A Mother Before A Mate
Chapter 34

I hear a knock at the door, and I get up to get it. It's Derrick. I met him a few times before, but it's been a while. He's a big guy, just like his Dad. Hopefully, we'll work together as well as his father and I have. "Derrick," I nod, as I extend my hand.

"Alpha Lavard," he says as he reaches out to shake mine. We head to my office and share some small talk for a few minutes before I get to the point.

"So, let's get to it. How can I possibly help you become Alpha?"

"Well, my parents are stubborn, and they have this idea that I need to have a mate if I'm going to be Alpha. I'm 24, and I still haven't found her, and I want to be Alpha. For all I know, she's dead, and I'm not willing to wait any longer. I was hoping that maybe we could broker a deal with one of your she-wolf warriors," he explains.

I nod. If one of my she-wolves wants to leave to be Luna of a neighbouring pack, I'm fine with it. "Who's your top she-wolf warrior?" He asks.

"My wife," I deadpan.

"You're married?" he asks, brows furrowed.

"Yeah, we got married a few days ago, and she officially became my Luna 2 nights ago."

"I had no idea. Congratulations."

"Thank you, I was going to let neighbouring packs know tomorrow," I explain and he nods in understanding.

He asks a lot of questions about my female warriors, which seems pointless to me. It's like he thinks he's going to choose his mate in this office, here with me. "Listen, it's ultimately their decision. I could tell you all about Laurel and Star and all of my other unmated warriors, but if they're not interested, it doesn't matter. I'm not going to force them."

He furrows his brows and nods. What's with that face he was making? He looks taken aback by what I told him. Was he thinking I was going to force them, or is he just making the connection that maybe not every she-wolf is going to give up on their mate for power? "You come down to one of our training sessions in the morning and you can meet the she-wolves, and see if you hit it off with any of them?" I suggest.

"Okay. We can do that. I will of course pay you," he adds. WTF? Is he serious? Does he want to pay me for a mate? Which would mean that I sold her. Is this guy for real.

"I don't want money for one of my warriors. If she chooses you, then fine. But you're not going to buy her," I say, feeling disgusted. I'm starting to think this is a really bad idea. He doesn't seem like his father at all.

"Oh I didn't mean to imply that I would be buying her, just that I want to foster a strong relationship, and I thought the money might help go towards extra training to replace her," he explains.

"Well, regardless, if one of my warriors decides to become your mate, no money will exchange hands," I add.

"Of course, whatever you'd like." He agrees.

"So the advanced training class is at 10 am, tomorrow, and the women's class is at 9 am. If you want to come for both or just the advanced class, that's-"

"Daddee," I'm interrupted by Molly coming into my office. She's in her little swimsuit, and she looks so happy to see me.

"Hi, bunny!" I smile and open my arms as she runs over to give me a hug.

"I didn't know you had children?" Derrick asks, and I nod. He's smiling at her, which I don't think anything of until I notice his eyes. His eyes are naturally very light blue, but they aren't so clear and light all of a sudden. They're dark. No, it can't be. Can it? I almost can't believe my eyes, and I do a doubt take. They ARE swirling with black? Is he getting...? For Molly?.... What the f**k? I want to F*****g kill him.

-LEXI! Get Molly out of the house, NOW!- I mind link her.

She comes rushing in, looking panicked. I hand her Molly and mind-link her again.

-Move fast-

As soon as I hear the back door close, I turn back and look at Derrick, and a roar rips through my chest.

"WHAT THE f**k? YOUR EYES!" I snap, and his mouth opens but nothing comes out. "WERE YOU AROUSED BY A CHILD? BY MY CHILD?" I roar, and his face looks pales.

"No! N-no. I-I was looking at your wife. She's hot. I'm so sorry!" He stutters out.

"Your eyes were f*****g black before she even came in here," I snarl, gritting my teeth.

"I... I... I... She was...

44

I don't let him finish his fumbling excuse before I feel my clothes ripping, and my wolf takes over. The decision as to how to handle this isn't a conscious one. I've lost all control. I'm seeing red, and I want blood! HOW DARE HE?

He swiftly shifts into his wolf form, and I lunge at him. The rage is all consuming. He dodges me, and I crash into one of my bookshelves, and it breaks. I'm up immediately, and I start stalking towards him. He continues to back up, but I'm bigger and so are my strides. I lunged towards him again. He tried to get out of the way, but he wasn't fast enough. I have the side of his neck in my teeth and I rip the flesh from him. He's whimpering, and it doesn't ease my anger. Not one bit. I'm so consumed by rage that not only do I want to kill him, I want him torn to shreds. How could he? Instead of snapping his neck with one quick bite, I move to his hind paw. I grab it between my teeth and I rip it off and he howls in pain. His cries do nothing to quench my l**t for his blood. As I'm going for another paw, I hear Zac. "ALPHA STOP!" he yells.

My head tilts in his direction, and I let out a low growl of warning. He heeds it as he raises his hands in surrender and takes a step back. I continue shredding him piece by piece. Even after the cries stop, I continue. It's like I can't even see straight. When I'm done, I feel some of the rage start to dissipate. Not all of it. I'm still livid, but some logical thoughts are starting to come back. The haze has cleared.

I take a look around my office and it's trashed and there is blood everywhere - even on the ceilings. s**t. I should have dragged him into the bush. I can't let the girls see this. I start to shift back, and my naked body is covered in blood. I take a seat in my chair, trying to rearrange my thoughts and catch my breath.

"What happened?" Zac breaks the silence quietly.

"He was a predator. He was attracted to children. His eyes were BLACK WITH f*****g LUST FOR MOLLY!!!!" I start talking but soon I'm yelling. Zac's eyes are wide with shock.

"s**t. Well... what are we going to do? He's an Alpha's son, and there are... ways of handling this through our courts. His father isn't going to like this... and we don't have a body to send back," he says, and very gently. He knows better than to set me off right now. "I'm going to have to call him and tell him the truth," I shrug.

He nods. "Maybe I should go and talk to Lexi? She was freaking out when she mind-linked me to come over," Zac explains.

"Backyard, don't let her come in here. I mean it, Zac!" I warn.

He makes his way out there and within 30 seconds, Lexi is rushing to me. Good f*****g work, Zac!