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15

JACKSON HALE

Opening my eyes to Spencer was the most memorable experience I have ever had, this had been the first time I woke up next to her. To the love of my life and the woman that would eventually mother my pups. Her flawless skin, deserted of blemishes, was glowing a soft blue as the dawn light graced her sleeping face. Her chestnut hair spread around carelessly, her long lashes resting on the apples of her cheeks, and her tan skin laid bare - a special thanks to women's workout wear - all of it seemed perfect to me. Like a finished masterpiece only I could see and others would envy. 

I tore my eyes away from Spencer's sleeping figure, forcing myself to get up from the bed and use the restroom. Looking into the mirror as I washed my hands, I could see a bit of yellow in my eyes. Closing them, I tried to calm down my wolf letting the warm water hit my soapy hands. All night he had been pushing me toward her, steamrolling his desire to claim her through my will. Sometimes, I was scared that I would give in one day. 

Opening my eyes, before my attention was my own tan face. My auburn hair was unkempt and there was still crust in my ducts but I looked healthily slept. I felt a bit rejuvenated after sleeping with my mate and calming down my wild wolf. Tearing my attention away, I walked out of the bathroom and went out to the hall. I wanted to make breakfast for Spencer and me, and maybe go over what we would do next with my family. 

I walked into the kitchen to spot a tall man in a neatly pressed suit, it was raven black and pristine. His tie color was coral blue, a tie meant for business, against a white collared shirt. His dark hair slicked back, I almost mistook him for a vampire councilman, and he was pouring himself a steaming cup of coffee. I deduced that this was Spencer's father.

"Good morning, Mr. Murdock." I insert myself into his morning routine. 

Her father turns to look at me, his eyes narrowed and judging. I suddenly felt aware of my lack of a shirt but remember that there wasn't one available to me. This didn't allow me to earn any brownie points with him. 

"Good morning, young man." His voice was gruff, almost gravelly, and had a small fading accent. Her father offered his hand out to shake forcing me to walk closer to him in the kitchen by the table. 

I take his hand firmly into mine, "Jackson Hale." Introducing myself respectfully. 

"Nicholas but you can call me Nick." Satisfied with the handshake, he let go and I let my hand drop to my side. 

It was awkward, "I was just 'bout to make breakfast." I announced expecting a response but only getting a head nod in return. "Do you want anything specific?" I asked him but he shook his head silently. 

A man of few words it seems. 

I opened a few drawers grabbing what I needed from what I saw, still being cautious of the surprisingly calm father watching me. Letting the pan set on the stove, I caught his stare for a moment seeing him smirk devilishly. I sprayed Pam on the surface trying to ignore the burning of his intense eyes on the side of my face. 

Finally, giving in, I turn to him. "Is there anything you need, sir?" I ask as carefully as I could stitch the words together to avoid angering him. 

The smirk still stayed plastered on his lips, a businessman who knew your secret, a Wolf of Wallstreet. "My daughter has never brought a boy home before." Nick stepped forward, a cup of coffee in one hand and the newspaper under the same arm. 

He was inches away from and if I didn't know any better, my wolf would say he was challenging me for my Alpha position. But I knew better, I knew he was only human. But the idea that my wolf even saw Nicholas Murdock as a challenge still stuck with me. 

"Well, I spent the night," I responded, his eyes widened a bit and my heart began to race. "I got into a fight with my dad and she let me stay the night. I am going back today." I promise, almost made it. 

Nick just hummed sitting at the island table on the stool chairs. He set his coffee on the table and opened the newspaper to read. This let me continue making breakfast.

"Dad?" A familiar feminine voice calls, my head shoots up towards the kitchen entrance waiting for my mate to come through. I missed her voice and I wanted to see her gorgeous face once again. 

Spencer mindlessly walks into, her wet hair contained on the top of her head and she wore a black dress. She almost reminded me of her father, especially with the way she pushed her shoulders back and stood up straight when her eyes landed on Nick. 

"Morning," I call out weakly, already feeling the tension from Nicholas. 

"Hey, Darlin'." He smiles happily at his daughter, no trace of bother anywhere in his expression.

Spencer stepped forward towards her father, "Uh - I guess you've met Jackson." I mumbled. 

"The lovely kid said he spent the night." 

Her eyes widen, "Father, I'm sorry. I should've asked." I finished breakfast trying hard not to eavesdrop. 

"Yes, you should've but I am not upset." Nick smiled at his daughter, "I have never once met one of your friends. This is the first time so I'll let it pass." 

Spencer looked at me surprised as if she didn't expect Nick to say these things. Her father turns to me, a dark fake smile on his face. His eyes were dull and serious as he stared directly at me. I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"JACkson." The loud pronunciation of my name startled me, "I am going to say this simply and quickly because I just don't have the time for this." He stood from his, setting the paper on the counter, and fixed the cuff of his sleeves. "If you are ever the cause of her pain I will hunt you down, drag you into the middle of the street in front of your friend, family, and community, and I will light you up into burning, charring flames. I will not hesitate and I will not feel any regrets."

I could say that I had a hard time believing him considering the number of wolves ready to die for the Alpha family but then I would be lying. I believed the man who intimidated me, the alpha of a strong pack. I should be able to bring this human down with one arm tied behind my back but I didn't want to try. 

"I have no bad blood with you yet. Keep it that way, son." He reached over a bit and let the palm of his left hand harshly slam into my shoulder, he gripped it tightly before letting go and turning to Spencer.

She watched him threaten me, no fear or worry presented in her expression. She could have trusted her father or she knew I was capable of taking care of myself. Either way, Nick announced he needed to leave for work, kissed Spencer's forehead, and escaped the kitchen.

We stared at each other in disbelief that that just happened. My first time meeting her father. A grin cracked in her shocked expression. Soon, the both of them burst out laughing. All the nerves rolled off of him as he laughed it away. Coming to a teary end, Spencer looked from the food to me making me laugh a bit more. 

"Breakfast?" I offered, calming down.

"Yes, I'm starving, thanks." 

----------

"I don't want you getting mad," I mumbled making Tori frown at me.

"Why the fuck would I- what did you do?" She asked suspiciously, Cayden looked at me and then quickly looked away trying not to be pulled into the conversation.

"Um- well, I found my mate." I blurted but not as fast as I had hoped.

"That's amazing! Why would I get mad?" Victoria looked at us confused.

I avoided my male best friend's eyes, "Okay, well, I told Cayden before I told you," I admitted as quickly as I could. 

"Shit! You didn't have to tell her that!" Cayden exclaimed, sending a punch to my shoulder.

A dramatic, air-sucking gasp rang in the hair, the boys knew it was coming, "You told HIM before telling me?!" Tori yelled. "You found your fucking soulmate and told him before me?"

"Tori, shh." I went to go cover her mouth but she hit my hand away. "I'm sorry, it's a weird topic and I didn't really plan on telling Cayden. It just happened."

"Fine, whatever." She shook her head, giving into a battle that was a lost cause. "Who's the girl?" Tori mumbled.

"Spencer Murdock."

"The human?" She asked, her eyebrows clenched in confusion and her eyes light up with pure curiosity. I nodded my head in confirmation. "How? I mean... humans and werewolves haven't been mated since the dark ages."

"The fuck you mean?" Cayden questioned leaning forward.

"Humans were once mated to our kind before?" I asked, why haven't I heard about this before? I'm the future Alpha for fucks sake, I know everything about our pack's history.

"Well yeah, if you listened in history once in your life then you would know." She grumbled, swaying her hair out of the way and resting her hand on her hips condescendingly. "Way back then, it was common for werewolves to be mated to the human. It soon became a little too common. When the humans gained control over the pack as Lunas, they forced the Alpha to do really bad things. Of course, the mate bond was too strong for the Alphas to do anything about it. The pack ended up fighting the humans' wars, and a lot of them died.

"The Moon Goddess apparently didn't like that her children were being slaughtered for greed and vengeance so she stopped pairing them up. After that, being mated with other supernatural beings became more common than being mated to humans, and then it just didn't exist at all. She believed that if the humans ever gained that kind of power again, it would kill every species in the world."

"Then why pair me and Spencer?" I asked, mainly to myself, but Tori answered with her own theory.

"Maybe the Moon Goddess wanted to test the waters. Find the perfect human to pair up with the perfect Alpha to see if this could work again." She suggested. Eagerness swarmed in her eyes. Tori was like this when she was gaining new information. A determined woman. 

"I don't necessarily know if humans changed much since then. There's still war and greed and violence." Cayden responded with.

"No more than us, we still hunt and fight other packs, wars. We destroy anyone in our path who is against us. We are no better than humans, we just have an extra spark than they do." Tori shrugs to herself, her long hair resting on one side of her shoulders bouncing as she spoke enthusiastically. "Spencer being our Luna may not be that bad if the Moon Goddess has a plan."

I thought to myself, maybe we should just trust the Moon Goddess. Tori makes a really valid point. If it was going to cause trouble then we wouldn't have been paired together. I am also too attached to Spencer just to give this up. I may even offer to give up the pack for her. After telling Spencer about us and her position in all of this, that may not happen.

I feel like Spencer took it very well, she seems like she cares about me more than my culture. In fact, if I'm being honest, I may be more scared about this whole situation than she is. I know nothing about what will happen with the mate bond. It's different from when werewolves are mated with their own kind to when they are mated to other creatures so human mates should also be different. Something we haven't experienced in thousands of years.

Now that she knows, we both have to go through this for the first time together.