➳

Matthew woke up, feeling a light weight top of him. Raising his head, he looked down to see his little mate resting her head on his chest, still asleep. He mentally smiled as his hand brushed her chestnut-brown hair away from her face, revealing her pretty features. No matter how many times he had seen her, her beauty always took his breath away.

His smile diminished when he saw traces of dried tears on her face. She almost never cried in front of him anymore, but he would sometimes hear her sniffling during the night or whenever she was alone. It was clear that she missed her brother deeply. As much as he wanted to help her, he knew only time would heal her wounds.

He gently placed her head on the pillow so he could get up. As usual, he had a busy day of work ahead of him today, starting with a meeting with his Beta.

...

"Good morning, Alpha." The Beta bowed his head slightly, before entering his office. He paused for a second, sniffing the air.

"Is something wrong?" Matthew asked.

"You have a human's scent on you." They stared at each other for a moment.

"Yes, a human lives with me."

"Is it sergeant Nathan's 'sister'?" He asked, gesturing quotation marks at the word sister.

"Yes, do you have an issue with that?" The Alpha retort, a hint of irritation in his voice.

He gulped, frantically shaking his head. "No, Alpha."

"Good. Now let's discuss the actually important subjects..."

——————————

Several hours later, Matthew decided to check up on his mate. His house was pretty big, and he had not gotten a chance to properly show her around. There were many rooms he did not want her to venture in, and he hoped she hadn't done so yet.

However, he could not feel her presence when he walked into the house. Worry clouded his mind as he went up to his room to find her. Her scent wasn't fresh, suggesting she had left hours ago.

"Madeline?" He called out, going back downstairs. Maybe she was in the kitchen? She loved baking, and a sweet scent was coming from there.

Walking in, he found a platter of sugar cookies on the counter, but no trace of his mate. All of the baking equipment was neatly put back into place, meaning she had time to clean up after making the cookies.

He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. Where could she be? Did she leave the house? He walked out of the door, trying to track down her vanilla scent.

There she was, sitting at the cemetery and talking to her brother's grave again. He did not like eavesdropping, but he was quite curious as to what she was saying to him.

"I can't believe you left me here alone. I barely know anyone in this Pack, you know? And no one likes me here. Every time I talk to someone, they ignore me or give me weird stares. The only people who are nice to me are Edith and Matthew, but I can barely speak to them because they're always working all day..."

Matthew glowered at her words. He had no idea she felt this way about his Pack. How could people dislike this angel? She was an absolute gem. Even a man like him, who almost never smiled, felt his mood brighten by her mere presence.

Madeline gasped in surprise as she felt someone grab her from behind.

"Oh, it's just you." Her tense muscles relaxed when she realized it was Matthew.

"Why did you leave the house? You had me worried, I was looking everywhere for you." She stood up, brushing the dirt off herself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd get worried. Are you angry at me?" He fought back the urge to smile. How can she think he could ever get angry at her?

"I'm not. But next time you want to leave the house, tell me first, alright?" She nodded and said her goodbyes to Nathan's grave, before following Matthew back to the house.

...

"Can I ask you something, Matthew?"

He opened his eyes to see Madeline's face inches away, staring at him intently. They were both laying in bed, ready to fall asleep.

"Hmm?" He responded, too tired to speak.

"Promise you won't lie?"

His muscles stiffened as the air tensed up. Did she find out she was his mate? Or has she heard of the many other secrets he keeps from her?

"What is it?"

"Do you even like my baking?"

That was her question? The heavy feeling in his stomach dwindled; he was getting himself worked up for nothing.

"If you want my honest answer, I've never been a fan of sweets. But I do think you're a good baker." Madeline made a mental note to try and cook more savory foods.

"... Can I ask you something else?"

"Go ahead."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-two." He heard her gasp in surprise.

"Really? I thought you were like, thirty."

...

"What?" He was accustomed to people thinking he was older than he is, but thirty?

"Okay, maybe not thirty. You don't look that old, but you act old. You act like a dad, kind-of. Sorry, am I being rude?"

The corner of his lips curved upwards in amusement, and Madeline froze for a second. This was the first time she had seen him smile. He hardly ever showed any emotion, she felt a bit special to be able to see this rarity.

"Go to sleep," He mumbled, shaking his head.

"But I don't want to sleep. I want to talk to you."

"You're going to make me late for work tomorrow."

"Fine, I'll let you sleep. Goodnight."

——————————

Rumors began spreading around the Pack quickly. By now, they were all aware that their Alpha was living with another girl.

Alpha Blade turned eighteen over four years ago, and had been looking for his mate ever since. Deep down, they all hoped he would find her soon. They wanted him to be happy. Although he was highly respected and praised across the land, they could tell he was terribly lonely. His Pack eagerly waited for the day he'd meet his mate, and let her melt his ice-cold heart.

But her? She could never be his mate. She was too young, too weak, and most importantly, a human. What could he possibly want from her? They found it hard to believe that such a pure, innocent-looking girl was sleeping around with their Alpha, but what else was there to assume?

When the news reached Edith, she could not believe it. The cute teenager who always helped her with her chores would never do such promiscuous things. Her curiosity got the best of her; she would ask Madeline about it herself next time she had chores at the Alpha's house.

"Darling, may I ask why you live here now?" The two women were in the living room, Edith ironing his clothes while Madeline folded them up.

She shrugged in response. "I don't really know. He wanted me to come here after Nathan died."

"Does he... make you do anything in return?"

Madeline looked over at her innocently. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Alpha's not that kind that he'd let you stay here at no cost..." The young girl furrowed her eyebrows.

"Don't talk about Matthew like that. He's very kind."

The maid couldn't believe her ears. "You call him by his first name? And- You think he's kind?" Alpha Blade had many good qualities, but he was never known for being kind.

"He told me only I'm allowed to call him Matthew," Madeline smiled, turning back to fold his clothes. Edith was speechless. Not even the Beta, his second in command, was allowed to address him by his first name. But this human girl had the permission?

"You know, darling, if you weren't a human, I would've thought you were his mate."

"Huh?"

"I've known him for many years, and I've never seen him treat a girl like this. You two almost seem like a couple."

The young girl's lips parted in shock. A couple? A deep shade of rose swept across her cheeks.

"That's not true," She said, shaking her head. But the more she thought about it, the less sure she was.

"Stop being silly, Maddie. You're just a human, he'll never like you like that," She reproached herself, turning her attention back to the chores.