The Game Of Quadruplet Mates
Chapter 22

Ajax gently runs the back of his hand down the side of my face. "You've been quiet."

We were already walking back to the house after Ajax said a few brief announcements to the pack and leaving Jeremy to do his own.

An echo of Jeremy's voice could still be heard from where we were. He was reading out a list of everyone's duties for the week and their training schedules. The training schedules sounded longer than the list of duties. "I'm fine." I quietly told him, doing my best to smile, but it didn't quite reach my eyes.

Ajax's amber eyes narrowed, looking around. "Did something happen? Did someone say something to disrespect you? I should go back there to teach them a lesson."

He looked ready to run back to the center of town to punish someone.

Or do something worse.

Panicked, I reached for him quickly. "No, nothing like that. I just want to go home."

"June," Ajax took my hand, pulling me to face him. "I'm your mate. You need to start telling me things. Especially when something is bothering you."

How could I even begin to explain what was upsetting me? How can I even word it out to him?

'I saw a woman and she looked really sad?'

'My instincts are telling me that she is something to you?'

'Did you lie to me when you said there was no one else?'

All of it sounded so... wrong.

Wasn't I already here with him? Shouldn't I stop being upset over every little thing? Why do I feel so strongly about knowing this? Ajax has already proven himself many times. He deserves the benefit of the doubt.

But it was too late because he was already waiting, patiently running his thumb over my knuckles.

"There's this..." I started to say, biting my lip nervously. Now that I'm about to say it, I really did sound silly, making something out of nothing. Still, Ajax gazed at me as if whatever I was about to say was the most important thing for him. "Are you sure there wasn't anyone-" But I don't get to finish my question.

"Alpha!" A breathless young man- barely of age came running towards us, an alarmed look on his face. "You need to come quickly!"

"I'm in the middle of something." Ajax snaps impatiently, shooting the pale faced teenager a glare that could stop anyone. "Finish what you were saying, June. They can wait."

Apparently, it could not wait because the young man dropped his head low. "Alpha, I'm sorry but this is important."

The fire in Ajax's eyes could burn a hole through the teenager. "I've said this multiple times already. No one should interrupt my time with my mate unless there's an emergency that Jeremy can't handle."

"It's an emergency, Alpha." The young man bowed low again, apologetic and sincere. "I'm really sorry, Alpha, and to you as well, Luna, but the Beta was the one who sent me to you."

The frown on Ajax's face deepens, finally facing the boy. "What is it?"

Immediately going into business, the teenager straightens as if in a military position, hands behind his back and chin pointed up. "I was told by the Beta that you've been ignoring the old Alpha of the city pack since he tried to get in touch with you at the Assembly, forcing you to arrange a meeting and such."

Cora's father is trying to contact Ajax?

What for?

Is he mad that Ajax nearly choked his daughter to death?

Are they coming to attack?

Ajax tips his head forward, prompting the boy to continue.

"He has sent his men to us. The patrols caught their scent." The young man's face hardens, that same nameless pack glint in his eyes. He suddenly looked older than he really was. "Twenty strong. A few kilometers off our borders. Jeremy is on his way now." Something changed in Ajax. I couldn't quite place it but the way he stilled, the way he suddenly turned quiet and calculating made me think of his name: monster. "How close?"

He didn't even sound like himself.

At least not the Ajax that I've ever been with.

"Below the mountains, across the river, too far to be any threat but the nearest anyone has ever been." The young man reports, looking grave.

And though I can tell the city pack is far enough that everyone is safe, I understand from Ajax and the young boy's reaction that this isn't usual for them. Nobody comes to their pack. Not even just near their borders. I inched closer to my mate. "Ajax,"

He immediately took me by the waist and, though his hold was sweet, his words were tight and dark. "Do not worry. We will be sending them back before you know it."

Somehow, I don't think Ajax and I have the same definition of 'sending them back'. If I let my mind wonder, I am almost sure only a few parts- a few body parts of these twenty men will return to where they came from. Ajax isn't the forgiving type and he is certainly not the type of Alpha to have his borders breached.

I am not blind. Ajax, with all his tenderness, is still what he is and that will never change.

Not for his enemies.

"He's been contacting you?" I replace myself asking, utterly surprised that this was happening. "Since we left the Assembly?"

"He's been contacting me months before the Assembly." Ajax reveals in a disturbed tone. "Trying to arrange his daughter with me."

I swallowed, feeling anxious that this was all happening. "And when we left? He continued to contact you?"

His eyes were dark and angry like whatever the old Alpha said offended him. "He said he didn't need the Assembly to bind his daughter with me. His brat of a daughter was sent home unmated and is throwing a fit, so he plans to mate us illegally." A sharp breath leaves my lips. "Oh."

Ajax is quick to console me, wrapping his large arms around me. "I would never consider such a thing, June. I would soon die than be with another."

My chest warms as he says this, answering every question and doubt that was still swimming in my mind.

"I must see to our unwanted visitors now. I'll send Jeremy back to you once I'm there." Ajax turns to the young man. "Bring my mate home and make sure she is safe."

The boy nods, face serious. "Yes, Alpha."

"June," His hands reached for my face, cupping my cheeks. "Stay indoors for now. There's no danger but it would make me feel better if you were inside."

I nodded, knowing there was little I could do to help them but keep myself safely inside the house. "I will."

Ajax briefly glances at the gaping teenager, who immediately looks away. Again, I see the familiar surprised expression of his people as if seeing their Alpha this way was too confusing.

That this never happens.

Their minds are unable to wrap themselves around this.

Uncaring of who could hear or who could see, Ajax places a kiss on my forehead.

"I don't want you to worry. I will never be anyone else's mate. Nothing will take me from you." He smiles softly, tenderly... devotionally. "And these twenty men at the border? I'll make quick work of them and will be back by your side before you even know it." I have no doubt that Ajax will make quick work of them. The memory of Pete's arm is still fresh in my mind. "Okay."

Ajax hesitated like he didn't want to leave before giving me another kiss on the forehead. "Go. Get to safety."

I didn't even realize that a few more pack members had arrived, flanking the teenager. They bowed to me. "We'll take you back to your house, Luna."

Ajax took a step back, his face contorted with emotion before giving me one last nod of his head. Just when I think he won't leave, he forces himself to shift, bursting out of clothes as his body changes into a large black wolf. He was truly large, strength and power exuding out of him. The monster... my mate, did not at all look like a normal wolf with beautiful features. In fact, he was not beautiful at all, he looked dangerous like a nightmare with his sharp teeth, long claws and fur that was short in some places and long in others. He looked like he had seen battle all his life with scars all over his body. Truly, the only word to describe him at the moment was a monster, as monstrous as he was, the power, the strength and the commanding presence is nothing like any of the wolves I've

ever seen.

This was my mate. My Ajax.

And I know it's him because the amber eyes remain, staring at me longingly and I couldn't help but give him a reassuring smile.

"I'll be fine." I told him quietly.

He gestures to the direction of our house and I put my thumb up in a quiet okay but he doesn't move. And I understood then that he was waiting for me to go first.

With a lot more effort than I realized I needed, I turned away from him and started walking back. He doesn't move yet, I know because I can feel him watching me and it's only when I disappear into a corner do I hear his large paws against the ground.

The people he left to keep me safe walked silently behind me... silently as they could at least.

In low voices, my teenage guards spoke amongst themselves. "I heard from my brother who's with Jeremy at the border that the city pack are willing to ignore what happened in the games."

"What happened at the Games?" A younger voice asked.

A long disappointed sigh leaves one's lips. "Didn't you hear? The Alpha choked the spoiled girl."

"Is she de a d?" The question sounded a little too eager.

"Sadly, no. But apparently, all will be forgiven and forgotten if the Alpha's mate is given to that joke of a Beta they call Konstantin and Cora is given to the Alpha."

I feel a sudden weight press on my chest and it takes all of me not to sit down to take a minute. I know Ajax would never agree, but the mere thought of being replaced by Cora and thrown back at Konstantin makes me sick to my stomach. "And if not, they're threatening war."

War?! How can someone threaten war over a legal mating? Ajax and I bound ourselves in front of elders, officials and the Goddess herself. How does that cause a war? Or is Cora just so humiliated she wants revenge?

Panic stricken, I hugged myself, trying to wrap my head around this awful news.

But the determined teenagers let out a laugh like this didn't bother them at all. "Who are they to demand and say they'll forgive us? They will be begging us for forgiveness after we're done with them."

They all agreed with high fives, but then the next question is asked and I can't help but be curious too. "Why is that spoiled Cora so desperate for our Alpha?"

"From what I heard, our Alpha is the only unmated Alpha of her age and the spoiled brat only wants an Alpha as a mate. And..." Another laugh goes through them. "She believes in her delusional mind that they're destined mates."

"What shit is she spewing?" The boys chuckled. "The Alpha is obviously head over heels in love with his mate and if he ever does get a 'destined mate' it wouldn't Cora, it would be our Luna."

They lowered their voices even more, making me strain my ears to hear what they're saying. "I heard from my brother that the chattering helpers at the Assembly said that Cora is so in love with the Alpha, horribly obsessed. She apparently cornered him when he first arrived at the Games and had her hands all over him."

A disgusted scoff came from behind me. "What? She tried to assault him?"

"That's why Konstant- s h it didn't want to be involved." They pieced together, sounding very proud of themselves. "The Beta knows she doesn't want him and only wants our Alpha."

Protective and ever loyal, the boys sniggered. "Our Alpha would never. Not even if she gave him the whole world. Funny how no one, not a single one, tried to claim her. She laughed at everyone that wasn't chosen and the ones who had a smaller dowry than hers. Now look what happened."

"Karma." They sang happily from behind me.

And then, I heard it.

Heard her.

"That's all well and funny, but that news is still unconfirmed. Thus, it's gossip. Are teenage boys really gossiping behind their charge's back?"

The smooth voice made me turn because it wasn't owned by any of the boys I was with. No. This voice came from a woman and the tightness in my chest said it wasn't just any woman.

I wish I was wrong, but I wasn't because as I faced the voice that spoke, I saw her.

The girl from beside Jeremy during the announcement. She was staring at my mark with a look of jealousy and now she was standing beside me, scolding teenage boys with a lifted eyebrow.

Again, I can't help but think how similar we were. Our height, our hair. She was just fiercer and stronger looking. She made me worry.

She made me really worry.

"Delta Moira," The boys greeted her stiffly. "We were just..."

"You're dismissed." She says curtly. "I'll take her to the house myself."

The young man that ran to Ajax and I not a few minutes ago looked confused. "But the Alpha,"

"Wouldn't want to know you're gossiping behind her back." She presses, her eyes narrowed and challenging. "Do you?"

They shook their heads, not giving up so easily. "We didn't mean to-"

She shrugged, glancing at the opposite direction of the house. "Go and I won't tell him."

I almost called for the boys to come back as they slowly walked away from us. I didn't want to be alone with her, heck, I didn't want to know her. It wasn't that I was being cowardly. My instincts told me that I shouldn't be here with her and that she was going to say something that I wasn't going to like.

Something that she would never be able to take back.

And by the look on her face... I knew it was coming.

She didn't look mean or vengeful.

She looked determined to say something, determined to prove something.

And that scared me more than all the cruel words said to me combined.

But instead of running like I wanted to, my feet stayed planted and my face relaxed, ready for what was to come and ready to show her that whatever she was about to say, I could take it.

I surprised myself by speaking first. "Who are you?"

"The girl before you." She says in a tone that was matter of fact. "Ajax obviously has a type, doesn't he?"

Ajax.

She called him by his name.

Didn't he say I was the only one allowed to call him by his name?

The pit in my stomach turns into a black hole and I feel helpless as I stare at her. Despite the pain that was weighing my entire body down, I stayed where I am, unblinking and doing my best to look like she hadn't just ripped my heart out of my chest. "Why weren't you at the Assembly?" My voice sounded even but my heart felt like it could barely function.

If what she says is true, then Ajax should have sent her to the Games to legally mate with her.

So why wasn't she there?

The woman smiled like she didn't know what she was doing to me, as if she wasn't just tearing me apart. "Ajax told me not to come and he left me in charge of the pack. I am his third in command."

She said it again.

Ajax.

She said it so casually, so normally, like she says it to him every day and at the most private of times- intimate times.

Her smile was big, her implication even bigger. "He had me fix the money that was sent to your father. A big amount too."

The phone call. The one that wouldn't end and continuously rang in his room.

That was her.

"Are you a gold digger, June? Are you with him for the money?" She asked jokingly, like we were old friends, but her eyes were serious. "Because if you are, you would have gotten more money if you accepted Konstantin instead. Or maybe Jeremy? He's rich as well. City pack money. You like our Beta? I hear you were hot and heavy with him too, before you were claimed by our Alpha."

"What do you want?" I asked, getting straight to the point. I hated this fake approach. At least Cora was direct. I knew where I stood with Cora, but with this new girl... she made me feel uneasy.

She tilts her head to the side, observing me carefully, waiting for my reaction. "To tell you the truth."

My heart was in my throat. "Which is?"

"That you're not special," She says flatly.

"I suppose there's nothing special about you as well. After all, you said I just replaced you." The words left my lips smoothly, like butter, like venom. It surprised me because I wasn't much for confrontation. I avoided it. But something deep inside me was burning... proud and angry.

She wasn't quite as impressed as I was. "Don't look so high and mighty."

"If that's how you see me." The beating of my heart wouldn't calm, ringing in my ears until it is all I can hear. "I'm here now. And whatever it is that happened between you two is in the past."

The Delta squared her shoulders. "I'm not trying to fight you, June. I'm simply informing you of the truth, of what you so proudly flaunt."

"Flaunt?" I breathed out, feeling like she just punched me. "I didn't beg to be chosen. I didn't want any of this. I was going home, unmated."

"Then why are you here?" She questioned with narrowed eyes.

It was so tempting to curl up in a ball... to get myself out of this situation. "You should ask him that."

"Or maybe you stayed for Jeremy? I heard about your little romance. Your little moment in the lake." She taunted, grinning proudly. "Ajax knows about that, you know.

I hope the surprise didn't show on my face because I certainly felt it shake me. "Yet I'm still here. With Ajax. The present."

I wanted to run.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to throw up.

I wanted to scream and then run and cry and throw up at the same time, but I stayed. I stupidly stayed even if all I wanted was to do was the opposite. When she didn't say anymore, relief flooded my veins.

With a strength I didn't know I still had, my lips turned up in a smile. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Delta. I'll be seeing you around."

I did not want to see her ever again.

And right now, I wanted to be as far away from her as possible.

Knowing the house by heart, I turned and had to stop myself from sprinting as I walked away. I do not look back to see if she followed me back, but I do pray that she doesn't.

By the time I made it to the front doors, my lips were quivering and I felt as though my heart would explode. My eyes start to leak big, fat, salty tears that fall down my cheeks as my entire body just shakes. It's like I've held it back for so long that I cannot contain it any longer and I break down.

A blubbering mess, I quietly hugged myself in a corner and, for the first time, I wondered what it would be like if I was just sent home from the Games unmated with no one choosing me.