Mated To The Wrong Alpha
Chapter 17

At some time during the night, she awoke to the sound of ringing. Beside her, Arthur grumbled and kissed her cheek apologetically before rolling out of bed. Fumbling around on the floor, he searched for his pants and the cell phone that he’d left in his pocket. Through her bleary eyes, she watched him check the number, then pad into the sitting room and partially close the door.

Who would be calling in the middle of the night? Hopefully it wasn’t another pack emergency like last night. Straining her ears, she listened to Arthur’s deep voice as he answered the phone.

“Marla? … No, no, of course you’re not interrupting anything … Shh … Don’t cry. What’s wrong? … No, don’t hang up! … You could never be a bother. You know you can call me anytime.” The door to the sitting room clicked shut, effectively blocking out the rest of the conversation.

Searching her mind, she tried to think of what could be so important, that Marla had to call in the middle of the night. And Arthur hadn’t sounded at all upset. Hmm… What exactly was Arthur’s relationship with the woman? Zoe and Phoebe had said that Marla had been chasing after Arthur. Was she still trying to catch him, even though he was now bonded to another? And did Arthur have any interest in her? He certainly didn’t seem to mind that she was bothering him right in the middle of—

Well, no. That wasn’t true. They weren’t in the middle of anything right now. Of course, a short while ago they had been in the middle of something. She smiled recalling how she’d daringly traced the scar on Arthur’s side with her lips and his enthusiastic response to her bold gesture… She exhaled softly at the memory.

But now, now they’d just been sleeping. It had been a companionable sleep though, with Arthur’s arms holding her tight, her head cushioned on his chest. Her mouth shifted into a pout.

She tried to stay awake until Arthur returned to bed, but the hands on the clock kept moving and moving without him reappearing. Soon the ticking of the clock and the indistinct murmur of his voice began to lull her to sleep. Pulling the bed sheets up around her neck, she curled into a ball and closed her eyes, wondering when her mate would return to her.

The next morning, Ava woke to the feel of Arthur sliding his hand over her h*p. For a few moments, she pretended to be sleeping. Memories of the previous night drifted through her mind, and she couldn’t keep a smile from appearing on her lips. Never had she imagined that her body was capable of such feelings. Being with Arthur was definitely a special experience. She stretched and then snuggled in closer to him, inhaling the male scent of him.

“I know you’re awake.” His voice was gravelly, revealing that he hadn’t been awake that long either.

“No, I’m not.” She kept her eyes closed, wanting to prolong this companionable moment.

“I beg to differ.”

“Well, you’re wrong. I’m sleeping and I’m in the middle of a very pleasant dream, so don’t bother me.”

“I could make reality even more pleasant.” His hand drifted upward.

“Mmm… Maybe I am awake.” She opened her eyes, her lashes brushing against Arthur’s cheek as he nuzzled her neck.

“Good morning.” His breath feathered over her ear and she giggled in response. “That tickles.”

“Really? How about this?” He ran his fingers lightly up and down her sides and she bubbled with laughter, squirming away from him.

“Hey! I’m just waking up. No fair!”

“Who said I play fair?” He reached out and pulled her closer, tickling her one more time.

“You’re the Alpha; you’re supposed to set a good example.” She pressed her hands to his chest, involuntarily caressing the muscled surface as she tried to move away, but he was too strong for her.

“True, but no one’s here to see except you.” “And I don’t count?” She tried to look affronted.

“You…” he leaned in to k**s her forehead, “count very much.” He kissed the tip of her nose, then pulled her close and tucked her under his chin. “You’re my mate.”

She smiled at the possessive way he said that. It was strange, but even after such a short time together, she found herself inexplicably comfortable with the idea of belonging to him. Maybe it was some ancient, instinctual thing that made her feel that way. She supposed in the olden days such a bond would have been nature’s way of ensuring that two wolves stayed together to raise their young… Oh well, analyzing it wouldn’t affect how she felt, and at this moment she was happy to be with Arthur, in his bed, knowing that he was happy with her.

When they were snuggled in bed, she was more at ease with him than she was during the rest of the day. Possibly it was because at least here she knew what to expect. In the bedroom, they had a physical relationship but the rest of the time, she wasn’t so sure. She was his mate, but exactly what did that mean? What was she supposed to be doing? How should she be acting? Whether it was true or not, she had a feeling that the others were watching and judging how she interacted with Arthur. Was she being too bold or too submissive? Too affectionate? Too distant? She really wasn’t sure of her role in his life, or even within the pack for that matter. Too bad there wasn’t an instruction manual!

Suddenly a recollection from last night popped into her head. “Arthur, in the middle of the night the phone rang, didn’t it?”

His hand, which had been drawing lazy circles on her h*p, stilled before continuing its movement. “Did that wake you? Sorry. I tried to be quiet.”

For some reason that she didn’t even understand herself, she didn’t want him to know that she’d overheard him talking. She wanted him to tell her himself. “Was it an emergency?”

He sighed. “Kind of. It was Marla.”

She inwardly smiled. He’d told her the truth. That must mean he wasn’t harbouring any secret feelings for the woman. “Oh. I met her yesterday, twice in fact.”

Arthur shifted beside her and his voice subtly changed from one of teasing indulgence to a quieter, sterner Alpha tone. “Well, that’s one of the things she called about. Apparently, you were rather rude to her yesterday morning.”

“What?” She sat up and stared down at him, incredulous. “I was rude to her?”

“Marla said that you took whatever she said right out of context and were very aggressive towards her. Now—” He raised his eyebrows when she opened her mouth to protest and she subsided. “I know yesterday was your first full day, and you might have been stressed, wondering where you fit in, but asserting your authority as my mate in that manner won’t win you many friends.”

Totally flabbergasted, she stared at him. What exactly had Marla said to him?

Arthur continued before she had a chance to enquire. “Then at the mall, when she tried to approach you, you wouldn’t even talk to her, instead falling in with Zoe, who—before you say anything—I will be speaking to later on.”

“I didn’t say anything inappropriate to Marla!” She finally got her wits about her and started to protest.

“Possibly not. She was a bit unclear about that part, but you were aggressive towards her, weren’t you?”

“Well, maybe a little at breakfast, but I was only standing up to her—”

Arthur interrupted her again, “And at the mall, you didn’t try to stop Zoe’s verbal attack, did you?”

“Well no, but Phoebe and Rose…”

“Yes, I know they were there too. Frankly, I’m surprised at all of you. You’re behaving like a bunch of nasty schoolgirls. Marla’s had a hard time of it lately and really needs a friend.” “Well, she sure has a strange way of showing it,” she muttered.

Of course, Arthur heard what she said, “Ava, Marla isn’t like you, and she willingly admits it. She’s more comfortable around men and has trouble getting along with her own s*x, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t want friends.” He reached for her hand and laced his fingers with hers, his tone becoming gentler. “Ava, you managed to make friends with several of the pack within one day of being here. Marla’s just like you. She wants to fit in, but the difference is, she doesn’t know how. Over the years, she’s been pretty good about it, never complaining about how the females treat her, but it’s been hard on her always feeling like she’s on the outside. Did you know that she was the next thing to engaged to Ryne? When he left, she was devastated and she’s still trying to come to grips with the loss. She doesn’t have the energy right now to deal with women being catty to her.”

He put a finger under her chin and tipped her head so that she was looking him in the eye. “I’d really appreciate it, if you’d cut her some slack. Maybe even try to befriend her. If the others see that you like her, they might be willing to reach out to her as well.”

“Me? Befriend Marla?” She knew her voice betrayed her shock, but she felt she was justified. After all, according to Zoe and Phoebe, the woman had purportedly been after her mate less than a week ago.

“It won’t be so bad. Once you get to know her, you’ll see.” He squeezed her hand gently and gave her a tender k**s. “Please? As a favour to me? Knowing that someone is watching out for

her would really ease my mind, and it would be one less thing I have to worry about.”

She sighed heavily, knowing she was already defeated. “All right. I’ll give it a try.”

“Good. She’s coming over for lunch today.” He stood and started to walk towards the bathroom.

“Lunch today? But I’m meeting Julia for lunch!”

Apparently not noticing her tone of voice, he casually answered her over his shoulder.

“Well, that’s perfect. Marla can go with you.” With that, he shut the bathroom door.

Huffing indignantly, she got up and began picking up last night’s discarded clothing from the floor. Great. Now she had to spend time with a woman who most likely wanted to steal her mate. All her happiness from her early morning cuddle with Arthur rapidly disappeared at the prospect of the coming day.

The hiss of the shower filled the room and she pictured Arthur stepping under the hot spray.

Dammit, he was her mate and belonged to her. No way was she going to let Marla take him away.

So what if Marla had a relationship with him before? Arthur had chosen her…

She paused in the middle of picking up her shirt. Well, really, he hadn’t chosen her. He’d simply gone along with the idea. But, she assured herself, he hadn’t protested…at least not that she knew of, anyway. She pondered the situation as she dropped her clothing into the hamper. What if he hadn’t really wanted to bond with her, but had done it for the good of his pack, pushing his personal wants and needs aside? What had he said? “Sometimes our lives are filled with moments of great disappointment.” At the time, she’d thought he was referring to her feelings for Seth, but what if he’d been referring to himself?

No! It couldn’t be, not after last night. Arthur had been so kind and thoughtful, putting her pleasure first. He couldn’t be harbouring feelings for Marla, just as she was no longer harbouring feelings for Seth…