Mated To The Wrong Alpha
Chapter 14

Back at the house, Arthur went off in search of John, and Ava found Helen in the kitchen once again. She was busily making sandwiches and chatting to three other women who were also helping prepare lunch. They all moved about the kitchen with the ease of familiarity, obviously having spent a lot of time here. Looking up, Helen smiled.

“There you are! Ava, I want you to meet two of my daughters, Zoe and Phoebe.” Helen nodded at two young women who looked to be in their early to mid-twenties. Both bore a strong resemblance to Helen except that their hair was still dark brown, rather than liberally streaked with grey and their figures hadn’t rounded out yet. “And this is Zoe’s friend, Rose. She lives near the edge of the territory with her parents and works at the local bank.” Rose gave Ava a shy smile and then leaned over the sink so that her hair hid her face. The girl was non-descript with pale blue eyes, brown hair, average height, and weight. She wasn’t unattractive, but neither was there anything striking about her that made her overly memorable. Instinctively, Ava knew that Rose was probably one of the lower ranking members of the pack—not that it was a bad thing—but the girl would follow the lead of others and not cause any waves. There’d be no challenges coming from that quarter.

After greetings were exchanged, Ava pitched in with preparations for the late lunch. She found out that both Zoe and Phoebe were married with two children each. The young ones were off with their fathers to pick out pumpkins for Halloween, and the ladies were having a girls’ day out with plans to go shopping once lunch was over.

“You should come with us,” Phoebe invited. “Since you’re new here, we can show you where the best stores are and maybe stop at the teahouse for a mid-afternoon break.”

“Well… It does sound like fun.” Ava hesitated, wondering what Arthur would say but then shrugged. He’d likely be busy and not even miss her. “All right, I’ll go.”

“Great! Now let’s get this food on the table and feed the men so we can be off.”

Zoe went to fetch the males, and the other women carried the platters of food into the dining area. Ava noticed that the table had been stretched out to accommodate about a dozen people and sure enough, several men came traipsing in with Arthur and John. The meal was noisy with everyone talking at once. Ava sat back watching the interaction, making mental notes of the relationships that she saw unfolding around her. Arthur mostly sat and ate quietly while listening to the others, but she noted that the other men kept glancing at him for approval. When he did speak, the others listened without interrupting and seemed to take his comments seriously. Even if being Alpha did give him a headache, she could easily see that he had the needed qualities for the job.

Helen and her daughters were close and chatted about the children. Rose only occasionally chimed into the conversation. Ava noticed that the shy young woman kept glancing towards a blond-haired young man named Daniel, but always looked away if he turned towards her. A smile played over Ava’s lips. Rose had a crush on the fellow but was too timid to do anything about it. After studying the male in question, Ava decided he was equally interested, since he paid more attention to what Rose was doing than to the conversation the men were having.

Glancing towards Arthur, she saw that he too was aware of the undercurrent between Rose and Daniel. Their eyes met, and Arthur gave a slight nod towards the soon-to-be-lovebirds, a smile ghosting over his lips before he rolled his eyes. She gave him a reproachful look before smiling back. It was good to have that connection with him; a silent communication just between the two of them. The smile slowly faded from her face as she studied her mate, taking in his features one by one. She loved his thick black hair, recalling how it felt as she ran her fingers through it. His nose was straight, his jaw firm and his eyes were the most amazing amber colour that seemed to see right into her. Her mate. It was still hard to believe at times. With a start, she realized that Arthur was studying her too and had a softer look about his eyes. Her heart caught in her chest and she hoped he’d make eye contact with her again. For some reason, it felt vital that she see that look directly, but then John called his name and the moment was lost.

Annoyed at the interruption, she returned to her meal and idly listened in on the ladies’ conversation while puzzling over her exchange with Arthur. It had been companionable, causing a pleasant feeling of belonging and warmth inside her. Was it possible that they were becoming friends? She hoped so; it would be good to have more than physical attraction in common. While they might not ever love each other, a friendship between them would make life much more comfortable.

Soon the simple meal was over, and the men went off to do whatever they were doing; she had never quite grasped what the conversation had been about. Oh well, she and the other women had their own plans for the afternoon. Looking forward to exploring the shops that the local town had to offer, she grabbed her purse and climbed into the waiting van.

Zoe and Phoebe were teasing Rose about her crush on Daniel while Helen chided them.

“Now girls, leave Rose alone. If she and Daniel end up together or not, it’s none of your business.” “Aww, Mom.” The girls m****d in unison then looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Helen shook her head. “Honestly, sometimes I wonder if you two are still pups rather than grown women with your own families! Don’t pay them any mind, Rose. When they were dating, they mooned about the house worse than you do.”

Rose blushed and murmured something indistinguishable, then stared resolutely out the window.

Relenting, Zoe left her friend alone and turned to Ava. “So, now that we’re away from the house and no one can walk in on our conversation, tell us what Arthur is really like.”

“Arthur?” She felt like a deer caught in the headlights. She didn’t really know anything about him. Why would they be asking her? They were the ones that had lived with him all their lives.

“Yeah. He’s gorgeous and we’ve all had crushes on him at one time or another. That strong, silent thing he does is so hot.” Zoe rolled her eyes and looked rather dreamy as if envisioning Arthur giving her a smouldering, l**t-filled look.

Phoebe reached over and smacked her sister. “Quit drooling. You’ve got Bob and you know you love him.”

“Of course I do, but a girl can’t help being curious. And don’t you get all high and mighty with me. You think Arthur is eye-candy, too.” Both of the young women giggled as they watched Ava expectantly.

“Well…” She hesitated, unsure of what to say. “I don’t really know him that well, yet. It… It was a political arrangement.” She was embarrassed to admit to that, as if it made her less worthy than those who had been allowed to choose their own mates. It was ridiculous to feel that way—arrangements such as hers weren’t that uncommon and she had done it for the good of the pack—but still, it gave her a strange feeling inside. However, the others didn’t even bat an eye at her pronouncement so maybe it was all just her.

“We know that, but what’s he like? In bed, I mean.” Zoe grinned, devilment dancing in her eyes, and Ava heard Helen gasp from her position in the driver’s seat.

“Zoe! I can’t believe you’d ask Ava such a thing.” Helen glared at her daughter through the rear-view mirror.

“Mom, don’t be such a prude. You’ve said yourself that Arthur was a stud.” Phoebe spoke up in her sister’s defence.

Helen blushed and looked apologetically at Ava. “Well, yes, I did—I mean you can’t help but notice—but I’d never…” She sputtered and then stared fixedly at the road.

She reached over and patted her arm. “It’s okay, Helen.”

“So?” Zoe wasn’t about to let the subject of Arthur’s bedroom prowess drop and Ava tried to think of what to say. She’d teased her friends in a similar way before, but it was different when the shoe was on the other foot, especially since theirs wasn’t a love match. After all, she couldn’t really say how romantic he was, or talk about the sweet nothings he whispered in her ear. And Arthur was their Alpha, for heaven’s sake! It wasn’t proper to talk about such things; it seemed disloyal.

“He’s…er…”

Phoebe jumped in with some suggestions. “Hot? Talented? He makes your teeth rattle and the earth move?”

“Uh….” Ava felt her face growing red.

“She’s blushing, so he must be!” Pheobe gave a decisive nod and then sighed contentedly and sank back in her seat.

“I knew it.” Zoe had a satisfied smile on her face.

Phoebe giggled and nudged Rose in the ribs. “See, Rose. You get Daniel to make a move and soon you’ll be as happy as Ava is.”

Ava inwardly frowned. Was she happy? She wasn’t exactly sad, and her homesickness wasn’t nearly as bad as she thought it might be. But happy? Well, that might not be the right word, though she really didn’t know what would be the correct one to describe her present state of being. Arthur pleased her physically and she did like him as a person. A future where they coexisted peacefully as friends was a definite possibility. Maybe she wasn’t exactly happy yet, but she wasn’t miserable either and the future was definitely looking brighter than it had a few days ago.

This realization seemed to settle something inside her, and she looked around at the passing scenery with a much lighter heart and a more positive outlook than she’d had yesterday afternoon. Had it only been two days since she’d mated Arthur? Somehow it seemed longer. So many things had already happened: the bonding ceremony, meeting the new pack, Thomas being injured, encountering Marla and the ‘attack’ by the red car. Well, she thought philosophically, at least her new life wasn’t dull!