The Alpha's Mate

Chapter 21

I GOT ME A PUPPY Anastasia (anya)

Charlie's POV

Warning: Sexual content

"Y'know Charlie, you remind me a lot of my mate," Mateo grabbed ahold of another pot of food, setting it on the tables. Tonight was the full moon ceremony, and I was buzzing with excitement. The daylight hours lingered, the sun was high in the sky, and we were preparing everything for the evening's ceremony.

Both Presley and I told August that I would take over the duties the Luna typically took over, preparing the ceremony. I wanted to not only show Presley but also wanted to show Alexandre and August that I was perfectly capable of handling such a big task. I wanted to prove my worth to the pack.

"Oh really? How so?" I asked, raising a brow, pointing one of the people helping me put tonight together to the correct place.

"Well, it looks like you're taking charge. If anything, if you had brown hair and almost black eyes, I honestly think you'd look like the spitting image of him." The dominant wolf approached me.

"I bet he really was something if he had to deal with you." I rolled my eyes, pushing past him, grabbing onto the basket full of the moonstone necklaces.

"Hey," He whined. "That was rude. Whatever did I do to warrant that? If I remember correctly, you groveled at my feet to get me to help you out tonight." He walked beside me.

"I also remember you laughing at me." I glared at him, quickening my pace. "Me– who was almost in tears." Although I was excited, it didn't stop the feeling of doubt that lingered in the back of my mind. Many of the pack members that typically helped August bailed when they found out I was the one taking over for this ceremony.

I didn't take it to heart, though. The pack members still hardly knew me. I believed it to be several reasons why they didn't trust me. But I always ended up at the same fork in the road. Some didn't trust me because I had yet to have my mating ceremony with the alpha. I had yet to wear a ring and profess my love to my mate under the moon. The other side was the people who held a grudge against my family because of my father's actions when I was only a toddler. I didn't know how to combat that situation; people who have a deep-rooted hatred for someone they don't know, it really made no sense to me.

I knew it would take time for people to warm up to me, but I didn't realize it would take this long.

"Yeah, the same you that seems to have a little too much sass for his britches tonight." Mateo chuckled, catching up to me, nudging me with his shoulder.

"I will never have too much 'sass' for my pants. Plus, if you take away the 's' from sass, it leaves 'ass', and honestly, I do have a lot of ass to go into these jeans." I dryly laughed.

I hadn't paid attention to where I was going, which caused me to trip on a tree root. The basket of moonstones flew out of my hands. Almost as if it were in slow motion Mateo caught me from hitting the ground. I stared up at him, and his dangerous reddish-brown eyes stared into mine. I didn't know what the feeling was, but it was almost like when I would stare at Presley. Almost as if I were in awe of the dominant wolf. His warm breath tickled my face, making my eyes flicker down to his cupid bow lips. His bottom lip was tucked in, ever so slightly. I didn't know what was going on in my head, but confusion was the biggest factor.

I shook my head, letting go of the breath I hadn't known I had been holding. I let him help me steady myself before I brushed my pants and cleared my throat. "Thank you," I said quietly. I retrieved the basket that held the moonstones and began to collect the ones that had escaped its confines.