out of everything I said,” I murmured and felt my face heat up. I looked around me for an object to throw in his direction. I found a hairbrush and threw it at his head. Unfortunately he was faster than I thought and avoided the brush too easily.
“I’ll pretend you didn’t just threw something at my head, only because I loved the sound of you calling me Nate,” he smiled mischievously. I had to work to hide my smile. “And I heard the other things you said too,“ he looked serious.
He stood up from the bed and walked up to me. He knelt in front of me taking both my hand in his with a serious look on his face. If he was looking at someone else like that I would’ve taken a picture of his face to laugh about it later, because he rarely looked that serious. But right now I didn’t dare to move.
He was almost the same height as me when he sat on his knees in front of me.
“Don’t let anybody talk you into believing that bullsh*t again, alright?” I was too dazzled by his beautiful hazel eyes to speak so I just nodded. “I know I just met you, but the first time I lay my eyes on you I knew that you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met and will ever meet. And it’s not because you’re my mate, at least not entirely because of that,” he smiled a little before turning serious again.
“I felt your strength and admired how you handled your third in command when he was disrespectful to you. And even though I was worried sick when I found out that you went after the intruder alone I was proud at how brave you were for doing that.”
His words made me all tingly inside. I doubted myself from day one and the reactions of some of my pack members and my mother made me believe that I really wasn’t capable of running a pack. Hearing his words really made an impact on me and it didn’t surprise me that a tear traveled down my cheek, I was very emotional lately. He wiped the tear away with his thumb and I lowered my head to hide the tears that followed.
He put his hand under my chin and made me look at him, “Don’t ever doubt how amazing you are, honey.” He leaned in and pressed his lips against mine. His lips moved slowly against mine, making me feel the meaning of his words. He nibbled on my lower lip, asking for entrance. After teasing him a bit I gave in and let him deepen the kiss. It went from a caring to a heated kiss.
Without breaking the kiss he lifted me from the chair into his arms, making me wrap my legs around his waist almost instinctively. He led me to my bed and placed me gently in the middle of the bed while I explored the firm muscles of his chest under his shirt. I felt him shiver under my touch before he went exploring himself.
We were both startled by a loud knock on my door.
The knock on my door got louder because it wasn’t answered yet. I pushed Nate off of me which made him groan in annoyance, obviously not pleased by the interruption. I couldn’t blame him, I wasn’t too pleased either by the interruption. I looked at him and saw a questioning look on his face. The same question was running through my mind, who would knock on my door at this time?
There was another impatient knock. I got to my feet and pulled Nate with me.
“Coming,” I tried to yell, but my voice came out a little too husky.
“Isn’t your room soundproof?” Nate asked with an amused look on his face. I narrowed my gaze at him for acting like a smart ass at a time like this and mentally slapped myself for being so stupid. He held his hands up in a surrendering gesture and tried his best to stop the chuckle that was trying to escape his mouth. He wasn’t successful though, because I could still hear his chuckles.
I pushed him through the balcony door and closed it before I walked to my bedroom door. Whoever it was, I hoped they had a damn good reason for disturbing us and didn’t find out about Nathaniel.
On second thought, maybe I should've been grateful for the interruption. Who knows how far we might have gone.. We were very close to completing the mate bond and if that happened it would be impossible to hide my mate from my pack.
Speaking of my mate, I glanced quickly at the direction of the balcony hoping Nate was out of view and hearing range, because I knew he wouldn't like who was at the door.
I opened my door and saw an awkward looking Jeff.
“Hi,” he said looking a bit nervous.
“Hey,” I said, matching his nervous look. Only I didn’t think we had the same reason to be nervous.
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