The Forbidden Mate
Chapter Five - Frustration

Alex

I haven’t told Katy about my conversation with my father and his Beta. I don’t want to worry her, she has enough to deal with at the moment. I also don’t know what to say to reassure her. As hard as I try I still can’t think of a solution that will get us out of this mess.

For now, I am going along with my father, and making it appear as though I am increasing my efforts to replace my mate. This is a delaying tactic, and I will be forced at some point soon to tell the truth.

I don’t want to admit this to Katy. She will hate me for lying and getting close to other shewolves as I try to pretend that I am seriously considering selecting one of them to be my mate.

I know that I will have to tell her soon. Once my father starts arranging the Luna parties everyone in the pack will know. I have managed to make him wait a few weeks using the rogue attack as an excuse that now is not the right time to hold parties, but it won’t delay him for long.

I am going to train with the warriors this morning. I haven’t been able to train for almost a week. Dealing with the aftermath of the attack has taken up all my time. I am fed up with having to stay in my office all day, and I want to fight to let some of my frustration out over the Luna situation.

It will also be good to catch up with Euan. We have always been so close, spending most of our time together for years, but I haven’t seen very much of him recently.

When I arrive at the training ground. I can see Euan taking some of the younger members of the pack through basic fighting techniques. I stand at the side watching their progress.

He is good at training the younger pack members. There isn’t anyone in the pack (apart from me) who is a better fighter. He also has an easy knack of putting them at their ease while he explains what they need to do. He encourages them and makes the session fun.

This isn’t something that I am able to do. They are in awe of me, as their future Alpha. I inspire respect, and fear, which is how it should be.

Once the training session is completed, he walks over to me.

“Good to see you” he says.

“Good to be here” I tell him. “I am finally able to get away from my desk and train.”

“Shall we spar then? I know you are out of practise, so I will ease you in gently, give you the chance to land the first punch” he says teasingly.

“You wish” I tell him. The day that you can win a fight against me, is the day that I start cleaning the warrior changing rooms.”

“You are on”, he tells me “I can‘t wait to see you with an apron on, wielding a mop and bucket.”

We move into the arena and start to circle each other. Assessing each other trying to replace vulnerabilities. This is more out of habit than anything else because by now we know all of each other’s weaknesses and strengths, we have trained together for too long, had each other’s backs in battle too many times not to know.

I partially shift so that my claws have broken through my hands, and my incisors have extended. I am not planning to seriously hurt Euan but this has to be more than a tame training session for me. I need a proper release.

He does the same.

All of a sudden Euan moves, he is as fast as lightning and if I wasn’t prepared for it, he would have landed a vicious blow to my head. I raise my arm to block him, and at the same time I kick my right leg out to sweep his legs from under him and drop him to the ground. He sees my move and manages to jump back before I can floor him. He is however off balance, and I am able to move in quickly and slash my sharpened nails across his chest. It is not a killer move, but it will cause him pain.

We both move back and begin to circle each other again. This time I attack first. I raise my right hand as if I am going to attack his chest again. At the same time, I ready my left hand to attack his throat. Euan sensing that my move is a feint, moves back, away from me protecting his neck.

He then suddenly charges forward, he swings to the right and tries to attack my side, I move back slightly but simultaneously extend my claws and manage to land a long deep scratch along his right arm near the shoulder.

He is weakened now, losing blood from the blows I have managed to land, but only I would know it. He is still standing straight, and eyeing me, working out where best to attack me next.

He starts to move again, but I manage to evade him, but this time I lean into his left side and grab his shoulder. I swing him round, so that he is unbalanced, and push him back. He can’t recover his balance and falls to the ground. I pounce on him and use my body to hold him down, I rest my claws directly against his jugular vein, ready to strike if he tries to move.

“Yield?” I ask him.

He nods, and I release him. We both slowly get to our feet.

“Come let’s talk” I tell him as I start to walk towards the privacy of the forest.

We walk for a while before I begin to speak. I tell him about my meeting with my father and his beta.

“What are you going to do” he asks me.

I shrug “I honestly don’t know. Katy is my mate I would never abandon her for another shewolf. I will not lose her for a chosen mate, but I still don’t know how we are going to be together.

I haven’t even told her about the meeting, because I don’t know how to explain it to her.”

“Well, you are going to have to, and soon. You don’t want her replaceing out from someone else” he tells me.

“I know, but I don’t know how to resolve this, if we are open about her being my mate then she will be in danger. It will also give Carl the opportunity to propose that my brother becomes the next Alpha, which wouldn’t be good for the pack.”

“He will definitely want the role, but he would be a terrible Alpha. It would give Carl the opportunity to continue ruling this pack indefinitely” he says.

“Continue?” I ask questioningly.

“I know he is your father, but it is pretty clear that he is swayed in most things by Carl” he tells me.

I think for a moment and then say. “Yes, you are right, since we came back, I have noticed it more and more. I don’t think Carl has the packs best interests at heart. He has his own agenda.”

“Do you think he is working against us, that he could be the traitor?” Euan asks me.

“I wouldn’t rule it out, but It is too early to tell if he is or if it is his own ambition that is driving him. We were already suspicious of the meetings he was having with some of the warriors, and I think this is further evidence against him. We need more though. I think we need to keep a closer eye on him, and the other suspected traitors. With the rogue attack we haven’t been watching them closely enough. We need to start again.

I think there is only so much that you or I can do. They will not relax and lower their guard when we are around. We need to recruit some pack members we trust to watch them” I tell him.

“I can ask my brother” Euan offers, “as a new warrior he is barely noticed by the senior wolves never mind suspected. He can hang around close to them and see what he manages to pick up.

There are also a few warriors who have proved their loyalty during the rogue attack, and the hunt for the perpetrators. I can bring them into my confidence. I won’t give them the full picture, about the royal pack and the traitors, but I can tell them that we think that there was more to the attack than a simple rogue assault and that we suspect that they may have had help from some members of the pack. They are already suspicious because it was such uncharacteristic behaviour for rogues.”

“Good. That will help” I tell him relieved that we have a plan of action. I need to progress the hunt for the traitors, the intelligence we have received from the royal pack makes that even more important.

The Black Moon Pack are already starting to manoeuvre, and we don’t want to get caught in the same way as we did by the rogues. This phony war that Lucius is intent on waging has begun.”

Katy

Alex has been coming to me every night and staying until dawn. His need for me doesn’t seem to have waned.

His hunger clear, from the moment he enters my house, the way he grabs me and presses his lips fiercely to mine, holds me tightly in his embrace, as if he never wants to let me go. The way his lips make their way down my neck to the place where he would mark me if we were truly mated.

Sometimes I feel his teeth graze the spot, and I wonder will he mark me now? Will he throw caution to the wind, will he lose control, and truly make me his? Or will he be sensible, will he stay in control and leave me unmarked.

And each night I hold my breath and wait. And each night he, stops himself, and moves down to suck and nip at my breasts. To trail kisses down my stomach and to work his magical tongue on my clit. In the pleasure that his tongue elicits each time, in the orgasm that builds and builds until I am so lost in pleasure, that I can think of nothing else, that I totally lose control. I forget about the mark.

But in the morning when he leaves, I can’t help but think back to how his mouth felt on my neck and doubt his motives.

He never mentions the pressure that is being put on him to replace his Luna, the ultimatum he has been given to take a suitable mate or lose his birth right.

And it makes me wonder. Is it truly self-control that stops him marking me? Is he worried about my safety, or one night will he just stop make his way to my house, and into my bed? Will he announce to the pack that he has selected his chosen mate, and forget all about me, his one true, mate.