Welcome Home Mate
Chapter 8

LEX

I couldn't help but stare at Roxie as she left.

My face was hurting from where she punched me, and I will be honest, that punch knocked me off my feet.

Where the hell did she learn to punch like that?

"You dvmba.ss," says Blaze, trying not to laugh.

What did I do?

I was pulled away from my thoughts when I heard footsteps coming toward me, and I turned around to be confronted by Tim and a smirking Jason.

I groan.

Tim looks toward the house, "What the hell happened?" he asks, never taking his eyes from the door that Roxie went through.

I sigh, "I don't know," I say.

Tim doesn't say anything or even look my way. He walks back towards the house and heads inside.

I stared at the door, "You i***t," Jason said as I turned around to look at him.

"You had to open that macho mouth of yours and think that Roxie needs help," he says.

I grunted, "I thought I would lend my expertise," I said to him.

Jason's smirk was still plastered on his face, and he glanced at the door. "You know, My dad and I didn't talk to her this morning as we were called to patrol early due to rogues," he says as he looks back at me. I stared back at him and frowned, "that might explain why she didn't want me to be around then," I said.

Jason smirks, "Yeah, that's why," he says, "I have to admit that was a mean right hook she gave you; you have a bruise forming."

I grunted, "It was a lucky shot," I say to him.

Jason chuckles, "Whatever," he says.

After a few seconds, Jason calms down and stares at me.

He sighs, "My dad and I will talk to her now, but I think you should leave for a while," he says, "I will let you know how it goes." I nod but don't say anything.

I wasn't happy about it, and neither was Blaze, but we should go back and do some work.

I was about to turn to leave when Jason stopped me, "Oh, my dad heard from Uncle Keith; he's on his way here. You might have a visit from him when he arrives," he says.

"Okay, I will keep an eye out for him," I said.

We both nodded and went our separate ways.

I walked towards the packhouse. There were a few people around as it was time for training.

I guess I had best get to training; I needed to work out some frustration.

I headed over to the training grounds.

Bruce, the warrior trainer, was waiting for me as I got closer. He looks up at me and frowns. "Where did you get the shiner?" he asks as his lips curl up slightly, "I told you to duck when a fist comes towards you." I grunted, "I was taken by surprise, that's all," I said to him.

I can hear Blaze laugh in my head, "good explanation. Do you want to tell him it was by your mate too?" he says with a smirk.

I ignore him, damn wolf.

I scanned the grounds, and all the pack members were there. Some were already sparring, and others were waiting for instructions.

"You know she is back, right," says a voice from the side of me.

I turned to look at her, Naomi.

I smirked. "I know; I've already seen her," I said.

Naomi stares at me, but her eyes are glued to my face. She starts to smirk, "I guess someone wasn't to happen to see you," she says as she places her hand on my cheek, she presses down, and the pain from the punch hits my eye.

I moved back and frowned at her. "Hey, watch it," I said to her.

I could hear a growl from behind me, "Mate, you best get in line for training, or I will punish you for not listening to me," said Bruce.

Naomi looks at him with raised eyebrows. "I will, baby; I just wanted to know if Alpha Lex knows a certain person is back in the pack," she says. She walked around me and straight up to him.

She pulls him down by placing her hand on his face and placing a kiss on his lips.

I had to look away as it would be weird to carry on looking, especially as Naomi was my ex.

"I'm going to train for a bit," I said, even though I didn't know if they were paying attention.

I get in line with a few other high-ranked pack members, and we start to train.

Naomi was a girlfriend from back in the day when we were in high school. We both knew we had mates, and we agreed to stop when we found out about our mates. The only problem was that I had learned about mine for years, and Naomi only found her mate two years ago. Let's just say she wasn't too happy when I told her. Bruce came to the pack to help with training, and he was from our neighboring pack, the Crescent Moon pack.

The neighboring pack's run by a dear friend of mine, Alpha Dean. Alpha Dean and I are friends. Our fathers would bring us to the alpha meetings every year. We used to train with a high-ranking trainer wherever we were staying.

I was pulled from my thoughts when Bruce decided to put us into groups to fight. I fought hard as usual, but my mind went to Roxie as always. The image of her in the lycra leggings as she moved was something I would love to witness again.

Training went on for another hour. Everyone dispersed and headed back to the packhouse, as many members had jobs on the pack grounds.

I walked away but noticed Bruce and Naomi walking hand in hand towards their home.

I wish I could be like that with Roxie.

I walked straight into the packhouse and headed straight to the office. As I walked in, my father glanced up and smirked, "Like the shiner," he said, "A nice present from Roxie."

I groan, "Who told you?" I ask, but I have a funny feeling about who might have.

My father smirks and taps his nose.

He doesn't say anything but stares at me.

"I'm going to shower and then get to work," I said.

My father nods and carries on with whatever he is doing.

I walked straight to the bathroom. I have a shower room built into my office as I never have time to grab a shower, usually after training. I had it made in when I took over as Alpha, and I typically stay late here, which means I never get a chance to freshen up when I I quickly shower and get dressed.

want to.

About a half-hour later, I sat at my desk as my father left the room only briefly. He was going to do some training himself and to have some food.

I worked on the documents that I needed to complete.

It must have been a few hours that went by when there was a knock at my door.

"Come on," I shouted as I placed the last paperwork into the folder.

The door opens and in walks Keith.

I smile at him as he closes the door behind him.

"Alpha Lex, it's so good to see you once again," he says.

I nodded, "Yeah, it is nice to see you too," I said to watch him take a seat.

Once Keith was settled, he looked at me and c****d his head to the side, "Do I want to know who did that, or should I guess?" he asked, pointing under his eye.

I groan; I seriously need this bruise to heal.

I can feel Blaze smirk, but he doesn't say anything.

"Don't ask," I said to him.

Keith nods, but he has a hint of a smirk appearing on his face. "She has changed; I tell Tim and Jason not to mess with her. But I guess everything needs to come out now," he says.

I nodded but didn't say anything.

Keith looks at me and carries on. "I tried to ring Roxie back, but she never answered. I asked my Alpha if I could stay for a while until she had settled. Is that good for you?"

"Yeah, having you here might help more," I said, agreeing with him. Roxie had been with his pack for six years, and he would have an insight into her. Besides, Roxie hasn't exactly opened up about anything. I know it has only been one day, but I want to know more about her.

I looked at Keith, and he was staring at me.

"I won't overthink about the punch," he says and moves out of the chair. "I know you want to know her, but there is one thing you all need to realize."

He stops and looks down at me. "Roxie hasn't had it easy, and I mean, not what you see is what you get with her; she had to work hard to get to where she is now, and she won't let anyone stop her."

I smiled, "I just want to know my mate, I want to know everything about her, but until you all talk to her, I can't. I need to tell her my side of the story too," I said to him.

He nods but looks at me, "I have to ask, and you can tell me to keep out of your business, but have you been with any other woman?" he asks.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Keith, that's personal, but I will tell you, I haven't been with anyone in two years," I said to him.

Keith sighs, "I didn't mean anything by it, Lex," he says and looks toward the office door. "Roxie was hurting when she left here; I mean, she wanted nothing to do with you; I couldn't even mention your name in front of her for a while, but she worked through it, and I have to say she made something of herself over in the pack, many pack members look up to her."

He turns to me, "I would give her some time to adjust to being back; there are some things you don't know, and I think you should wait till Roxie is okay with telling you."

I stared at him, feeling slightly confused.

Keith looks at me and smiles. "I can't tell you anything as it's not my story to tell, but you need to be prepared for whatever she has to tell you; some of it might explain some things that went on around here."

I was about to say something, but a mind link came through; it was Jason.

"Hey man, Uncle Keith with you?" he asks.

"Yeah, he's here," I tell him.

"Okay, well, we talked to Rox, and she knows our version. But I have to tell you; you might want to hold out talking to her for a little while so she can process everything. She just had an overload of information," he says. "I mentioned we all train in the mornings, and if she wanted to come, she could, but she said she might give it a miss tomorrow as she has some things to do in her room, but she will be there the following day."

I smile. "Okay, that's fair enough," I say.

I close the mind link down and see Keith staring at me with an odd expression, and he shakes his head and smiles.

"I just had a mind link off my brother to go there," he says.

I nod.

Keith turns and leaves the office.

I follow his every move as he closes the door behind him, and I can't help but lean back in my chair.

What the hell did he mean by all that about Roxie?

I could feel Blaze come forward slightly, and I knew he was listening in on everything being said. "He might be on about how you last spoke to mate when she was here," he said.

I can't help but grimace at what he said.

I was an a.ss back then. I was attracted to her, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it. And being a moody teenager, I wanted what I couldn't have. Knowing that I couldn't have her was hard, but I had to wait till she was the right age.

Blaze was as horny and hormonal as I was. He was making all my hormones heightened, especially when her scent wafted near us.

I had to be a jerk, and I had to be the bad guy.

Blaze stares at me, "You were dumba.ss."

I frown.

"I know, and I agree, but we now have to figure out how to make everything right with our mate," I said.

Blaze nods and looks deep in thought, "We should let mate think about things first, but we could send her a gift," he says.

That sounds like a good idea.

"We could send her a bone," he says, wagging his tail.

I smirked. "Maybe next time," I said to him, even though her wolf would like that.

I leaned forward and grabbed the phone; I knew what I wanted. I just hope she will like them.