*Annabelle's POV*

I opened the door and smiled at Jasper, "Hey, did you forget something?"

Jasper smiled back at me, "Hey, uh... not really. I wanted to talk to you about something."

I kept up the pretense, "Trouble in paradise? I'm more than willing to give any advice on Fred. Where is she anyway?"

"She went home," Jasper paused and I could see him look past me, probably trying to see if Adam was close, "And no, I didn't want to talk about her. I'm here to talk about the animal in your house."

I raised an eyebrow, "Really? I can give you the address of the pet shelter if you want to adopt yourself." I blabbered.

Jasper frowned, "No, listen Anna. That animal isn't a normal dog. I think you should get rid of it."

This time I frowned, I felt my hands clench, "And why would I do that?"

"He's dangerous Anna." Jasper started, "I know it sounds insane, but he might hurt you o-"

"I would never hurt her." Came Adam's voice from behind me.

I turned around and saw him stand in the hallway, looking at Jasper like he would be his next meal.

Oh dear...

"You know..." Jasper mumbled as he looked at me again.

I decided to nod, "I do, yes."

"How much do you know?" he continued.

"Enough to know that he's not dangerous." I answered.

Jasper shook his head, "Listen, Anna, I don't know if he's told you but he's a rogue. Rogues are aggressive and dangerous."

"I know Jasper, but Adam is not dangerous!" I defended Adam. I couldn't explain why, but I trusted Adam with my life at this point. I knew it was weird, but I couldn't stop the things I felt for him.

Jasper looked exasperated, "Anna, he might not be dangerous now but without a pack he wil-"

"He does have a pack." I showed him my hand, which was still healing from last week, "See, I joined his pack."

Jasper suddenly looked confused. He then looked at Adam with a slightly amused expression, "You did a pack ceremony with her?"

Adam shrugged and walked closer to us, standing next to me, "She wanted in my pack so I let her."

"But you're a rogue Alpha. You don't have a pack." Jasper stated and I could see Adam clench his jaw.

"Listen here pup, I couldn't help that my pack was slaughtered while I was across the country. I didn't have a choice in this. I still have my humanity and I'm sure as hell not a danger to Anna. Don't come in here telling me what to do because you know better than to order an Alpha." Adam spoke.

Damn, that's kind of hot... wait what? Dammit Anna now is not the time! control your hormones!

Jasper bared his neck to Adam in submission, "I'm sorry, Alpha."

I could sense the tension in the room, or hallway and sighed, "Why don't we go back into the living room and sit down. We can talk this out, no need to destroy my apartment." I suggested.

Both Adam and Jasper nodded. Adam led me to the dining table, placing a hand on my back to gently nudge me.

Jasper sat across from us, looking slightly on edge now that an Alpha has told him off. I cleared my throat, "So, how do these things go? Do we growl at each other till the other one understands?" I teased, trying to lift the mood.

Adam bit back a smile. Success! Jasper looked between us before frowning, "Is she..." he trailed off.

Adam nodded at him and Jasper's eyes lit up in understanding. "I see."

I looked between the two men, "What?"

Adam smiled at me and Jasper shook his head, "I was just wondering about something. So, how did he end up in your apartment?"

He was changing the subject, but I decided to allow it. I would ask Adam later, "Uh... the story I told you checks out. He was caught just outside the forest and I bought him from the shelter. The next morning I woke up to a man in my house. He explained the situation and now we're here." I explained.

Jasper nodded, "How did an Alpha get caught by a dog catcher?"

"None of your business pup." Adam started but I pinched him in his thigh. He stiffened and then calmed slightly, "I've been a rogue for six years, so Cade wasn't paying close attention to the dog catcher, idiot forgot what they meant. Before we knew it, we were stuck in the shelter."

Jasper frowned, "I wasn't too far off then, when I said you were dangerous."

Adam shrugged, "I was close, you're right. What would you expect from someone who's been rogue for that long. She brought me back." He spoke while nodding to me.

I did? He never told me that. He made it seem like him being rogue was easy, and that he still had plenty of humanity left. I suppose Cade does have plenty of animalistic ticks, but I figured that was just natural for a werewolf. Another thing to add to my list of questions.

"You're very fortunate Alpha." Jasper spoke.

Adam smiled, "That I am."

I smiled, glad that most of the tension had now left the table, "So, does Fred know about werewolves?" I asked.

Jasper's face brightened at the mention of his mate, "No, not yet. I don't know how she'll react to it. She's so down to earth, I'm not sure she'll take it easily."

I nodded, "I guess that's true. She's always been one for the facts, not open to fantasy."

Jasper gave a sad smile, "Yeah... she's amazing though. There is no one I'd rather have as a mate." He exclaimed and his eyes were twinkling with pride.

I smiled, "I'm glad. Freddy deserves the best for her. If you hurt her I'll hunt you down."

Jasper chuckled, "Trust me, hurting her is the last thing I want to do."

"Good, if you ever need help with telling her about werewolves I'd be glad to help. I personally know what it feels like so maybe I can help." I offered.

Jasper gave a relieved sigh, "That would mean the world to me, thank you Lu- Anna."

I smiled. Adam spoke up, "How long have you and Fred known each other?"

"A few months now. It hasn't been easy. Liam keeps pushing me to mark her, but I'd do anything for her. Waiting isn't a problem" Jasper spoke with pride in his voice.

"Is it that difficult?" I asked, wanting to know more about mates in general.

Jasper glanced at Adam for a second before nodding, "Yes, uh... this is going to sound super barbaric, but once you meet your mate it's like she's the only thing that matters to you. I constantly want to be with her, and every instinct tells me to complete the bond. It's hard to control myself and to hold back sometimes, but Fred clearly isn't ready and doesn't know about anything yet so I don't want to force her."

I nodded in understanding, "Sounds rough. I'm glad you're keeping Fred's feelings in mind though." Jasper gave me a patient smile.

Adam spoke up again, "What pack are you part of?"

"Howland River pack Alpha." Jasper responded obediently. It's kind of weird seeing the dynamic. Clearly being an Alpha means more than I thought.

"That's Ray's pack right?" Adam frowned slightly, "Sorry for my lack of knowledge, it's been six years since I've had to think of the neighboring packs."

"It's fine, Alpha. Yes, Alpha Thomas rules the pack." Jasper spoke with pride, clearly, he was proud of his Alpha.

Adam hummed, "I'm glad he's still kicking it. We used to train together a lot as kids, since we're almost the same age." He explained.

Jasper nodded, "Yes, he's doing well. Especially considering we lost our Luna a few years back."

Adam raised an eyebrow, "Luna Emily died?"

Jasper let out a sad sigh, "Yes, she died in a rogue attack. We were all heartbroken, especially the Alpha. But he managed to stay strong. We all respect him a lot."

"I can imagine. Ruling a pack without a Luna is quite the challenge." Adam responded.

I remembered how Adam said that an Alpha rarely is able to continue ruling his pack without his mate. This Alpha Thomas must be really strong. Adam and Jasper started talking about pack stuff, most of which I didn't quite understand.

I learned that Jasper was a warrior wolf, and that that meant that he was a protector of the pack. Apparently it's one of the best regular ranks you can have in a pack. I asked Adam and he explained to me that there were different pack ranks. The Alpha and Luna are the top, followed by the second in command, or as they call it: a Beta. The mate of the Beta is called the Beta female. After that there is the Gamma, or third in command. Apparently he is in charge of the Warrior wolves, who are next in the ranks. After warrior wolves it mostly differs between packs. But usually there are just the normal pack wolves, which is basically just the regular people.

I could tell that, besides his reservations of Jasper, Adam enjoyed talking to another one of his kind. It must have been years since he had last spoken to one.

"But to think the Alpha of the Springfield Lake pack survived." I tuned back into the men's conversation, "If you would have come to our pack, I'm sure Alpha Thomas would have welcomed you with open arms." Jasper spoke.

Adam gave an appreciative nod, "Thank you, but an Alpha joining another pack in lower ranks usually doesn't end well."

"Why not?" I asked him.

Adam looked at me, "Well you know how much Cade hates it to be ordered around. Having two Alpha's who are both struggling with extreme emotions and control is just a bomb waiting to go off."

"Oh... I guess that makes sense. So you can never join another pack?" I asked.

Adam gave me a warm smile, "It wouldn't be preferable no. I suppose we can take over a pack but that's a suicide mission. I'm happy where I am now."

I nodded, "Oh... if you say so." I ended with a smile. It warmed my heart that Adam was content to just living here, with me.

I looked back at Jasper, only to see him staring off into space with his eyes glazed over. I frowned and looked at Adam, who didn't seem bothered by his behavior. He suddenly seemed to snap back into it, "Sorry, that was my Gamma, I need to get back."

I was utterly confused, which Adam seemed to notice, "He was mind linking. It's something werewolves can do. It's like talking telepathically."

"Wow! That's so cool!" I exclaimed, "Can you two mind link?"

Adam shook his head, "It works between packs. It's the reason you make a blood bond with the Alpha, so the link becomes open to you."

"Oh, still, that's awesome. I wish I could do that!" I spoke.

"You will once the Alpha mar-" A growl cut Jasper off. Huh? "Sorry Alpha." Jasper continued as he bared his neck to Adam again.

Adam shook his head, "It's fine. You should probably head back."

Jasper nodded at that. Once we said goodbye to Jasper I turned to Adam, "What happened there at the end?"

Adam scratched his neck, "Uh... the pup just couldn't keep his mouth closed."

I raised an eyebrow, "On what? Are you hiding something from me?"

Adam gulped, "Uh... well... it's not easy to explain."

"Well how about you try anyway?" I countered.

Adam sighed, then he grabbed my hands and guided me to the couch where we sat down, "I've been wanting to tell you, trust me. I just didn't want to force you into anything. Cade has actually been pushing me to tell you as well. But uh..." Adam started to ramble.

I smiled and gave his hands a squeeze, "Hey, whatever it is I think I'll be able handle it."

Adam looked me in the eyes and sighed again, "Ok. Remember when I told you I didn't find my mate when I was traveling?" I nodded and he took that as a sign to continue, "Well, I did find her eventually, not while traveling, but years later."

"Really? Why aren't you with her then?" I asked.

Adam smiled, "I am," he squeezed my hands, "Anna, you're her."

"What?"

"You're my mate, Annabelle."

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The cat is finally out of the bag!

Thank you guys so much for 100 reads! I honestly never thought anyone would read this story so it means a lot to me!

See you guys next time!