Page 22 of Wilde Beta

“That sounds nice. I'm glad you solved your difficulty," Adam responded.

“Not all my problems," Mel said softly.

He decided that didn't require a response because he was sure he was one of her problems. That was okay because he hoped to solve the problems between them. Maybe last night hadn't been enough, but he hoped she was beginning to feel differently towards him. She was all he wanted, and he hoped she wanted him, too.

It was time for lunch, and he was sure everyone would be hungry. This was also an excellent time to get an update and see if anything new had occurred from those bad guys who were always trying to bag a red or a white wolf. If they knew she was taken now, would they leave her alone? They said a mated wolf could be taken, too, but that was when they thought they had a single one as well. Would two mated wolves be worth their trouble?

Chapter 6

Mated Life

Mel knew what he had done, but she didn't know how to address it. Maybe she was hoping that if she didn't acknowledge it, it would go away? Crazy, right? She thought it might help if they told people they had mated, but it would just send the Mexican pack after another white wolf, maybe one with less protection than she had. She felt conflicted about doing something like that. If they attacked again and they got through to her, they would find out quickly enough that she was mated. Once they got through, she felt they would take her and Janie anyway.

Eventually, they would want to try to unite them with someone to see if it had worked. That made Mel wonder why they thought that it would. Had it been done, or had they found some information suggesting it could be done? She was once more sitting at the table in the cabin where Adam worked with her computer in front of her. Mel decided to take a break and see exactly what her mate was doing.

The cabinets were lovely, even though they were unfinished. Adam explained that someone else did that part so he could concentrate on getting them built.

Someone else came in and put in the countertops. By specializing, they could do the work much quicker and better.

There were so many houses to build. It seemed like it would take forever, but they were slowly building and filling the cabins as soon as they were finished.

“You do such good work," she praised.

“It was a gift I have always been able to use. We had a carpenter in our pack who taught me everything I needed to know when I was young. My family disapproved and said it was fine for a hobby, but it was not something a future pack alpha should do," Adam admitted.

“If your grandpa didn't want to teach you how to be the leader of the pack, then why didn't he want you doing anything else?” Mel asked.

“I never could understand him. He got much worse after my father left. When my mom died, he changed even more," Adam explained.

“Sometimes loss can drive a person crazy," Mel offered.

“He had a mate that he lost when my mother was born. They say he never got over that. She was his one," he mentioned.

Mel was beginning to understand Adam's grandpa. The wolf took one loss after another until it finally fractured his mind, and he could no longer accept any more. The possible loss of his position was more than he could handle, so he held on tight with both hands. It had not been the right thing to do, that he had not understood that, and then he had died, leaving behind a legacy of pain and inability for his grandson to do anything good for the pack.

The loss was challenging to deal with, and when it seemed that all you had in life was lost, she could understand hanging on to what you had left and not wanting to let it go. Unfortunately, what he should have been holding onto was his grandson. He should have been training and helping him be the best pack alpha he could be. Instead, he had set Adam up for failure, and that was what happened. It hurt the pack, and it hurt his grandson. Two of the things he should have loved more than life had almost been destroyed because of his actions. Yes, Adam should have done better, but he fell into the role he had been trained for. He'd been a pack alpha without the abilities or talents to run a pack.

As she checked out the cabinets that were both beautiful and built to last, she couldn't understand why anyone had discouraged him from pursuing his talent. It wasn't like he had been a pack alpha at the time, and if his grandpa had his way, it would have been a hundred years before he was. Meanwhile, all this talent was going to be wasted. Why not let him follow his heart until it was time to follow his fate? Pack politics were odd things she was sure she would never understand.

As she checked out a tall cabinet, Adam wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him. It felt good to lean against him and feel his warmth and love spread throughout her. Why had she fought this? Right now, it felt like exactly where she was supposed to be. Adam's radio went off, and he hurried to pick it up.

“Protecting the perimeter en masse. Be careful and protect Mel," Trev notified.

“Shit!” Adam cursed.

“Exactly. What do we do now?” Mel asked.

“If it was humans attacking, I would say hide. The wolves will smell you no matter where you go. The woods would be best. This is what you trained for," Adam admitted.

“Let's go," she said.

“I have to stay and fight. That should give you a chance to get to the woods. It didn't sound like they had made it in yet, but Trev seems to think that they will," Adam explained. “Go now before it is too late.” Adam urged.

Mel knew it was the smart thing to do. She would endanger him by staying close to him. The woods called her as soon as she stepped outside of the cabin. She changed to her wolf, and away she ran much faster than she could have run as a human. The creek was ahead of her, but she hated cold water. She found a pine tree and rubbed the needles all over her. Then she ran around it several times to mix up the scent before heading away as far as she could before she heard the wolves howling.

A tree stood in front of her with thick limbs that would cover her once she reached a certain height. She began to climb, making it high enough that branches surrounded her. She was sure no one could see her. It was easy to hear them as they hurried by.

It was obvious they were confused and had lost the scent. Mel peeked through the limbs and saw them off in the distance, morphing into humans and talking.

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