"You can't keep doing that Ozzie." My little brother's voice sounded like an annoying bird that wouldn't stop chirping. Every second was something, I swear the boy couldn't keep his mouth shut for more than two seconds. It was a miracle he found the time to breathe.

"You're going to scare her away with all that dark ominous attitude you have going. She's not what you'd call confident."

I looked up from the form I was scanning over to Desmond who sat in the chair across from the desk.

"And that's why she's not my mate."

Desmond scoffed looking away from me. "So that's why you checked on her enough times to stink up the hallway yesterday." He gazed over to me narrowing his eyes. "Because she's not your mate?"

Dropping the form I leaned back in my chair, my fingers weaving together as my hands rested against my chest. If he thought he'd proven a point, he hadn't.

So, I checked up on her, so what? I was an alpha. Checking up on my pack members was engrained I'm me, if he thought I wouldn't make sure she was okay he was delusional.

"If you're only going to bother me you know where the door is." I didn't have the energy to entertain such a conversation and Desmond knew that. Why he wanted to hold it still left me beyond confused, he was never one to hone down on such a thing.

"Ozzie, do you hear yourself right now?" He stood up pressing his hands on my desk as he leaned forward.

I sat unfazed. Desmond had a temper all his life and his outbursts never made me blink twice. He'd learned how to control his anger, I had made sure of it, though he still had his moments.

"Not with all your talking. It doesn't leave me with much silence to hear my own thoughts let alone listen to my own voice."

Desmond growled his brown eyes brightening gold with irritation.

"She's your mate Osiris! Your mate, not mine, yours! I don't feel comfortable walking around telling the pack that she's mine."

A quiet growl seeped from my lips at his claim of Seraphina being his. She wasn't and I hated the part of me that ached to touch her again. I wanted to dig my teeth into her neck and show her off as mine, but I couldn't.

"See! You want her. You might say you don't, but I bet your wolf begs to differ." He smirked when my scowl grew. Screw him and his way of egging me on. What the fuck did he want to prove?

"Is there a point to all the hot air that's coming out of you?"

"There are people in the pack talking. They think she's my mate."

"Good" I shot back picking the form back up uninterested.

"Good? No, this isn't good Osiris. She's not my mate. I can't continue this facade. You need to tell her." He demanded.

I slammed my palms against my desk standing to my full height my patience hanging on to a single thread. How dare he order me around. He knew I had my hands full right now, so why argue with me?

"If I claim her as my own, what's going to stop other alphas from just killing her to get to me. She's an attachment I don't need."

"If she is a weak link because you think security isn't tight enough then that's a you problem. Humor me for a moment brother and don't lie to me when I say, you aren't upset with the attachment your terrified she's wolf-less."

The muscles in my jaw clenched as I strained to keep myself from lashing out. He wanted me to admit to something I hadn't even admitted to myself. I couldn't bring myself to accept the fact that she was completely wolf-less, easy picking for any other werewolf.

Desmond tilted his head to the side as I silently looked at him. I was boiling with aggravation; this all couldn't have happened at a worse time.

When he realized, I wasn't going to say anything he gave me a disappointing look as he moved to the door. "When you're ready to face the music, you know where to find me." He paused just before he closed the door. "And Osiris, I'm not going to pretend forever. It isn't right for the pack and it's definitely not right to her."

He shut the door leaving me to my own devices. My shoulder slumped in defeat.

She was making things more difficult than they already were. She was a nuance I didn't need nor wanted. Desmond was right though I feared her helplessness, it would get her killed so much easier.

I find my mate and come to realize she's a fragile piece of glass one clumsy move and she ends up dead. I rubbed my face stressed battling the contradictive thoughts in my head.

One side of me despised her and then the other part begged to touch her soft flesh. She was like a siren calling to my wolf in a soft song that left me mesmerized. How could such a little thing drive me this mad? It infuriated me it should be this hard to function without her invading every thought I had.

I fell back into my chair. I need to relax if I fed into this annoying feeling, I was going to end up doing something rash. It didn't matter what Desmond wanted me to do, I couldn't claim her, no right now anyways.

I had that coward of an alpha from her previous pack demanding I give him an answer as to where she was. Those guards at the border had to have run their mouths, I knew I should have killed them. Desmond is too kind telling me not to bother with them.

Now, look where it's gotten us.

I could let Philip in and show him she's not here but that meant hiding her elsewhere. If she was in the vicinity with him, I'd lose my mind, after I witnessed how he treated her there wasn't telling what I'd do.

Fuck I wanted to kill him then and there and I still itched to rip his throat out now.

I could always continue my refusal, but I could tell his lack of respect was evident for the fact that he was becoming relentless. Refusing him would only keep him away for so long.

Picking up the form I had been looking over earlier I tried to stop the guesswork of making up scenarios. Getting worked up on what if's wasn't going to do anything for me but distract me.

But her big brown eyes continued to flash in my mind. I wanted her deep down but like I've told myself a million times, I couldn't have her.

"Goddammit!" I shouted balling up the paper and throwing it across the room.

•••••

"Harder Aspen!"

Small specks of dust flew into the air as her boxing glove hit the trainer pad, I held. She was out of breath but still pushed through it following my order to better follow-through her punch.

I wasn't sure if it was my pent of anger that had me practically screaming at her to do better or the fact that seemed to be lacking in her skills after her week-long vacation. Aspen was my lieutenant but since her return, she wasn't acting like it.

"Again!"

Another punch hit the pad and my palm buzzed with the familiar sting of her throw.

"Again, Aspen! Harder!"

She yelled out as she threw another punch nearly causing me to fall over. Catching my balance, I looked over at her with a smug smirk.

"I'm not rusty you know." She pulled the straps of the glove slowly pulling her hand free. "I was away for a week, not ten years Osiris."

"Just had to be sure," I shout back, sliding the pads off and tossing them to the floor.

I turned away to exit feeling satisfied with her work, but as I pulled the bands of the ring over my head Aspen caught my attention.

"You know, it's not right to play with mate bonds."

My back stiffened still her comment, the storm I had calmed down earlier grew back to its unruly position in my mind. How did she know?

Of course, she knew. Ivy was never one to keep her trap shut, I should have known she'd tell her mate.

Without turning around, I replied. "And how does this matter to you? My business is my business."

"The pack should now. If you call yourself the slayer of corrupt alphas you can't act like one."

I swung around to face her. She was a few inches short than me but that for no reason meant that she was short. Aspen was at least six foot tall. Staring down at her as she readjusted her hair.

"Wrong, I do not call myself the alpha slayer, everyone else calls me that." She knew that I didn't enjoy the name or embrace the leverage it gave me over other alphas.

"Same difference." She shot back stepping up to me. "If you don't want her you need to reject her though. You can't have Desmond acting like he found his mate. It's not right for him and it's not right-"

"Did Desmond put you up to this?"

"No. This is coming from someone who's has a mate. It's not right Osiris. You should reconsider." Aspen gave me a solemn face as she passed by pushing open the gym doors and stepping outside.

I felt a pinch of guilt in my chest as the door slammed shut. The innocent face of Seraphina popped up in my head and I was reminded of how much she feared me. I should be glad that she feared me, it made it easier to avoid her but of course, my wolf sought her out regardless. He wanted to prove to her that he wasn't mean and ruthless, that for her he would be calm and loving.

Apart of me deep down, the human part of me wanted her but it knew that now wasn't the time. In all honesty, there may never be a "good time" to have her. There were always alphas plotting to bring me down from my pursuit of tearing down unfit alphas. Alphas that relentlessly abused their authority for their own benefit instead of the benefit of the pack like they are supposed to.

Annoyed with myself I made my way back home. I shouldn't have left the cabin; I should have known people would want to get answers about the "new girl" we brought back from the mate gathering.

Assumptions had spread around like a wildfire, and I should have expected such. We did come back with a female from a "mate gathering" after all. My pack knowing about Seraphina didn't bother me it was the fact that Seraphina wouldn't always remain in the cabin, and someone was bound to corner her and bombard her with questions. They think that she is the mate of Desmond, but that charade can only last for so long before she starts questioning why he hasn't claimed her.

I had to milk this story for as long as I could, at least until Philip stopped noising his way into business that wasn't his. The little bugger just didn't know how to stay away. He was like an annoying pest that found joy in bothering me.

As I neared the cabin, I heard female voices as car doors shut. Staying out of their line of sight I hugged the side of the cabin as they walked to the front door.

"Ivy, can you give it to him. I don't want to be the one to do it." There was a plea in Seraphina's voice as I watched her extend her hand to Ivy. There was a black credit card in her hand and as I focused my eyes on it I recognized it as being mine.

My jaw tightened as I watched her thrust the card into Ivy's chest. Ivy shoved it back with a menacing glare. I watched carefully, Ivy could have a loss temper and I didn't want her snapping and taking her anger or annoyance out on Seraphina.

"Stop being a baby and just put it in his office. You don't even have to see him." She explained.

My mate was terrified of me. Did she think that I would hurt her or something? I wasn't unfair, I didn't even harm my own pack members unless they did something unruly or something that jeopardized the pack. I wasn't bbloodthirsty but then again, she didn't know me.

"Please!" She begged and I could smell the salty tears that pooled in her eyes as she desperately held the card out for Ivy to take.

Anxiety rolled off her in strong waves that caused my stomach to know uncomfortably.

Ivy grabbed Seraphina's hand in hers as she calmly took a step closer to her. "You are okay. He isn't all mean and beastly, Osiris may be a mean person, but he isn't heartless. If you explain to him that Desmond handed you the wrong card, he'll blame Desmond, not you."

Ivy knew that I gave Desmond my card for Seraphina to use but Seraphina didn't know that, and her response now saddened me. It shouldn't have but it did. She didn't want my help.

No, of course, she didn't, she didn't know that I naturally wanted to help her. The moment that Desmond told me that she was sending her off to shop I couldn't let him pay for her stuff. I could have let him, he was well off enough to pay for it, but I couldn't bring myself to let him take care of her. That was my job.

Shaking my head to collect my thoughts that threatened to make me cave into my desires I looked and ran to the back of the cabin. I pushed the back door open and rushed to my office.

I know that I should be avoiding her, but I couldn't miss this opportunity, I had to show her I didn't hate her and that I wasn't going to hurt her. I couldn't live with the thought of her thinking that I'd snap her neck at any mistake she made.

In a rush I nearly tripped over the rug in my office. The rug rolled over in a mess as I regained my balance. I had never been this clumsy in my life, I growled annoyed at my lack of coordination as I quickly fixed the rug.

Sitting down in a hast I picked up the first paper I could find on my desk as I pretended to read over the numbers. The sound of the front door closing made my heart speed up.

Fuck this feeling she made me feel, like a little schoolboy gushing over his elementary school crush.

Her soft footsteps echoed in the hallway as they cam closer to my office. I purposefully left the door cracked so that she could easily find it. She hadn't done much adventuring yesterday and I highly doubted that she knew where everything was.

The footsteps stopped just outside the door and though the hallway was dark I could see her clearly out the corner of my eye. She clung to the shadows the hallway provided her and I found it humors that she thought I couldn't see her in the darkness. had she forgotten she was among wolves?

I would be able to see her clearly even on a new moon's night when the night is the darkest it can ever be.

It felt like hours before she grew the courage to knock on the door.

I waited a moment before answering. "Come in." I said continuing to look at the paper.

The door opened gradually, and her small form slipped inside. Though I was focused on the paper I could tell she was shaking. I thought that the smell of her anxiety outside was strong in the confines of my office it was suffocating, it drove my wolf crazy. He wanted me to run over and comfort her, but I remained in my chair as I dropped the paper to the desk to reveal my face.

She was staring at the floor biting her lip. It was something I took not of when she was apprehensive. She desperately tried to self sooth herself with causing pain to distract herself from uncomfortable situations. Her bottom lip was raw from the routine abuse she caused it.

"Yes?" I questioned after I had gotten an eyeful of her. She jumped at my voice and rose her head to look over at me.

Her big doe eyes could have knocked the wind out of me, but I refused to allow her to take the breath out of me.

"I-I," She paused taking a deep breath in to calm her nerves. "I think that Desmon handed me the wrong card. I-I'm not sure how but..." She suddenly approached the desk quickly and the sound of her hammering heart grew with every inch she came closer. Dropping the card on the desk she just as quickly backed away. "h-here's your card. I'm sure I used it, I didn't want to but Ivy told me to and said that you wouldn't get made because Desmond is an idiot and told me you'd agree and-"

I rose an eyebrow needing to express some sort of emotion. I wanted to start grinning and laugh at how adorable she sounded rambling on, but I satisfied that need with a simple eyebrow raise.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm really, really sorry. I-It won't happen again, I pro-"

"Seraphina," I picked up the card and slipped it into the top drawer of my desk. She watched me intently like a deer staring down the barrel of a loaded rifle. She was readying herself for whatever scenario her little mind had imagined in her head. "It's okay. Desmond can be a dumb ass most days, I'm not surprised he handed you the wrong card. Sometimes I think he was dropped on his head."

I didn't know what I was doing but I couldn't help myself but to keep a conversation going. The need to indulge myself in her company was overpowering any want to end it and shoo her away.

Dammit! I knew I shouldn't have met her in my office, I should have just had her drop the card on my desk and be done with it. But no, I acted out of instinct instead, I was going to regret this.

And regret I did.

She let out an innocent giggle that made my stomach flip with joy. Just that little noise had my eye darkening with the need to have her.

I had to think quickly to remove the neediness she created because I feared I'd say fuck it and tell her the truth.

I hated myself for what I did next as I stood up and pointed at the door. Her giggle ceased and she coward away.

"Get out, now." I growled out. She didn't wait to see what would happen next if she didn't hurry along. She slammed the door shut behind her and I listened closely as I heard her scramble up the stairs slamming and locking her bedroom door.

I looked at myself in the mirror across the room.

Great, Osiris. I thought sarcastically. Now she's going to be terrified of you.