Siennaâs POV.
As we walk back to the house, my rationality starts to come back to me, and I sneak a glance at my mate next to me.
What am I going to do?
Not only is my mate a member of the Black Mountain pack, but heâs also their Beta, which means heâs very close with the Alpha. I look over at the tattoos that cover the back of his right hand, up his arm and disappear under his t-shirt, peaking up from the collar on his neck. He has a few piercings in his ear.
If my mother sees him, sheâll pitch a fit.
Or faint.
Or both probably.
It will be interesting to see which one first.
My eyes drop down to his large hands and a shiver runs down my back at the thought that this man has more than likely killed someone.
What should I do? What if he rejects me?
My thoughts rush through my head, making it hard to focus. Iâm relieved when we come to a large three storey house and Cade opens the door, leading my mate and I through the corridor to the open plan kitchen.
Luckily, the house appears to be empty. I stand a couple metres away from my mate, unsure how to act with him now that my common sense is coming back.
I always thought Iâd meet my mate, heâd be somewhat normal, and it would all be easy from there. I did not expect this, and I certainly didnât ask for it either.
What was the Moon Goddess thinking?
âSo...you two are mates then?â Cade asks calmly, but his narrowed eyes and frown tell me that he is less than impressed.
âYes, we are,â my mate replies, I still donât know his name.
Cade looks at me for confirmation, and I nod before I can open my mouth and make more of a mess of this.
âDo you have any idea what this means for her? Have you thought about her at all?â Cade hisses through his teeth at my mate, I presume âherâ must mean me.
âOf course, I have, but what do you expect me to do? What can I do?â He argues back.
I look at the both of them, Iâm completely confused as to whatâs going on here.
âYou can let her go back to her pack, itâs better for her that she does!â Cade insists and my mate growls next to me.
âShe is not leaving me!â He shouts and I flinch.
This situation needs to be sorted.
âShe is right here!â I say loudly, causing them both to look at me. âWhat the hell are you guys talking about? Iâm so confused.â
Both of them sigh in unison.
âHe can explain it all to you, I need to go clear my head,â Cade muttered, starting to walk out the room. I rush over and grab his arm.
âDonât leave me here, tell me whatâs going on,â I ask, and Cade looks down at me, his eyes full of sympathy.
âIâll be outside, come out when heâs done talking to you,â he says simply, he pulls himself out of my grip and walks out the room. A few moments later, the front door slams. I turn around to see my mate glaring at me.
Well, this is going to be fun.
âI donât even know your name,â I tell him, and his eyes soften, making me relax.
âJaxon, but everyone calls me Jax,â he says, and I nod.
Hmm, I like Jax.
âCare to explain what you two were talking about?â I ask, moving over to sit on one of the sofas.
My mate frowns and comes to sit down next to me. I tense up as his thigh brushes against me.
âMy brother and I donât exactly see eye to eye,â he begins but I cut him off by holding my hand up.
âYour brother?â I squeak in surprise.
Cade is his brother?
âCade and I are brothers, yes,â Jax says, frowning at me.
âHe never told me that,â I explain and Jax narrows his eyes at me.
âWhat exactly is your relationship with Cade? You two seem very comfortable with each other,â Jax accuses and itâs my turn to narrow my eyes at him.
âHeâs a close friend, thatâs all,â I defend myself and luckily, Jax seems to believe me.
âAnyway, my brother has a difficult time accepting our pack. My dad offered us both the position of Alpha, but Cade declined it, heâd much rather be the Pack Doctor than be a leader.â
âSo right now, your dad is the Alpha?â
âYes, I was meant to take over his position next month, but now that Iâve met my mate, heâll bring the ceremony forward,â he explains and my stomach twists with dread.
âAnd what exactly do you expect of me?â I ask nervously.
He frowns at me, like he doesnât understand the question, or rather, why Iâm asking it.
âYou will move here and become my Luna obviously,â he states simply, and I take a deep breath to calm myself.
âIâm not moving to your pack; Iâve only just met you!â I stand up and take a few steps back.
âYou are my mate, of course youâre moving to my pack,â he growls, standing up from the sofa and closing the distance between us.
âNo, Iâm not! You donât understand, my parents are not exactly accepting, this isnât going to go well,â I try to explain, but he grabs me and pulls me against his hard chest.
âIf you think Iâm going to let your parentâs opinions stop me from being with you then you donât know me very well.â
âYouâre right, I donât know you very well,â I retort.
Jax looks down at me, and I curse myself for melting under his intense gaze.
Iâve always felt too tall, my friends have always been shorter than me. Yet, with Jax, Iâm having to look up because he can rest his chin on the top of my head.
âI care what they think,â I mutter quietly and Jax wraps his arms around me, squeezing me tight against his muscular chest.
If I were to die now, Iâd die happy. Confused, but happy.
Before he can respond, my phone starts ringing inside my handbag.
Guess Iâve got my signal back.
âExcuse me,â I murmur. I sigh heavily as I see my mumâs face on my phone.
âHi, Mum,â I answer brightly.
I glance over to see Jax watching me, an unreadable expression on his face.
âHi, sweetie. Are you still with Cade? Where are you?â She asks and I check the time, itâs nearly three oâclock.
âIâm still with Cade, we just went for coffee, but I think we might go for a run. I wonât be home till later,â I tell her, frowning when a low growl erupts from Jaxâs chest.
âOkay, dinners at seven.â
âThatâs fine, Iâll be home by then.â
âGreat, see you later, sweetie.â
âBye, Mum.â I hang up and slide the phone back into my bag.
âI need to go, I need to talk to Cade,â I tell Jax, and he glares at me.
âYouâre not going anywhere, youâre not leaving, youâre part of my pack now,â he tells me and itâs my turn to glare at him.
âExcuse me, I am not part of your pack and yes, I am leaving!â I reply angrily, trying to march past him but he grabs me by my forearms, holding me in place.
âPrincess, I have a reputation to maintain, if my pack finds out that Iâve met my mate and let her wander off my territory unmarked, itâs not going to look good,â he warns me, and I narrow my eyes at him.
âI donât care about your reputation, you are not marking me,â I hiss, trying to squirm out of his grip.
âWhy not? Youâre mine,â he argues, but he seems much calmer than me.
âNo, Iâm not!â I disagree with him and pull myself out of his grip.
I instantly regret my words as I see the furious look on his beautiful face.
âYou are mine, whether you like it or not,â he tells me, and I take a few deep breaths.
âLook, you donât understand, this has completely thrown me. I never expected my mate to be the future Alpha of the Black Mountain pack. It seems thereâs a lot going on in your life, this just....it isnât going to work,â I say quietly, and I try not to let tears form in my eyes.
âYou are not rejecting me,â he growls and pulls me back into his arms.
âNo, Iâm not, but I just think you should realise that this isnât going to be easy, and you canât just snap your fingers and expect me to move to your pack. What am I supposed to tell my parents?â
âTell them youâve met your mate,â he says, as if itâs that simple and obvious.
âLet me go talk to Cade, I promise I wonât leave without telling you,â I acquiesce, Jax reluctantly lets me go.
I find Cade sat on the grass in front of the house, he doesnât say anything as I come and sit next to him.
âWhy didnât you tell me he was your brother? Or that your Dad is the Alpha?â I ask, letting him see how annoyed I am he kept that from me. He sighs and turns to face me.
âI told you; I donât get on with my Dad. Heâs the one who gives the Black Mountain pack such a bad name,â he replies.
I sit back and listen to him explain.
âWhen he offered Jax and I to be Alpha, I declined straight away. Not only do I not want to be Alpha, if Iâd have said yes, Dad would have expected Jax and I to fight for the position. As much as I donât like my brother, I donât want to fight him. Besides, heâll make a much better Alpha than me,â Cade admits to me, and I lean over to squeeze his hand, hoping Iâm providing some comfort.
âI never meant to bring you in to this. Iâm so sorry I was late meeting you, I got caught up with my parents. I had no idea youâd been reported on our territory. Youâre lovely, Sienna, and my brother, well, I think you deserve more than him. Thereâs a lot of tension in my family, and if you stay here, youâre going to get wrapped up in it, and I donât want that. Thatâs why I have a problem with Jax, itâs not fair to you and he knows it.â
I sit quietly beside him, taking in everything he says.
I wonder what he means by tension. How am I going to get involved in it?
âItâs okay, Cade. Iâm just glad Iâve got you to talk to.â
Jax comes out of the house a few minutes later and comes over to us, I stand up and pick up my bag.
âI need to get back to my house before my parentâs start worrying,â I tell him.
I really need some time to think. I can see Jax is about to disagree so I cut in before he can.
âLook, let me go home tonight. Iâll tell my parents Iâm staying at my friendâs house or something and Iâll come back tomorrow, okay?â I offer, Jax considers it for a moment before nodding reluctantly.
âI know weâve got a lot to talk about, but just give me some time to get my head around it,â I say to him and open up my arms for a hug.
He pulls me against his warm, solid chest for what must be like the tenth time today. But Iâm still not bored of it, I revel in the feel of my mateâs arms around me before pulling away.
âIâll walk you to the border,â Cade suggests and Jax growls in warning.
âIâm your brother for fucks sake. Besides, you best go explain this to Dad,â Cade argues, and I can see Jax knows heâs right.
âFine, but donât you dare touch her,â Jax warns him.
Cade rolls his eyes in response. Jax leans over and presses a kiss to my forehead before heading back inside the house. I freeze as the tingles spread throughout my body.
âOh, snap out of it,â Cade mutters teasingly. I nudge him and we walk back towards the tree line.
âSo, todayâs been weird,â Cade says casually, and I roll my eyes.
âYou think? Goddess, I was not expecting this today.â
I canât wait to get home and get in bed.
âJax is actually alright, heâs just been through a lot,â Cade tells me, and I just nod, knowing if I ask, he wonât expand on his comment.
Soon enough, we come out of the trees, and I see my car. It seems like days ago that I parked it there. Little did I know when I was entering the woods, I was about to find my mate.
âIâll come pick you up tomorrow,â Cade says, hugging me.
âYeah, see you tomorrow.â We say goodbye and I slide into the car; I start the engine and drive away.
My mind replays todayâs events and I sigh heavily, hopefully Iâll feel better about everything tomorrow.