Page 3 of My Pucking Mate

Growing up with just my father after my mother died was a cold and lonely existence. My mother was my light. She was my warmth. Everyone she encountered seemed to have no choice but to love her. Her energy was infectious, but she was too light for this world. My father’s world. He is darkness. I wouldn’t be surprised if his father was the devil himself. He is cold and detached, and he cares for no one but himself. His name and reputation are all that ever have or ever will matter. It’s what led to my sweet mother’s death.

She would have loved the pack that my men and I built. My closest men came to this realm with me. Once the decision was made, we packed our belongings, crossed the rift gate, came to the states, and landed in the Great Lakes area. We settled in the Shawnee State Forest, and the pack just kind of happened. Other wolves slowly made their way to us, some coming from Zabella to live among humans and others that were already here. They came seeking shelter, protection, and a pack. As long as they were hardworking and honest, they were allowed to stay.

I’m shaken from my thoughts, still barreling around the rink, as my men burst through the doors separating the rink from the rest of the arena, squabbling about something I don’t care enough to listen in on. Benny flags me down, and I make myway over. While Benny is my second in command of the army, it extends to all things. He’s also been my best friend my entire life; he’s my pack Beta, and he's my left wing on the ice. I wouldn’t be the man I am without him. He grounds me. When my darkness takes over and it feels like all light has left the world, he can always find me and bring me back. He’s also an idiot and doesn’t know when to just shut the fuck up, most of the time.

“Do you realize you’ve had your walls up forever? No one really needs anything, but I’m bored, and the twins are driving Slate crazy,” Benny hollers as I near the edge of the ice.

“If you weren’t so loud and ever stopped talking, I wouldn’t have to block you,” I snap back as I drop onto the bench to remove my skates.

He’s having a tantrum because he never grew out of the stage that pups go through where nothing in this world can shut them up, which means I get tired of listening. So, I erect mental walls to block out communication.

As a pack, anyone can communicate with each other telepathically within the same realm. Because our communication is telepathic, distance doesn't matter as long as you're within the same plane of existence. While it's an amazing gift, sometimes it just gets too loud in my head, and I need some time with only my thoughts. I can’t imagine having to have those stupid phones stuck to my ear all the time just to communicate like humans do. They don’t even work half the time, especially in the state parks and forests where most werewolf packs reside.

He wasn’t exaggerating, though. I don’t know what Eris and Dolos are on about, but Slate really does look ready to murder them, while Andrei looks bored with the whole mess. Shaking my head, I shout at my Omegas, “What is it now? What is so important that you’re tempting your fate?”

The cheshire grins on their faces never mean good things. Raising one eyebrow, I look to Andrei for any sign of what’s going on, but his passive expression clearly shows how little he cares. By the time I reach the twins, they’re nearly bouncing on their toes as they reply, “We might have accidentally stolen Slate’s girl.”

Scrubbing my hand down my face, I mumble, “Do I even want to know? Slate, is this really about some chick again?”

Turning to face him, he shakes his head and says, “Nah, Boss. I was mad for all of a second, but they can have her. She’s not my mate, so she doesn’t mean anything to me. They just won’t shut the fuck up.” He stands now, still spewing his frustrations, “They’re the ones that wanted to share her, and I don’t know how many times I’ve told them, I don’t want in on their nasty shit.”

I chuckle at first, but he wasn't joking; the twins won't shut up about it. “Look, we really don't want to hear about your nasty sexcapades and whatever you weirdos do when you share a woman,” I say with my back to my men, replacing my skates with shoes. They don't seem to have even heard me, as they're steadily arguing louder and louder.

ENOUGH!

All four men immediately lower their heads, Eris releasing a small whimper. I don't have to use my Alpha energy on my men often, but the twins are professionals when it comes to bringing it out of me. “You are all full-grown men, and I will not referee your bullshit. Eris and Dolos, keep your weird shit to yourselves. Unless you want to be knocked on your ass, you’ll figure it out. You’re acting like teenage, human females.” Grabbing my skates, I turn towards the locker room without another word.

I’ve been in the shower all of five minutes when Benny swings around the corner with that stupid smile on his face. “You seem especially irritable today. What’s up?” he asks.

I just shake my head, turning up the heat of the water, hoping it can drown out the anger. The pain. The past. “Nothing’s up,” I reply when I realize he won’t leave until I say something.

I’ve barely made it through the door of our home before I immediately want to leave. I hear India raging at someone over the phone about scuffing her shoes at a photo shoot. I can’t imagine screaming at someone over a scuffed-fucking-shoe and I just can’t deal with her today.

I stop just inside the door, not wanting to go further. The guys file in moments after. Walking past me, the twins throw me a look that says they’re off to see if they can enrage her enough to make her leave, and in this moment, I’m thankful for these two royal pains in my ass.

India is the daughter of the king’s advisor, and we’re arranged to be married at some time in the, hopefully distant, future. Sometimes, very rarely, she really isn’t that bad, but most of the time she’s a raging bitch. I hold on to the hope that she finds her mate, and I don’t have to go through with this. She's attractive by human standards, but it’s as fake as she is. I don't understand how she can be so full of herself and yet hate herself so much that she has to constantly get work done on her face. She only buys or wears the most expensive, name-brand items. The human men stop and literally drool over her.

She knows her marriage to me will be nothing romantic, but that doesn’t stop her from occasionally trying to move ourrelationship to depths we agreed it wouldn’t go. When we were first informed of our betrothal, I did not have any say in the decision.

India and I have not spoken much regarding our impending arrangement. I made it clear early on that I did not have feelings for her in that way. Our relationship would only be a partnership. She's continued to push those boundaries for years, and to this day, I still do not have romantic feelings for her like she does for me.

I'm also not happy with the fact that she will be the Luna of my pack with the marriage. I’ve only taken her to my pack once because of how she acted while we were there. She wouldn’t stop complaining that her pointy-ass shoes were sinking into the ground. She was not warm or kind to any women or pups. She started commenting on all the improvements she would need if she were forced to stay there. A Luna is supposed to be a proud leader of her people. A Luna should be someone they can look up to and count on.

Our fathers arranged the marriage because of my position in Zabella. The advisor's daughter and the commander of the army. It looks good on paper, but it's not what I want. India is happy with it because being my wife would raise her status even further.

We are able to satisfy each other physically on occasion, but what we do couldn’t be further from making love. Our sex is hard and angry. Just me releasing the frustration of my past and future, and she meets me blow for blow. I didn’t want to take our relationship to that level and give her a false sense of what I could bring to our future marriage, but she made it clear that she understood that this is just all I’m capable of. This is all I have left.

Stepping into my office, I kick the door shut behind me and sink into my large leather chair.Brutus, pack status update.We’re three to four hours away from the pack here in Mogadore. Close enough that we can get there quickly when needed, but far enough that the pack has the peace they need from the media surrounding the hockey team, and such.

Nothing urgent to report, Alpha. We welcomed a new pack member today. Mum and pup are healthy and resting. The hunters brought back enough meat to last us another couple of weeks.

I’m thankful we built the pack with a solid foundation that allows us to be away for hockey and not have to worry about how the pack is doing.

Thank you, Brutus. Make sure Mackenzie and her new pup have everything they need from us; it’s her firstborn, and I know Rodger is worried about her. See if one of the den mothers wouldn’t mind spending some time with them. Let me know if anything comes up.

Stretching as I stand, I head over to my small bar in the corner and pour half a glass of my favorite whiskey. It’s the best human-whiskey I’ve found. It’s not worth the hassle to bring ours in from home.

Just as my thighs hit the chair again, the door slowly swings open to reveal India. Her white-blonde-dyed hair is pulled into a long, sleek ponytail so tight that I don’t know how she can move her face. She looks at me with a strained smile and saunters toward me in a way that says she’s hoping I need to let off some steam this evening. With how shitty I feel, I would normally send her away, but maybe it would make me feel better, or at least take the edge off.

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