Sutton.
"Ten! Last chance to move your damn car," he says. I know if I don't stand my ground now, we'll never get anywhere.
"No, I've given you more than enough time and... hey, come back here! I'm still talking to you!" He walks off, ignoring me. I really don't like being ignored, but he's my mate.
"I'm not sure what I've said or done that gives you the impression I'm a jokester," he rants, marching over to my car, which I've intentionally double-parked in his driveway. At the time, I thought it was pointless because he's a wolf—he could just shift.
"I say what I mean, and I mean what I say. There's no mating between us." Pain slices through my chest at his rejection yet again. He walks up to my Jeep, stares me dead in the eye, and flips it over onto its roof, causing the windows to shatter. "This omega doesn't take shit from anyone, least of all someone whose parents tell their children stories about to scare them into behaving. So stay the fuck away from me."
I wanted to claw his throat out for those words, but I could never hurt him. And it's not like he was lying. I was the most feared alpha in the country because I did whatever it took to protect what was mine, and I'm not ashamed of that.
He got into his car without sparing me a second glance, for which I was grateful. I waited until his car turned the corner, heading to the pack house, before I fell to my knees. The pain was indescribable, as if every molecule in my body was coming apart. I refused to show weakness, especially in front of him. I lay there, face down on the ground, waiting for the pain to pass, but it never did. My body was paralyzed with agony, and then the room started spinning. I could feel my body shutting down, and there was nothing I could do to protect myself as the scent of two wolves surrounded me. So, this was it; this was how I was going to die—alone.
"Dinner is ready. Do you think we should wake her?"
"I think we should have gone to the Alpha about this. What is she even doing here?"
"Why don't you go wake her up, and we can find out."
It took a few moments to realize the voices in my head were from actual people talking. My body was still sore, but my mind was clear enough to focus. Two wolves, one male, one female. The female, from her scent, was an omega, but the male was a mid-ranking wolf and a powerful one.
"Help me bring all this food to the table, then wake her up."
That was my cue to make my awakening known. From the softness beneath me, I assumed that one or both of them had moved me from the floor. Based on the fact that they were less than twenty feet away, I guessed I was on a couch, and I could smell my mate's scent, so I was likely still in his home.
"I'm up," I said, throwing my legs over the side of the couch and sitting up. "I mean you no harm," I quickly added when a giant of a man stepped in front of a small blonde woman. "This is my mate's home; you must be his family." The woman squealed, running out from behind the giant, who still watched me with a critical eye. He pulled her back by the arm before she could reach me and held her close. She glared up at him, but he never took his eyes off me.
"I'm Hector, and this is my mate, Jess. Our son, Victor, lives in this house."
Oh, shit—his parents. This is not how I envisioned meeting them. "Hi, I'm Sutton St. James, Victor's mate. It's really nice to meet you, even under these circumstances." I sounded like an idiot, but I didn't know what else to say.
"Hector, will you let go of me? I'd like to greet our son's mate." The woman glared up at her mate again. It took a minute of him watching me, while I tried to appear as subdued as possible, before he let her go. The last thing I wanted or needed was to seem like a threat to my mate's family, especially his parents.
"Hi, Sutton, I'm Jessica, but you can call me Jess. Welcome to the family." I was hugged, kissed, and my cheeks were patted as if I were a long-lost relative coming home. It was nice.
"Thank you."
"Why don't you go wash up and join us for dinner? I'm sure Victor will be here soon."
From the way he left, I doubted he'd be joining us anytime soon, but it wasn't my place to say so. I kept my mouth shut, shook his father's hand, and left the room to freshen up, grateful they didn't mention or ask any questions about finding me on the floor.
Two weeks later...
"Hey, Sutton, you going out?" My best friend and beta, Malakhi, asks, walking into my office.
"Yeah, I'm having dinner with my mate's parents tonight." If only my mate were there, everything would be perfect.
"Really? When did that happen?" I didn't miss the note of surprise in his voice. Khi and I share everything, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him the true nature of things between Victor and me.
"I'll tell you about it later. I'm running a bit late. Hold down the fort while I'm out, okay?"
"Yeah, sure, and Sutton?"
"Yeah?"
"He'll come around. Just give it some time." A nod was my only answer to Khi's assumption about Victor's attitude toward our mating. It wasn't that I didn't have faith that he would come around—after all, the goddess doesn't make mistakes. It's just how long it would take for him to accept our bond that worried me.
As I got in my car, I couldn't help but feel a bit excited about having dinner with his parents. It brought comfort to Athena and me that our mate's parents seemed pleased with our mating. We've grown close in the past two weeks since Victor flipped my car and drove off to who knows where. We had a great dinner of steak with mashed potatoes, asparagus, and the most amazing three-cheese lasagna I've ever had in my life. Getting to know them was like getting to know my mate. His mom, Jessica—or Jess, as she likes to be called—was a delight to be around. Like her son, Jess was an omega and similar in looks, which is why I think I've gravitated toward her so much these past two weeks. Being close to her made me feel closer to my mate. She treated me like a mother would her daughter and not like the person whose parents tell their children stories about to get them to behave. My hand absentmindedly rubbed at my chest at the memory of the one person who's never supposed to hurt me throwing my biggest fear at me.
Like most omegas, Jess was small, barely over five feet tall, with golden blonde hair that came to rest in the middle of her back and the most striking blue eyes. Eyes that Victor inherited. But while his mother's eyes radiated love and warmth, his were distant and cold.
Jess and I talked at least twice a day, every day. Tonight, she invited me to dinner again, and even though our packs were bordering neighbors, the drive took a little over an hour. Since Alpha Cade had given me full access to his land, I parked at the pack house and followed the trail to my mate's home. His dad answered the door before I even knocked. They must have been waiting, because I made sure to mask my scent before coming here.
"Alpha St. James, welcome."
"Evening, Hector. Formal as always, I see."
"Sorry, Sutton, habit. How are you this evening?" We would need the entire night if he really wanted to know. So I picked one feeling and went with it.
"Happy to be here, Hector. How are you and Jess?" That was true enough. I was happy to be bonding with my mate's parents, even if it brought me a great deal of despair to be here without him and knowing that he wouldn't want me here.
"Why don't you come in and see for yourself?" Hector took my coat, and I walked into the living room, which had an open floor plan, allowing a view into the kitchen on the left. I laughed out loud at the sight of Jess running around the kitchen, then from the kitchen to the dining room on its left.
"Can I help with anything?" I asked, walking into the kitchen.
"Sutton, you're here!" She hugged and kissed both my cheeks. "I would love some help; Hector is no use in the kitchen."
"That's not true. You won't let me help!" he yells from his seat in the living room.
"You never do what I tell you to, hence you're no help," Jess retorted, which only made him laugh. Their banter brought on an uncomfortable amount of envy, a feeling I was all too familiar with. Jess must have seen it on my face, but she didn't ask any questions. She just patted my cheek and smiled up at me, and for that, I was grateful.
"There's an extra apron in the island drawer. Why don't you grab it and make the salad? Dinner is almost finished."
"Sure." I was already tying the apron around my neck. "Anything specific you want or don't want in it?"
"Whatever is fine. You should find everything you need in the fridge or the pantry."
Grabbing the biggest of the bowls,