*1 year later*
"Alpha, your brother's mate is on her way. Shall I stop her?" I growled. I knew what this was about. "Leave it. I'll deal with her." Ana, along with everyone else in my pack knew I hated to be interrupted. She was just going to bother me like mates do, one of the reasons why I don't want one. Ever.
"Why are you not getting dressed?" Ana stormed into the room. "You have a meeting with the Dark Wolves pack to find your mate, remember?"
"I'm not going Ana, I've told you several times I do not want a mate. I do not need anyone to weaken me, my enemies will take advantage of that. I won't let that happen to my pack." I felt my gaze soften after she flinched.
"You know how I feel about that pack, Leonidas. They treat the women like they're dirt, and if Jackson hadn't found me then-" I grabbed her shoulders. "I know, you wouldn't be alive. I just don't want a mate Ana, you're going to have to deal with it."
With tears streaming down her face, she stomped out of my office, slamming the door behind her. Sitting back in my chair I grabbed the papers and started to work. "Leonidas you better let me in or we are going to have major problems." Growling, I threw the papers across the room. I was already pissed off and it was only nine o'clock in the morning.
"This is exactly why I don't want a mate Jackson, you are only helping prove my point."
He pushed me through the doorway and slammed the door behind him. "Just because you're a vicious monster, doesn't mean you treat my mate like dirt underneath your shoe." I gripped his neck in my hand and lifted him up off the floor. His eyes were flashing back and forth to his wolf's eyes, and I knew right then and there that having a mate would only cause more problems that I didn't need.
"Though you are my little brother I am your Alpha and you will respect me. Understood?" Growling, he nodded and I dropped him onto the floor. He scrambled up and stormed out of the room just like his mate, slamming the door behind him. I needed a run.
My wolf took control, shifting before we even made it out of the house. He was snarling as he sprinted through the forest, stopping when he reached territory lines. Patrol was jogging by when he stopped, sniffing the ground for any intruders. I snarled. They glanced up, eyes wide in surprise, and bowed.
Leave. Now. Their wolves slinked away, glancing back at me every now and then until they were out of sight. I sprinted around the border for the rest of the night, my wolf getting all of his anger out.
Jackson was in the kitchen the next morning waiting for me. "I know you don't mind the fact that you're nude, but I would rather my mate not see another man like that." Muttering under my breath I slipped some shorts on before grabbing a beer. Looking at my little brother I furrowed my eyebrows when I realized the bruise on his neck from my hand was still there. Had I gripped him that hard?
"Hm." Shaking my head when I realized I was staring at him, I cleared my throat and turned away. "What do you want Jackson?" I muttered with a bored tone. I was in no mood to deal with my brother, but then again, I never was.
"Nothing, nothing. Just noticed the look of guilt when you saw my throat and knew Ana was right." I turned. "Right about what?"
He smiled. "You do have a heart somewhere deep inside of you. These aren't bruises, Ana did this to me with her make up. The bruises you gave me healed instantly."
I sighed. "I really could care less Jackson, why are you bothering me in the kitchen this late at night?" He glared at me before standing up. He grabbed a towel and got it wet, wiping the make up off of his neck.
"I could ask you the same thing big brother." I headed towards the stairs, and tensed when my arm was grabbed from behind, throwing him into a wall.
"You can't keep doing this to yourself Leonidas, you're overworking yourself and one day it's gonna catch up to you." Ripping my arm out of his grasp, I stormed up the stairs. What I did was none of his business. I do what I do to protect my pack, and I'll do it until the day I die. I don't need a mate to weaken me.
Entering my room, I stripped myself of my clothes and stared at myself in the mirror. The scars I had were clearly visible, although some were not. Some were in my mind, toying with my thoughts and taking over my nightmares.
"I really think he's going to find his mate at the Dark Wolves pack, Jackson. He needs to go!"
"I know baby, but we can't force him. I do not want to be choked to death."
I don't think they realized that their rooms weren't soundproof. They did this every night, talk about my problems like they could fix them for me. I released a growl and stepped out of the shower, drying myself off before heading to bed.
"Seriously, what is with your obsession with being nude?" I growled so loudly it shook the room. "Get out. Now. I am sick of you and your stupidity." I didn't even open my eyes to talk to him, but I heard his footsteps stomp out, slamming the door behind him.
"I'm done. I'm done with him! He treats both of us like crap when we try to help him, we're leaving. I will not go through this any more."
"We can't leave, Jackson, he's your brother. He needs our help! So does the Dark Wolves pack."
There was no response.
I heard my brother sigh. "Fine. He gets one more strike, then we're leaving."
***
"Mommy! Mommy come look what I got you!"
No.
I looked up at mommy as my small hands handed her purple flowers I had found. "It's beautiful Leo, thank you. Let's go home so I can put it in a vase." Mommy and I had snuck out of the house while daddy was sleeping. Sometimes daddy was really mean, he made mommy cry a lot.
Not again.
"Leo, I let you play longer than I should have, we should probably head home. The sun is almost up." I nodded and took mommy's hand, following her through the woods.
Why me?
"Mommy, why is daddy so mean to you?" She sighed. "I love you Leo, and I love your father. I will love him no matter what he does because we're mates. He thinks mates weaken him, so to show others he's strong, he's mean to me. Though he's mean to me, he doesn't hate me. Now come, let's go home."
Please, no.
Again, we started walking back towards the house. Not seeing a root sticking out of the ground, I tripped and fell. "Mommy!" I was crying now.
No, get up! Don't stop!
Mommy turned and picked me up, settling me on her hip. She looked at me knees and sighed, setting me down again. "Let's go to the river to clean that cut up, okay?" I nodded.
No! Go home!
Growls reverberated through the woods, surrounding us.
Mommy no!
"Leo, stand behind me, okay? I love you, but you need to run. Now! Do it now!"
Don't run! Save her!
I was stuck in my five year old body, running away as my mother got ripped to shreds.
Mommy!
***
I gasped for breath, sitting up in bed. Standing up, I walked to the bathroom for a long shower. The same memory every night only reminded me of what I lost, what I wasn't able to protect.
I closed my eyes as I stood under the water hearing my mother's beautiful voice shriek as she got torn apart by rogues. Opening my eyes I growled, turning the water off. That would never happen again. Not having a mate would ensure that.
Stalking down the stairs I growled at the sight of company; Jackson and Ana were sitting at the kitchen table. "Leave. Now. Do you not know how to leave a person alone?"
They glanced at each other, communicating through the mind-link. "You're going to the Dark Wolves pack Leonidas, even if we have to drag you there."
I growled. "What I don't understand is why you think it's your business. It's not, so leave it alone." I started to walk away, but as usual, Jackson gripped my arm and spun me around.
"A mate would strengthen you, not weaken you Leonidas. Look at how much stronger I've gotten since I met Ana." She smiled at him.
I turned back towards the stairs, but made no move to walk further. "If she was hurt, or died, how strong would you be then?" His snarl was loud as he stood up and stormed towards me. "I would never let that happen."
I finally started walking back towards my room. "There's no guarantees, little brother."
Not wanting to go back to sleep and relive the memory again, I did another lap around the pack's borders. My pack comes first, and it always would.
The next morning was full of pack meetings, mostly full of me talking to the lower ranking leaders about their parts of the territory, and seeing if anything was needed. The afternoon was full of Ana pestering me about finding my mate, which only encouraged me to not want to go.
"Please, Leonidas. Jackson is considering switching packs and I know you don't want that to happen." I turned to her. "That's where you're mistaken, Ana, I really do not care at all."
She stood there staring at me, her eyes full of an emotion I couldn'y understand. "You really are a monster." The words came out of her mouth in a whisper, but it didn't affect me. She stormed off, and I planned to get a mouthful from Jackson later on.
A few days later everything was suspiciously quiet. I hadn't seen Jackson and Ana all day, which was strange for them; there was always at least one of them bothering me at all times.
About two hours after I noticed they were gone, they returned. When they stepped out of the car my wolf immediately took control of my body, stalking towards the car. The smell of roses drifted into my nose, surrounding my thoughts and clouding my vision.
I turned to Jackson. "What have you done?" He smiled.
"Someone had to convince the Dark Wolves pack to wait a few more days, and I figured if we came back with a smell on it that so happens to be your mate's it would help your decision. Am I correct in my assumption?"
I growled. "When do we leave?"
*************************
Hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think!