➳
"Maddie? Wake up, we're here," Nathan whispered, trying to shake her awake. He grabbed their belongings in the trunk, before going back to wake her up again. "Jeez, you're such a deep sleeper," He mumbled, looking at her peaceful sleeping face.
"I'll carry her inside." Alpha Blade stepped out of the driver's seat and walked over to her, effortlessly picking her up bridal style. For a second, he froze as he felt the sparks flowing from touching his mate for the first time, but managed to conceal his shock.
Nathan was startled by his action, but kept quiet. They closed the car door and walked into his new house.
Similarly to his old Pack, members of the Mystic Moon Pack preferred to live in separate houses scattered all across the territory, instead of in one big house like most werewolf packs do. Alpha Blade really appreciated this; he had always been very closed off and secretive. Sharing a house with an entire Pack would've been a nightmare for him.
While Nathan unpacked their stuff, the Alpha walked upstairs to place Madeline in her new bed. Once she was tucked in, he brushed her hair away from her face to admire her. For the past week, he couldn't get his mind off this girl. Her angelic beauty, her sweet vanilla scent, her bubbly personality... He never thought he'd be the type to obsess over a girl, but everything about her completely captivated him.
"Uh, Alpha?" Nathan stood in the doorway, eyeing him suspiciously. He didn't trust any man to be alone in a bedroom with his sister, especially not with the way he was staring at her.
The Alpha quickly tried to defend himself. "Excuse me for acting strange. I've rarely ever seen any humans in my life, I'm just very interested with how you manage to live with one."
"Humans aren't that different from us. Just think of her as a werewolf who hasn't shifted yet."
"... Right. Anyway, I'll send a maid over to cook for you tonight. You may take this day to rest, but your training starts tomorrow. Be at the training grounds by 8 AM."
Nathan followed him as he walked to the door to leave the house. "Yes, Alpha. Goodbye."
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Throughout the next couple days, Nathan had been very busy, leaving early in the morning and getting back home very late. Madeline would try wait for him every day, but often ended up falling asleep on the couch, and he would have to carry her to bed when he returned.
She kept herself company by talking to the maid who cooked for them every evening and did other basic chores. Her name was Edith, and although she was more or less terrified to see a human in the Pack at first, she quickly learned to love her cheerful character and kindness.
Today, Madeline wanted to surprise her brother with some cupcakes. She was very excited to be able to bake again; she waited days to get all the essential supplies. After filling her piping bag with frosting, she began to carefully frost the cupcakes. The sound of door opening brought a smile to her face; she really hoped Nathan would like her little treats.
She turned to the entrance, her smile slightly faltering when she saw Alpha Blade standing there instead of her brother. His eyes quickly ran across her body; she was wearing a light blue apron decorated with little daisies. He usually never had thoughts like these, but she looked adorable in this outfit.
"Hello," She said unsurely. The way she so casually spoke to him amazed him. Even his closest friends would bow and regularly address him as 'Alpha' while talking to him. He certainly wasn't used to someone treating him like this, but found her friendliness quite comforting. "Nathan isn't back yet, if that's who you're looking for." Madeline turned back around to continue frosting her cupcakes.
"He isn't? I sent him home a while ago. Well, he should be here soon, I'll wait," He responded, walking into the kitchen. The Alpha stared with interest while she created perfect little swirls on each cupcake.
"Do you want one?" She asked, looking back at him.
He shook his head. "I'm fine, thank you. Though you seem very skilled in baking." She smiled at his compliment, and he felt his knees go weak for a second.
"It's not that hard, you want to come try it?" Ambivalently, he moved closer to the young girl.
Positioning himself behind her, he placed his hands on hers, squeezing the piping bag. She guided their hands to create a swirl. He could feel his heart beating faster; he almost never got nervous, but this was the closest he's ever been to her. Her back was pressed against his chest as they both leaned over the counter to get better control over the frosting.
"Ta-da!" She exclaimed as they finished. It came out sloppier than the rest, but still looked nice. There was only one cupcake left to frost. "Now let's do that last one."
The two were so focused on the cupcakes, they did not notice Nathan walking through the entrance.
"Hey Maddie, I got you some-" He stopped mid-sentence when he saw his little sister bent over on the kitchen counter, with the Alpha on top of her. Madeline smiled at him and quickly slipped under the Alpha's arm, running to her brother.
"Hi! Oh, you got me some strawberries? Thank you!" She grabbed the pack of berries from his hands.
"I was waiting for you," The Alpha stated, stepping out of the kitchen.
"It looked like you were doing something else..." Nathan muttered under his breath. He had a feeling his new Alpha was fond of Madeline, and this incident further confirmed his assumptions.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing. I apologize for being late, I would've came earlier if I knew you were here."
"Not to worry. Let's go to my office, I have important things to discuss with you."
Nathan followed him closely as they walked to the Alpha's house. It was a lot bigger than most houses in the Pack, understandably, since he held the highest rank.
"There have been rogue sightings in the North-East border of our territory. My strongest warriors will be sent there, so starting tomorrow, you will be patrolling that area, understood?"
"Yes, Alpha."
"It's likely that they might try to attack you. Be prepared at all times." Nathan nodded understandingly, but his mind was somewhere else. He was itching to ask him about what he witnessed in the kitchen a few moments ago.
He decided he could not wait any longer. "Alpha, may I ask you something?"
"Go ahead." He was staring at his papers, not paying much attention to Nathan.
"Are you into my sister?"
The silence in the room was deafening. The Alpha kept staring at his papers for a while, before finally setting them down, his eyes boring straight into Nathan's soul.
"... What makes you think that?"
"Well, you kept insisting she moved to your pack, you carried her to bed when she came here, you're always staring at her when she's around, and today, I come home to see you bending her over on the counter! And who knows what else you've done to her while I wasn't home-"
"Mind your business." He cut off, going back to reading the documents on his desk.
"This is my business!" Nathan insisted, pushing his papers away. "Maddie is my sister, and she's very young. She's only sixteen, you know?" The Alpha pondered upon her age for a while. Indeed, she was younger than he preferred. Nonetheless, it's not like he had any control over this. If she was destined to meet him at sixteen, then so be it.
"Stay in your place. You have no authority to be ordering me around."
Nathan sighed in exasperation. "I just want to know why. Why do you want anything to do with her? She's just a human. I'm sure you can get any woman you want, please leave her alone."
Alpha Blade thought for a bit. Could he really trust this man with his secret? He knew he couldn't hide it for long.
"I would leave her alone, but the mate-bond won't allow me to do that."
Nathan's eyes widened when he processed his words. "Mate-bond? You're- She's your mate?"
"Don't go around telling anyone. Not even her. I'm trusting you with this."
"But- How is that even possible? Werewolves and humans cannot be mates."
The Alpha sighed. Now, he had no choice but to disclose his true identity. He prayed he was not making a mistake by trusting Nathan with this information.
"I'm about to tell you something no one else knows about me, and I need to you make sure it stays a secret..."
➳"I amnot a werewolf."...Nathan blinked in incredulity. "What?"The Alpha leaned closer,repeatingthe assertion."I am not a werewolf.""What are you talking about? I've seen you shift, and I can smell-" Nathan paused to sniff the air. "Yes, you smell like a wolf.""I am a wolf. Just not a werewolf.""What does that even mean?""I'm a direwolf." He watched as Nathan's mouth slowly dropped open."A d-direwolf? No way! They went extinct thousands of years ago-""No, there's still a few of us left. In order to keep our species alive, the Moon Goddess has not only increased our strength, but has paired us with humans, unlike werewolves. We have the ability to turn our human mates into direwolves, though it rarely works. Humans are so weak, they typically end up dying during their transformation."The thought of his littlesist
➳For the past few weeks, both Matthew and Nathan had been very busy. The rogues near theirterritory had been attacking more often, and there's a lot more of them they expected. It was evident that a war between them was inevitable, and very imminent."I'll come talk to you again later, I have a meeting with my Beta right now," Matthew said, glancing at his watch."Alright. Also, if you can, bring some chocolates for Maddie. Shereally appreciates them during this time of the month."Matthew did not quite understand what Nathan meant by 'this time of the month', but agreed nonetheless. He enjoyed buying gifts for his mate, especially when he got to see her angelic smile as she received them.This time, however, she did notsmile. She did not even get up from the couchto greet him like she normally does. He stared at her worriedlywhile she ripped open the chocolate bar wrapper and took a bite, her othe
➳He stood therewhile Madeline sobbedbitterly into his chest. Matthewhad seen too many deaths, it almost never affectedhim anymore. But this time, it wasagonizing. He could notimagine how much pain his mate was going through. Madeline had to be rippedaway from her brother's body;she was refusing to let go, insisting that he wasn't dead yet. He had never seen someone cry this much in his life. It physically pained him; his heart wrenched with every sob.Matthew was notused to this; he had no idea how to console her. "If only I had arrived earlier, I could've saved him..." The Alphaneverblamed himself for the death of his warriors, since they willingly put their life on the line, buthe couldn't help but feel responsible for Nathan's."P-protect her, please..."His last words replayed in his head. He looked down at the young girl crying in his
➳Matthew woke up, feeling a light weight top of him. Raising his head, he looked down to see his little materesting her head on his chest, still asleep. He mentally smiled as his handbrushed her chestnut-brown hair away from her face, revealing her pretty features. No matter how many times he hadseen her, herbeauty always took his breath away.His smile diminished when he saw traces of dried tears on her face. She almost never cried in front of him anymore, but he would sometimes hear her sniffling during the night or whenever she was alone. It was clear that she missed her brother deeply. As much as he wanted to help her, he knew only time would heal her wounds.He gentlyplaced her head on the pillow so he could get up. As usual, he had a busy day of work ahead of him today, starting with a meeting with his Beta...."Good morning, Alpha." The Beta bowed his head slightly, before entering his offi
➳As the weeks went by, Matthew became increasingly impatient. His lovefor his mate grew strongerevery day;he beganto find it hard to control his ardent desires. Each timeshetalked to him, he wanted to taste her lips, and whenever they wouldlayin bed together, he felt like running his hands all over her body.Madeline, on the other hand, was still painfully oblivious tohis feelings. She constantly mistook his displays of affection for friendship. A strange sensation would growin her heart every time he'd hold her close, compliment her, or give her gifts, but she could notunderstand what it was.A smile formed on her lips as she remembered theconversation they had this morning...."Do you like this dress?" She asked, twirling around in his office. Matthew was busy doingpaperwork at his desk."I told you you're not allowed to come in
➳Over the next week, Matthew had been very busy with the merging of the two Packs. At first, the majority ofthe other Pack wasagainst this, but theyslowly realized this new integration would mean morestrengthand better protection. They all began warming up to their new Alpha...especially the females.Their previous Alpha was nowhere near as attractive as Matthew. They all drooled over him, secretly hoping he'd claim one of them as his mate. Whenever he'd train with his new Pack members, he would sense a crowd of females peeking through the windows, gawking at his shirtless, muscular body.He never paid much attention to other women. Sure, he had slept around with some, but he never heldany deeper feelingstowards them; except for Madeline, of course. His lips twitched into a tiny smile as his cute little mate entered his mind.Despite everything that's been going on, he always fo
➳"Do I seriously have to fight a female?" The Beta asked derisively, holding up a punching bag whileMatthew repeatedly hit it. The twostood at the fighting grounds, waiting for the Beta female. Since she was taking rather long to show up, they took this time to do some physical training."She won't leave me alone until I letyou fight her. I doubt she's strong enough to hurt you, just hold her down or something," Matthew replied, his attention focused on the punching bag.A feminine voice echoed through the room. "I am strong enough to hurt him. Don't go easy on me."The two males turned their heads towards the entrance to look at her."Finally, you're here. I don't have much time, so start whenever you're ready," Matthew spoke in an uninterested tone. He glancedback athis Beta, only to see him gawking at the woman with wide eyes and a gaping mouth."Mate."The Alpha sta
➳Matthew glanced at his watch impatiently."Is sheready yet?"A ball wastakingplace this day to celebrate the integration of the two Packs and bring them closer. He was not fond of such large parties, but being the Alpha, he was obliged to attend."Sorry for making you wait, Alpha." The stylist hurriedly pushed Madeline out the bedroom, giving some final touches to her hair.His jaw almost dropped when caught a glimpse of her. She wore a stunning, strapless blue gown, her hair styledin an elegant up-do. She warmlythanked the stylist, before steppingdown the stairs, being careful to not trip over the gown. Matthew kept his eyes on her the entire time, not blinking as she approached him.She lookeddown at her gown, smoothing it with her hands."Do you like it? I've never worn a dress this pretty before."Taking a step closer, he softly tipped up her chin, locking their ga