Chapter 2

Kit 

I kissed down his stomach, my wolf howling in pleasure at the moans he was giving us. Me on the other hand, I was pissed for many reasons. One in particular had me pulling away and standing up.

I didn't want this warrior withering underneath me. I wanted my mate.

I wanted Charlie.

"Get out," I said icily and Eli looked at me in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?" He snapped and I narrowed my eyes to show I was most certainly not kidding. He huffed and quickly got up, grabbing his shirt and putting it back on. "You're an asshole, I hope you know."

"I'm told every hour," I responded and he rolled his eyes as he walked to the door.

"I feel sorry for your mate," He spat out as he threw the door open and slammed it shut. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. See, even someone else feels pain for Charlie. But no matter how many times I have to explain it, no one will understand. When it comes to Charlie, I want nothing more than to ravish him and show him my love.

But my wolf is what's holding me back.

He doesn't want Charlie. He rejected him the minute we found out, but I haven't and I refuse to. My wolf wants a strong mate, someone who can take care of themselves if we cannot. He apparently doesn't think Charlie is capable of anything other than unnecessary amounts of sass.

But I love his sass.

I love the way his eyes shine when someone laughs at a comeback or joke he says.

I love how he scrunches up his nose whenever he hears something he doesn't approve of.

But most of all, I love him. More than anything in this world.

My wolf began to growl at me as he felt my heart pick up at the thought of our mate. But as I remembered all the things he would do that I loved, I also remembered the words he said to me before he left two days ago.

He rejected us. Even though he didn't mean it, because I wasn't getting sick and dying yet, the fact that he could still say it with no hint of remorse in his voice hurt. See, when wolves reject their mate, it feels like a cord is being snapped inside of you. It's the same way if your mate is harmed also. That's how we know if something is happening to our mate. A cord will snap and you get sick, and I'm talking worse than the flu sick. You're coughing up blood, your body starts to shut down slowly. All because the other half of your heart doesn't want you.

And you can't live with half a heart...

My phone went off on the other side of the room, snapping me out of my morbid thoughts. I glanced at the time and saw it was time for a meeting. I groaned and headed to my closet to change into a different suit. Don't get me wrong, I love wearing suits and looking sexy in them because let's be honest, men in suits are very attractive. But when you have been wearing them for the past five years of your life, it gets annoying.

I was just going to change my pants, when I realized I had been sweating a little. So I pulled off the white button up, and traded it for a black one. I switched my grey slacks for black ones and grabbed a matching blazer. After getting everything buttoned and straightened out, I moved to where my ties were and stood for what felt like hours, before deciding to skip the tie for today.

As I left my room and headed for the stairs, I passed by Marcus's old room and frowned. I remember when he first came to this pack. He was this cocky little bastard who thought he was the shit. Of course Alpha Jordan knocked him down a peg or two...or a hundred. After that, he was pretty chill. Did what he was told to do and nothing more, but even then, I was suspicious of him. He told us he had a mate, but he lost her after a civil war broke out in his pack and he was the only survivor. It never explained why he wasn't depressed and would come home some nights smelling of sex. And of course when he was chosen as Third in command, I was beyond pissed, but I was a Beta. Bryce wanted him to stay and so did Jordan.

But now they were apologizing to me for not listening to me years ago.

Upon entering the meeting room, I was met by Jordan and Drake. I nodded my hello to them, resulting in a nod back from Jordan and Drake giving me an awkward wave. I rolled my eyes at him. Bless his soul. I saw Bryce standing by the desk, looking at the map, but the other two people in the room made me gasp in shock.

"When the hell did you two get here?" I exclaimed at the Pickney brothers. Nixon, the oldest gave me a smirk. His hair had grown a lot since I last saw him, reaching to his mid-back. He had three thick twist on the top of his head, pulling his hair out of his face, and a few braids mixing in with the wavy raven locks. He had on a plaid shirt, a couple necklaces dangling from his neck. A pair of faded blue jeans that had a few too many holes in them and pair of brown boots finished off his look.

"We were called in to help in a rescue mission of the Alphas damsel," Bryce snorted at that and I looked to him, smiling at his expression.

"Called? More like hunted down. You two are like fucking shadows," He grunted and Nixon smiled, his brother Julian smirking with him at the comment.

"That we are prieten, it's easier to sweep up behind an enemy and snap their neck when they can't even hear you move." I adored these two. They were like brothers to me more than anything.

Nixon and Julian are originally from Romania. They escaped on a ship to America when their parents were killed for being werewolves. They lived up to their parents' traditions, moving around through states and towns, never staying longer than a month. They were on their way to Canada when hunters attacked, nearly killing Nixon. That's how we met them. Julian showed up at the Pack with a dying Nixon and we hurried to help them. They stayed for a while after Nixon healed, but moved on eventually. However, they made a promise as a thank you for saving their lives, that whenever we needed help, they would come. We in return, offered them a place in the pack if they needed protection.

So they become our assassins' for us, because they knew how to move quietly and be light on their feet. Which was going to help tremendously if they were coming along to get Allister.

The meeting began, mostly Bryce filling in the brothers on what was happening. I sat back and listened, interjecting my input when I felt it was necessary, but the whole time my mind was mainly on Charlie. I needed to find a way to get him alone and tell him everything. While I was confident in my Packs strength, we didn't know exactly what King had on his side. We could be walking into a death trap, and I wouldn't forgive myself if I died without Charlie knowing how I felt.

"Alright, so now that you two are caught up, we can begin discussing the battle plan," Bryce explained and I was snapped out of my thoughts. "King has been moving around a lot lately—that I have no doubt about after Marcus left, so that's where you two come in," He gestured to the brothers. "I need you two to leave as soon as this meeting is over and go scout out the place." Julian scowled at his name.

"Fucking bastard," He spat and we all nodded in agreement. "If I see him while we're there, I'm going to gut him like a pig."

"No." Bryce said calmly, making me raise an eyebrow at him. "Leave him to me." Ah, I get it. When an Alphas mate is put in danger, he's the one who takes care of the problem. I'm sure if any of us took the chance to kill Marcus, we would be facing an extremely pissed off Alpha.

"Anyway. Go in, map out the area and come back here. I'm trying to get in contact with Tyrion from Silver Bane so he can help us. We'll have a debriefing with all the warriors, so they know the plan and head out immediately. Meeting dismissed." I stared at Bryce in confusion as everyone left, but I wasn't the only one. His father was too. I watched as he rubbed at his neck, wincing as if he was in pain.

"Son?" Jordan called out as he walked to him. I went over and closed the doors before joining them.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Bryce wasn't like this. Although he didn't like wasting time in getting jobs done, he took the time to make sure everyone was one hundred percent sure of what they were doing before we went out on missions.

Bryce sighed as he sat down in his chair, rubbing his face. "The mating mark is disappearing." He said quietly and I sucked in a sharp breath. That either means King has mated with Allister or—

"It means he's dead, I know." Bryce snapped and I frowned. "If it doesn't mean the latter, then I now have even more reason to kill that sick bastard. He touched what is mine. He defiled my mate! I don't care what happens tomorrow, but I'm going straight for him." At the mention of mating marks, I found my frown growing deeper. I wanted nothing more than to mate with Charlie, but you need your wolf to do that, and mine wanted nothing to do with the curly haired boy.

"Kit, why are you still frowning?" Bryce asked and I shook my head before looking at him. I felt selfish to complain about my mating issues. Bryce had his kidnapped and mated by another, mine just wanted nothing to do with me because my wolf was a dick.

"It's nothing. There are bigger problems to be dealt with," I reassured him with a smile and it was Jordan's turn to frown.

"It's your wolf, isn't it?" He asked and I looked at him in confusion. How did he know that? "We all know. Well, mainly Bryce and myself, your sister does as well."

"How? He closes off the mind link whenever it comes to those things, so how do you—"

"You honestly think me, an old Alpha, can't see when his pack member is having a battle with his wolf? I have seen it happen many times with other young wolves, the reasons as to why all different. So tell me. Why does your wolf not want his mate?"

My wolf was growling at me for talking about our problems to others, but I was getting extremely sick and tired of his attitude with me. Wow, I sounded like a parent.

"He doesn't think Charlie is strong enough to be our mate. That's why I've always been with warriors. My wolf doesn't like the idea of having to take care of someone constantly, even though that's kind of what you do for your mate," I drawled and Bryce chuckled.

"Kit, you've been a free spirit since the day your father became Beta and we became friends. You would help out when you found it necessary, but normally you wouldn't do anything. How do you think Andromeda got the way she is? She became independent when her big brother made her do things on her own and for herself."

I sighed and ran a rand through my hair. "That doesn't explain why my wolf doesn't want to take care of his mate all the time. That's what we do! We bend over backwards to take care of them!"

"You clearly haven't been around mated wolves long enough," Jordan chuckled and I gave him a sour look. "While most think the dominate wolf has all the power; it's the submissive who actually does. You're there for the protecting and keeping your mate happy, but when it comes to giving orders, your mate is the one to decide. Then again, what your wolf wants is not uncommon. While he wants to take care of your mate on the occasion, he also wants someone who's strong enough to make decisions too."

"Charlie is strong! I keep telling him that but he won't listen." I sighed and Bryce shook his head.

"Just because you tell him, doesn't mean he's going to believe you. Our wolves are very headstrong and stubborn. Telling them what they want isn't going to satisfy them Kit," I pursed my lips in thought. He was right. I could even feel my wolf humming in agreement.

"As much as I want to show him, I can't. Charlie wants nothing to do with me," I said softly and I felt my heart ache at the thought of my mate hating me.

But I had no one to blame but myself.

"Talk to him," Bryce said as if it was the simplest thing on Earth. "Don't give me that look. We aren't leaving until tomorrow morning at the latest. Go to Charlie and let him know it all."

"It's not that simple," I retorted and Bryce stared at me hard.

"You will go and talk to your mate Kit. Do not make me repeat myself." He snapped, his Alpha voice making my wolf whine in submission. I shrugged my shoulders and nodded in agreement, before leaving the office and heading to my car. Just go there and tell him everything. Hopefully once he knows how much of a douche face my wolf is, he'll be more understanding.

That doesn't give you an excuse for sleeping around.

I groaned at the voice in the back of mind, almost listening to him, but then it clicked. All the times I saw someone in the Pack, my wolf was the one that wanted them. Not me. It's almost like he would take over and let me back only to deal with the consequences.

You fucking bastard. I snarled at my wolf and he only huffed in response. Leave it to me to get a wolf that's an asshole.

I made it out to the garage, getting inside my black 2015 Chevy Silverado and pulling out. As I checked behind me to make sure I didn't hit anyone, I caught sight of Eli and frowned. I was getting a very strange vibe from him, and I didn't like it. At all. He met my eyes and held them for a second, before turning on his heel and walking away.

I was going to have to keep an eye out for him.

I left the Pack house, heading into town. I remember when Jordan told us we were moving our Pack. Our old home held too many bad memories that I'm sure everyone wanted to forget. We all lost someone loved when we were attacked. Jordan lost his wife, Bryce lost his mate and mother, and Annie and I lost our whole family. When we got the news of the move, Annie actually burst into tears, many Pack members' following behind her. And like the great Alpha Jordan is, he already had a new place.

And that was Emery.

Of course, when we first learned of the move, everyone was too caught up in leaving they didn't ask the circumstances that came with moving. I later found out that Jordan knew the Pack that already lived there and agreed to mate Bryce and their son because he didn't have the Alpha gene. I never complained about the mating though, because it allowed me to meet my mate.

I remember the way my heart sped up when I saw him at the dinner table that night. I was late getting to Ever Raven mainly because I had to tell Kadian and Ezra what to do while we were gone. They may be Bryce's half-brothers, but they certainly did not have the Alpha gene in them. I thought the dinner was going to be boring, already hearing how Bryce's mate was a very headstrong kid, but the minute I stepped in and saw that dorky smile on Charlies face, I fell in love.

And then my wolf ruined it by growling at me.

I sighed at the memory as I pulled up to the gates. The warriors standing guard looked at me and nodded their heads before opening the gate. I thanked them and drove my truck to the garage. I saw Charlie's car was still in there, letting me know he was home. Turning off the car, I climbed out and made my way to the Pack house. As I walked inside, I could see a lot of members, moving around. Some were doing chores, some were cooking and there were even a few boxing up items. I narrowed my eyes at that, and then remembered that Ever Moon and Blood Raven were combining soon.

I nodded my head at a few members who smiled at me, but stopped one as she carried a basket full of laundry. "Do you know where Charlie is?" I asked her and she paused to think before smiling.

"I believe he's in his room. Poor boy hasn't left it for two days," She frowned and my heart flipped in pain. I thanked her and hurried up the stairs. I thought about pausing to see Nikolai and Lysander, but decided against it. I was here for Charlie, and only Charlie.

I stopped in front of his door, contemplating on knocking. After a few minutes, I decided to knock twice and let myself in. "Charlie, it's me—," I came up short as my eyes met Charlies in the mirror he was standing in front of. I should have been concerned about his appearance, but I was more concerned over the razor blade he held in his hands.

"I wasn't doing what you think!" He quickly said, dropping the blade and turning to look at me with wide eyes. He then slowly realized who I was though and rolled his eyes. "Not like you'd care though," He scoffed and I frowned. Closing the door behind me, I walked a little closer to him.

This is what happens when you reject our mate! I snapped at my wolf, and I was surprised that he whined at me. I guess deep down inside his heart, he actually cares for Charlie too.

"Charlie, we need to talk," I said softly and he looked at me cautiously. "It's not anything bad...well maybe...I don't know! Just sit down." I sighed and was relieved that he actually listened. He sat down on his unmade bed, scooting towards the center and grabbing a pillow to hug to his chest. I took the chance to actually look at him, and I could tell immediately that he wasn't eating...or sleeping.

I walked over and hesitated over the bed, looking at Charlie, who nodded his head. I took a seat on the edge of the bed, making sure to keep some distance—even though all I wanted was to hold him in my arms.

"I love you." I started and I heard him gasp, making look up at his angry expression.

"You don't get to—"He started but I held up a finger and he fell silent.

"Just let me finish, please?" He sighed before nodding his head and I thanked him. "I loved you the minute I saw you. I knew you were my mate and I was—and still do—want to be with you. But my wolf doesn't agree." Charlie looked at me confused, but said nothing, allowing me to explain.

"I don't know much about my situation, just from what Jordan told me and what I've experienced. My wolf wants a strong partner. He wants someone that we can take care of, but can also be independent. He doesn't believe that you are fit for that role, and no matter how much I tell him you're perfect, he won't have it. All the times I've slept with someone after I met you was him, not me. Every time I would try to pull away, he would take over and I would wake up to face the consequences. I have never once in my life dreamed of hurting you, but all because of my jackass wolf, I'm doing the exact thing I never wanted."

Charlie was looking at me with the softest expression and it made my heart melt. I could see that he was trying to come to terms with everything I said, but at the same time, I could feel the pull his wolf was making towards me.

And I wanted nothing more than to close the gap between us and show him how much I loved him.

"I understand if you want some time to figure this out and take things slow. I'm going to try and get some more control over my wolf in the meantime. Jordon said that I shouldn't just tell my wolf, but show him that you are the prefect mate for us. So, if you'll have me, I'd love to take you out on a date this evening."

"Why so soon?" He questioned, his voice soft and gentle.

"We leave tomorrow to get Allister back." I explained and I could practically see the wheels turning in his head.

"You're just doing all this because you might not come back, aren't you?" He seethed and I looked at him in shock. How could he say that? Because you have given him every reason to.

"No! Charlie, I meant everything I said before. I wanted to wait and do this after we got back, so I would have more time with you, but Bryce ordered me to do it now. And I can't go against an Alpha's orders." I told him carefully and his expression didn't change.

"I think we should save that date for when you get back," He murmured and I shook my head.

"Charlie, listen—"

"You said you would give me time to think!" He yelled and I could see his eyes glisten with tears. "So, let me think." I realized then that I wasn't going to win this battle, so I reluctantly got up from the bed.

"Will you at least see me out?" I asked softly and he thought for a second before getting up and walking to the door with me. Before he could open it though, I grabbed his arm and crashed my lips to his. I was fully prepared for him to shove me back, but instead, his hands found the front of my shirt and he balled it in his fist. I coaxed his mouth open with my tongue, and he quickly opened it to let me. I pushed his back against the door, hearing him groan softly at the impact, before he jumped up and wrapped his legs around my waist.

So much for taking things slow. I released his mouth and started to pepper kisses down his throat, practically purring when he moaned my name. I smirked when I felt him getting hard, and decided that this needed to end. We both weren't prepared for the mating process, and I didn't want to do something that he would regret.

So I pulled away, even though it pained me, and let his feet fall to the ground. I heard him whine and looked up to see his face flushed, and his lips wet and swollen from our heavy kissing. God, he was so sexy.

"I should go," I said softly and he just nodded, still staring at me like I was a God.

"Yeah, you should go," He replied and I smiled before leaning in and giving him a small kiss, that made him moan softly. I pulled away and opened the door, walking out into the hall and heading to the backdoor. I needed to hurry up and get home so I could take care of my little problem.

But I couldn't help feeling excited over what happened, and even better, my wolf was actually purring with satisfaction.