Mated To The Wrong Alpha
Chapter 25

Arthur was gone when Ava woke up the next morning. She stretched luxuriously and smiled. Last night had been nice. They’d just talked and then slept beside each other, yet she felt so much closer to him. Knowing that he really wanted to build a future with her made her feel more confident. Let the Marlas of the world do what they will!

Rolling out of bed, she showered and wandered downstairs. Arthur didn’t show up for breakfast, but he’d left a her a note stating that he had a meeting with the pack’s lawyers concerning the Northern Oil issue and would be back for lunch. She was pleased he’d informed her himself rather than having someone else pass the word along, feeling it showed he was really trying to build a relationship with her.

After breakfast, she went downstairs to the recreation room where they’d had the meeting and party the previous night and began the task of taking the bonding presents up to their suite. There were picture frames and vases, gift certificates and even an intricate carving of a wolf guarding his mate. She wasn’t sure where to put everything but thought maybe she and Arthur could decide that together. Her morning was busy running up and down the stairs and by noon she was ready to sit and rest for a while.

Arthur was back for lunch as he’d promised, and afterwards they went to visit with Julia and Thomas, Arthur holding her hand as they strolled along. Thomas was chafing at having been confined inside for so long and Julia rolled her eyes as he expressed his frustration. Grabbing Ava’s hand, she pulled her out the door, calling over her shoulder to Arthur. “You listen to him complain for a while. I’m going for a walk with Ava while I still have my sanity!”

Once they were outside, Julia stopped and rubbed her temples. “I know being stuck inside for an extended period is hard on any wolf, but to listen to Thomas tell it, he’s the only man to have ever been subjected to such inhumane treatment. Let me tell you, Ava, I love him dearly, but if he complains one more time today I won’t be responsible for my actions!”

“It can’t be that bad, can it?” Ava looked doubtfully at her friend.

“Just you wait. One of these days, Arthur will get a head cold or something and he’ll turn into the biggest baby you’ve ever seen. I swear, the tougher they are when they’re healthy, the worse they are when they get sick!”

“Gee, I can hardly wait.”

They looked at each other and laughed then headed into the woods for a run. By the time they returned, Thomas was napping and Arthur had left to inspect the site of the oil spill.

With the remainder of the afternoon looming ahead of her, she wandered upstairs to their sitting room. She searched through the stack of books that Julia had lent her, and finding one that looked suitably interesting, settled back to become lost in a romantic suspense set a number of centuries earlier.

Arthur found her sleeping there several hours later and after a rather satisfactory interlude, they went down for dinner. As usual, it was a good meal with friendly conversation, but Carrie and John got up immediately afterwards explaining that they were meeting Franz and Gisele at the local theatre. Helen also headed off to her room, insisting there was a marathon of old TV shows on that she didn’t want to miss. As the room suddenly emptied, she and Arthur looked at each other. “Alone at last?” He cocked one brow.

“So it would appear.”

“Hmm—I wonder if they purposely cleared out so we’d have some alone time.”

She blushed at the idea but wouldn’t put it past Carrie and Helen. Those two were unrepentant matchmakers who wouldn’t let up until she and Arthur b***d-bonded!

That day established a pattern for the rest of the week. Ava would get up, poke about the house, have lunch with Arthur, visit Julia, read, and eat dinner. The others seemed to find various reasons to leave them alone each evening and she found that becoming her favourite time of the day. She would read while Arthur finished up any urgent business or they’d watch TV together until bedtime. Some nights they just cuddled while others…well, there was no doubt her mate was a skilled lover and she was becoming addicted to his touch.

Helen pointedly looked at her neck each morning but never mentioned the b***d-bond again, though Ava could sense the woman was getting impatient with them. Ava paid her no mind. It was between her and Arthur and since he hadn’t brought it up, she wouldn’t either. At times, she did watch John and Carrie with envy. They often slipped an “I love you” into their greetings or departures and seemed to seek each other out, holding hands or brushing against each other. Would she and Arthur ever become that close? A hollow feeling would appear inside her when she thought too much about it, so she firmly pushed the idea away.

Thoughts of Seth also passed through her mind, especially in the mornings since she’d taken to writing in her diary again. She was trying to analyze her feelings for him and Arthur and found that writing them down seemed to help. To be sure, she missed Seth and the good times they’d had together but was coming to suspect that her feelings for him had been more that of deep friendship based on years of togetherness, rather than an all-consuming, passionate love.

Her new existence was pleasant and on the one-week anniversary of her arrival, she found herself in Arthur’s office again, reading as he worked. It was a companionable way to spend the evening; the scratching of Arthur’s pen and the occasional rustle caused by the turning of a page kept the room from being totally silent.

Despite her claims that her book was engrossing, she found her gaze wandering from the text and staring at Arthur’s back as he bent over his work. The time spent with him this week had been nice, but she knew that he wouldn’t always be home for lunch nor have time for late afternoon romps. At this point in time they were experiencing an unusual lull in pack business; the oil company negotiations were in the hands of the lawyers, they were still waiting for lab results on the oil spill, and no further problems with Ryne had occurred. Somehow, she knew that a rush of activity must be just around the corner.

Yes, it had been a good week, but long as well with nothing in particular to do. She couldn’t begin to imagine how she’d occupy herself once Arthur became really busy again. Spending the rest of her life wandering around the house and reading held little appeal. Helen had the house thoroughly under control, and while Ava had helped with the various meals and cleanup afterwards, she knew her assistance wasn’t crucial.

Thinking she’d have to find something to keep herself occupied, she recalled her half-formed plan from the day she’d gone shopping with Zoe and Phoebe; getting a part-time job. How would Arthur feel about the idea? Did Alpha females ever work outside the home? She suspected it wasn’t done but maybe she’d be able to talk Arthur around to her way of thinking. Studying him for a moment longer, she decided when he was finished with his report she’d broach the subject.

Satisfied with her plan, she went back to reading her book.

It was some time later when Arthur interrupted her reading. “Ava?”

“Hmm?” Looking up, she was surprised to find their roles reversed and now Arthur was watching her. “Oh! Are you done with your report already?”

“Already? I’ve spent almost two hours on the damn thing! But yes, it’s done.” He stretched his arms out and then leaned back in his chair. “Listen, I was thinking that maybe tomorrow when I drop this paperwork off, you’d like to come with me and we could pick out a car for you.”

“A car? For me?”

“Yes. A car. For you.” He chuckled at her surprised expression. “We’re quite a ways out and you’ll want to get about on your own sometime.”

“Arthur, I don’t know what to say. That’s a great idea, but I really can’t afford a car right now.”

“What do you mean you can’t afford a car? You’re my mate. I’ll buy you a car. As a matter of fact, I was going to set up an account in your name tomorrow, too. You’ll want to go shopping and get your hair done and… Well… Whatever else you ladies do.”

She frowned at his rather condescending view of how ladies spent their time but, to be fair, she hadn’t really done anything yet that showed great initiative. Well, now was the time to change that.

“That’s very generous of you, Arthur. Actually, I was going to talk to you about something. I was thinking that I’d like to get a part-time job.” He opened his mouth to speak but she ploughed on, giving him no chance to interrupt. “Back home, I helped out a bit in the office and around the house, and I earned a small wage from the pack’s general operating budget. I know you probably don’t need that kind of help here, so I was thinking I’d apply for a job waitressing in town.”

“Ava, you don’t need to work. Despite the possible financial problems, the oil spill will cause us, the pack isn’t destitute yet.” Arthur folded his arms across his chest. Inwardly, she winced.

That wasn’t a good sign.

“I know, but I like the idea of having my own money and being independent.”

“Well, the Alpha female has an allowance because of her position. You’ll be ‘earning your keep’ by hosting visitors, cooking and helping with meetings.”

“Not really.” She pulled a face. “Those are Helen’s jobs.”

“Because she was the Alpha female. Now, as my mate, it’s your job.”

She had been afraid of this but continued on, putting forth her defence. “Helen’s done those jobs for years and she loves it. We can’t take that from her. She looks so happy when she’s organizing and cooking. I’m sure she’d step aside if I said I wanted to take over, but I wouldn’t be nearly as good at it and she’d probably feel hurt, even lost.”

His expression seemed to be wavering, so she pressed her advantage.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to avoid my responsibilities. Someday, when she wants to retire, I’ll take over but until then I’d rather stay on the sidelines and help out now and then, sort of like being an understudy or an Alpha-female-in-training.”

“Hmm, I see your point about Helen. But you still don’t have to work. I have more than enough for the two of us.”

“But what will I do with my time? It was nice to wander around this week, visiting and reading and napping but I can’t do that all the time. I’ll get bored with nothing to do. I’m not talking about anything full-time, just a few hours a day.”

Arthur looked at her for a minute, and then sighed. “All right. It’s highly irregular, but I can see your point. However, I’m still getting you a car though and setting up an account. A part-time job waitressing won’t earn you that much.”

“Okay.” She conceded deciding it wasn’t worth arguing over and he was right about the car, she’d need one, especially if she got a job. As for the bank account, he could open one for her but whether or not she ever used it remained to be seen. Arthur was her mate and if it made him feel good to think he was providing for her, then that was fine.

“Do you have any idea where you might apply for a job?”

“There’s a place in town called the Grey Goose. I was there with Helen and her girls the other day. It seemed like the sort of place where I’d feel comfortable working.”

Arthur nodded. “I know exactly where it is, and yes, it would be a good choice. I can drop you off there tomorrow morning; you can talk to the manager while I take care of my business. Then we can go hit the dealerships.”