Chapter 2

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Both of them sat in silence, soaking in to the peacefulness that came with the place. But their minds were not at peace, both their minds were racing with a million thoughts. Alpha Nick sat completely relaxed and Evelyn stiffly next to him, she could not relax with her alpha sitting next to her.

"I spent a lot of time here when I was a kid" Nick finally broke the silence and Evelyn looked at him.

He was looking in to the river with a faraway look on his face, as if he was reliving those memories.

He sighed and looked at her, his face filled with sorrow.

"So many people I grew up with" he said sadly "Who are not there here anymore" he whispered.

What could she say?

She could not even comprehend the sorrow of an alpha who lost so many members of his pack.

"If someone would have told me a year ago that I would be in this position, I would have laughed them off my pack grounds" he said sardonically.

"This one year has taught me humility in so many levels" He confessed, he seemed so broken. Not the strong alpha she knew and admired all her life.

Yes, the alpha before the attack was a different man, confident, cocky and a little bit arrogant.

But weren't all alphas? His pack had been a prosperous one, better than many. He had carried that pride around.

That pride, which was missing now. This alpha who sat next to her was very different from the one she knew since she joined the pack she realized.

"I was a proud and confident man once" he began as if reading her mind "but I had to let my pride go, if I wanted to have my pack survive. I was running out of options and I had to put my pack before me or my ego. Do you know how hard it is for an alpha to beg for help? That too from strangers?" He asked rhetorically.

He was talking about the Roma wolves. He shook his head in regret and sighed again.

"I did what I had to do. I believe my actions helped my pack survive, save the very few people I still had standing." He said with confidence, a man who believed in his actions.

"I made choices that I never had to contemplate before in my life." he declared.

"My father used to tell me that the very word 'Life' has an 'if' in between it, right in the middle of it. How ironic!" he reminisced.

"But we have to adapt, or we perish" He sighed, paused and looked at her.

"You might be wondering why I am telling this to you child?" he said looking at her affectionately "I still remember the day you joined my pack, hiding behind your mothers leg. You were a little thing but I saw something in your eyes, a flame, a desire to embrace life to the fullest and I have seen that in your eyes as you grew up. Even when you walked in to my office asking to move out of the pack after school. I understood what drove you, your need to make something of yourself, I admired you for it...in fact. That's why I never dismissed your idea straight out" He said voicing out his opinion about her for the first time.

Evelyn absorbed this, a perspective she never had before, how her alpha saw her. She felt a sense of satisfaction that her alpha had understood her need, her desire.

"But now I see that flame in your eyes wane out, since you found your mate" he declared to a stunned Evelyn.

He had read her like a book. She never thought someone could know her so well. She always knew that her alpha was a keen observer but to understand this, he had paid more attention to her then she ever realized.

"Evelyn" he said gently breaking her out of her thought "Finding a mate is not the end of the world. I know your life is as uncertain as possible right now. But maybe fate has a plan for you. This is a new possibility you need to embrace. Finding a mate is rare these days, it's a blessing that you found one. Do not take it lightly" he advised gently.

"I know what he did to you was wrong and stupid on so many levels. But what's done is done. You have only one option now and that is to move forward. How much ever you wish certain things cannot be undone. I cannot get back all the folks I lost , no matter what I do and you cannot go back trying to lead your old life no matter what you do. There is only one option for you and me child and that is to move forward."

He got up and looked down at her and held her gaze, his face became a little firm "You will always have a place in this pack Evelyn, we will always welcome you as one of our own with open arms." He paused and continued "But, this is no longer your home. Your home is with your mate now."

He paused again and added "I know what he did to you is wrong. But what you are doing to him is just plain cruel and I never pegged you to be the cruel kind. Its time you move forward with your life, its time you forgave your mate and its time you end this distance between the both of you. It's not healthy for either of you to be separated this way."

With that he turned around and walked away, not seeing the absolute confusion on her face.

***

Evelyn's mind was whirling in thoughts. What did the alpha mean by it was not healthy for them to be away from each other? Why did he thing she was being cruel and especially to him...her mate. A dread set in to the pit of her stomach.

What did she know about mates really? She had never paid attention to the mates business.

If she was wrong, why had he walked away without an iota of protest? Gave in so willingly?

Her wolf stirred inside her as she always did when thinking about mates and was becoming uneasy, was her wolf trying to tell her something? Unlike what werewolf folklore wanted you to believe, your wolf was not an independent person in your body that you can have conversations in your mind with. Your wolf projected emotions and gut feelings on to you based on instincts as a wolf. So you knew what actions your wolf approved or disapproved or what your wolf wanted to do.

But every time Evelyn thought about her mate, her wolf was sad and then went extremely uneasy. Was her wolf trying to tell her something? She needed answers and needed answers fast. But who could help her?

The answer appeared in her head in a flash. Lucia!

She was one of the few people who had a mate in her pack. Lucia would know. With that she got up with a renewed purpose to go track that she wolf down and get some answers. She recalled what Lucia did to her earlier. Did Lucia also think she was being cruel to her mate? Was it why she became so hostile? Who else in her pack thought of her that way? Her head was exploding and she would not find rest till she found the answers.

***

She finally tracked Lucia down in her backyard collecting and folding clothes that had been set out to dry.

"Lucia" Evelyn whispered as the she wolf stopped what she was doing and turned to look at her.

Evelyn still saw hostility in her eyes but also saw some kind of regret "I am sorry" Lucia said sincerely "I shouldn't have done that" she said referring to the earlier incident.

"Lucia forget that" Evelyn brushed it aside "Do you think staying away from your mate harms your mate in any way?" She asked without preamble.

Lucia's face scrunched in confusion "Why do you ask?"

Evelyn said uncertainly "It's something the alpha told me today, that I am hurting my mate, am I hurting my mate, Lucia?"

Lucia's face changed from confusion to disbelief "You mean you don't know?" Lucia asked needing a verbal conformation.

Dread exploded in Evelyn, something was wrong "no" she whispered.

"You stupid! Stupid! Girl!" Lucia muttered "You have no idea do you?" she said still in disbelief.

She studied Evelyn for a moment contemplating and looking at the state of the girl in front of her.

"You better come in." Lucia said making up her mind, turning around and entering her home.

***

Lucia had served Evelyn some tea and some cookies as they settled down on the kitchen chairs.

"What do you know about mates?" Lucia asked, she wanted to find out how ignorant this girl in front of her was.

"Umm...you will know when you find yours and you will be able to shift in to your wolf, if you have not done before and then the bite and stuff" Evelyn said touching her bite mark subconsciously.

"Anything else?" Lucia asked. "Um...your scent changes after the bite and some more...a...after you consummate?" She blushed a little but Lucia remained nonplussed.

"Have you not paid any attention to what mating process involves?" Lucia asked dazed. Mate or no mate girls were very curious about the process and was common topic of gossip among young females.

"I, never paid attention. Never thought or hoped to find a mate" Evelyn replied as little sheepish and guilty.

Lucia gawked at her and she felt a little uneasy.

"Listen, why don't you just tell me?" Evelyn asked frustrated. We was getting tired of the judgement of the girl in front of her. She now realized she had screwed up somewhere, now if only she could tell her she could make it right.

"Finding your mate is only the beginning" Lucia started after a pause "Then when you get to know him and are comfortable with him you mark each other. That signals the beginning of mating but is also the point of no return." Lucia explained.

"I know your mate kind of skipped the knowing you part and went straight to bite play" she said "But males have an absolute driving urge to mark their mate, to claim her so everyone around knows that she is off the market...per say. It helps in keeping peace and avoiding unnecessary conflict. The bite on your neck will keep other males away from you. For them you are no longer available to be considered as a suitable partner. I know it sounds barbaric but this is a plan of nature to avoid un-necessary conflict within a pack."

"Most males generally can wait until they get to know their mate better and get her consent to mark her but there are instances where she wolves have been claimed in a hurry, especially when there is danger around her, a wolf will go mad with worry and a claim will re assure him to a large extent."

"I do not know what drove your male to claim you in a fucking hurry, but he for some reason needed to."

Evelyn looked away guiltily, recalling why he lost control. She understood what he must have seen and perceived especially with her running from him. Her hugging Alex must have broken that proverbial camel's back. Thankfully Lucia did not ask.

"So when your mate claimed you he and his wolf formed a bond with you, an irreversible bond. The strength of his bond is very strong because he is a male and his wolf is very much active. Unlike you where you did not even have your wolf. If you had, it would have been different, your wolf would have done everything in her power to influence you to complete the bond.

"But since you did not have your wolf, you did not feel the urge and your mate was stuck with an incomplete bond that his wolf was driving to finish at any cost."

"All your mate had to do was to wait around until your wolf showed up, trust me, if she had one whiff of her mate she would have had you pounce on him like there is no tomorrow."

"I don't know what you did to your mate but you made him go away before your wolf showed up, she now know she has a mate but is not sure who he is. She needs to connect with him in her own way, breath in his scent and complete her bond with her mate. It is not good for her to be uncertain, she would become unstable and even violent."

"They tell me that you have asked your mate to stay away and that he agreed" Lucia said incredulously "I have never heard of someone do that for this long, it's unheard of"

"But, as much I might admire your mate's will power, what you are doing is cruel, you are hurting him...a lot and it's not good for both of you. This might end up seriously hurting both your wolves and yourself in that process."

Cruel. That word, it was used twice today both by her alpha and Lucia. Evelyn now started to realize due to her ignorance how much she fucked up.

It was never her intention to hurt him or anyone for that matter, what she wanted did not have anything to do with punishing her mate. But apparently everyone looked at it that way and worst part she was hurting him, that much was clear.

"What do I do?" she whispered much to herself.

"Get him here, ASAP. That's what you need to do and finish your mate bond" Lucia offered.

Evelyn got up "Thanks Lucia" she thanked the she wolf.

"You are welcome dear! And...sorry for the thing earlier" she said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it" Evelyn reassured her again walking out of Lucia's house.

***

"Where have you been? You have been gone for a long time and I....." Evelyn's mother trailed off as she saw how her daughter looked.

"You all right dear?" she asked alarmed and even Jeff looked up. They had been in the living room watching TV when Evelyn showed up.

Evelyn did not respond. She sat in the couch opposite to where her mom and Jeff were sitting.

"Did you know?" Evelyn asked.

Both of them sat up "Know what dear?" She asked leaning towards her daughter in concern.

"What would happen to my mate if he stayed away?" she asked mainly looking at Jeff.

He Squirmed "Ah...he will feel uncomfortable" he offered.

"Uncomfortable?" She asked.

"May be more than uncomfortable" Jeff confessed.

"Why are you asking dear?" her mother asked.

"Do you know he might be in a lot of pain due to what I asked him to do?" She asked again.

"It's nothing that he did not deserve" Jeff spat.

"Jeff!" Evelyn exclaimed in frustration, hot tears leaking from the corner of her eyes "It was never my intention to hurt him or punish him! I just wanted time to finish school and I was afraid with him around it would be a distraction."

"What are you talking about? Why would you even want to send him away then? I thought you wanted some time away for what he did" Jeff added confused.

"I did not know!" she yelled in frustration, balling her little fists.

"What?" Jeff paled a little "You did not know?" he asked in disbelief. What was she talking about? everyone knew!

"Yes!" she responded ashamed "I had no idea, I never really paid attention to mates and until Lucia told me the consequences of keeping my mate away, I did not know!" she confessed in shame of her own stupidity.

"I am sorry honey" her mother said walking over and putting a hand over her shoulder "I thought...we thought you knew and we were giving you some space...I would have spoken to you eventually, in fact I was planning to bring the topic up in a day or two" her mother offered.

"Oh mom!" Evelyn said miserably leaning in to her mother for comfort.

"It's ok baby! You didn't know. He will understand" Her mother comforted her. Rubbing her back gently.

"This is not what I wanted" Evelyn sniffed miserably.

"Shhh...its ok!" Her mother cooed hugging her daughter " Now that you know, fix it kiddo" Her mother gently offered.

"Yes" she said sitting up straight and wiping her tears off. She was going to fix this.

She got up and climbed the stairs in to her room and sat down on the edge of the bed.She took her cell phone out and scrolled to "M" in her phone.The name was clearly displayed "MAX" as he had entered it.

She took a deep breath gathering courage and before she could think twice she hit the dial button, the phone said 'connecting' and a few moments later she heard the ringing. Her heart was beating in her throat matching the ringing of the phone.

The phone was still ringing and involuntarily her finger moved to the disconnect button, maybe he was busy, maybe she would call him later, maybe his phone was not with him....

It took a moment to realize that the phone had stopped ringing. Her heart accelerated further.

She heard some rustling on the other end of the phone and then...

Her mate's voice flowed out of the phone groggily.

"Hello?"