Mated To The Beastly Alpha
Chapter 29

Liam hadn't set eyes on Nicole in days, but he could sense her pain. His plan to make her see him as the beast he had seemed to backfire because, even though she now regarded him with disgust and terror, he felt the bond developing between them. He didn't see her. He only sensed her, and it made his heart ache. He knew when she was happy and unhappy, recently she had been very sad. He felt her trying and struggling to pull away from the power of the mark.

It should have made him happy, but it didn't. Instead, it distracted him. The witch had been unusually silent, and instead of him concentrating on trying to figure out her game plan, all he wanted to do was dwell on what Nicole was feeling. Liam had tried everything he knew to remove the effects of his mark on Nicole, but it wasn't working.

Guilt ate him up every time he thought of her. He knew he had hurt her, but he didn't know how to make things right. He had always been alone, never letting anyone get too close, but now he was starting to realize how difficult it could be to live like that. "Man! You're fumbling real badly," Garret said, slapping his shoulder,

Liam shrugged him off,

"I'm trying to do the right thing."

They were prepping for a meeting with pack stakeholders.

"Oh really?" Garrett smirked. "The same right thing that had you absent-minded for the past week? Okay, tell me how far have you gone on investigating the witch and what have you discovered about her since then?"

Liam snarled at him, "Don't forget your place! I'm the Alpha, and I should never remind you about my position. Don't f*****g question me. You're supposed to be my support system and not my antagonist."

Garrett's smug grin withered, "It's crazy that you think that I am attacking you right now when I'm only asking what we have to present to the stakeholders. You can admit that you've been going through a lot since Nicole came into this pack. You can also admit that it became worse when she was discovered to be a witch bane.

I accept this and they should also do the same as well. The only issue here is that it is affecting your leadership ability. Apart from scouting the forest and destroying suspected rogue packs, we haven't made much progress on the witch herself."

"What are you trying to insinuate, Garrett?" Liam hissed, too much was going on in his head.

"That you should handle your business?"

"What the f**k are you talking about?"

Garrett chuckled and said nothing.

Annoyed, Liam rammed himself into him and held Garrett in a chokehold.

"I don't understand you these days, Garrett. You've been the one dropping hot takes here and there about how to get rid of the mark and I've been following it religiously, so what the hell are you talking about?"

"That maybe you should make peace with the fact that you cannot undo the mark and that you should accept it."

"Never!" Liam growled, "I'm never doing that. It was a bloody mistake, a spur of the moment. I'm tethered to no one!"

Garrett pushed him off him, "Fine, Alpha. Then stop behaving like you're losing your mind and get a grip on the Pack," Garrett growled.

"Leave this place," Liam yelled,

Shrugging, Garrett walked away, and at the threshold, he turned around and said, "I'm your friend before I'm your Beta, Liam. Don't let your foolhardiness stop you from losing the best thing that may have happened to you. A mating bond is not weakness, it is strength and the Moon Goddess in her wisdom pairs you well. It turns out that Nicole is no ordinary wolf. You're being too stubborn for your own good."

It was too much for Liam to take, so after the meeting with the pack, he decided to detach himself from the pack. He was going to sojourn alone for a week to replace answers. It was clear that the witch was after him and not his pack; he needed to understand why. He needed to come to terms with what was going on with Nicole.

In that week, he tried replaceing answers, but nothing came up about the witch. There was no reason why the witch was after him. His ancestry was clean of feuds and there was no old enemy. His current enemies were all werewolves. He was careful enough to stay away from other supernaturals.

Even his current enemies didn't have the balls to connive with a witch and attack him. The worst part was that nobody knew about his ancestry until the witch proclaimed it. It meant that whoever it was, knew him well and he couldn't for the life of him figure out who it was.

In that week of solitude, he made a lot of discoveries about his mark with Nicole. It was true that Alphas like him didn't just mark anyone, but if it was not meant to be, it would go on its own, when both parties realized that, apart from the pull of the bond, they didn't feel any other thing for each other.

The problem was that Liam couldn't differentiate his attraction to Nicole from that of the bond. He, however, came to a realization that all the nastiness and avoidance weren't going to do anything. To solve their problem, they needed to come to a mutual agreement that they felt nothing for each other.

Liam had met the old lone wolves during this time and they told him that to separate his feelings from those of the mark, he needed to be friendly and get to know Nicole. They told him that he would know if he was falling for her and that no matter what, it was only when he fell for her that the bond could be completed.

Liam felt stupid for all his previous actions and resolved to settle things with Nicole on his return to the pack. The first thing he did when he returned was look for her.

James advised that it was best to train with her since she didn't want to see him. James was full of praise for her which made Liam's heart swell. According to him, she was doing so well integrating with pack members. She had also taught them a lot. Liam's wolf purred proudly within him. It was exciting that she was doing well. It meant that she was proving herself to the pack.

Liam met her at the training ground, she was with Asha and he mind-linked her to go away.

He approached Nicole slowly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Nicole," he said softly, he didn't know how to apologize. It wasn't something an alpha did.

Nicole's body stiffened at his touch and she pulled away from him. "Don't touch me," she said, her voice cold.

Her harshness stung him and his wolf whimpered, although it knew that they deserved it, but it still hurt.

"We need to talk. A lot of things have gone on in the wrong way for a long time," he said, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.

Nicole took a deep breath and turned to face him, "What do you want Alpha? Are you horny? Is that it? Is the urge too much for you?" She said,

Liam flinched, he couldn't deny that being in her presence again uncovered his wants, but there were important things to discuss.

"Nicole," he grunted, feeling very uncomfortable.

"Alpha," she responded, bowing her head as a sign of respect.

His heart skipped a beat. In all their time together, Nicole had never treated him so formally. She normally looked him in the eye and challenged him. It was so stunning that he growled and reached out to her.

She flinched and stepped out of his way. The scent of her fear rose in the air, he could see the fear in her eyes too. It was like she wanted to run away.

Liam felt like he had been stabbed with a silver blade. His wolf whimpered, it blamed Liam for making her fear him. Nicole hadn't been afraid of him in the past.

Clenching his fist and taking a deep breath, Liam took a step back, trying to distance himself from her. She seemed to relax as he gave her space.

"I'm sorry," he said, the words felt weird as they came out of his mouth.

Nicole gasped then furrowed her brows, "You can tell me if you want s*x, Alpha. I can feel the attraction. We can do it right away and get over it."

That annoyed Liam so much that he grabbed her, "what?" He snarled.

Once again she trembled in his arms, "Isn't that why you're here? You made it clear that you thought nothing of me and that everything you felt was from the bond and not you."

Liam growled and ran his hand through his hair.

"But Alpha, isn't that what you want? I get it..."

Liam was dumbfounded. He let her go and stepped back, running his hand through his hair and realizing how much he had messed up.

"Look," he said, "I want this gone as much as you do. But we have to put our personal feelings aside and focus on our duties. We have to work together to strengthen the Dark Moon and we cannot do that if we lack a cordial relationship. You're like a leader now, you were one at your former pack and so you should understand what I mean because that's all that matters now." Liam didn't know how to be anything but honest and brutal.

"I understand," Nicole murmured.

It grated Liam's nerves that she was very uncomfortable in his presence. It was like she was waiting for him to attack.

Liam looked at her, his expression was wounded. "We should also get to know each other. We can keep it at a professional level; that's the only way to dissolve the mark or bond."

"Fine," Nicole shrugged.

"Is that all you have to say?" He grunted,

She raised a brow at him, then suddenly bowed her head, "Thank you, Alpha."

Liam lost his temper, "what the f**k is this Nicole? What's this formality?"

He couldn't bear that she was cold to him anymore when he wanted to kiss her. He had missed her a lot all this while.

Her eyes widened in fear and she jumped back.

It further annoyed him, "What the hell?" He growled.

"Did I do something?"

"Why are you like this?"

"You made sure to make me understand that I was nothing, Alpha. In the past few days, I've come to terms with that."

Liam thought he would go insane. Things had backfired against him so fast.

"No, that's not what I was saying. I wanted you to know that we can't let our feelings or the mark get in the way of our duty." "Noted," Nicole said.

Her response put Liam in so much pain, but he understood that she was being cautious.

Liam looked at her, his eyes filled with sadness. "I wish it was simple for us, Nicole, but it's not. We come from different backgrounds and our responsibilities were different until now. I am meant to be alone. I cannot be more than that. Lately, my personal life has interfered with my duties. It's wrong."

Nicole looked up at him, her eyes still shining with tears. "I understand," she said. "I know we can never be together. I just wish...I wish things were different, but they aren't and I've come to terms with that."

Liam felt a lump form in his throat. He didn't realize how difficult his relationship with Nicole was until that very moment.

He was still thinking of the right words to say when she said.

"Can I go now?"

Stunned, Liam nodded. He was even more hurt to see her shoulders relaxed once she was far away from him.