I dreaded walking into the house in the morning. Once the sun rose and our shift on patrol ended, I spent at least 20 minutes in the woods that were surrounding the house from the back, in order to check if she was up by any chance.
Her smell was everywhere. In the backyard, in the front, and once I walked through the garden in the back, opened the door, and stepped inside it was there as well. Even more intense and intoxicating than before.
It felt amazing. Even though it shouldn't. I thought for a second that I could get used to it, even though I couldn't.
I could hear Klaus snoring deeply on the couch in the living room. The guy always refused to use the guest room and even though he would test my nerves daily, I did feel kinda guilty for it. Why? I can't even start to comprehend it myself.
I walked into my office on the ground floor knowing that I need to review the things that Emma and a couple of her contacts from other packs found before going to bed. I was hoping not to see my father's name pop up on any of these, just like every day for these past ten years.
The fact that the rouges were dead didn't bother me as much knowing that Klara could've been torn to pieces because of them. I do know that Emma made a mistake by not bringing them in to be questioned as we always do, but I do understand that her natural instincts to protect her luna took over her.
I am glad they did. Even though I already feel like the girl soundly asleep upstairs will end me one day.
Klara. A luna. A mate.
Never thought I would have one. Never should've had one.
I took a sip of warm water that probably stayed there from the previous evening and had to remind myself that I still don't have a mate, nor a luna.
While I knew that she might put up a fight and try everything possible to somehow win this 'stone-cold heart' over (Klaus said that not me), she would give it all up once she sees that there is no way out for us. That there is no equation in which we end up being together. Then, I will help her pack and let her go.
That was the plan at least.
I scanned over the papers and emails, knowing I will need to reread this once I get up. Once I confirmed that there was no trace of my father anywhere near me, I stretched and stood up from the desk.
As I was walking up the stairs to my room, her doors flew open as if she was waiting on the other side for the right moment to open them. She stepped out in her pyjamas, a green shirt, and matching shorts that had small wizarding hats and witches on brooms drawn all over them.
"Good morning." She said with a crooked smile. One of her eyes was still half-closed and the hair that was probably braided last night before she went to bed was now a bit messy, but the braids were still there.
Magnificent.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
While I was trying to get rid of the thoughts that made me want to do some very... well sinful things to her, I couldn't help but go through the throwback on her first night here when we started making out like two animals.
Before I could go down that road again, "You're up early," I commented. "why aren't you sleeping?" I leaned to the railing of the steps to be able to look at her better and licked my lips. Which didn't go unnoticed by her.
"Well, good morning to you too Klara. How did you sleep? Oh, just marvellous, thank you for asking." She mumbled in her groggy, morning voice while turning around and continuing towards the bathroom.
I couldn't help but smile at her reaction and the way she slumped her shoulders while walking to the bathroom as if she was tired of me and my boring self already.
I wanted to ask her if she unpacked, did she like her room, the house, but I felt like that she-wolf would've already voiced out if she wasn't satisfied with something. So I turned and went to my room and my own bathroom to shower and get some sleep. Luckily, I had one attached to my own bedroom and that made for a convenient time since I really didn't want to bump into her every time I had to visit the toilet.
I was woken up less than 4 hours later when Klaus knocked at my door to remind me that we have a meeting with the council in an hour and that I should probably get my ass to the kitchen to have breakfast.
Ever since Klaus has joined running the pack three years ago, and was present at one of the council's meetings, blabbering everything out for them to hear, I always made sure to have a pre-meeting with him and Steph so that our stories are told unified and not questioned by the elders.
The council of elders was comprised of our eldest werewolves, those who contributed to the pack the most. And while I had tremendous respect for a lot of them, some of them were my father's companions while he was the alpha. That usually meant that they agreed with his way of leading the pack and it was sometimes a tad difficult to deal with them.
So in order to have the meeting over sooner and have them all on our side, we always made sure to align our thought, opinions, and stories.
"Where is Klara?" I asked the moment I came down to the kitchen and noticed Klaus sitting at the table eating a smörgås (open-face sandwich).
I could smell her around but I wasn't sure where she was.
"Good morning to you too Bjorn." He snorted with an open mouth full of bread.
"Goddess, Klaus close your mouth," I said as I noticed that there was a plate with another two sandwiches on the table opposite Klaus. "Did you tell her to make this?" I rarely ate sandwiches and while Klara couldn't have known that, this little annoying prick did.
"She asked me what would you like for breakfast and I explained what a typical Scandinavian breakfast is." He shrugged his shoulders and smiled at me with a crooked, kinda evil smile.
"Joudut helvettiin (You will go to hell). One day, I swear you will." I sat down opposite him and poured some milk into a cup that was already on the table.
"Look at the big bear Bjorn, not wanting to offend his pretty little mate," Klaus said in a mocking tone and it made me growl. "What? She is, pretty." He winked and I tried to restrain myself from separating his head from his body.
I made sure to eat fast and chug the milk down which didn't sit right with my stomach.
"Relax and try not to choke, she told me she will go about setting up her sewing kit and organizing it. I don't think she will come down here anytime soon." Weirdly enough, that made me relax and feel a bit bummed at the same time. It felt easier knowing that I won't be having to look at her.
Not because I couldn't, but because I wanted to.
"Did you shift? Last night?" Klaus changed the subject and it made me cringe. Why did we have to go from one problematic topic of my life to another?
"Yes," I replied, chewing slowly on the sandwich. "it took a bit of time and they had to wait for me, but I was still able to do it."
I didn't mention that it hurt, a lot. Nor that my lungs were on fire after the run we had.
"I just thought with her now being around, it might be easier." He waived his head up towards the ceiling.
"I don't think it has anything to do with her Klaus. Even if it does, what can she do about it?" My wolf simply decided that enough was enough. I have put him through enough and I think that he decided that I need to be the one to suffer now.
"Maybe if you go for a run with her. Let your wolf get close to her, to her own wolf. Let him have that time with his mate." He shrugged.
"Can we change the subject?" I snapped a bit but it didn't seem to bother him. Both he and Steph knew how big of a problem this could potentially be, and they knew how worried I was about it, even though I refused to show it.
He knew when to stop pushing my buttons so he just nodded. "Hmm, let's see... Annika decided to set up new curtains in the house. Mom was pissed because she is fussing over some curtains but she still refuses to go out and look for her mate at the ripe age of 22. Oh, and I still haven't found mine at my old age of 21. Umm, what else... Oh yeah, word is that Stella decided to apply to every shift of patrol that you're working on. Hanna is still pissed at me because of the shit I pulled-"
"Do they know?" I interrupted suddenly. "About Klara moving in." I dreaded the moment Stella found out about it, because I knew the she-wolf to be cruel and rather possessive at times, even though our own arrangement promised nothing to her.
"Only the ones who were on patrol the night they came and it is possible that Stella got the word from someone." Klaus shrugged, not noticing the tension in my shoulders and the way I glanced at the ceiling every five seconds.
"Okay, I want you to spread the gossip about it, but don't make it too obvious. And I want you to ask Annika to give Klara a tour of the territory."
"Shouldn't you be the one doing that?" He raised his eyebrows. It was a custom of ours. To have the mate show the territory to his/her mate once they moved into the pack and spent some time here.
But Klara and I are not traditional. Even though, for the sake of keeping up the peace and stopping any possible rumours, I should try and pretend we are.
"Just do it and shut up about it. What happened with Hanna?" I changed the subject once again and Klaus started rambling on about another girl he managed to make angry.
It was almost 20 minutes later when Steph joined us in my office and we had our pre-meeting, every now and then interrupted by the sound of Klara's sewing machine working from upstairs.
If it wasn't for the lack of sleep or the pain I had to endure last night, it would've even been pleasant at some point.
This way, it just pissed me off. It was almost impossible for me to concentrate on anything that was said, thinking that she was up there somewhere, working. Probably having those lips pouted as she was bent over her work with her hair spilt in those soft waves. That reminded me that I need to get her a table to work on soon. The room she was in had none and from the sound of it, it looked like she worked on the floor.
The meeting with the elders afterwards went as well as it could. They still tried to press on about us forbidding the young wolves to leave and search for their mate and were unsuccessful yet another time.
"We would be able to spread out territory." One of the men who used to run with my father said.
"It's not all about expanding. It's something about controlling, managing, leading the pack." Steph added before I could. "We could always go into war with another pack to take them over, but do you really think that the people who live there will accept the alpha who just barged in and started killing?"
"We are working on connecting with the Silver Stone pack at the moment. Their alpha did extend their invitation for cooperation." Klaus said. "And since our future luna comes from that pack, it will be easier to establish partnerships with them."
Way to be subtle Klaus. Goddess, grant me patience.
"Future luna? What is he going on about Bjorn?" Greta, who was one of the oldest wolves in the pack turned to me.
"I have found my mate. But if she is to stay with me is yet to be decided." I nodded, not giving anything else to them. Not giving them the name nor describing her, knowing very well that once I got home, I will be able to notice that the number of people that walked by my house nonchalantly now increased.
"When will we be able to meet your mate?" Halvar, another one of the men that were close to my father asked.
"When I decide to present her to you and to the pack as well." I said and tried to use some of my anger and the natural dominance I had over him to end the subject.
I was saving the rest for Klaus later.