One moment Alpha Dean was clutching my wrist, whispering in my ear, and calling me mate, and the next I was being ushered out of the room by two guards. Everything was a blur. It all seemed surreal. I just didn't understand.
I finally acknowledged my wolf's persistent begging in my head, as she was always the only one I could turn to in times of distress. The men who escorted me out of the dining hall were gentle, but silent and offered no answers.
"The Alpha is our mate! We found our mate!" my wolf yipped over and over in my head. She seemed to be celebrating as she pranced back and worth, swaying her fluffy tail in the air.
"I don't understand," I confided in her as the guards continued to lead me through the maze of hallways that made up our pack house.
"Alpha Dean is our mate! We're the Luna of Dark Root!"
"He's going to reject us. He'll treat us just like father," I told her, refusing to allow her optimism to give me false hope.
She growled at me in response, "Our mate would never do those things!"
I sighed and toned her out again, pushing her to the back of my mind. It made me sad to do so, as she was all I really had, but dealing with her pain and disappointment when Alpha Dean rejects us or hurts us will be bad enough. I can't possibly deal with both of our disappointment.
Before summoning his guards, I faintly remembered Alpha Dean telling me that he was sending me somewhere safe for the rest of the ball. I didn't really know what that meant. I didn't understand any of this. How did I have an Alpha as a mate? Alpha Dean of all people, especially. Was he sending me out of the dining hall because he was ashamed of me? That must have been it. But why would he say tonight was my last night of work?
Perhaps he was going to send me away, or maybe even kill me. An Alpha couldn't have his pack knowing that a lowly she-wolf such as myself was his mate and his pack's rightful Luna. I may have not been an Omega, but there was no way I deserved such an honor.
I was pulled from my thoughts when the guards stopped in front of a large, mahogany door with the words "Alpha's Wing" engraved in the wood. Alpha Dean had sent me to his personal quarters? Now I had even more things to worry about.
As the guards led me inside, part of me hoped that Alpha Dean would return soon. Maybe I could get some answers. The other part of me, however, wanted to be as far away from his as possible. First the Moon Goddess gave me an abusive father, and then she gave me Alpha Dean as a mate. My pathetic life was surely a joke to her.
The guards carefully unlocked the doors and led me inside Alpha Dean's personal quarters. The entrance led straight into the living room, where I quickly noticed that his wing was decorated very similarly to the rest of our pack house – dark woods, black décor, but Alpha Dean's wing also had accents of white here and there, in the tiniest places. It was a beautiful area, but one should expect nothing less than the best for an Alpha.
"You will stay here until the Alpha returns from the ball," one of the guards spoke to me for the first time. I stared up at him with wide eyes and slowly nodded. I was sure I looked like a scared child, but Alpha Dean's men were nearly as intimidating as he was.
After that, the guards left without another word. I heard them lock the door behind them, and although that was a bit unsettling, at least I knew my father couldn't get in here. Alpha Dean would surely be just as bad as father, but for now at least, I was safe and it was quiet.
I walked around the living room, taking in the beautiful architecture and design, but I was careful not to touch anything. I didn't want to anger Alpha Dean in any way. As I wandered through the room, I found myself approaching the hallway. It appeared there were four doors connected to the hallway, which were likely extra bedrooms and perhaps an office or spare bathroom since the kitchen and dining area were open to the living room.
I was tempted to venture down the hallway and open the closed doors, but I was too afraid of stumbling across something not meant for my eyes. Alpha Dean was both mysterious and dangerous – I couldn't risk falling into any negative situations.
After reeling in my curiosity, I decided to sit on the couch and patiently wait for Alpha Dean's arrival. Surely there was no harm in simply sitting on his couch?
My small body sank into the plush material rather quickly. It practically engulfed me, but it was amazingly comfortable. In fact, I was sure I'd never felt such a comfortable piece of furniture in my life. All the furniture father and I had was old and worn down. I was always grateful for the things I had, father made sure of that, but it was hard to not be envious of Alpha Dean's lavish lifestyle now that I was aware of it.
I sat and stared at the wall ahead of me for quite some time, taking in the intricate details of the fireplace and book shelves. One thing I quickly noticed was that there were no pictures. From what I'd seen, Alpha Dean didn't have one photo of family or even himself in his quarters. In fact, I hadn't even seen any artwork. Nothing that may hold emotions or personal connections. Although I found this interesting and even odd, it really wasn't all that surprising. Alpha Dean had never presented himself as a warm individual with close family ties. I didn't even know if he had any family besides his father, our former Alpha.
I wasn't completely sure how long I sat there and analyzed Alpha Dean's living room, but what I did know was that at some point, I dozed off.
Because the next thing I knew, I was awoken by the sound of a man with a rather deep, gruff voice, clearing his throat.
My eyes snapped open and I sat up straight on the couch, feeling a bit disoriented at first as I refamiliarized myself with these new surroundings.
That was when my eyes met his.
Alpha Dean was standing in front of me, only three or four feet away, staring down at me with his two different colored eyes. The blue one sparkled the slightest bit, almost seeming amused, but the brown one was too deep and dark to clearly make out any emotions. His face, however, remained hard.
"I hope you enjoyed your nap," he finally spoke, his deep voice was both alluring and terrifying, causing a variety of conflicting emotions to run through my mind.
I didn't speak. I only stared.
Alpha Dean stared back, remaining silent as well. It seemed we were both thoroughly confused and conflicted, unsure of what to do, how to act, what to say. I was still anticipating anger and rage. It would surely come.
Breaking the thick silence, Alpha Dean sighed and moved towards the couch and took a seat on the opposite end. I flinched away, allowing my body to sink further into the corner of the couch between two cushions. I hadn't been anticipating his movements, or for him to come so close.
He looked over at me, seemingly confused by my actions, which only confused and concerned me further.
"Your name is Audrey Allen," he spoke again. He'd clearly done some digging.
I nodded slowly, staring into his eyes once again. It was truly frightening to hold his gaze, but at the same time, I couldn't look away. There was no denying our bond. I could feel it between us now, despite the lack of contact.
"I would ask how I've never seen you before...how I hadn't found you sooner, but seeing as you were working with the Omegas, that answer is rather obvious," Alpha Dean said, his jaw slightly clenched. It seemed he didn't like the fact that I'd been working with the Omegas.
More silence. How was I supposed to respond to that? His emotions were nearly impossible to judge. It was taking every ounce of control I had not to turn into a shaking, crying mess. Being in his presence, even though he appeared calm, was just as terrifying as being around my father. How was I to know whether or not this large, powerful man would blow up at any moment?
"I didn't think I'd ever find you," he said, his voice now slightly softer. "And now that I have..."
He paused, failing to finish his thought.
He didn't have to. I knew what he must be thinking. Now that he found me, he didn't know what to do. He was expecting someone of higher rank, surely. Someone strong and powerful, just like him, but he got me instead. Weak. Broken.
My own thoughts sent me into an emotional, downward spiral. A tear slipped from my eye and trailed down my cheek, revealing how weak I truly was.
Out of instinct, Alpha Dean slid across the couch and reached out to me in an attempt to wipe away my tear.
And out of instinct, I jumped up from the couch and moved behind a nearby chair for protection.
The look on his face tugged at my heart - confusion, hurt, anger.
But that expression quickly hardened, and both of his eyes darkened.
A low growl sounded from the back of his throat as he stood from the couch and stormed across the room towards the hallway. I heard the sound of one of the doors opening, and then I heard it being slammed shut.
My body began to tremble uncontrollably. I'd made him angry. We'd only just met, and I'd already managed to make him angry.
A few minutes later, I heard several loud crashes come from the room Alpha Dean was in. These sounds caused me to cower even further behind the large chair and several more tears to slip from my eyes. He was very angry indeed, and he'd be coming for me next.
Ten more minutes passed, and I found myself curled in a ball, hugging my knees to my chest behind the living room chair that somehow made me feel safer. The sound of crashes had ceased, and there was nothing but silence for quite some time.
Then I heard a door open, followed by footsteps.
I squeezed my eyes closed, anticipating the worst. The footsteps gradually got closer, causing my trembling to increase significantly. This was it. This is what I'd been expecting all along.
Then, the footsteps stopped in front of me.
"Audrey," he said simply. The anger had vanished from his voice, but so had the softness that I'd noticed earlier.
"It's getting late. We need to go to bed."
We?
I slowly opened my damp eyes and looked up at him from my position on the floor. His face now lacked any obvious emotion as he looked down at me, expecting my obedience.
I hesitantly stood up, struggling to fight against my own shaking body. I wish it was something I could control, but I simply couldn't during stressful times. Alpha Dean motioned for me to follow him, and I complied, not wishing to anger him any more tonight.
We entered the hallway and he led me to the very last door on the right before opening it and allowing me to walk inside. It was a massive bedroom decorated in the same styles as the rest of his residence. A king size bed was positioned against the furthest wall, and it appeared to be just as plush as the couch I'd fallen asleep on earlier. Perhaps I could get a good night's rest despite the day's whirlwind of events.
"This is our bedroom. The bathroom is the door to your left. Feel free to clean up and get yourself ready for bed," he said casually.
Our bedroom? I had to sleep with him?
So much for my hopes of a pleasant slumber. I could only hope that he was a decent enough man to not proceed with the rest of our mating process tonight. Although, I couldn't understand why else he'd want me to sleep with him in his bed. I thought about questioning him, but quickly decided against it, reminding myself that I didn't need to anger him anymore tonight.
I nodded and scurried into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. I saw that he'd laid out one of his t-shirts and a pair of shorts for me to wear to bed, and although I was grateful for the seemingly kind gesture, I wasn't sure how I felt about wearing his clothes.
Forcing myself to stop thinking, I quickly slipped on the t-shirt and shorts, which immediately overwhelmed me with Alpha Dean's intoxicating scent. It was both comforting and unnerving. I couldn't even think straight.
"Get it together, Audrey," I mumbled to myself before reaching for the toothpaste and toothbrush that had been set out next to the clothing.
After thoroughly brushing my teeth and scrubbing the bit of smeared makeup off my face, I quietly opened the bathroom door and saw that Alpha Dean was already in bed. He had the covers pulled back on the empty side of the bed, signaling me to get in.
I swallowed hard, trying to resist the overwhelming urge to cry or hyperventilate. I'd never shared a bed with anyone before, and I'd certainly never been this close to someone like Alpha Dean. Him being my mate didn't excuse who he was as a person.
I slowly crawled into the bed and pulled the blankets up to my chin for comfort. I could feel his warmth against my back, although we weren't touching. My wolf yearned for us to be closer to our mate. She begged me curl up in his arms, but that simply could not happen. The very thought made me want to run far away, and I'm sure Alpha Dean would be just as appalled by such actions.
Despite my anxiety, I found both the warmth he radiated and his natural, woody scent lulling me to sleep. My eyes became heavy, and I could no longer fight the deep sleep that had me in its grasp.
In fact, I fell into such a deep, satisfying slumber, that I didn't even stir when Dean leaned over me to stroke my hair back from my face, and place the smallest kiss on my temple.
~~
The next morning, I woke to an empty bed, and it was both disappointing and a relief. I wouldn't have known how to react if we'd woken up at the same time, but I had no doubt that it would've been an uncomfortable situation.
I wasted no time crawling out of the large bed to get ready for the day. I was used to being up much earlier and having very busy days full of cooking and cleaning, but since Alpha Dean was no longer allowing me to work, I suddenly realized that I had no clue what to do with my day.
After brushing my teeth, I wandered into the kitchen to find a small, morning snack. I considered cooking a large breakfast, but then realized there was no one to serve it to. I certainly couldn't eat much on my own. Besides, Alpha Dean may not like me using his kitchen.
I let out a sigh as I walked around the living room, still wearing his shirt and shorts from last night. Standing at the large living room window, I took a moment to admire the large trees that surrounded us. It'd been forever since I'd been able to go outside. My wolf and I were itching for a run, but we knew not to set our hopes on such a thing.
A loud, pounding knock on the front door pulled me from my thoughts, effectively making me jump. I quickly walked to the door and stood on my toes to look out the peep-hole. One of the guards from yesterday was standing outside, so I slowly opened the door, assuming it was for me.
"Ms. Allen, your presence has been requested in the Alpha's office. He wants me to escort you there."
My eyes widened at his statement, but I complied, stepping outside the door and carefully shutting it behind me.
I didn't have a clue why Alpha Dean would want me to come to his office, but it certainly didn't sound like a good thing.
Perhaps this was the moment I'd been anticipating. Perhaps after last night, Alpha Dean was now convinced that he needed to reject me.
I know this chapter wasn't eventful, but beginnings are often slow! I have to set everything up for you all, of course. With Audrey being how she is, things are even more difficult and have to be taken even slower in a way, but I hope those of you reading are intrigued by the nature of Audrey and Dean's relationship. I promise, it'll be an interesting one!
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xoxo -V