Chapter 37 - "When You Put A Horny Alpha Mate, Poor Little Me And Closed Doors In The Same Equation."

"Hey, stranger." I call in lieu of a greeting, as I rush past students and fall into step with a familiar mocha-skinned girl.

She jerks in surprise, reluctantly pulling her eyes away from her huge, black, touch-screen mobile phone.

Mobile phone? Since when did she have one?!

"Hey, Micajah!" She greets back with a wide smile, her happiness and cheer splitting her face into two, when she realizes that it's me.

"Someone's haaaaappy," I drawl, dragging out the 'a', as I tilt my head and waggle my brows at her.

She blushes.

"Wow, I didn't know that telling you you're happy is enough to make you blush!" I snicker, observing the pink color in her cheeks shown clearly despite her dark complexion.

"I—um, uh—" She stutters, her eyes fluttering to me and then fluttering away rapidly.

"Nicole?! Are you alright?!" I exclaim, grabbing her forearm and pulling her to a stop forcefully. I place the back of my hand on her forehead, checking her temperature in dramatic fashion, "You seem fine though, is it something you'd rather not tell me—"

"I met my Mate." She blurts out, looking at me nervously.

I remain silent for a few seconds, my lips unmoving and immobile due to shock.

"You, wait—you found your Mate?! That's freaking awesome!" I grab her shoulders and shake her hard, laughing. "Oh my Goddess, the ceremony was like—two days ago! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Uh," She blushes harder, "I—I just, I was busy, okay?" Nicole says the words from in-between her teeth, widening her eyes meaningfully.

It takes me a second to understand.

"Ooooooh," I drag out, letting my gaze travel up and down as I size her up with a suggestive smirk. This makes her turn around quickly and walk in the direction of her class, "That quick, huh?" I ask teasingly, my voice loaded with innuendo, as I rush to fall in step with her.

By this point, her cheeks are redder than a cherry.

"Shut up, Micajah. I'm not that dumb," She tries to sound stern and even attempts to glare at me, but the humor is not lost in the situation. Her shyness and amusement are evident in the way her lips tilt up in the corners, the way her eyes are soft around the edges and the way she avoids my eyes.

"Fine, fine." I raise my hands up in defeat, "So...Who is she?"

"Her name is Kerenhap Davidson. Everyone calls her 'Karen'," Nicole admits, tucking a curl of hair behind her ear, her honey eyes darting to mine for a second before they flit away.

"Key-ren-what?" I ask, perplexed.

"It's not 'Key-ren-hap'. It's 'Krey-n-ahp'," She corrects with a frown, pursing her lips together:

I grin. "Getting defensive, already?"

"What!?" Her cheeks go beet red, "No!" She hurries to exclaim, making me burst out laughing.

"'Tis okay, Nic." I pay her back, "We all pass that stage before we fall into the paradise that we call 'love'," I say in a dreamy voice, envisioning Seneca in all her glory when I say 'love', She simply shakes her head in response, coming to a stop in front of her class.

I halt a few steps away from her, taking a glance at my antique digital watch. Now that I've started working, I should buy myself a watch.

Don't ask me about my time with Seneca every evening in her office.

You know very well what might be happening when you put a horny Alpha Mate, poor little me and closed doors in the same equation.

Off topic, Micajah.

Okay, back to the situation, Nicole is 10 minutes early.

Might as well say it then.

"I'm getting married," I announce suddenly, making Nicole—who is fiddling with the strap of her backpack freeze.

"Sorry? I thought I heard something?" She says, looking confused.

"I'm engaged to Seneca. I asked her out."

She stares at me in shock, her mouth opening and closing as she struggles to take in my words. I spread my hands in a symbol of 'what', but she just glances at me, and then glances away.

She finally looks at me, "Who are you?" She asks in all seriousness, not a bit of humor in her tone.

"Um, I'm Micajah?"

"I mean, is it really you?"

"Uh..."

"Oh, my Goddess! It's really you! I can't believe you're getting married!" Nicole almost screams and then throws her arms around me in a bear hug.

I laugh, "I know right, even I can't believe it." I remark, patting her back as I return her hug.

She pulls back, looking at me suddenly with hope, "Can I be your best man?"

I laugh once again, and after many days, I feel like everything's perfect and back to its place in my messed up life.

• • •

"Hey, Red." I clasp both her hands in mine as I lean forward and place a kiss on her lips, aware of all the eyes in the parking lot.

"Um, hi." She blushes slightly, pulling back as she looks up at me with an expression I can only name as shyness.

What can I say? Today is full of shocks.

"Please, darling. The shy look doesn't suit you at all. You rock the dominant Alpha thing way better," I can't help but tease, as I peck her lips once again.

She glowers playfully, all traces of shyness vanishing in a second. "Oh yeah?" She cocks a brow and grabs me by the arm suddenly, pushing me against the side of her car. She steps forward, letting her full body drape against me as she wraps both hands around my neck, shoving her fingers into my hair as she pulls me down and places a hard kiss on my lips.

When she pulls back, she leaves me breathless.

"Whoa,"

She smirks, looking satisfied. "Liked the show?"

"Loved it, actually."

She winks, "Good. Now, we gotta go. A wedding doesn't happen on its own."

•••

"Son? Can I have a word?"

I look up from my new iPhone 6s in surprise, caught off guard by the unfamiliar male voice.

It's Beta Xavier.

"What?" I jerk up, as I remove one bud of the EarPods, standing up instinctively in respect, before I realise that it's just him, and that this bastard doesn't deserve any of my respect. So I force myself to sit back on the sofa, and nod at him, controlling my surprise to a neutral mask that doesn't reflect my thoughts.

He nods back and takes a seat in the opposite sofa, his posture stiff and full of hesitation. "Um, I heard that you're engaged. Congratulations."

"Thank you," I offer a sharp nod, and remove the other EarPod, leaning forward and placing it on the coffee table.

"So?" I ask after a moment, wondering why this man is sitting in front of me right now.

"I'm so sorry, Micajah." He says suddenly, shocking the bejesus out of me.

It doesn't take me too many seconds to recover, "It's too late now, don't you think Mr. Harland?" I ask sarcastically, crossing my right leg over the other and placing one hand on my socks-covered ankle.

"Uh," He opens his mouth, then swallows heavily, "I know it was my fault, but you don't know how it feels to be betrayed by your own, son. And by own, I don't just mean your mother, but also my Alpha."

"Seneca did mention something about her father restricting you?" I say the sentence like a question, raising my tone a bit at the end, but trying to remain as nonchalant as possible.

"It's true." He relaxes slightly, his voice not sounding so hard anymore, "Alpha didn't restrict me in so many words, but the rivalry between your old Pack and ours was going on at its highest. And that's why I had a secret relationship with Victoria. I even let Ezra live in your Pack, and hid the birth of my heir, because our Alpha didn't like the Parker Pack, or anyone from it in general."

"Oh."

"Yes, and after his death, I could've apologised and asked for a second chance, but, I was too proud. And I was engaged to a woman, so I...I couldn't do anything about it."

I remain silent, looking at the EarPods intently, refusing to meet his eyes.

Because I know that even if he was at mistake, it wasn't his fault fully, and my stupid conscience might make me forgive him if I look at him any longer.

"So, um." He hesitates once again, "I..." He trails off and then shakes his head quickly. He then reaches inside the pocket of his dress pants, pulling out a small box, "This," he gestures to the velvet box, "I-It's the ring I bought for your mother." He opens the box, revealing a small gold band with one huge glinting diamond nestled in the middle.

He places it on the coffee table.

"You must know, that despite everything, I brought up young Alpha as my own, trained her properly, unlike her father, who mistreated her brutally. I respect her and every decision she makes and it would be a great honor if you give this ring to her."

I stare at him dubiously.

"Are you serious?" I ask after a moment.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry. After everything you've done, after separating my own brother from me, I don't know how you can stand before me like this," I shake my head, "And I get it, I really do, but sorry. I can't do that. I want her ring to be the one I bought, and to be honest, that ring is not Seneca at all. It will not suit her and she won't like it."

Beta Xavier has the guts to look hurt by my rejection. I raise one finger, stopping him from saying something when he opens his mouth, "It's really not personal." I add, hoping he doesn't make this a big issue.

He chooses to be in silence for a few minutes, looking at his hands.

I studiously avoid looking at him as well, twisting around the cellphone in my hand, admiring the space gray color that reminds me of the darkest pair of gray eyes that I've fallen in love with.

"Okay, son. I respect your decision." He says finally, forcing a friendly smile on his otherwise scary features as he stands. I reluctantly stand as well, because this feels like farewell. "I hope the next time we meet, you'll be waiting at the altar."

With that, my would've been-stepdad, extends his hand for a handshake—which I accept—offering me another cordial smile as he grabs the ring box and leaves.

Out of my home and out of my life, solving one of the mysteries that made up my past.

•••

"You know, homework is very important." I say as I adjust the pillows and make myself comfortable, placing the bowl of popcorn in between my legs on the bed.

"Who says I haven't completed mine?" Seneca raises one brow, smirking as she grabs the TV and DVD player remotes from the bedside table and jumps on the bed, crawling over to the headboard as she makes her way to me.

I enjoy the free show.

"Eyes up here, Cage." Seneca warns playfully, pushing the pillow to my right away with her forearm and taking its place. I raise my arm and she snuggles closer, placing one hand on my chest.

"It's nothing I'm not going to see soon." I comment, controlling the urge to laugh, when she stiffens in surprise and slowly pushes herself to her knees, turning to me with her jaw hanging open.

"P.S. I have completed my homework too. Just checking if you've done yours."

She continues to stare at me in shock, her mouth still open.

I laugh, getting up in my knees as well, to push her jaw close with a finger. "Aw, you're shy, Alpha?" I coo, pinching her full lower lip between two fingers. I then lean forward and place a chaste kiss on it, unable to help myself.

That pulls her out of her shock, and she glares once again, crossing her arms across her chest, dragging my attention elsewhere.

Oh maaaan, she is not helping the situation or my horny wolf!

'Yeah, yeah. Let's blame it all on the Wolf!' My Wolf mocks, but his attention is in another place and he doesn't really care if I blame him for anything.

Which comes in handy at times.

"Oh," Seneca says dramatically, diverting me from my mental monologue. "Well, now that you've taken a peek at what you're apparently "going to see"—" She makes air quotes, and I already know what she's going to say, so I slowly start to back away.

"—I want a peek too." She licks her lips and leaps forward, pushing me back as she pins me down on the bed, the movie we wanted to see, long forgotten.

• • •

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