TITUS ||
Dr. Hall's smirk widens into a smile as he now realizes that I'm the one who's looking for his mate, the one who almost tore down his hospital. "Congratulations, tell me how I can help, Alpha. . ."
He trails off, I'm assuming waiting for my response, so I give it. "Titus."
"Alpha Titus," He nods happily. "And have you any idea of who your mate is?"
I shake my head. "No, I just know that my mate's scent is all over my pack members," I pause to sniff the air and then narrow my eyes. "And you."
Dr. Hall chuckles, a light hearted sound. "Are you sure about that? Because I can assure you that the only person that's come into contact with myself as well as your pack members is. . ." Trailing off, his eyes widen as a frown now takes over that smug smile.
"Are you sure about this?" He asks after a few moments of silence and I nod, just once, a sharp indication that I was absolutely positive that he knows who my mate is.
Dr. Hall's eyes then travel to Bryce and Sienna who nod as well.
"Alpha Titus practically ripped us apart when he caught whiff of Mell's scent." Sienna replies, breaking the silence to which Dr. Hall clears his throat.
"Mell hasn't been around other wolves, he was raised around humans for his safety, so this will come as quite the shock, he doesn't know much about our kind as he refuses to listen to my lessons, so I'm not entirely sure that meeting him at this time while you're so riled up, would be a good idea." Dr. Hall responds and my brows furrow.
Trying to understand how a wolf could know that they're a wolf but not be around many wolves, not even want to learn about us.
I mean if they grew up in a human community like Mell has, than I could see how that could be confusing but still - not wanting to know about our kind was pretty offensive.
Lifting my head again, my gaze travels from the floor back to Dr. Hall as I nod, hearing the chuckling of my pack members, I look around the room and growl, not seeing the amusement in the current situation.
"What?" I question, quite irritated.
"Did you hear what Dr. Hall just said, Alpha?" Bryce smirks as he raises his eyebrows in question.
I nod. "Yeah, I'm sitting right here, I heard him. Mell hasn't been around other wolves and has chosen not to learn about our kind."
"Yeah," Ryker nods, a goofy grin on his face. "And that he would have a hard time with meeting you because of it."
My irritation now morphing into confusion as I blink once, twice - mouth slowly falling open as his words take root.
Did Ryker just say he?
As in a male?
Looking back to Dr. Hall, I growl when I see the same goofy grin on his face. "Your pup's name is Mell, correct?" I ask, trying to clarify if I heard that right.
Dr. Hall nods, a chuckle escaping him. "Yes and that's short for Romello."
Aww shit.
"Nope, hell no. I'm not sucking no dick." - Gemini growls, his head shaking as he backs up into the shadows.
There has to be some kind of mistake here.
"I must have gotten it wrong," I whisper more to myself than anyone else, even though we all knew that a wolf never mistakes his mate's scent for anything other than what it is.
Suddenly, Enzo's words earlier force their way back into my mind, his attempt at a joke, calling me out on what I would if my mate was a man.
But my mate couldn't be a man - I mean, I wouldn't reject him if he was as I would love him just like I love a female but fuck, this is going to be awkward as shit.
Fuck.
"Alpha Titus," Dr. Hall calls out and I look at him once again. "We all know that a wolf never mistakes his mate for anything else."
I roll my eyes, knowing that he was right but damn man. What had my family done to the Moon Goddess for her to not only curse my bloodline with uncontrollable beasts but also bless me with a man for a mate - how in the hell would I explain this shit to the Elders?
"Can I ask what pack you all are from?" Dr. Hall's voice fills the room once more.
"Nightshade," I answer, gaze falling back onto the floor as I rethink my whole existence.
"Nightshade?" Dr. Hall mirrors and I nod, never once pulling my gaze from the floor. "As in, Alpha Vice and Beta Frederick?"
At the mention of my father's name as well as my bonus father, my eyes snap up to see Dr. Hall studying me.
"How do you know my name?" Frederick asks and Dr. Hall's gaze locks onto his, both their eyes widening.
"Frederick?" Dr. Hall asks and Frederick nods as a frown takes over his shocked expression. "I'm sorry that I didn't recognize you, it's been a long time."
"Remind me of your first name." Frederick whispers, his eyes never leaving Dr. Hall's.
"Malachi Pierce, but I go by Malachi Hall now."
Dr. Hall replies and Frederick gasps, his movements so fast that it all was a blur - his body leaving the black leather couch before embracing Dr. Hall.
"I knew your scent smelled familiar." Frederick chuckles, pulling back from their embrace, patting the doctor's chest.
"What are the odds that your pack would come into my Hospital and your Alpha would be my son's mate?"
"This is crazy." Frederick smiles, a boisterous laugh escaping him as he now looks back at me.
Malachi's gaze falling on mine as well. "So can I ask if you inherited the pack or if you challenged for it?"
"Inherited." I reply simply and he nods slowly.
"So you're Vice's son?" He asks and again I nod.
"Did you know him?" I question, disbelieving of how the events were playing out.
"Very well," Malachi replies. "Your father was a good man."
Fredrick then clears his throat, pulling away from Malachi when I growl - the mention of my father being a good man, truly pissed me off because that prick was anything but good.
Everything Vice Black touched, died and everytime that prick opened his mouth or used his authority, he took away everything that was ever good in the world.
Vice black was never a good man.
"That asshole was anything but that!" I snarl, standing up from my spot on the couch, pacing the office.
I catch a glimpse of a frown on Malachi's face as he looks to Frederick, confusion plastered across his features and Fredrick offers a weak smile in response.
"Malachi, were you apart of our pack when Vice was the Alpha?" Bryce asks, my attention pulling to him before I look at Malachi, waiting his response.
"No," He shakes his head. "But we were very close as if I did live in the pack."
"So what happened?" Ryker asks, shifting his weight to the edge of the couch. "How did you end up in the human city if you knew who Vice was?"
Frederick's eyes then find mine. "I don't think you're ready to hear the truth, son."
I scoff. "Tell me, if you know something that I don't and it pertains to my father or to my pack, than you need to tell me."
To which Frederick looks at Malachi who nods, then his eyes find mine again. "Vice had a mate before your mother, Titus." Frederick sighs and my eyes widen slightly, interest and confusion wracking my mind.
So I sit up and try to pay attention.
"Her name Was Lena, she was born into the pack just like your Vice. Your father was seven years older than her so he knew that she was his mate before she did. Your dad being 18 at the time and Lena only being eleven when he first found out."
"Vice knew that he would have to wait until she was 18 so that she could find out on her own that they were fated to each other. Your dad was a very different man back then, Titus. He was respectful, compassionate, patient." Fredrick nods as does Malachi.
"Vice took over the pack at 22 years old when your grandfather passed away due to his wolf. Me, being his bestfriend and Beta blood, it was no surprise when he chose me to lead by his side. Lena by that time was 15 and she had grown into a beautiful young lady."
Looking at Malachi, I see him hang his head and a soft smile slides across his lips, pulling my interest all the more.
"Lena loved the medical field and your Dad allowed her to start working in the pack hospital. Even at the tender age of 15, she had a knack for medicine and was quite amazing at her job. It shocked most of the other pack members that worked at the hospital but it didn't surprise me nor your father because Lena held a gift that not many could unless blessed by the Goddess herself."
With that, Malachi shifts uncomfortably on his feet and I narrow my eyes at the action.
"Continue," I nod.
Frederick sighs. "If Lena's secret got out, it would put her in grave danger. See when Lena shifted, her wolf exposed herself, snow white fur of the Moon with eyes of the sun."
I gasp, my attention now completely on the story before me. "She was a healer?" I ask shocked.
Both Frederick and Malachi nod.
"When we saw what she was, everything started to become more and more clear," Frederick explains, taking a deep breath before continuing. "She loved the Moon more than any other wolf I had ever met, now knowing it's because Healers physically need the moon to fully heal themselves and restore any power they may have lost. Why she had such a sweet but powerful presence. Just being around a Healer, to see them was to love them."
Shit.
Sitting back down on the couch, I nod for him to continue, fully invested in what he knew about my father's previous mate.
"We knew that this secret had to remain because if any other wolves got word of her power, they could have tried to use her healing powers for their own personal gain and your dad wasn't going to let that happen. So when Lena was 17, he sent her to a human college and told her that she could return once she turned 18."
I scoff. "He sent her away instead of keeping her in the pack to protect her? Why the hell would he do that?"
"Vice sent her away for her own protection knowing that other wolves wouldn't set foot on human territory, so she would be safe. Lena was excited of the idea and went eagerly."
"Your dad instructed me to check on Lena constantly because even though he sent her away, he still wanted to make sure that she was safe. He truly loved her so I did as he asked over the next year and the day that she turned 18, he sent me to go and bring her pack to the pack knowing that she would know that Vice was her mate now."
"Vice waited for years for this day and he was beyond excited about finally having his mate. Unfortunately the day that I went to retrieve her, I found her kissing another man in the forest."
That was when Fredrick looked at Malachi who sighed, avoiding his gaze.
"So did she found out that Vice was her mate the day that you brought her back?" Sienna asks and Frederick nods.
However my attention was now on Malachi as he stared at the hardwood floors.
"Yes I brought her back the day after she turned 18 and she knew the moment we walked back into the pack that Vice was her mate."
"Was she happy?" Ryker asks trying to understand and Fredrick shakes his head.
"She was happy knowing that she finally found her mate, but she was upset that she was mated to different men." Frederick explains, pulling a collective gasp around the room.
Two fated mates? How is that even possible?
A wolf could have a fated and if they lose them, they can get a second chance mate but it's unheard of to have two fated mates.
"So how did you find out about the other man?" Ryker asks and Fredrick looks to Malachi once again.
"She told us. The same day that she came back as soon as she found out Jason was her mate, she explained her situation with the other man. Her second fated mate, she even told us that she marked him."
Ryker looks at me and I avoid his gaze, not knowing how to feel about everything because it was weird to hear Frederick's side of the story and to hear this different side of my dad was almost too much to process.
All I've ever known from that man is pain, so to hear that he once was kind and patient and gentle and understanding - it was all too overwhelming.
"So what did Vice do when Lena told him both about marking the other man?" Bryce asks.
"Your dad was upset rightfully so, but he didn't want to lose Lena so he settled for the option of trying to share her with me." Malachi spoke up this time.
Another collective gasp fills the room from everyone except me - in some weird way, I knew that it was him the whole time judging by his body language.
"Vice loved Lena with everything in him but he also knew that forcing her to choose would make her hate him and he didn't want to have a relationship like that with his mate. He even told Lena that she could bring me back to the pack and when she mentioned that I was in medical school, Vice used that to the pack's advantage and allowed me to work in the pack hospital."
"So you lived in the pack?" Sienna asks and both Frederick and Malachi nod.
"I stayed in the pack for the next four years. Your dad tried to make it work with Lena and having me around made it easier. Vice didn't like sharing but he loved Lena enough to try and make it work it until he just couldn't take it anymore." Malachi explains and his words make me turn my attention back to him.
"What do you mean until he couldn't take it anymore?" Ryker asks, beating me to the question.
"You all will understand once you have your mates. Sharing isn't an easy thing to do if everyone isn't on board with it. You all have to be mates and accept each other fully... Vice obviously tried, but it didn't work unless he fully accepted me as his mate and marked me as well."
There was a silence throughout the room then as our gazes shift between each other.
To be completely fucking honest, I couldn't imagine sharing my mate and I'm sure the same went for my pack members in the room.
"Vice just couldn't do it, so after four years of trying, he asked Lena to reject me and only live her life with him, so she did to make him happy. She rejected me, lived as your pack's Luna and I left and I thought that would be the last that I saw of Lena until a few weeks later." Malachi explains, pulling his phone out of his pocket to type another message before sliding it back into his pocket.
"Lena stayed in contact with me, she would come back here to this very hospital to see me three times a week for the next year, unknown to Vice."
"So what happened then? Why is she not here anymore?" I ask genuinely curious as to why this woman had seemed to disappear off the face of the Earth.
Frederick shakes his head and starts pacing the office at the same time that Malachi growls, the sound shocking me as the man no longer had a wolf
"She was taken." Malachi snarls, hanging his head making Zane and I jumoed off the couch ourselves.
"Taken by who?" I demand.
"We don't know." Malachi whispers.
Frederick clears his throat, fighting back the tears that wanted to fall. "Vice told me not to follow her that day and to help with training at the highschool so I thought that everything was fine until Vice yelled through the link that something was wrong with the Luna and that he could feel her fear crushing him through bond, come the next morning, he wasn't able to feel her anymore."
Frederick finishes, facing the wall with his hand on his hips.
"Someone actually took her?" Ryker says quietly and Frederick nods, still facing the wall.
"Vice and I spent the next three years searching for Lena, spending all his pack's finances and resources to find her, but nothing worked. Everytime he would give up and try to move on with his life and the pack, he would feel a glimpse of hope that Lena was still alive through their bond, it was driving him insane and then one night on our search, he felt the bond shatter as Lena rejected him." Malachi sighs, his head shaking.
Then Frederick turns back around and looks at me, a look in his eyes that I hadn't seen before.
"That was when Vice became a totally different person because without Lena, his wolf became even worse. Being rejected by your mate is a painful experience and I watched Vice become consumed by his wolf, consumed by their grief."
Even so? That didn't excuse his actions towards me and my mother.
"When did he meet my mother?" I ask, curious of the timeframe.
"About a month after he felt Lena reject him. Vice didn't love your mother, but he knew that he had to pick a chosen mate in order to give the pack an heir and to ensure the prosperity that the Black bloodline remained in the Alpha title like it's been for centuries."
"You were born that same year," Frederick states "And when you were four years old, Lena's body was found, she was dead on the edge of the Silver River."
Malachi then hangs his head again, the smell of fresh tears filling the room as I watch them fall freely down his face.
"It was her favorite place," Malachi whispers. "She always said that if she were to die, she would want to be placed in the Silver River and drift away with the rapids that she loved so much."
Letting out a harsh breath, I swallow trying to process everything that I've heard. This was alot to handle as I think about the timeline of everything that's happened.
The same year that my father's first mate, Lena's body was found, was the same year that the abuse started.
Did he ever love my mother? Did he ever love me or did he just see me as an extension of the woman that he was forced to mark and mate?
His hatred and anger and pain towards losing his fated made him treat me and my mother as if we were nothing but rogues, instead of his mate and his first born son - his only son, his only child.
True love really doesn't exist.
"It can be with our mate, we could have everything we've wanted, even though he's a man." - Gemini whispers, cringing at the last part and I mentally face palm.
Damn - that's right. In the midst of all of this bullshit, I completely forgot about my mate, forgot about the reason why I was here in the first place.
It wasn't to hear some sob story about my father not being able to have what was destined for him, but for the sake of me getting to meet my fated.
Looking up, my gaze locks onto Malachi's. "Where's Mell, now? Can I meet him?" I ask, still a little shocked by the fact that my man quite possibly could be a man.
Like an actual fucking man - with a dick and balls.
What the hell would Alpha Kash and Alpha Reid think at the Tri Squad training camp when I bring another man back with me? - No actually, no, fuck it.
Yeah just fuck it - I've wanted my mate for the longest and now I'm being a little pussy because he has a dick? Nah, fuck that, I'm going to man up and accept this blessing that's been bestowed upon me by the Moon Goddess herself.
Because fuck it.
Yup - yeah, fuck it.
"I'm still not sucking no dick and ain't shit coming near my ass, so you can go ahead and forget all of that shit, Titus." - Gemini growls again, his confusion of wanting and loving our mate versus cringing about the fact that he has the same parts as we do, just as obvious as mine.
Ignoring him, I sigh heavily as an overwhelming urge to see my mate takes over, my body buzzing, muscles tensing as his scent grows stronger.
Looking up again, I see Dr. Hall texting something on his phone.
"I've just texted my son, he's going to come to the door, but it will remain closed as I don't want to scare him with all of this so suddenly." Malachi explains, my feet moving before I could process it.
"Stay quiet when he comes." Hearing Malachi's instruction, I nod, leaning against the door and waiting for my mate's scent to wash over me again and much to my surprise, not even ten minutes later, that's exactly what happens.
That sweet honeysuckle scent wafting into the room, a low growl rumbling through my chest as I press my forehead against the steel door, one of my hands wrapped tightly around the door handle.
"Dad, I'm here," I hear him call out from the other side of the door and I gasp quietly as just the sound of his voice causes the warmest, heart pounding reaction to paint my senses.
Staying quiet as Malachi asked, I didn't want to alarm him and I didn't want to tell him that I was his mate without him knowing himself because it would be considered disrespect towards your bond to take away the beauty of finding your mate on your own timing, I take a deep breath and hope that he could feel me as much as I could feel him.
"Something smells good, Dad, what are you eating and how long do you want me to stay out here?" Romello asks, enticing another growl out of me as my body trembles to the sound of his voice.
I chuckle when realization dawns on me that he thought that my scent belonged to some kind of food that smelled good instead of to another wolf - another man that belonged to only him.
"What do you smell, son?" Malachi calls out. "And I just need you to stay out there for a little bit longer, I'm testing a new tracking system in our phones and I just want to make sure that it works."
I have to give it to him - The man's lie was good and much appreciated as it kept my mate close.
"I smell pinecones, which is a little weird," Romello giggles, the sound so sweet to my ears, I actually whined in response. "Why are you eating pinecones, Dad, that can't be healthy."
Malachi laughs, "I'm not eating pinecones, son, I'm eating steak, I think you need to get your nose checked out."
"Oh," Romello sighs. "I guess so."
Then I hear Malachi clear his throat and I look back at him. "Thank you, son, I got the tracking to work, you can head home, it's getting late, I'll meet you there."
"Oh ok," Romello sighs again. "I'll see you there, Dad, love you."
"I love you too, son." Malachi yells back and then I feel the gut wrenching pain that comes with your mate leaving your presence.
The tugging of the bond forcing me to go with him, to grab him and pull him to me. Growling, I hit the steel door and pull myself away from it as I hear the distancing footsteps of my mate leaving me.
Sighing, I turn back to face Malachi who was smiling, waiting for my response. "So, my son is your mate?"
I nod, "Yes, he is."
To which Malachi rubs his hands together and nods happily looking around the room. "I couldn't have chosen a better pack for my son to begin to learn the life of our kind, I'll give you all a week to get things settled for him as I know that you won't be able to stay away for long and then I'll bring him there myself."
Malachi turns and goes behind his desk, grabbing a file from the shelf behind it. "Oh and if you don't mind, my wife and I will tag along until Mell is comfortable within your pack."
I nod again, fully accepting of that idea. "That's fine with me, sounds perfect actually."
"Great, I'll started with transferring his paperwork here and have everything ready for you, Alpha Titus once we meet in one week."
Sighing again, this time happily, I look around the room, eager to get this next week over with and have my mate within arms reach.
However my happiness is short lived as I now noticed that Enzo wasn't here. Remembering how he ran out of the hospital once I noticed Mell's scent on Bryce and Sienna and never returning.
Why had he left?
More importantly, why hadn't he come back?
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CHAPTER 6 BAYBAH BABY! - Our boys met, not in person but they met and damn it if this chapter wasn't full of surprises!
Romello thinking his Dad was eating pinecones instead of realizing the scent belonged to his mate is freaking precious! I can't wait to get to the next chapters for you all to see how he accustoms to pack life😍
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Until next chapter,
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