The Alpha Can’t Sense His Mate

AZRIEL’S POV

We were surrounded when we stepped foot in the Moon Light pack.

I heard the unfriendly growl from Zadok, and the MoonLight wolves, bared their claws each ready to attack.

“We mean no harm.” I announced to the wolves, “Take us to the alpha.” I requested, hoping they were smart enough to see we were here on a peace offering.

“And who do you think you are, coming here unannounced?” One of the wolves asked, baring his canines and eyeing us warily. “The ceremony is over. Didn’t get the memo?”

“Tell Alpha Cole that we are here for goodness sake!” That was Athaliah. She had been in a terrible mood since this morning.

I didn’t give a fuck.

“Identify yourselves.” A wolf came up, with an air of confidence.

My eyes narrowed, “Are you the beta of this pack?”

“I don’t see how that concerns you.” He said rudely. I could tell he was strong. But he was no match for me.

And if I was being honest, I wanted to deck his teeth for looking at me wrongly. “Azriel. Beta of the Blood Hound Pack.” I introduced myself, saving us the drama that was begging to happen.

I didn’t miss the slight widening of his eyes. Good. He ought to be scared.

“And your companions?” He asked, his tone more respectful.

“Not that it concerns you, but this is the Alpha and Gamma of the pack,” I said, looking smug. “Now do us all a favour and take us to Alpha Cole.” If I guessed correctly, he shouldn’t be surprised by our arrival.” I added with a smirk. “In fact, he should be expecting us.”

The wolves exchanged looks. No doubt thinking if they wanted to mess with us. Thankfully, they chose to do the right thing, and after some time, they led us into the pack Lands.

Zadok has been deathly silent all this while. I was getting worried. I didn’t know what he was thinking and the last thing I wanted was to get an unpleasant surprise that would cost us dearly, and wreck the plan I had painstakingly created.

“I don’t remember sending you an invite.” Alpha Cole said, standing at the entrance of what I believed to be the pack house. “To what do I owe this unpleasant meeting?”

I could sense the anger in Cole’s tone. Although he smiled, it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Was this the wrong time?

“My sincerest apologies, Alpha Cole,” I said, catching his attention. “My name is Azriel and I am the Beta of the BloodHound pack.” I started, bowing my head slightly for respect. “The lady by my side is the Gamma and I believe you know our Alpha. We are here on a peace offering.”

Cole gauged me like some experiment and after a long silence, he led us into the house. “You are just in time for lunch. So we will discuss over food.” He said and opened a double door that revealed a large dining table.

The Grand Table.

All sorts of food filled the table – like they had prepared for us even before we came. “Apologies for the small table. If you had informed me earlier, I might have made preparations to host.” Cole said, and I couldn’t ignore his use of words.

He ‘might’ have made preparations – Way to sound very generous.

We settled down on the table and we were served accordingly. The atmosphere was tense. Zadok was not leaving any stones unturned with the dirty looks he sent to Cole, which Cole gladly returned.

“Thank you so much for being a wonderful host.” I broke the silence, the words tasting bitter in my mouth.

Cole placed a grape in his mouth, taking his sweet time to reply. “Is the food not to your taste?” He said with his eyes trained on Zadok. “You haven’t touched your food.”

“He had lunch before we headed here!” Athaliah squeaked, and it sounded like the bullshit it was.

Cole smiled and nodded with an evil glint laced in his eyes. “Then let’s get down to business.” He sat up. “Why have you come to my pack?”

I cleared my throat – distracting Cole’s eyes from Zadok. “I believe we have made a grave mistake and need to correct the impression to avoid further misunderstandings,” I said, sounding diplomatic.

“Interesting. Do explain.” Cole said, and I continued.

“Last night, during the mating ceremony. I was made to understand that there was some riff between our Alpha and yourself.”

Cole cut me off, “I was insulted by your Alpha. Get your facts straight.” He said with blazing eyes.

Okay. There was no way to go around this. I’d have to hit the nail on the head then.

“Exactly,” I said with a solemn look. “Although I was unable to attend the meeting, I was briefed on what transpired and after careful deliberations, the alpha decided it was needful for us to pay you a visit and express our sincere apologies.”

Cole was silent for a moment while he considered my words. “You have spoken well, Beta.” He started, and I could sense there was a war coming.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

“However, I believe that if there was going to be an apology, it should be from the one who offended.” He gauged me with a two-edged smile. “Don’t you agree?”

I felt tongue-tied. There was never a plan for Zadok to apologise. It was hard enough getting him to follow us on this journey, and now, Cole was asking the impossible.

My eyes drifted to Zadok and his jaws were clenched tightly. No doubt, he had no plans of apologising. We were fucked.

“Have I said something wrong?” Cole said after a while of silence, amusement danced in his eyes.

Why did we come here again?

“I apologise for my actions.” Came the sordid voice of Zadok. “I had mistaken her identity to be someone very dear to me. I hope we can overlook this mistake and move forward.”

As much as he didn’t sound like he meant any of the things he said, I was glad he spoke. Cole seemed surprised, and he hid it with another one of his fake smiles.

“As long as it wouldn’t repeat itself, we are good.” He finally said, “I’ll forgive this once seeing you have understood your mistake this time.”

“Thank you, Alpha Cole,” Zadok said, taking a deep breath.

Alpha Cole got up. “Anytime.” He looked at the three of us, seated in the dining without touching anything on the table. “Since you have all had something to eat, we needn’t waste more time here. My beautiful mate is waiting for me, so I have to go.”

That was the opening I needed. “About your mate, Congratulations,” I said and he nodded his head in approval.

“Thank you. I would have loved for you to see her, but it’s a pity you didn’t attend the ceremony last night.” He said, sporting a faraway look. “Last night was perfect. I didn’t sleep a wink through the night.”

Oh dear, was it just me or did the room grow a few degrees hotter?

With a sideglance, I saw Zadok sending death glares towards an unbothered Cole.

“After having a beautiful time with my mate, I went into the dungeons to deal with some bastards that thought it wise to cross my territory and now, I have to go watch my Calla deal properly with them,” Cole tattled with a satisfied look.

“Rogues are the worst,” I said, indulging him. “We do not take them lightly in the BloodHound Pack. Even spies. They are dead the moment they cross our territory.” I informed him, hoping he caught the threat in my words.

“Yes! Rogues and Spies are the absolute worst! They don’t deserve to be alive. Thankfully, I have my mate who is set to give them the worst deaths imaginable!” His eyes found Zadok’s. “I would have invited you in, but you seem in a hurry.”

“We’ll take it,” Zadok said before I could speak.

“Great! You can follow me. This time you’ll be a safe distance away from her,” He smiled, “For both our sakes.”

So much for a peace offering. I couldn’t wait to see the woman who had Zadok so torn in between.