Page 17 of The Alpha's Regret

CHAPTER 12

NATHAN

Early starts are nothing new to me, but I’m not sure I got any sleep at all. Eventually, I gave up on tossing and turning, and rolled out of bed. My problems sleeping might have something to do with Maya starting work today, or maybe it’s the ache in my groin from the permanent hard-on I’ve had since getting into bed. I can’t bring myself to change the sheets. Her scent still lingers, calming my wolf while torturing my body.

She should be in my bed. Her absence feels unnatural, but I'm quietly confident we'll get there eventually.

Puttering around my kitchen, making a breakfast that is completely unappealing and drinking coffee that doesn't taste quite right, I contemplate the days and, potentially, weeks ahead. She can feel something. I know it. It's there to see in her every reaction to me.

I’ve witnessed how Hayley and Leah were around my brothers, even before they knew about shifters and fated mates. The sneaky glances, the scent of lust in the air, the uncontrollable urge to be close to their mates, touching them. It's similar to how a wolf reacts to their fated mate, but more subdued. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she was a human and not a shifter at all. Maybe growing up in an isolated pack meant very little exposure to mated pairs.

Is that why she doesn’t trust what she feels? Or is it something more sinister?

Rumours about her pack have circulated for years. Her brother seems to have made big strides in improving things since he took over, but for a long time, their father ruled with an iron fist. Right up until he died, he remained bitter over my mother’s rejection of him as a chosen mate. Has that influenced her? Are fated mates not viewed as a good thing?

I go for a jog to clear my head, and I find myself standing hands on hips, staring up at my parent’s new cabin. My feet have brought me here on autopilot. As I take the steep driveway at a sprint, needing to get my heart rate going to work off some of the excess energy bouncing around inside me, I hear my father’s deep voice call out into the creeping dawn.

“What took you so long?”

Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I push hard all the way to the top and bend, hands on knees, to regain my breath. Dad’s relaxing on the porch, steaming mug of coffee in one hand, as he takes in the incredible view they have from this elevation. The roof of the packhouse is visible through the trees, but it feels quiet here, isolated. After a lifetime of service to the pack, I don’t blame them for wanting some peace and quiet.

“You were expecting me.”

“Well, actually, I was expecting you yesterday when Rex told me you had petitioned him to have Maya come work for you.”

With Cooper otherwise occupied, and Rex hating every second of covering for him, Dad has stepped into the breach to help out where he can. Although, truth be told, even when Cooper’s here, he knows every little thing that goes on in the pack. Old habits die hard. He might be retired, but he’s still all alpha. It’ll always be his pack.

“I needed to sort some things out.”

Giving Maya some space to miss me, I spent all afternoon creating a list of tasks she could take on for me. They had to be ones that would also keep her close to my side, and without it being completely obvious that was my primary motivation.

“Like break it to Hayley’s friend Sam that she won’t be coming to work for you after all?”

Shit. He heard about that already. I slowly climb the steps and turn, putting my back to him. I rest my elbows on the porch railing and stare out at the sunrise.

“Sam is Hayley’s friend. It makes more sense for them to work together. Sean won’t want her travelling around the country with me, anyway.”

Dad chuckles at my pathetic attempt to pretend my actions were anything but completely selfish.

“And Maya’s brother will? Dean barely let her come here in the first place. Are her bodyguards going to travel with you to every business meeting?”

I know the point he’s trying to make, that her extremely over-protective brother won’t be happy with this change of plan, but it irks me. She doesn’t need her bodyguards.

“Nobody will protect her but me,” I snarl. “If anyone even breathes on her, they’re dead.”

My threat hangs heavy in the air, and I have to work hard to calm my breathing and force my fists to unclench. The mere thought of anyone hurting my mate is enough to send me into a rage. There’s no controlling my reaction to that. It’s only going to get worse the longer it takes to mate and mark each other.

“Because…” he prompts, grinning at me, and it’s enough to break me out of the red mist. My temper recedes and I offer him a wry smile before speaking the words he’s dying to hear.

“Because she’s my mate. But…”

He jumps to his feet and pulls me into a backslapping hug. Despite all my frustrations, I relax and allow myself to celebrate this with him.

“No buts. This is wonderful news. She’ll make an honest man out of you at last.”

For years, he’s been telling me it would happen. Until a few days ago, I wasn’t sure if I cared, but now I understand it’s the greatest blessing.

“But…” I ignore the glare he gives me when I try to keep the conversation sombre. “She denied the bond exists.”

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