The end credits began to roll from the movie Crystal and I had just finished watching. I looked over to find she had fallen asleep cuddled to a throw pillow. I reached for the remote and turned off the TV before blowing out the candles and grabbing a blanket to lay over Crystal so she wouldn't get cold. I thought about waking her up so she could go sleep in her own bed, but this girl is grumpy when she gets woken up so I thought it best to leave that to Connor.
I gathered the empty bowls of popcorn and our glasses from the coffee table and took them into the kitchen to wash and put away. Once that was done I glanced at the clock on the oven that read 10:47pm. Andrew and Connor have been in the office for a good few hours. I was curious as to what they were discussing, but decided that it wasn't my place to pry. If Andrew wanted to tell me then he would tell me. I decided to head upstairs to start getting ready for bed, making sure to lock the front door on my way.
I made my way into our bedroom and let out a yawn as I stretched my arms. I decided on a pair of loose pink shorts and a slightly baggy white tee to sleep in tonight. It was still quite chilly outside, but I've found that cuddling next to a werewolf in long sleeved pajama sets makes me very sweaty. Not the ideal sleeping situation.
I changed and threw my dirty clothes in the hamper and made my way into the bathroom. Throwing my hair in a bun I looked in the mirror and was shocked for a moment when I saw the hickeys. I had forgotten all about them, but seeing them brought a wave of emotions over me. That familiar red tint quickly coated my cheeks and I couldn't help the smile from spreading across my face. I took a breath to calm myself and made work of scrubbing my makeup off, washing my face, and brushing my teeth.
Just as I was putting the toothbrush into the holder the door in the other room slammed shut. I jumped at the sound and cautiously made my way to the bathroom door to see what the commotion was about. Andrew stomped over to the closet unbuttoning his shirt on the way. His nose was slightly crinkled on the side and his face was rock hard. He looked pissed beyond imagine. I'd never seen him this way. Something tells me the business he was dealing with was the cause.
I turned off the bathroom light and made my way to the couch as I waited for Andrew to come out of the closet. I tucked my legs up on the couch beside me and grabbed a small pillow to put over my lap. The closet light suddenly clicked off and Andrew came out wearing black pajama bottoms that hung low on his hips. He still had the same scorn look on his face as he walked past me to the night stand where he grabbed his charger to plug in his phone. He haphazardly threw his phone down on the night stand and crouched down with his hands gripping either side of the wooden table. I could see his back stretching with each breath he took in trying to calm down.
The silence in the room was deafening, "is everything okay?" I questioned breaking the silence.
Andrew turned his head to me for a moment and then stood up to his full height. He looked away and shook his head, "Just some alpha stuff I had to deal with." He explained. His voice was hard and deep. I could tell he was agitated. He made his way toward me the couch I was sitting on and laid down beside me resting his head on my lap. Throwing his arm over his head to cover his eyes.
I rested my hand on his chest and I could feel his rapid heartbeats. He instantly reached up with his other arm and intertwined our fingers slowly running his thumb over mine as if I were the one who needed comforting.
A moment passed between us, and unsure of what to do I said, "Do you want to talk about it?" He didn't respond which I expected. Usually when people are in a bad mood the last thing they want to do is talk about it, but I know that talking things through is what helps you get over it. "I'm a really good listener." I added.
The left side of his mouth quirked up a bit and he moved the arm covering his eyes slightly so he could look up at me. I raised my eyebrows to encourage him and he let out a quick sigh. "Honestly it's stuff with connor." He started.
I creased my brows shocked, "Oh really? What happened?"
He moved his arm back to cover his eyes and continued, "We were dealing with repositioning our boarder patrol because there have been some rogue sightings in another pack and its believed that the rogue will head this way." I took a breath at this information. Rogues were always known to be independent wolves not afraid to lie, cheat, or steal to get what they want. Andrew squeezed my hand a bit, "Nothing to worry about, our boarder control is top notch." I nodded even though he couldn't see me.
"So then what happened with Connor?" I questioned.
"I was giving orders as to what I wanted to do and he started to question my judgement. Interrupting me, disagreeing with what I was saying, forgetting his place as a beta." I could feel his heartbeat increase, "He was saying he thought I might be making rash decisions because of you."
I was a bit taken aback by this, "what?" I asked shocked.
He softly growled, "I know. He said my focus on the pack hasn't been 100% since you got here." His voice was getting deeper and I could tell his wolf was adding to the emotions flooding Andrew right now. Needing to calm him down I started running my fingers through his hair massaging his scalp. Andrew brought my hand up to his mouth to lay a kiss on my fingers before bringing them back down to rest on his chest.
"It's very unlike Connor. He has never acted this way before. He has never questioned my judgement. I am obviously ecstatic that I found you and I want to spend every single second with you, but I know I have a duty to my pack. I know I have hundreds of lives resting on my shoulders. I'm not taking anything for granted. I wouldn't be in this position if I weren't capable of fulfilling the duties of an alpha. My father trained me well before he passed. I know the ins and outs of this position. Connor had no right to over step his boundaries and question his alpha. I let it slip the first time, but he just kept going with every suggestion I made. Eventually I had to use my alpha command on him. I've never had to use that on him. This makes me question if I made the right choice making him my beta."
I took a moment to look at both sides before giving my input. "Well, I can see where Connor is coming from. I don't think he meant it to be a bad thing. I think he's obviously happy for you, but this is a side of you he hasn't gotten the chance to get used to quite yet. He's known the alpha side of you a lot longer than hes known you with a mate. This is all new to him. He has to realize you can do both. You can be a good alpha, and be a good mate at the same time."
"But he has a mate. Shouldn't he already understand?" He questioned.
I shrugged, "maybe. But I think that for so long he's just looked at you as an alpha that has his entire focus on his pack, and now that you have me in your life and you're giving your focus to me as well he probably sees it as you're giving 50/50 with both me and your pack. Hes not realizing you're still giving 110%. He'll realize soon. Just have a chat with him and lay down the law and tell him that he may not understand now, but he needs to trust you. As a friend he knows that he trusts you and knows that you know exactly what you're doing, but as a beta I think he loses that view of you."
I waited for a response from Andrew, but when I got nothing I continued, "Don't expect everything to change over night. And I wouldn't think any less of him as a beta. He's been a good beta up until this point. And he will remain a good beta. He just has to see you in a new light."
Andrew removed his arm from his eyes and stared up at me with a small smile on his face, "What?" I questioned? "Was that super cheesy?"
Andrew laughed at my attempt to lighten the mood, "I'm just-" he began before clamping his mouth closed. He sat up from his position on the couch and sat back down beside me taking my legs and draping them over his. He smiled at me, "I just can't believe I got you as a mate. You are incredible Victoria." He paused almost as if debating if he wanted to say what he was thinking, but finally he shook his head and smiled again before continuing, "You are going to make an amazing Luna one day."
I smiled back at him and couldn't resist any longer. I grabbed the sides of his face and brought his mouth down to mine. Instantly our mouths moved in sync and I could feel the butterflies in my stomach going crazy. Andrew gripped the side of my face and pulled me closer to deepen the kiss. Emotions overwhelmed me and my huge grin broke the kiss. I couldn't hold back the giggle bubbling inside me as I rested my forehead against his. I looked up into his eyes to find him already looking at me.
"I love you," I whispered.
Andrews cheeks turned slightly pink as he rubbed his nose against mine and whispered back, "I love you too."
I have never felt more content than I did in this moment and I realized I didn't want to ever be apart from this man. I realized I wanted to spend every single moment of my life with him. Through all the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, the sick, and the weird times I wanted to be by his side. I'm not sure if his words are true. I have no idea what it takes to be a Luna, but I know Andrew brings out the best in me and I know that together we can get through anything.
I bit my lip and leaned back taking his hands in mine, "Andrew," I began.
"Mmm?" he encouraged bringing my hands up to his mouth to lay another set of kisses on my fingers.
I took a deep breath to try to gain some courage for what I was about to do. I looked into his eyes and all my fears washed away once again and I knew in my heart this was the right decision.
"Andrew... I want you to mark me."