Mated To The Alpha Of The North
Chapter 17

Jax

I felt relieved when my mate readily agreed to allowing me to help her. I could already tell that she was used to doing everything on her own, but she did not have to anymore. I would make damn sure of it.

I would have to find some way to thank Ronnie later for all her help with my mate and for the suggestion of the bath, but, for now, I went about looking for supplies in the small room so I could prepare a soothing atmosphere for my mate.

At some point, I was going to need to actually ask her what her name was. I could not keep going around calling her my mate all the time.

Well, I mean I could, but it would be nice to know her name too. It was honestly killing my wolf and me not to know the name of our other half.

I had tried asking around so I would not have to bombard her with questions right away, but, to my dismay, not a single soul knew what my love’s name was.

It infuriated me the more I learned about the conditions she was forced to endure while living here, even without getting the full story directly from her.

Even more so, the fact that Zeke was able to evade Reese and his men earlier incensed me beyond belief.

The man child that was responsible for her deplorable conditions had escaped, and, knowing his reputation, he would return at some point for her.

I would be ready of course, but I could not believe how many of his males were willing to defend him when Reese almost had him cornered.

Reese later informed me that he was able to escape during the melee, but his warriors were not as lucky.

I still had to question them, the ones that still lived anyway, about their allegiance and decide their punishments for aiding Zeke during his escape.

I took a moment to remember what Asher had informed me about last night as I sat watch over my mate. Asher had been able to secure the pack house and obtain, or demand rather, a meeting with the elders while I was entangled with the search and rescue.

During this meeting, he apparently laid out what a shit job they had been doing overseeing Zeke and that they would be relieved of any future responsibilities or face the wrath of the three remaining alphas.

I had always believed that the elders were given too much power. It was up to the alphas to protect their territories and pack members, but they could not effectively do that with having to wait for the elders to relay their orders.

An unfortunate example of this was when the bears invaded two years ago. Many of our wolves died too soon due to the elders dragging their feet about relaying crucial information to the alphas.

As a result, all of the old alphas died trying to protect their pack, I remembered sadly. Well, everyone except for Zeke, but his days were numbered. Mark my words.

I went about preparing the tub with the scented bath products I had found in a nearby cabinet, making sure I chose the one that smelled the best. I continued to allow my mind to wander while the tub filled with water.

I was glad that Asher had decided to seize the power back from the elders on all our behalves, and I was beyond ecstatic that I would finally be able to run my pack the way it was meant to be run when I returned home to the Northern Province with my new mate.

However, I knew it also meant there would probably be a struggle at some point in the future, not to mention the extra work it would take to restructure the pack here in the South now that Zeke was gone and so many of the males could not be trusted.

It was a lot to work through but bonding with my mate would come before all else. The rest could wait for now.

I had been pondering the implications of all that had occurred over the past twenty-four hours while the tub filled with water.

When I glanced down to check the water level, I was pleased to find that the vanilla scented bubble bath I had used had already covered the entire surface of the water.

I had also lit some candles to help set a relaxing atmosphere, and I could smell their tart cherry scent permeating the air, adding to the already enticing aroma the bubble bath offered.

The sound of the water drowned out anything that the girls may have been saying in the other room, not that I was particularly paying attention or anything.

I had been too busy remembering how pissed I was when Reese had told me that that coward had managed to escape and going over the massive amount of changes that had happened over such a short period of time.

I clenched my fists in fury for what seemed like the thousandth time tonight, taking deep breaths to calm myself. I reminded myself that I was going straight to the holding cells to interrogate his men after I had settled my mate for the time being.

I felt a little more comfortable leaving her for a few hours now that she was not unconscious any longer, and I knew she would be okay. It also helped settle my nerves some when Ronnie promised to keep an eye on her while I was gone.

I needed to take the time to find out what these males knew about Zeke’s whereabouts. The sooner I disposed of him, the sooner my mate would stop looking over her shoulder.

I had noticed how she tensed up earlier when Ronnie had mentioned Zeke. I did not know the extent of what he put her through, but it obviously was not good and for that he would pay with his life.

However, I was still reluctant to leave my mate while I could still be learning more about her. I debated internally for a moment, but, ultimately, I decided I would wait to leave the pack house until after she had eaten and fallen asleep again.

It should not take much, given her frequent yawns while I was in the room. She still needed to rest more to finish healing Ronnie had said.

Ronnie had also told me that her healing was severely stunted. Her best guess as to the cause was probably her apparent malnutrition. I also had my suspicions about another possible cause.

Her wolf should have been trying to tear out of her skin at the sight of her mate. I know mine was anyway.

I could constantly feel him prowling at the back of my brain, looking for any sign of weakness in the wall of defense I had constructed in my mind to hold him at bay.

She was not ready for all of us yet. That much was obvious.

I knew I had to tread carefully with her, and I was more than willing, but her reaction to me also seemed underdeveloped.

Ronnie had filled me in on her treatment of the male who had aided my mate in escaping yesterday morning.

I remembered that his healing had seemed off as well before, even if I was in a rush then. Ronnie had informed me that Zeke had inexcusably used wolfsbane on him to get him to talk about the whereabouts of my mate, but, still, the male did not break. Needless to say, he had definitely earned my respect.

It was forbidden to use wolfsbane against one of our own, but the elders had obviously more than failed when it came to their oversight of Zeke’s reign here in the Southern Province. Which I was gladly about to rectify.

Glancing down again, I noticed the bubbles were beginning to graze the sides of the tub, seemingly about to spill over. I quickly shut off the water and then looked around to make sure everything was perfect before I retrieved my mate.

Noticing nothing amiss, I strolled into the bedroom and immediately walked to my mate’s side, not even noticing that Ronnie was still in the room.

Unfortunately, my mate chose that moment to attempt to stand on her own, apparently not realizing how weak she had become from her injury.

My hands rapidly shot out to prevent her from plummeting to the ground. I felt my lips tip upward as she shot a small, thankful smile my way, but they immediately pulled down into a snarl as Ronnie approached my mate and attempted to take her from my arms.

How dare she!

My wolf took control for a moment, letting out a ferocious roar as Ronnie moved in closer. However, before I could get too worked up, I felt my mate’s small thumb rubbing soothing circles over the top of my hand.

Ronnie had said something, but everything except the fact that my mate’s name was Willow went in one ear and out the other. Willow.

My wolf and I rejoiced at finally learning the name of our other half. Her name was beautiful, just like her, and it fit her perfectly.

The next few moments seemed to pass in a blur. I reluctantly released my hold on Willow after seeing the pleading look in her eyes.

I knew this was a lot for her to take in and being around another female her age probably would help.

I resigned myself to wait patiently for Ronnie to return, but I did allow my eyes to follow in her path while my feet remained glued to the plush carpet.