Chapter 3
Mom took the empty plate that sat in front of me and carried it to the sink. She had been cleaning all morning, and she was not about to stop now. I had a feeling she would have taken my plate whether I was done or not.
You’d think she was expecting the president over for dinner with the way she was acting. There was not a part of this house that had been untouched by her. Well apart from my room of course. That was my responsibility.
She was just washing up the rest of the dishes when dad finally made his appearance.
He had been going nonstop all day running errands for the Alpha and his father. I was starting to get worried about him. He looked so worn. He had to have aged five years since I last saw him. He needed to rest.
“There you are.” Mom smiled walking over to greet him. “Claire and I were just about to send out a search party for you.”
She placed a small kiss on his cheek, so I looked away to give them some privacy. Well that, and to shield my eyes. They were my parents after all. I didn't want to see them become all lovey-dovey in front of my eyes.
“I would have been home sooner if I could, but Alpha Daniel was relentless. He’s still going crazy over that trespasser we had the other day.”
I nearly spit my drink all over the place at his statement. Could he mean who I think he meant? For my sake I hope not. I should have reported him.
“We had a trespasser?” I asked, looking at my father.
He simply nodded. “Yes and Alpha Daniel won’t rest until he is found.”
I nearly gasped but held it back. I didn't want to give anything away.
“You mean he’s still here?”
What have I done?
“I’m afraid so sweetheart. You’ll have to stay inside until we get this resolved. It’s Alpha’s orders.” He replied before taking the seat in front of me.
No. No. No. This is so bad. I’m sure to be punished for this. If anyone finds out….oh goodness what they might do.
“But what about work?” I asked.
If I didn't show up, Charlie would have my head. Even though Rita is back from vacation, she can’t handle the Dinner rush alone. What am I going to do?
“Call in sick I suppose. There is nothing you can do about it.” He sighed.
“Is Alpha still coming over for dinner?” Mom asked going back to her dishes.
If I hadn't been sitting down I was sure to have fallen over at that. How long had this been planned? Why wasn't I told?
I felt alarm and panic rising up in me while mom and dad continued to discuss the arrangements for this evening. I had no idea what I was going to do about his but I needed to figure it out quick.
I could not be here when he arrived.
Mate. We get to see our mate. My wolf howled joyously from within. She was just about ready to jump out of my skin at the mere mention of him.
She couldn't have been happier about this.
I, however, felt very differently about it.
“Claire, you should go upstairs and get cleaned up. You need to be presentable for company.” Mom’s voice broke me of my thoughts. She was staring at me with concern in her eyes.
“Are you alright?” She asked.
If she only knew.
“Perfectly.” I lied.
I couldn't very well tell her what was going on, now could I? The less she knew the better. This was my doing and my doing alone. I won’t drag her or my dad into this.
“If you say so.” She replied not quite convinced. “You better move along so you are ready when they arrive.”
I nodded without saying another word and followed the stairs up to my room. As soon as I was inside, I locked the door behind me before resting my back against it and sliding to the floor.
I let out a loud groan and rested my head in the palms of my head while thinking over my possibilities of getting out of tonight. Even thought they didn't look good, I refused to give up.
I stood in the mirror examining my well dressed figure while going over the plan in my mind. I had spent the evening getting reading in effort throw mom off that anything was wrong, but the last thing I planned to do was stay here during the dinner.
I turned away from the mirror and rushed over to the widow at the sound of a vehicle approaching. It must have been him because to my knowledge we weren't expecting anyone else, just the Alpha, his father, and the beta.
Yet another reason for me to be on edge tonight. Who wouldn't be? I’m guilty and my mate is in love with someone else. Who would have foreseen these turn of events?
Just as the vehicle entered the drive my heart beat wildly in my chest. I was only mere seconds from seeing my mate again since when I found out about him.
Only this time I was prepared.
“Claire, come down. They have arrived.” Mom yelled from below.
I stayed in place until the golden glow of Daniels hair appeared before me as he stepped out of the black Escalade. He was dressed in a pair of khakis with a red dress shirt to top it off. His stance indicated professionalism and business something I knew to expect. After all this was pack business.
After the remaining people stepped from the car, they fell in step behind him while he led them up to the door.
Daniels POV
“Welcome Alpha. It’s an honor to have you here.” Patricia, Richard’s mate, greeted us welcoming us inside.
“Thank you.” I nodded stepping in.
The aroma of food hit me as soon as I entered. Although it smelled delightful, that was not the reason we were here. We had business to discuss and a lot of it. The pack is at risk, and until we found the intruder on our territory, I would not rest.
My father, James and I gathered around the small living room across from Richard waiting for his wife to take the seat next to him.
It was always customary for the Alpha to stand while doing business because it showed leadership and boldness. Something every Alpha needed to have.
“I believe someone is missing,” James stated eyeing the Warrens.
That’s right. Didn't they have a daughter? I believe her name was Claire, if I’m not mistaken. I used to attend high school with her a few years ago. I hadn't seen her much since graduation, apart from the few mandatory pack meetings we had.
She didn't attend them otherwise. She was one of the few werewolves that went to the local college in town. A few of the elders had displayed displeasure because of this, stating it was encouraging other wolves to seek a life outside the pack, but I didn't feel it was necessary to become concerned until more wolves started following her example.
It was a treat to the elders for the she-wolves to have a mind of their own. They didn't like the idea of them becoming so independent. It made the male wolves look weak.
I suppose in that sense I had to agree with them. It should be the males taking care of the she-wolves. They were supposed to be mates to the males and bear pups, but that was it. They had a role to play and if not for them the pack would never expand. This was why it was important to keep them here.
I hadn't noticed Patricia had gotten up from her seat until the sound of her coming down the stairs broke me from my thoughts.
The worry etched across her face was enough for me to become concerned as well.
“Richard, she’s gone.”
A growl ripped through my chest. How dare she disrespect her Alpha! When I am invited to someone’s house for a meeting, I expect the entire family to be there. I would not have come, had it not been important.
I was to question everyone about any suspicious activities of the trespasser.
What’s worse is that she has also disobeyed my orders about leaving her home. No one except for me and a few others were allowed to walk the territory until this matter was resolved.
“Find her.” I ordered. “When you have her, she is to answer to no one but me. Understand?”
With quick nod of their heads they were racing out the door and into the dark of the night toward the woods.
“Alpha you’ll have to excuse our daughter. I don’t know why she would have done this.” Richard said. He looked worried for his daughter, as he should be.
“She defied me, and for that she will have to pay the price.” I stated.
Richard shared a fearful glace with his wife before nodding in submission. “Yes Alpha.”
I won’t have some rebellious she-wolf disobeying me or my orders. She will have to learn her lesson and learn from her actions. It was the only way to set an example for the pack. It could not go unpunished.
Claire’s POV
I was standing in the middle of the woods in my human form. So far no one had seen me, but that was not to say that they wouldn't ever. I decided on staying human for obvious reasons. Had I have changed into my wolf, Daniel would have mind-linked me and ordered me back. I would have to obey then. There would be no escaping.
At this point I had nothing more to lose.
I continued on my way through the dark forest, looking for any sign that the highway was nearby. If my calculations were correct, then I would be coming upon the human territory very soon and there would be nothing they could do to me with witnesses around.
It was my safe haven. If only I could make it there.
Where is that stupid road? I know I had to be close to it. I rarely entered this part of the woods, so it was hard finding my way around in it.
I walked on a little further until I came to a large oak tree in middle of the woods and paused. I was lost. I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere a while back. But where?
It was becoming very obvious to me by this point that it had been far too long since I had navigated the woods.
I know it was my fault for not letting my wolf out to run when I should have, but I didn't have time to think about that now. I needed to figure out where I was and quickly.
The snap of a branch got my attention and I spun in around in alarm. What if it was the intruder? The one from yesterday. Would he hurt me?
I don’t know why I even thought about that question, since it was obvious that if he wanted to hurt me, he would have done it when he had the chance. However, this only raised more questions that I had been thinking about.
Why was he really here and why had he stuck around?
I now realized how stupid I was for believe his ‘visiting a friend’ story he had told me yesterday. There was no friend, and even if there was, he wouldn't have had to sneak on the property to see them.
How naive could I get?
Another snap of a branch not far from me, caused me to jerk again. They were getting closer to me and I was panicking. If someone wanted to hurt me then they would have no problem doing so. I wasn't that strong of a wolf anymore. I had been out of touch with that side of me for quite some time now. I never participated in things with the pack anymore. I was more of a lone wolf now. The fact that I still belonged to a pack was the only distinction from me being a Rogue.
“Claire.” The sound of our beta’s voice came from behind.
This was it. I was caught.
No more running for me. He is sure to drag me back to Alpha kicking and screaming.
And he should. We should have never have ran. He’s our mate. Want mate.
You don’t even know if he wants us. He’s with Jasmine, remember? I reminded her.
She is not his mate! She snapped in return.
I was a bit shocked at her behavior. She had never acted this way before. I suppose it was Daniel's appearance that brought it out in her.
If only she understood I was doing this to protect us. I didn't want us to be hurt from the rejection we may receive.
“The Alpha is looking for you.” James spoke behind me. “We are here to take you back with us.”
I should have known to expect this, but I still felt alarm at his words. I didn't want to go back.
“Please don’t.” I begged as I faced him. “I can’t go back there.”
James was not the only one there. I quickly caught sight of Daniel’s father, who was also there standing a little ways behind James to the right, looking at me with disappointment.
He didn't need to say anything for me to know what he was thinking. It was pretty clear from the look on his face.
“Why?” James asked, curiosity in his voice.
I sighed. I couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell anyone.
“I just can’t.” I replied.
He shook his head at me. “I’m sorry Claire, but that’s not a valid reason. You have to come with us now. If you don’t he’ll just come searching himself. You’re in quite a bit of trouble for running off like you did.”
I nodded my head, knowing I was no match for the beta and the previous Alpha. They were much stronger and faster than I. If I were to run now, it would only be a matter of seconds before they caught up to me again.
As much as I hated to, I forced myself to walk to them. My wolf, however, was very pleased. This was what she was hoping for all along.
“We’re only about two miles from your house. We can walk the rest of the way.” He said. motioning for me to proceed.
“You've got a lot of explaining to do when we get back.” Robert, the previous Alpha, added. “Based on that will be your punishment.”
The walk back to my house was long and agonizing. I had been dreading facing Daniel the entire way. I just knew that as soon as I faced him, it was all over. Everything would change.
If he did accept me, no doubt he would be mad at me for running off. I suppose I only had myself to blame though.
I should have just told him and let the chips fall where they may. At least then I would know where I stood with him. It was better than not knowing, I suppose.
“Can I have a minute to collect my thoughts before going in?” I asked hoping they would at least give me that.
“No.” James answered. “He made it very clear he wanted to see you just as soon as you returned.”
“I won’t wonder off. I promise.”
He merely shook his head. “Your actions seem suspicious and you must be questioned about it. With what has happened in the past twenty-four hours, it must be done as a precaution.”
What exactly was he implying?
“You think I had something to do with the trespasser?” I asked.
“I don’t know. You tell us,” Robert snapped.
I knew he didn't take my disrespect towards his son very well, but did he really dislike me that much for it? It wasn't like I disrespected him directly.
If he was acting this way over my disappearance, then there would be no way he’d be able to handle what else I had done.
Yes, I might have willingly given up information to a stranger about our pack's whereabouts, but if I wouldn't have told him, someone else would have. Probably an unsuspecting human who thought they were just giving him directions.
As soon as my house was in view, my heart started racing again. My palms were getting sweaty, and my breathing was rapid.
I’m sure James and Robert was curious as to what was going on, as they looked at me curiously again.
My mate was inside my house, and he was about to meet us for the first time as his mate. He’ll know everything soon. It was scary. Scarier than I believed it would be. And with every passing second my fear was getting worse.
James seemed to be conveying some kind of message to the Alpha as we approached my house. He face was very serious.
No more than five seconds later, Alpha Daniel was already coming out the door with my parents following close behind him.
None of them looked happy.
I could see my parent’s disappointment just as obviously as I could see Robert's a little while ago in the woods. It made me feel bad that I had made them feel this way.
In my attempt to run from my mate, I had hurt everyone. Including my wolf.
Taking my eyes off of them, I dropped them to the ground. I couldn't bear to look at them any longer. It was too hurtful.
In only a matter of moments, Daniel was standing in front of me in his Alpha stance. He had yet to speak. I could sense his anger.
A loud growl erupted from within him at my lack of respect, causing me to flinch. He may have been my mate, but he could still be a bit frightening. He was the Alpha after all.
“Look at me.” He ordered me in his Alpha tone, daring me to disobey.
His command was too strong for me to ignore and I had to do as he asked, whether I wanted to or not.
I sucked in a deep breath as I prepared myself for what was to come. This was it. Everything came down to this moment. The wait was over.
It was meant to be.
I lifted my face slowly to meet his and our eyes locked. In that that moment something snapped, and it was as if everything fell into place. I could feel it, everything it felt to have mate and so did he. He smiled at me. A happy genuine smile that took my breath away. This handsome godly looking man was mine. All mine.
For once, I wasn't worried what he would think of me when he found out because from the way it looked now, he couldn't have been more pleased.
“Mate.” He whispered
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