Ezra POV

As I watch the she-wolf disappear through the door, I relax slightly. Only slightly. I'm still wound up tight.

My limbs are still solid as granite, and my heart is ready to burst free of my body. I'm not sure if it wants to beat the hell out of the nearest person or run after my mate.

The lycan side of me wants to taste blood, that's one thing I know for sure. The blood of the overbearing Alpha standing next to me, he seems to feel my strength palpably because he's suddenly very uneasy, even taking a step back, trying to put some distance between us.

I guess he isn't completely stupid after all.

Watching Alpha Green speak to her that way almost snapped my control in half all together, my natural reflexes beg me to rip him to shreds. Somehow, I control myself.

Other than that swell of angry emotion, I'm still in a huge shock. My mate. That girl is my mate.

The ripple of energy in the air surrounding her was enough to tell me that, but I still can't believe it. I've been alone for so many years. Long, empty years spent with my head stuck in fighting night and day. Fighting criminals, fighting my anger, fighting emotions of every kind.

I have spent so much time dreading meeting her, and yet here I am fighting the need to run after her and mark her as my own right now. The feeling is so very foreign to me. It's strange. It's new. And I sort of love it.

No! No, I don't love it. It's overpowering. This feeling of longing needs to go away before I rip my own hair out of my head. It's overpowering. It's controlling. It's as if I have no choice. I want to have choices, I want to have control of my own destiny.

"What the hell was that?" Ace bursts out, glaring at the Alpha with enough venom to seeth into the air around us. Alpha Green pales and takes yet another step backwards, his back hitting the wall of the pack house.

"That girl has been a trouble to the pack for a long time. She's a thief and a disrespectful brat. I try my best to keep her in line." He mutters, but I can feel the fear bubbling under the surface of his words. He holds up his hands that are slick with a nervous sweat.

My mate is a thief? A brat? I take a deep breath, the burning in my chest fills me with confusion. There are so many things happening at once.

That can't be true. She's seems so perfect. So pretty and curvy and right. I want her. I've never wanted anything more. Not approval from my parents, not recognition, not even a promotion.

Should I trust this wolf, or my own instincts? My trusty intuition demands that he's full of shit.

She seems so.... innocent.

Sweet.

Beautiful.

The last one is true beyond reason. She has the most gorgeous hair, and a small curvy figure that makes my mouth water. The restraint I had when I saw her was praiseworthy, because as soon as I spotted that porcelain skin and raven hair I knew I could've lost it right in front of everyone.

"That is no way to treat a pack member." I snarl at him, causing him and the blonde she-wolf to audibly gulp. Their fear stinks like sulphur, and my inner beast turns over in disgust. This is already a nightmare.

Every living creature is scared of things they don't understand.

"She doesn't treat us any better." Blondie says with false sweetness, as if she's completely innocent in all of this.

"I have a hard time believing that." Ace mutters. I can't help but silently agree.

"Even if it was, abusing your power to prey on the weak is sickening." I growl, my fury knowing no bounds. I observe them as their eyes widen, their wolves automatically submitting to me.

Seeing wolves trash talk my mate triggers something deep inside of me, and I don't know how to control it. It's like this new, living thing inside of me with a mind of its own. Every time I try to shove it down it rears its ugly head, raging harder and angrier than before.

It's a completely new experience that kind of unsettles me.

Looking to my companions, I see Ace give me an approving nod. I ignore Hyrum and Reid, not even bothering to spare them a glance as I start down the stairs in a heated fluster. My feet connect to the ground, harshly crushing dead leaves under me as my mind flies around in all directions.

My mate is cleaning a kitchen while I'm paraded around the pack grounds like a brand new trophy, a blonde she-wolf at my heels trying desperately to impress and please me at every turn. I scoff when I hear her quickly approaching me from behind. Her perfume is strong, and toxic.

Can't a male storm off in peace?

She runs up to me in her absolutely ridiculous 7 inch heels. Who the hell wears heels in the middle of the woods? I narrow my eyes down at them to watch them sink into the damp dirt as she walks. Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.

"Ezra, please wait up. We still haven't seen the pack clinic." She begs, practically sprinting by my side, my long strides are no match for her. I abruptly halt mid step, causing her to nearly topple into a tree, she rests a thin hand along the bark to settle herself and catch her breath.

"Mr. Blackmore is fine thanks." I snap. "You may show us where our sleeping quarters are. I'm sure we can find our way around the rest of the grounds just fine, thank you."

Her face drops slightly, disappointment clear as day on her features. She fixes her hair and fusses over her blazer sleeves, doing a once over before facing me with a renewed false grin. Everything about this girl is fake. I can sense her personality hidden underneath it all.

She opens her mouth. Oh boy, here we go again.

"Surely you'll need my help. I insist." She flutters her lashes dramatically but it comes across looking like she has something caught in her eye. I clench my fists at my side.

"Don't call him Shirley." Ace insists when he stops at our side. I roll my eyes, not in the mood for his shenanigans.

My mind is still entranced by the first sighting of my gorgeous mate.

The sway of her hips, the way her pale arms gripped a book to her ample chest. Not to mention those curious grey eyes of here, eyes that held small splatters of lilac in them. Eyes that had hope and excitment at the vision of me, only to be dashed by my silence.

I cringe. Of course she was excited to see me. Then I ignored her like she wasn't even there. Heat fills my chest, my body bristling at the memory from mere minutes earlier.

I was a scared little bitch. I couldn't even say hello? What was I thinking?

"Tressa, let's see our guests to their cabin. I'm sure they'd like to rest from their journey." Alpha Green proposes, and it's beyond obvious he's trying to suck up after his earlier slip up with my mate.

The mate I still don't know the name of. I vaguely recall Alpha Green addressing her, but his snotty tone made me so infuriated that I hadn't picked it up. I reprimand myself for the mistake. I should pay more attention, especially when it comes to her.

Maybe I should go ask her what her name is. Introduce myself. Maybe profess my undying love for her while I'm at it. Ask her how many pups we'll have.

Goddess, I'm an idiot.

I'm an idiot for not defending her while her Alpha shamed and humiliated her. Deep down I know I would have lashed out and regretted it, it was better that I stood there trying to control my breathing instead of making a scene, and a likely bloodbath on top of that.

The blonde she-wolf, Tessa I think her name is, reluctantly nods her head before blowing out an impatient sigh and turning on her heel to strut away. Ace grins cheekily before following her, waving for use to join along.

With every step I take away from my mate, the anxiety inside me darkens. It makes my lycan side furious to be so far away from her.

After a few minutes of heated walking, Hyrum appears beside me. He ducks down next to my ear.

"I'm guessing the little she-wolf is someone of importance to you?" I clench my teeth at his words, and he laughs silently. How had he figured it out? Oh yeah, he's Hyrum. He knows everything.

"You sure do have your hands full it would seem." He says, and I growl low on my throat. A warning.

"You have no idea." I reply, and shoot a glare at him that told him by no means did I want to discuss the subject. He shrugs casually, displaying a knowing grin, and we continue walking in silence. That's how I like it. Silent.

"Here we are. You have my number in case you need anything... and I mean anything." Tanya says, flipping her blonde hair with a wide smile. Ace whistles, while I promptly roll my eyes. I want nothing more than to be alone as soon as humanly possible. Or lycanly possible, I guess.

"Thanks, Tallia, but I think we have everything we need." I manage, my eyes racking the cabin in front of us. It's nicely built, and a decent size. It ill do perfectly. I start up the stairs when her voice shows up again.

"Tressa."

I stop, turning around and to lift an eyebrow at her.

"Huh?"

She gives and exasperated sigh while maintaining her toothy, overdone smile. She tilts her head to the side.

"My name. It's Tressa. I know it's kind of strange, and hard to remember. I'm Tressa." She insists. I nod silently and turn back to the cabin, heading up the staircase without another word.

Remembering the way she looked at my mate earlier makes me want to call her a lot of names, and Tressa is not one of them.

When I get inside, I grab my suitcase from the living area and head to the first bedroom I can find. It takes me numerous hallways, a closet, and a bathroom before I locate one. I rush in, slamming the door behind me. I finally exhale in peace.

Silence at last.

I settle on a navy quilt covered bed, lowering my head into my hands and letting out an aggravated sound somewhere between a groan and a sigh.

A mate. I have a freaking mate.

I have never wanted a mate. Having one means lots of things, and a promotion is not one of them.

Does that even matter anymore? Does anything I care about matter now that I have her?

If I were to be with her, that would mean responsibility, care, time. Affection.

I feel myself go pale with fear. I don't... I can't.... love is something I've never had or experienced. How am I supposed to pretend that I'm normal? She doesn't deserve me.

I have never cared about anyone except my teammates, but that's different entirely. I have no mother to show me how to show affection, no past girlfriends to give me experience.

I'm going into this completely and utterly blind. I'm all kinds of messed up on the inside.

Not to mention my job. The job I've been working towards and dreaming of for decades. I don't have time for a distraction of a mate when all I need is to focus on proving myself to my superiors.

My mind tells me it's all pointless without her in my life. Who cares?

The thought shocks me. A promotion was all I ever wanted. Until now.

The way her pack treats her makes me second guess all of my thoughts, and yells at me to run to her and scoop her up. I want to take her away from here. Save her. Care for her.

But, I have a life. A story that she doesn't fit into. A job that requires all of me. A profession that has hardened me into a warrior.

Its taken priority in my life above all else, and this shouldn't change anything, I can't let it. There would be no order. I would have no control anymore.

And this mate of mine, she could find a good life without me to ruin it.

With my mind made up, I fall back onto the bed, my head hitting the pillow. Trying my best to shut out all my outside thoughts, I squeeze my eyes shut tight.

After a few hours of trying to find peace, I finally drift into a fitful sleep.

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Klepto POV

"You should have seen the way he looked at me! Oh man, like those eyes almost caught me on fire!" Tressa recalls, her high pitched voice all dreamy and breathy. Martha, my youngest sister of 14, squeezes a pillow to her face and fakes a scream into it. They all giggle.

"You are soooo totally lucky." Tabitha says, and Tressa nods in agreement, her red lips turning up into a mad grin. All of a sudden, her eyes flicker over to fixate on me. She starts scrutinizing my stance by the window.

"I hope he wasn't scared away by your interruption, Klepto." My four blonde sisters now stare at me from their little circle on the queen sized bed. I shift my book and glance back down at it with unease. I can't concentrate on the words now that they're all staring at me.

My sisters are discussing my mate. My mate.

We're all sitting in our shared, cramped bedroom. It's been hours since my therapy session. Finally it's starting to get late.

"Do you think he could be your mate?" I foolishly look up to see who asked me, only to find Penelope looking at Tressa expectantly with a big smile on her face.

Tressa shrugs her shoulders coyly, but her smile is still going strong.

"I have a really good feeling about him, he could very well be my mate." She says, and the other girls squeal.

"It isn't surprising, Tress! I knew your mate would be hot. You're both, like, gorgeous." Tabitha insists, "Could you imagine what your pups will look like?! They'll all be models like their parents."

Tressa's eyes light up as she nods her head. I suppress tears as I glare down at my book.

He's my mate. Mine.

Does he know I'm his mate? Why didn't he say anything?! We should be the ones discussing what our future pups will look like, but instead I am forced to endure my sister's obnoxious fantasies. Fantasies that involve my mate.

Maybe he hates me.

I'm plump and short, I steal compulsively, and not to mention I'm the pack reject. Who could ever want that as a mate? Especially a highly trained lycan warrior of all things.

It's a silly idea to think of us together, right? Maybe it'll be better if he mates with Tressa instead.

Now I'm just being ridiculous! I can never let an evil person like her anywhere near him. Even if he simply doesn't want me, I will stop at no end to protect him from my sister and her wicked schemes.

I decide here and now that I will do whatever I can for my mate. Maybe then he'll see me for who I truly am, see past all of my faults and then he will want me.

The sudden noise of a throat being cleared pulls me away from my thoughts, and I take in the sight of my mother standing in the doorway. She doesn't appear to be very happy.

"Finally, I thought I would have to go get a bullhorn to get your attention." She reprimands, and I feel a hot flush make its way up my neck and across my face as my sisters look on with satisfaction.

"Ma'am?" I ask reverently.

"You need to head to the pack house to prepare for the welcome dinner tonight." She says, squinting her eyes at me, "We're indebted to theses warriors the Guard sent to protect us. This dinner is a representation of our pack's appreciation, and I will not have my failure of a daughter mess it up. Do you understand?"

I nod mutely, tears burning the back of my eyes. My throat is as dry as a desert.

With a smug look, she steps aside in an obvious sign that I need to get going. So, I jump up, putting my book on the window seat.

My head hung low in submission, I make my way past her and into the hallway. As I sullenly walk down the stairs, down the yard and past the library, I somehow have hope that things will turn out better tonight than they had this morning.

After the storm comes a rainbow, and maybe my lycan mate is that rainbow. My very own personal rainbow.

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If you're reading this, I love you:)

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