Chapter 10

HUDSON

I rubbed the crease between my eyebrows in frustration. My mom was so stubborn sometimes, and I had to wonder how my dad kept up with her.

"Mom, you don't need to come down here. She's fine. Boston and Matthew just went down to check on her," I said, ignoring her loud protests.

"And why didn't you check on her?" She snapped. I could just imagine the deadly glare she had on her face that would make most wolves want to piss their pants.

I stared at the paperwork silently.

The thing is, I would have gone, but I figured Alexis wouldn't want to see me. I did feel guilty for letting her go through her heat cycle alone, but everything happened so fast that I couldn't even think clearly. My wolf was tearing my mind apart.

"Hudson, I'm disappointed in you," my mom said softly. I winced at her tone– no matter how soft it was, it felt like a thousand knives pricked my skin. To know that, for the first time in my life, my mom was so disappointed in me really hurt. I had let her down.

"Mom, I'm sorry. But you know my reasons," I said, trying to make her see the situation from my perspective.

"You're living in the past, Hudson. You haven't realized how much you've grown as a person. You have to trust yourself to make the right decisions or else how will the pack trust you? If they find out that you don't even trust your own mate, how are they supposed to trust you to tell them everything? They'll think you're hiding something."

"It's not that I don't trust Alexis, Mom. I just want to see how her personality is before I let myself fall into this relationship."

"How are you supposed to figure out her personality if you keep avoiding the girl? How are you going to accept that she's trustworthy by just observing her around other people you hardly know? You have to talk to her, Hudson. Communication is key. Do you know how many relationships are destroyed because the couple won't communicate with each other? I'm not going to let this be the reason you and your mate don't get along. I won't let that happen."

My mom made some good points, I had to admit. Perhaps it was time for me to visit Alexis and have a talk with her. It will help me figure out whether she is Luna material or not.

A few minutes later, my mom finally hung up after making me promise that I would go see Alexis as soon as possible. I decided that the best time to go would be after she comes home and settles down. It wasn't a good idea to stress her out in this condition. She wouldn't be willing to hear me out then.

There was a knock on the door, and Boston and Matthew trailed into the room with somewhat serious looks on their faces.

I pursed my lips and tried to act casual even though I was a bit worried.

Had Alexis's condition gotten worse?

I cleared my throat and gave them expectant looks, "Well?"

They exchanged a look before Boston opened his mouth hesitantly, "She wants to reject you."

Out of all things for him to say, I was not expecting that. My lips parted and my eyes widened as I stared at him in disbelief.

Was he serious?

My wolf started panicking and pacing frantically in my head.

Go to mate. Beg mate to not reject us.

I shushed him gently and tried convincing him that Alexis wouldn't reject us, but he was not having it.

This is your fault. Mate doesn't want me. I'll grow old and have to live with squirrels.

I mentally rolled my eyes at his dramatic statements. With the way he was acting, you would think that Alexis had already rejected us.

"Hudson," Matthew said, interrupting my wolf, "You have to start acting like a real mate. She's pretty much done with you after you abandoned her during her heat. She doesn't deserve the shit you put her through."

Why was everyone on her side? Why didn't anyone see anything from my point of view? Why the hell was she so impatient? I didn't understand her. It was as if she wanted me to mark her without getting to know each other first. It was so stupid.

I glared at the paperwork and decided to change the topic, "What have you two found out about the rogues? Did any other packs have anything to report?"

Boston shrugged, "The rogues have been quiet lately. No attacks anywhere."

I didn't like the sound of that. It made the situation more daunting if they didn't do anything. It made it seem like they were planning something bigger than just a normal attack.

"Alexis seems to know something though. We told her about the witch the other day and she reacted very oddly. Then today, she mentioned something about being blessed by the Moon Goddess but she wouldn't say more about it," Matthew said quietly.

I froze.

If she knew something, why wouldn't she speak up? It could save hundreds of lives if she did. It made me very suspicious, and I suddenly felt very determined to make her talk.

I stood up and ran my fingers through my hair, "Well, let's go see what she has to say. We need to know more before we make our next move."

Boston and Matthew shared looks again which made me very annoyed.

"What?" I snapped, giving them both harsh glares.

Boston rolled his eyes, "She's not going to tell you anything. Why should she? To her, you're just an asshole who can't get his head out of his ass."

I huffed.

Girls could be so complicated. Thank the Moon Goddess I had enough sense to never pursue a relationship. It would have made my life much more complicated than it already was.

"Look, be nice to her. Don't just give her the third degree the moment you walk in. She'll hate you even more."

I took Boston's words into consideration and nodded, "Duly noted."

They nodded in satisfaction and followed me out of my room. Once we were outside, we went our separate ways as Boston and Matthew went to go check on the new pack warriors. I strolled towards the pack hospital and was about to enter when Luna Malia opened the door and stepped outside with Alexis by her side.

My eyes wandered over every inch of her body to see how badly she was affected. A wave of concern washed over me, and my wolf whimpered at the sight of his mate and tried to convince me to go comfort her.

She looked awful, and I didn't mean that in an offensive way. It was blatantly obvious how much she suffered from her heat– the exhaustion was clear on her face. But one thing was for sure, even though she wasn't feeling well, she still managed to look extremely attractive.

I tore my eyes away from her and nodded respectfully at her mother, "Luna."

She gave me a half-hearted smile, "Alpha Hudson."

I could tell she wasn't exactly pleased with me at the moment, so I turned to Alexis with an expectant look on my face. She looked surprised that I even regarded her.

"Alexis, do you think we could talk for a few minutes?" I asked.

She stared at me quietly for a few seconds before she nodded, "Sure. I know just the place."

I followed her hesitantly and tried to ignore my wolf's perverted suggestions about her ass.

I wasn't going to look.

She led me to a small cabin near the edge of the pack boundary, which made me frown.

I didn't know if I could trust myself around her. There was a very faint scent of the remains of her heat. If my wolf took the time to smell her properly, he would go crazy.

She turned around to face me and gestured to the couch, "Have a seat. Do you want anything to drink?"

"No, I'm good."

She nodded and sat down on the couch across from me, "What did you want to talk about?"

I studied her features with a curious look while she did the same with me. When our eyes made contact, it felt like there was a new energy in the air. I felt a small shiver go down my spine as my eyes bore into her beautiful brown ones. Her cheeks turned a faint shade of pink, and I had to force myself to resist the urge to smile.

"So?" She asked quietly as if she didn't want to break the moment.

What was I supposed to say? I didn't know how to start the conversation. Why was I so nervous to talk to a she-wolf? She was like a pack member.....except she could potentially rule beside me and have my pups.

I blinked and let my eyes fall on the coffee table, "How are you feeling?"

"I've had better days," she said.

Even though she didn't sound angry, I felt worse than I did before. She was still willing to forgive and accept me after I put her through that.

"Look, Alexis. I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just that, my wolf wanted to mark you. He was out of control and I couldn't push him down no matter how hard I tried. If I saw you, I would have marked you by force. I didn't want to do that. If we mark each other, it should be because we genuinely like each other and feel ready to take our relationship to the next level," I said, running my fingers through my hair roughly

She licked her lips slowly as she thought about what I said, causing my wolf to wreak havoc in my head.

Let's pull–

No. The last time I let you in control, you pulled her tail. Have you forgotten about that?

I bet mate liked it though.

Was it possible to slap your wolf without slapping yourself in the process?

"I understand you wanted to protect me, but I'm not just upset about that, Hudson. You haven't even tried to talk to me once before this. How are we supposed to get to know each other if you avoid me?"

"You didn't try to talk to me either, Alexis. Don't push this all on me," I stated angrily. If she wanted to talk so bad, why didn't she approach me?

"I did try. The first day you were here I introduced myself, but you walked away. Then, you pretty much locked yourself up in your room. How the fuck was I supposed to talk to you then Hudson? I wasn't going to chase you like a fool. I shouldn't have to. You're my mate. Have your parents not given you the mate talk?"

"Don't be stupid. Of course they did."

It was one hell of an awkward conversation too. My mom made my dad tell me about mates and he wouldn't stop making awkward jokes.

She raised an eyebrow, "Hudson. Boston and Matthew told me about what happened five years ago, but you can't possibly think I'm capable of betraying the pack like that do you?"

I suddenly felt angry that she was questioning my decisions. It made me seem like an ignorant leader.

I blocked my wolf so he would stop growling and snapped, "You have no right to speak about that. That has nothing to do with our relationship."

"Really?" She drawled sarcastically, her eyes flashing angrily.

"Yes, in fact, I can give you three good reasons why I shouldn't accept you right now," I retorted, standing up so I towered over her. She did the same, except her head only reached my chest.

"Fine. Give me three reasons."

A dark glare formed on my face as she stood her ground. Most wolves would have pissed their pants, but she stayed still. I was angry that she affected me without even trying, her scent was enough to mess with my mind.

"I don't know if you're a good Luna."

She nodded slowly, "One."

I opened my mouth again, but nothing came out.

Fuck.

I racked my brain for a second reason, but the only things I could come up with were covered by the first reason.

"You know what Hudson? Find me when you can speak with your brain and not your ego," She muttered, turning to leave. She was almost to the door when I grabbed her hand and yanked her back, catching her off guard.

"What the–?" She stumbled backward, and I quickly gripped her waist to steady her.

Tingles rushed up and down my body at the feeling of her warm skin touching mine. She seemed stunned by my actions, but she didn't try to pull away from my grip.

I had to admit, I could see what the fuss was about. It felt amazing to just hold her, and I wouldn't feel comfortable if any other male touched her like this. We weren't even doing anything remotely romantic, but the whole scene felt intimate.

I was about to say something when she pulled away gently and glared at the window, "Do you smell that?"

The fog in my head instantly cleared as a foul smell drifted into my nostrils. She turned back around with a worried look on her face.

Was it a rogue? After all, not all rogues share the same scent.

The smell got stronger, and I felt like gagging. It was like the scent of rotten eggs and skunk mixed together.

"Hudson," she whispered, "It's not a werewolf."