I felt Gia's hand on my shoulder, and I turned around to see her gazing at me, her light eyebrows raised.

"Everyone is staring at you," she whispered, causing me to turn around slowly to see the remaining females from the crowd gaping at me, shocked that I had made my way up to Alpha Dylan so eagerly and confidently, not caring what Alpha Paul had to say. In their eyes, I must have come across as disrespectful and desperate, but they didn't know that Dylan was my mate. I was praying to myself that nobody heard Dylan's cheeky comment before he walked away, wanting to tell the pack myself when the time was right. I hadn't even told my father yet.

I watched as the remaining females dispersed, emptying the grounds, leaving Gia and I standing there in the wind, our hair blowing into tangled knots.

"Let's go back to mine, you can visit Dylan down at the cabin later," suggested Gia, wrapping her arm around my shoulder, leading me towards her house.

"I sure hope Alpha Paul doesn't catch me," I laughed.

"Just tell him you're mates," shrugged Gia, winking at me.

"Yeah, I'm sure he will be fine with it as long as I don't distract Dylan," I replied, chewing at my nails.

"Do you want to watch a movie or something?" asked Gia.

I sighed, shaking my head. "I think I'm going to head home if that's okay? Can we do another night?" I asked sheepishly.

Gia nodded, laughing. "Yeah sure, but update me about Dylan though. Let me know if you go and visit him."

I nodded, giving my best friend a quick hug before pulling away and making my way back to my house, my head hanging low. I knew it was probably time to tell Jared and my Dad that I had found my mate, but with Jared feeling so low at the moment, I almost felt guilty throwing my happiness into his face, reminding him of yet another thing he didn't have.

I pulled my front door open, sighing to myself as I clambered up the stairs, plopping myself down on my bed, pulling the covers over my face.

Suddenly, a knock at my bedroom door made me groan, rolling over to see my father peering in, smiling.

"How was it? How was the Alpha?" asked my Dad, raising his eyebrows excitedly.

"Yeah, it was fine. Look, Dad there's something-"

"It's a shame Jared didn't go, I think it would have been good for him to get out of the house for once," interrupted my father, fiddling with his watch, distracted.

"Yeah, I guess he wasn't feeling up for it."

"You know, I spoke to him last night when we got back from the ceremony, but he didn't want to open up to me. I was wondering if you knew what was bugging him?"

I chewed on my bottom lip, fiddling with my fingers anxiously. "I think it's better if he tells you Dad, I don't want to say unless he wants me to."

My father nodded, pursing his lips. "I understand."

"Maybe you could try-"

"Oh hold on," my father mumbled, pulling his vibrating phone out of his pocket, glaring at the number, rolling his eyes. "Hello?

I raised my brows at my father as he pulled the phone away from his ear, cancelling the call. "Stupid cold callers. They've been calling me non stop; not saying a word."

"That's weird. Block them," I stated, my eyes widening.

My Dad shrugged, shaking his head. "I have. They keep calling me from different numbers. All I hear is breathing."

I laughed, grimacing. "That's like something out of a horror movie."

My Dad nodded, smiling. "Anyway, are you going to be volunteering later?"

"Volunteering, for what?" I asked, confused.

"Alpha Paul sent out a message to let everyone know that the visiting Alpha will need an assistant for the week, so if anyone is interested, to meet him at the ceremony hall as soon as possible."

"I didn't get a text," I mumbled, double checking my phone, my brows furrowed.

"Well, he said 'anyone', so I'm sure you're welcome to go along. It will be good experience."

"Experience? For what?" I mumbled, glaring at my Dad.

"You know, future interviews, speaking in front of a crowd, that kind of stuff."

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "Why would I want to be someone's assistant?"

"Just consider it Clara," urged my Dad as he quietly shut the door.

I groaned, throwing the covers off myself in annoyance. Dylan was a grown man, why did Alpha Paul insist on him having his own assistant? I didn't know how long this so called 'assistant' would be spending with Dylan, but it made me uncomfortable thinking about other woman following him around and giving him anything he wanted at the click of a finger. I knew that there would be a lot of volunteers, especially women, but there was no way that I was going to show up to the hall begging to become Alpha Dylan's assistant for the week. I wasn't his slave.

After around twenty minutes of contemplation, I growled to myself, shaking my head. Pulling on some jeans in order to make myself look a little bit more presentable, I made my way down the stairs, taking two at a time.

"Dad, I'm going to the ceremony hall. Be back soon!" I called, shooting out the door, not wanting to be asked any questions or interrogated.

I sprinted down the path, my long wavy hair falling in front of my face, causing me to groan, messily pulling it into a ponytail.

I took in a deep breath as I approached the ceremony hall, stopping before the large red doors as I braced my hands on my knees, composing myself. As quietly as I could, I pushed the doors open, exposing a large crowd of women, Alpha Paul and Dylan standing up on stage in front. Everyone turned to me, raising their eyebrows, Alpha Paul rolling his eyes as he gestured for me to make my way in.

"Oh good, another one," he mumbled to himself sarcastically.

Dylan smirked at me, causing me to shake my head at him.

"Well, yes, as I was saying. The text was only sent out to men, but I guess the word got around, and as there are no men here to volunteer, one of you will be given the role. It's not what I had in mind when I offered Alpha Dylan an assistant, but it'll have to do."

"I would do anything that man asked me to," whispered a girl beside me to her friend, ogling my mate with doe-like eyes, her mouth set in a small smile.

I clenched my fists, growling lowly to myself as the urge to punch the girl square in the nose overcame me, but I pushed it back, acknowledging that she didn't know that Dylan had a mate.

"I'm not really sure how to do this. I wasn't expecting this many people," mumbled Alpha Paul, scratching at the back of his neck. "As assistant of the Alpha, you'll be expected to bring his meals to him at the cabin, clean his sheets and ensure he has everything he needs at all times. I'm not asking for much, I just don't want Alpha Dylan's time to be spent cleaning and running errands when he could be training our fighters. Every second counts."

The crowd of females nodded, agreeing, causing me to roll my eyes. Dylan shook his head at me, chuckling to himself.

I was baffled this many females had shown up to volunteer, however, I was only there to observe. I was not going to be offering myself up to wait hand and foot on someone, even if they were my mate.

"Who has experience?" asked Alpha Paul, scanning the room as women raised their hands, smiling up at my mate flirtatiously.

My Alpha looked overwhelmed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sighed. "Okay, why don't you come up here?" he asked, pointing at an auburn haired girl at the front. Her face lit up and she rushed up on stage, making her way over to my mate, shaking his hand, looking him up and down.

My heart rate increased dramatically, and I swallowed, not enjoying the sight of another women so close to my mate, practically drooling over him.

"What's your name?" asked Alpha Paul.

"Jen," she replied, her eyes lingering on Dylan's muscly chest, his thin white shirt hugging his body tightly.

Dylan dropped his gaze, looking uncomfortable, his eyes flickering over to mine as he furrowed his brows.

"Well, Dylan, I hope you'll be happy with your assistant for this week," said Alpha Paul, his eyes giving Dylan a warning look.

"I'm a pretty independent man Paul, there really is no need-"

Alpha Paul held us his hands, stopping Dylan mid sentence. "I insist, it's the least we could do. We need those fighters trained as well as possible!"

Dylan nodded bitterly, sighing to himself as he raised his eyebrows at me, trying to gauge my reaction.

"If you need anything Alpha Dylan, just ask. I'm a very dedicated girl," said Jen flirtatiously, batting her long eyelashes.

I rolled my eyes, scoffing to myself.

"Great, just great," I muttered to myself.

..................................................................