Alpha Alexandre Brutus's Point of View

"Insufferable. Infuriating. Idiotic. MAN" Terri continued to grumble and complain as she moved about the kitchen.

I sat in the booth quietly, listening to her ramble.

She has such a short temper. One almost as short as mine.

"We should go talk to Natasha so we can find out more about this Vladimir's location. I'm tired of waiting" I interjected.

Terri just continued to work on her dishes as if I had not spoken.

"Hey" I said pointedly.

"Hmm?" she answered, appearing to be completely disinterested.

"You heard me" I said, squinting my eyes at her aloof tone.

"Oh, you're talking to me now?" she asked, stopping her chopping to look at me. However the murderous, death grip she had on the chopping knife immediately caught my attention.

"Yes" I said quietly, shifting my focus from the knife to her face slowly.

"Well thank you for gracing me with your notice, your Highness" she replied smugly, "but yes, I agree. It's been a week and I haven't seen Nate. I would like to talk to them so we can make plans. If we wait too long, Vladimir will leave or hatch an attack plan of his own."

"Why are you so stubborn?" I asked, still stuck on her poke at my 'royal' actions.

"Because I can be."

"That's an awful answer and a terrible excuse" I gave her an exasperated look.

"Because my mother was" she continued after a long pause. "I spent every waking hour with my mother. I had few friends, and she was my closest. I have her stubborn, hard headed, and short tempered personality."

I forget sometimes that both of her parents are dead. Both parents she truly loved were brutally murdered. I guess I expect people with sad lives to be like me, and yet... she's not.

"She must have been a fearsome woman indeed" I said with a smile.

Terri looked up at me sadly but couldn't hold back the small laugh that I knew was bubbling inside her.

"My father, on the other hand, was the calm, mellow jokester. He had a way of making my mom laugh even if she was working on a set of data that was infuriating her. He brought out the... human... side of her. I'm sure she would have drown in her work if she had never met him."

"What was your mother's work?" I queried.

"Me" She said vaguely.

"Well", she continued with a chuckled, "me...and my father... and herself. She was a geneticist. She was trying to understand shifters. And when I was born, she began to try to understand me. Especially when I came up with a few mutations of my own".

"So you remember her tests on you fondly?" I asked, a little confused.

"Well... yeah. I mean, it brought us together. Especially after my father died. It was a good way for her to do the work she loved but still spend time loving and doting on me" she sighed.

"Oh. I guess I never considered things like that" I answered truthfully. I was awful at imagining what other families were like. In my mind, families are associated with terms like dreary and sad.

"My situation was not... normal... so I would expect that" she explained as she came over to me with a plate of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and green beans.

"That smells great" a quiet voice said from the kitchen doorway. Terri whipped around so fast she almost lost her balance.

Nate stood in the doorway, cautiously watching Terri and I.

"Nate!" Terri said breathlessly and briskly walked to him. She quickly embraced him in a deep hug, which he returned.

And things had been going so well...

I took a deep a breath to control my temper.

"I haven't seen you for a week. I was beginning to think you had forgotten me. You know, with Natasha around" she said shyly.

"No, it's impossible to forget you" he said ruffling her hair, "and she and I are... disagreeing about things right now" he murmured.

Great, so he's fighting with his mate and decides to come steal mine.

Except I had noticed that they're relationship wasn't as... romantic as it used to be. It was almost as if they were siblings.But that was irrelevant. He's unmated and she's mine.

"Why?" she asked with concern.

"Long story" Nate vaguely whispered.

"Well... how about you sit down and I'll make you a plate?" Terri asked as she laid a gentle hand on his arm.

That irks me to no end.

"Yes, please" he said with a smile. She quickly busied herself in the kitchen making another plate.

"Hey" my voice came out gruff and course, "is there a enough?" I asked.

Terri stared at me blankly, not understanding my question at first.

"Oh, yeah. I made extra" she said quietly.

Nate nodded at me in acknowledgment and chose the seat farthest from mine.

"Damn right, you should be afraid" I thought mercilessly.

"Stop scowling" Terri pointedly whispered at me as she handed Nate his food. I turned my look on her.

"This is how my face is" I growled.

She sighed and shook her head but still walked around the table to take a seat right next to me. That actually made me feel... good. It seemed like she had been doing that lately, sighing and thinking about something I said.

"So why are you fighting?" she asked, unable to contain herself. Of course, she was back to talking to Nate.

"Well... I really like her. She's my mate and she's important to me... but I'm also angry with her because she got you hurt. Natasha doesn't understand why I'm angry... and when I try to explain to her why, she gets jealous and frustrated with me" Nate explained.

"You don't have to be mad at her over me" Terri said soothingly.

I scoffed quietly but kept my mouth closed. Nate should be angry with his mate because she almost had my mate killed. I agree with the dumb bear, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

Terri shot me a look but continued, "She had no choice. She did what she needed in order to survive. I can't fault her for that. I would feel awful if she had been hurt or killed because she hadn't done what she did".

"Well I'm glad to have your opinion but it doesn't change how I feel" Nate said.

"Then I at least ask that you forgive her for something that was in the past... for me" she added the last part when he gave her a disapproving look.

He took a deep breath and mumbled, "Ok".

Terri smiled boldly at him.

Really? Really!? He gets excited hugs and beaming smiles and I get stubborn-headed fights and depressing situations. I continued to hold my fork in my left hand but my right hand was clenched in fury on my leg.

"So where is Natasha?" Terri asked, staring right at Nate. I was caught off guard when her left hand touched my right one gently. She wasn't even looking at me, but she could tell I was angry. I felt her fingers gently trying to pull my clenched fist apart. I hesitantly let her and she slipped her smaller hand into mine.

I haven't held anyone's hand since my mother died...

I immediately felt the jealous tension in my body relax.

"She's upstairs in the loft. I didn't want to leave her alone but we needed a break from each other. She's with Sienna" Nate explained.

"She'll be much safer with Sienna than with Sophie" Terri said with a laugh, seemingly unfazed by our clasped hands.

"A little bit less talking I'd think" Nate returned with a chuckle.

Both of them laughed heartily and I actually felt myself smiling a little bit.

"So I've noticed you two have been training. I've seen stray pieces of fire and scorch marks everywhere" Nate teased.

"Oh! Yeah, Alex thought I should try to learn to combine fire and martial arts" Terri said excitedly. Warmth spread through my body as my name rolled off her tongue.

But Terri chose, at that moment, to stand up. She pulled her hand from my grasp. I immediately felt like I was missing something. I gently flexed my fingers in the newly opened space. She quickly moved to Nate's chair and leaned against the back of it to brace herself while she showed him her tattoos.

"He taught me to set my..." the rest of the conversation quickly faded to the back of my mind as I began to think about all the differences Terri had created in me since we met. It seemed like I was angry, frustrated, and jealous more often, but I also smiled, laughed, and enjoyed life more as well. The little things she did that made me feel more alive were really starting to wear me down. It's become a chore to remember to keep my emotions hidden, and I can't go five seconds without looking at her. The old me would have called the man I have become a fool.

The only problem is... is that no matter how she makes me feel... and no matter how close we get, she always pushes me away. When Nate was around, she was laughing, touching, smiling, and being close with him. She doesn't try to be that way with me. We argue and fight constantly. Sometimes we have a good moment but then she ends it or we start arguing. Just like our hands, it was great for the few minutes it happened, but she suddenly ended it in favor of someone else.

"She likes you very much, I think. Don't think such dejected thoughts" my wolf chimed in.

"Alex? Alex?? Alexandre!" Terri's voice began to pull me from my reverie.

I felt a scowl pull my eyebrows together. "Don't call me that" I said quietly.

"Alexandre?" she asked.

I winced as she said my name again. I didn't like my full name. It sounded so... angry, no matter how you said it. And the archaic spelling of my name also made me frustrated. "Yes. I don't like it".

"Oh...ok", was her response. I could tell she wanted to delve further but didn't push. "Well I'm going to go with Nate to talk to Natasha for a little while" she explained and made sure to make eye contact with me. It was like she was begging me to just let her go... alone.

"Yeah, whatever" I mumbled and took my plate to the kitchen.