Chapter 2.

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"Eli, calm down." Ben grabbed my shoulder. I had not even noticed that he had joined me outside.

"I didn't know she was leaving. I would never let her – I figured she-she probably went or something, but I waited for her to get back for over an hour, I couldn't feel her pull, I still can't –" Obviously in his state, he wouldn't be able to focus on her pull, he was too scared and worried, it was clouding his abilities. I grabbed Ashton's shoulders and stared into his eyes.

"Calm down." I felt his tense body relax beneath my hands. Compelling was a trait my pack had never had in the past; that was until my fathers and Ashton's parents met. Ashton's mother and my dad Jayden were a breed of wolf that could make anyone do things just by looking into their eyes. Most of our pack still couldn't do, but because of our parents, Ashton, Tamia and I could and since I was as strong as I was, I could compel anyone – even other Alphas. "Focus on your mate," I commanded. He nodded.

I watched as he took a few breaths before he looked around and then set off running down the street. I followed him with Ben closely behind me until we stopped running near our hotel as he crashed into Tamia, instantly locking her in a tight hug.

"Ash –" She spoke a soft laugh.

"What the hell?!" He questioned letting her go the same time I asked, "What were you thinking?!"

"I'm sorry, Love. I just took a walk and I bumped into someone, literally – and he offered to pay for the food I spilt." Tamia gave Ashton a hug before she looked at me, "I was thinking that with the amount of time you were gone and who you were gone with, and guessed that the two of you probably did not end up getting any food." She said to me as she lifted her hand to show me a bag. I glanced at Ben and he chuckled glancing away guiltily. I smiled.

"'He'?" Ashton was looking behind Tamia.

My eyes followed his and I felt my heart skip in my chest as they fell on the person my sister had 'bumped into'. For a few seconds everything around me seemed to fade. The people, the noise and all I could hear was my wolf's frantic howling and yelping in my mind along with the intense thumping of my heart.

Mate.

Wait... but he's...

My eyes drifted over him taking him in slowly as I tried to figure out if I was reading him wrong.

"Alpha?" He finally whispered what I had been thinking.

"Yes – this is my brother, the Alpha I told you about. His name's Eli. Eli, this is Karabo –"

"The Letsela pack, you're their Alpha." I cut her off nodding slowly. A tinge of his scented reminded me of George and Kevin from the beach. His scent was making it hard for me to smell anything else as my senses seemed heightened towards him, I felt light-headed as my body urged me to lean into him to get a closer smell, a feel...

"How did you know that?" She asked.

"Kids on the beach mentioned their pack..." I mumbled before clearing my throat as I looked back into his dark brown eyes. He looked just as stunned as I felt, and I knew I was doing a better job than he was at hiding my shock.

"Karabo, are you alright?" My sister attempted to check if he was okay but Ashton grabbed her hand.

"My mate," Ashton growled pulling her back into his arms. She shot him a frown.

"Ha. You don't have to worry about that." I said lifting my hand to scratch the back of my head nervously.

I knew it. I always knew meeting my mate would be awkward. Most humans and witches did not know who their sole mate was the instant they met them, it gave them time to get to know each other comfortable. I had no idea what to say to him avoid making myself look bad or weird.

"Hello," Karabo spoke strongly.

"Hello." I matched his confidence and strength.

"Wait – Is he your mate?" Tamia asked me stunned.

I nodded slowly, my eyes were still stuck on Karabo. I was trying to figure him out. He stood tall, I did too, our eyes studying one another like we were trying to intimidate each other. This happened with every Alpha I ever met, each Alpha trying to be the better, stronger, more commanding figure.

"You're really close to my territory." He stated frowning at me.

"I was going to find you in the morning to explain where we stand. We're not here to fight." I said before adding, "We're on holiday until the end of the week," to see how he would react.

"You're leaving?" He asked, his Alpha tone dropping for a second and I smirked having been able to get him to drop his authoritative demeanour so quickly. His eyes darkened as he stared at me realising that I had intended to get that reaction from him.

"Well, we might stay longer," I replied smugly.

"You cannot unless given permission by my pack."

"Permission from your pack?" I glanced around, "We're not on your territory."

"You do not have to be. This city counts as my territory since my wolves make up the majority of the wolves that visit it on a daily basis. Packs around here agree that my pack sets the rules for everyone that visits this city." He said.

"I'm sure we have your permission." Obviously he wouldn't want his mate leaving the country, given how he had just reacted.

"No, you do not. You have not asked." He pushed. I raised my brows.

"You're telling me to ask?" I asked.

"I did no such thing." His eyes had a hint of mischief to them that stalled my heart for a second but I didn't let that show.

"I'm not going to ask." I shrugged.

"Then leave." He said. I felt my wolf whimper and heard his do the same through our link, but his face was serious and I kept mine neutral, both of us acting like we didn't know that our wolves would go insane if I left.

"What the hell are you doing?" Karabo and I turned to Ben as he spoke making me realise that I had completely forgotten where I was and that my friends were still there with us. "Mate? How is that even possible? You're both Alphas." He said.

I glanced back to Karabo. Yes. How was it possible? We couldn't both be Alphas and be mated, it was unheard of. Clearly, it was already a mess and we had only just met...

"I don't know," I replied honestly before my eyes fell to the bag of food my sister was still holding. I was starving. I chuckled hearing Ben's stomach growl. "Beer didn't fill you up?" I asked.

"Shut up." He muttered.

"Beer?" Karabo asked raising his brows at me.

"Yeah, we were getting used to the town. Checking out the area amongst other things, if you know what I mean." I said suggestively. Werewolves were really possessive of their mates, Alphas were ten times that and, of course, being one I knew that. I was messing with him. I could feel that it bothered him and could see it as he clenched his jaw and balled his fist before releasing it.

"I have an area you guys could see." He said, deciding not to say anything about the 'other things' I had joked about, "My home. It doesn't cost as much as your hotel does, you're free to live with me; we have a couple of extra rooms." Did he say...?

"Oh, we couldn't –" Tamia began.

"We?" I interrupted her. Karabo raised his brows questioningly, silently asking why I interrupted my sister so suddenly, "We'll be with your parents?" I asked.

"No, no. I live with my, uh..." He broke eye contact with me for a second as he swallowed nervously, "My wife." He finished. I stared at him for a moment before I began laughing, but his face stayed serious and my laughter quickly died.

"Your wife?" I asked. He nodded.

"My pack insisted their Luna be from the pack, and since it usually doesn't take this long to find our mates, I figured I didn't have one. So..."

I stared at him, my face still unchanging while my chest filled with jealousy and anger. I was really good at hiding my emotions, Alphas had to be. Someone had him before I could? I wanted to kill her. How dare she be with my mate?

"Okay, I understand." I wanted to smirk as his eyes widened a little and he looked hurt. It seemed to me that he was one Alpha that wasn't too great at hiding his emotions. I kept my face neutral.

"Okay?" He asked slowly.

"Yes, my best friend back home doesn't have a mate either, and we already have a child because... you know... things happen to careless teenagers. So I guess we could just forget –"

"Wait, a child?!" He asked. "Are you rejecting me?" His jaw dropped. His shocked face looked cute. I was having fun while also feeling bad about how alarmed he looked at the mention of being rejected, I was going to keep pushing but Tamia spoke.

"Eli, stop lying to him. Karabo, he isn't with anyone and he doesn't have any children." He glanced at her and back to me surprised and I smirked at him.

"That's what you get for lying to me," I said.

"You are an asshole." He frowned.

"I am? You started this –"

"You know what? You will have to stay at the hotel; I only have one extra room." Karabo said.

"You said you had a couple." I pointed out.

"One just became a study or something, I haven't figured it out yet." he shrugged. I frowned at him before we both began laughing. My friends just shook their heads at us. "It's late."

"Karabo, we couldn't –" Tamia began.

"Sure, we'll go to your house." I cut her off actually really excited about finding out about his home and the people in his pack. He gave me a smirk and I rolled my eyes. Tamia laughed as she took hold of my arm.

"We'll come by tomorrow." She said.

"Tomorrow?" Karabo and I asked looking at her. She laughed as Ashton and Ben stared at me amused. It immediately made my excitement disappear and I regained my calm, neutral demeanour.

"Tomorrow's fine." I shrugged.

"Yeah, what's the rush?" Karabo asked nonchalantly. "See you tomorrow." he looked at me.

"Shouldn't we walk you home?" I asked teasingly.

He frowned at me before he shook his head as he gave a small smile that automatically made me smile back.

"You know where to find me." He said to me.

"Hey –" I began to argue with him but he had disappeared.

I frowned. I was certain he was not going to inform anyone about expecting us. If I followed our pull right onto his territory, the guards in it would undoubtedly think we were trespassing and looking for a fight. He thought that was a joke? I was already beginning to doubt his sense of humour...

"Oh my God, you found your mate!" I cringed back as my sister practically attacked me with an overly excited hug. I chuckled shaking my head while trying to calm her down.

"Good luck." Ashton chuckled turning to walk into the hotel.

"What?" Tamia asked confused.

"You want a counsellor's number or are you going to use Frank?" Ben asked. Frank was a werewolf in our pack that worked as a family and couples' counsellor for us and some humans.

"Shut up." I shoved his back causing him to stumble forward and I laughed as he almost fell.

We made our way back to our rooms and I was actually happy. Karabo seemed nice, both my wolf and I were incredibly excited about getting to know him further. I dreaded dealing with the stubbornness I was sure he had though. Alphas were all different, but also very alike. We could deal with the Alpha thing though... It would just make us understand each other better. Hopefully.

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