Caleb

I was at the pack house playing video games with Matt and Samuel when Chris barged in with two girls. 

"What are you doing here?" asked Matt scowling. 

"Last time I checked this is the pack house and I am still part of this pack, dirty omega," said Chris. 

Matt's fists clenched but he did not answer. 

"Chris knock it off," I said. 

Chris gritted his teeth but his angry expression was soon replaced by a smug one. "Want to have some fun, Alpha?" asked Chris smirking. "I can share."  

"No, I am fine," I said focusing on the game in front of me. 

"Do not come with that BS now," said Chris. "Do you really expect us all to believe you magically turned into a good mate just because some stupid girl told you that you are her mate?" 

"No, I don't, but I have a good reason to at least try."

"I do not see her anywhere here. You just need to convince her that you changed. So what is the problem now?" 

I paused the game and sighed. "If you have not noticed, I already tried that, even before knowing she is my mate." I chuckled and covered my face with my free hand. "I even took girls to the Alpha house instead of here so she would not find out. It is like she has some sort of radar to find me in the worst situations." 

Samuel and Matt laughed. "That is just fate, dude," said Matt. 

"That and my idiot friends who cannot stand guard and warn me that she is coming to my room." I glared at each of them. 

Samuel shrugged. "If it is because of that one day, she was supposed to be busy and we tried." 

I stared up at Chris. "I am not risking it. I already fucked up enough. I need her to love me." 

"You do not even love her." He sneered. 

"That is not the point." I rolled my eyes. 

"And people say I am the heartless one," said Chris before leaving with the girls, to his room most likely. "Tell me when you give up in your sorry attempts to woo her. Otherwise, I will have to..." 

I could not clearly get the last part and decided to ignore him. He just cannot deal with not getting everything his way; That is the reason we understand each other so well after all. The guys and I went back to the game. That until Matt paused it again and looked at me with a serious face.

"You are not usually the one to deceive people," said Matt. "She is a good girl. Power is not everything there is." 

Samuel followed his lead. "Really, man; Intentions matter. You should treat her right because you love her, not because you need her." 

I scoffed. "What are you now? Dr. Phil apprentices? I do love her, I think." 

They both gave me knowing looks. 

"OK. I may not be doing this because of my devote heart, but isn't it better than how I acted before?" 

Matt sighed. "I cannot deal with you right now. I've gotten somewhere to be," he said and left the room.

 Samuel ran his hand through his hair and looked away from me. "I hope that you understand what you are doing. The truth always comes out at the end." 

I stood up and walked outside. "I do not feel like playing anymore. I am going for a run."

I stripped down, left my clothes by a tree and shifted in my wolf. I am trying my best. I ran faster and faster. Why do they have to judge everything I do?  Finally, I sprinted until I reached the river at the south limit of my territory. 

I saw my reflection in the water. My wolf is larger than average, as an Alpha should be. However, I am not the strongest wolf out there and I know it. There is nothing special about my pack. We do own a lot of lands, a remnant of our former glory, but that is it. Is it that wrong to want my mate to love me? I want her.

Alpha wolves can become much more powerful when they are mated to their destined mate, but only if she is strong as well. The other option is to be mated to a female wolf with Alpha blood. That is why, to avoid conflict, Alpha families usually only have one pup which almost always is a male; There is not much hope of finding an unmated Alpha female. 

If Anna rejects me like she almost did a couple of nights ago, my wolf will never be stronger and I will not be able to help my pack as much as I want to. I once said I would reject my mate if she was not perfect. I thought that I would rather be alone than with a weak mate. 

Almost every Luna I have met is more like a liability than a leader. I could count with two hands how many of them can actually fight and protect themselves. However, Anna seems like she would make a great leader. She is strong, not only physically. I love her personality. She does not let things get under her skin and can be tough and loving at the same time. Also, if I am not mistaken she is a strong warrior in her own pack. She is just what I want in my Luna. I wish I knew who she is from the beginning. I would not be in this mess now.

As I was lost in thought a large gray wolf tackled me. It was above me pinning me down. I bared my teeth and growled ready to fight until my eyes met those beautiful golden eyes. I felt myself relax under this beautiful wolf's touch. It wiggled its tail and licked my nuzzle and my whole face. This wolf did not smell like a rouge but I could not mindlink it. It did smell like a female, a very strong female. 

Wait... I recognize this smell. There is only one person around that could be this wolf. I closed my eyes and showed my neck, against which she nuzzled up. I could stay like this forever. 

After a while of cuddling in silence, I shifted back to talk to her. As soon as she saw me in my human form, she stumbled back. 

"Anna?" I asked. 

She howled lowly, sounding more like whistling and took off. 

I hurried and shifted back to catch her but I lost her. How can she be so fast? I stopped running and stayed there just looking at the tracks she left. "Wow..." I mindlessly said. I lied down taking in the scent she left. I had never felt as lonely as I feel right now. I shook off the alien feeling that had crept into me and ran toward the Alpha's house; Homework awaits me.

A/N: The flu is killing me right now. Yesterday was the worst.