Page 6 of Make Me

Rumors flew fast across the border, and Bethany’s claws had come out to play. Regardless of whether she felt the mate bond, her lioness clearly felt something and was getting possessive. Cody stifled the purr in his throat at her possessiveness.

“No, hellcat, it’s not like that.” Cody tried to explain, but in her typical hothead fashion, Bethany was hearing none of it.

“No, it's fine. You’re a hotshot eighteen-year-old Alpha Heir now. You’re too good for our hangouts anymore.” Her words seemed teasing, but there was a bite to her tone.

“No, that’s not…” He caught her arm and then immediately dropped it when his wolf wanted to yank her to him. For the Realm’s sake!

“No, it’s fine,” Bethany repeated, her tone stilted, and her earlier sass gone. “Here.” She thrust the bag of scones at his chest. “Happy Birthday.”

His wolf about forced a shift as Bethany walked away from him, and he stumbled sideways, holding him in by sheer willpower alone.

We just have to talk to the Alpha about this, he promised his wolf. We just have to talk to the Alpha and then we can go to her.

That calmed his wolf down enough that he was able to turn and stumble back to the pack lands. He hoped Peter and his friends weren’t out right now. Not because he wasn’t confident in his abilities to win a fight. With age and the aggressive training his father had put him in, he was a formidable opponent and had recently begun winning matches against Trenton, his father’s Beta, but if Peter and his friends tried to stop him today, he might actually lose control. His father didn’t discourage the dominance fights, but he would frown upon him killing a packmate with ‘no reason.’

Luckily, no one bothered him, and he strode quickly across the pack commons and into the main house. His wolf had tunnel vision, forgetting to knock as he opened the door to his father’s office. His father’s warning growl finally got through to his wolf. He froze in his tracks and shook his head, shaking off the fuzziness as his wolf fought him to go back to his mate.

“Son, what is it?” His father looked at him, concerned. He got up from his desk and rounded the corner.

Cody’s wolf growled, and his father’s wolf answered, low and threatening.

“Sorry,” Cody gasped. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

“It’s okay.” His father placed a hand on his shoulder and guided him to the chair. “What happened?”

Cody sunk into the seat and dropped his head in his hands. “Bethany’s my mate,” he mumbled.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” his dad asked sharply.

Cody looked up. “Bethany’s my mate.”

His father’s face was frozen, but he watched as the concern slipped away until only the Alpha mask remained. “You’re mistaken.”

“I’m not. My wolf practically shifted and claimed her on sight. It’s exactly how you said it would be if I met my mate. But she didn’t react. Do cats recognize their mates differently?”

His father’s face didn’t change. “Even if your wolf is claiming her, you can’t mate her. You have responsibilities, and the pack will never accept it.”

“She’s mine!” Cody leaped to his feet, his wolf growling out the words.

“Sit down!” The force of the alpha command slammed into him, and his knees buckled.

“Sorry,” Cody rasped. “But she’s mine, Dad.”

“She can’t be yours. You’re the Alpha Heir to the pack, and she’s the Alpha Heir to the pride. Besides, intermixed matings are forbidden.”

His father stood up and began pacing behind the desk. His face was a cold mask as he delivered the words that felt like punches to Cody’s gut. His father’s own wolf was at the surface, his muscles seeming to bulk before his eyes as he paced behind his desk.

“It isn’t when we have our leaders’ blessing,” Cody shot back, his wolf clawing at his insides at the thought of not being with his mate. “I have a fated mate! You and Mom always talked about it being the greatest thing in the world, and I have one.”

“You can’t mate with her. I won’t allow it.”

“You won’t allow it? You have no right. She’s my mate.” Cody’s voice threatened to break, but he stayed strong.

“She’s not your anything right now,” his dad yelled back. “And if you mate her, you risk the pack. They’ll never accept a cat as Luna, and she has her own pride to think about. Think with your head here. We can’t risk the pack like that.”

“So what do you want me to do?” Cody cried out. “I won’t abandon her.”

“No, you can’t do that.” His father had a calculating look on his face as he walked back behind his desk, his eyes shining with his wolf. Cody’s own wolf rose at the show of dominance. “No, you can’t do that, or you’ll risk going feral if you can’t control your wolf; but you also can’t mate her.”

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