Octavia woke up in her bed to the sound of whispering outside in the living room. She glanced at the door and it was slightly open. She slowly slipped off her duvet and walked to the door. As the door opened, she could hear clearly what was going on in the kitchen. The cottage was dimly lit and she could tell that she had slept well through the afternoon and into the evening.
Giggles, grunts, and excited chatters can be heard. She quickened her footsteps and when she finally made it to the living room, the scene before her looked hilarious. Maksim stood in the middle of the room with all five pups clinging onto him. He looked up immediately when he saw her. His struggles stopped and the pups turned as well as soon as they saw that he had stiffened.
"Mama Octavia, you're awake." Olivia, one of the youngest pups, said brightly as she had her arms and legs wrapped neatly around Maksim's left leg.
"You slept for a very long time." Katya said from the opposite side of Olivia.
"W-what is going on?" Octavia asked.
"We are saving the Luna!" Henrietta piped in as she clung to Maksim's back.
"Saving the Luna?" Octavia felt almost stupid, not understanding what the hell they were saying.
"We have to save the Luna from the big bad Alpha who has captured her and made her his forever, but he is so strong. We can't get past his walls. All five of us are on him and he is like a tower that is unwilling to fall." Aleksander made an angry face. He did not like losing.
Octavia glanced behind him at the lump of pillow that was supposed to be the Luna. She arched an eyebrow at him and Maksim chuckled. He started to remove the pups from his body. After they all got off him, he pointed to the bedrooms.
"Time for bed."
"Aww..." They all said in unison, but walked to their bedrooms. Octavia's mouth was hanging open. It takes her hours to get them all to bed and here they were, walking to bed with just one command from Maksim.
Maksim walked up to her and tapped her chin with his finger. "Is that an invitation for me to kiss you?"
She snapped it shut and looked at him. "Thank you for remaining with them until I woke up, but now it is getting late. You should be going back to the pack house. I am sorry to take so much of your time-"
"How are you doing? Do you feel light headed?" He ignored her.
She nodded. "I'm doing fine now. I just don't like the sight of blood."
He chuckled and she tilted her head to the side as she listened to the soft rumble of his laughter. It was freaking sexy. His eyes were twinkling so beautifully that she was immediately captivated.
"I can see that, Octavia. You looked really pale when you saw the blood dripping down on your finger." He stated. Just hearing about it, made her stomach upset and her feel a little light headed.
She wasn't used to a male hanging around her house. Men tried to hit on her, but she would always fight them off. Some come over drunk in attempt to do something bad, but she always barred her doors. However, her mate was standing in front of her and she didn't have it in her to kick him out. She should though, because she should be upset with him, but he was right when he said they were mates and were still getting to know each other.
She couldn't expect him to read her mind and know right away that those pups weren't hers. She sighed and moved around him to pick up the pillow that they used to play with and the wooden toys that were littered all over her living room floor. Toys were crafted from wood and trees because werewolves don't often travel to the cities. There were too many humans and no one wanted to risk it.
The humans surrounding them are aware of them, but only assumed that they like their privacy. She picked up a toy horse and threw it in the toy box. She could see from the corner of her eyes that Maksim was helping her pick up.
"Do you know when your sister will be coming?" She asked.
"Soon." He glanced up and ran his fingers through his hair. "Why? Want to get rid of me so fast?"
She rolled her eyes and threw the rest of the toys she had gathered into the toy box. He walked over and threw his armful of toys in as well, before turning to face her. Their close proximity was enough to make her heart race again.
"I won't be leaving without you, Octavia." He stated bluntly.
"Well, then you will be waiting forever." She retorted.
"You know it more than anyone, that I need you as much as you need me. You said it yourself, you waited for me. I'm here and I am taking you back home with me." He crossed his strong arms over his chest as he stood at his fullest height.
"This is my home." She argued and crossed her own arms.
"I understand that and I don't ever want to take you away from here, but one of us has to leave. I can't leave my pack without an Alpha. We have to be reasonable here-"
"Maksim, I'm not ready." She interrupted and was surprised she admitted the truth, because she wasn't. She didn't know if she could leave the pups behind. They depended on her so much.
His eyes softened a little. "Then we will wait till you are, but until then I am not leaving."
She gave him a half smile. "Thank you."
The cottage was now quiet and the moon has already peaked over high in the sky. A silence fell around them as they looked at each other. Octavia couldn't help the many emotions she felt when she was around him. Whenever he was close, a warm blanket of comfort seemed to wrap over her body and she felt safe — like nothing will ever happen to her and quite honestly, she took comfort in it.
A knock on the door broke their trance and they both turned towards the door. The knocks grew heavy and fast — almost in a panic. She quickly walked over and opened the door, revealing Maksim's Beta. She was also very pretty and although she was a female who was fairly close to her mate, Octavia felt no animosity towards her.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I am wondering if the Alpha is here." She apologized. Octavia was about to answer her when Maksim appeared behind her. His chest again radiated heat through her back, keeping comfort on her.
"What is going on?" Maksim asked.
Octavia was about to excuse herself from the conversation, but Maksim placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him as he looked down at her. Antonia looked at the exchange between them and it was already pretty clear who the woman in front of Maksim was.
"Alpha Hansen has escaped." Antonia replied.
Octavia's eyebrows furrowed and Maksim growled. An escaped Alpha does not mean good news. Usually, if an Alpha is challenged, they fight to the death. Maksim spared the man's life and with that comes the threat of retaliation.
"How did he escape?" Maksim questioned.
"He built the dungeon himself, Maksim. He knows his way around it, even if he was blind." Octavia finally spoke up.
"I should have killed him."
"You spared his life, which was more just than anything else." Octavia reasoned.
"What would you like us to do?" Antonia asked. "His scent is not stale yet. We can still track him."
Maksim nodded. "Good idea. Track him. I'll come with you."
Octavia watched as he broke into a jog alongside Antonia, before shifting into a large black wolf and disappearing into the woods with a few other wolves.
*
It was late into the evening the next day when Maksim finally arrived home with Antonia, Roman, and a few warriors. It was clear that Alpha Hansen got away. They lost his trail after he jumped into a fast water current nearby.
It didn't help that fresh heavy rain started early that morning as well, ridding of any last footprint or scent of Alpha Hansen. Everyone was tired and exhausted from no sleep. When they emerged from the woods, they all walked up to the pack house to change and get some good sleep.
Maksim on the other hand, was feeling restless. He made his way towards his mate's cottage. The lights were still on and judging the night, it wasn't any later than nine in the evening. He knocked on the door and a minute later, the door swung open. He scowled at her as soon as he saw her open the door and then his scowl deepened as soon as he saw what she was wearing. He has to have a talk with her regarding her sleeping attire. She wore a black oversized t-shirt that hit her mid-thigh.
"You're back."
"Did you even check to see if it was me?" He asked.
She blinked. "Well, I-I didn't have to. I could sense it was you."
He realized she was right. He sighed and ran his fingers through his wet hair. She looked him up and down before meeting his gaze again. Her eyes held desire in them, but also concern.
"Come inside." She ordered and grabbed a hold of one of his wet arms and pulled him inside. He watched her hurry into a room and came out with a towel. She handed it to him and he thanked her as he began drying himself. She disappeared back into the room and came out with some clothes.
"You can change into these clothes. They are my father's." She said.
He thanked her again and sat the towel down over the sofa as he began stripping off his wet shirt. He then grabbed the towel again to dry his chest and back. His eyes found hers again and they were dark, misty with her wolf nearby. Instantly, his body responded. The woman was going to kill him if she didn't stop looking at him like that. He was an Alpha, but could only hold onto his control so much.
She tore her gaze away and walked to the other side of the room as she watched him get dressed. It was almost as if she was afraid she might do something to him. He could have gotten dressed in a different room, but he didn't want to also wet her floors with his drenched clothes.
"Did you guys just get back?" She asked.
He nodded and pulled up his pants. He noticed her face was turned away so that she wasn't looking at him. He smirked at his mate's shyness. He didn't really care if she looked or not, because he was all hers to touch and view all she wanted.
"We couldn't find him. We lost him with the rain." He admitted.
"Do you think he will do something stupid?" She asked.
He arched an eyebrow at her after he finished dressing and wrapped his wet clothes in the towel to stop it from dripping. She walked over to take it from him and then proceeded to her room. He followed her this time.
"Yes." Maksim admitted and looked at her bed. It was a queen size bed and god, after running and tracking for so long, he was exhausted. He fell onto her bed without her permission. It was inviting and the smell of her was strong on the bed. It gave him comfort and almost acted like a sleeping pill. His eyes began to droop as he watched her wring out his clothes in her bathroom.
"Of course. He is Alpha Hansen. An idiot. Too arrogant and too cocky for his own good." He heard her talking adamantly as he allowed sleep to take over him. Sleep -- it was too strong to fight off. He tried hard to stay awake, but her voice trailed off as he knocked out into the dark bliss.