Alpha Mate

XX

Morgan Pov

All eyes in the room turned to Calum. What was he even doing in here?

It was now my job to calm him, to assure him that nothing was going to happen between Lucas and I. I tried to distance myself from Lucas, but he wouldn't let me. Under his weight, I had no choice but to remain where I was.

"What the hell is going on in here!" I flinched at the venom in Calum's tone.

"We were just sparring and-"

"It sure looks like you were just 'sparring.'" Calum accused. Words of denial were on my tongue, but I knew it was hopeless to defend myself while still in a compromising position with Lucas.

I shoved Lucas back once again. This time, he complied and moved off of me.

I walked towards Calum and he tried to place me in the spot behind him. I stood my ground in front of him, knowing that I could only stop Calum from hurting Lucas if I stayed between them.

"Please, don't. He really didn't do anything."

"He was going to."

My hands were splayed across his chest holding him back. "Please. Everything is fine, just let me talk to you."

It seemed that I must have swayed him because he pulled me to his chest before turning to Lucas. "Stay away from my mate."

Lucas responded to his command with a silent glare. I was thankful he held back whatever he wanted to say. My pleading was barely enough for Calum to stay back and him saying something wouldn't only make it worse.

Before I knew it, Calum was pulling me out into the hallway and didn't stop until we were in the privacy of a locked bathroom. I was thankful to be in there so fewer people would witness my scolding.

Calum wasted no time. Immediately after he securely locked the door, he turned on me. "What were you thinking, going to the gym alone with Lucas?"

"You're the one who assigned him to be my guard!" I couldn't just let him make accusations while he was partially to blame. The only reason I knew Lucas was because of Calum.

"Well not anymore! I see the lust in his eyes when he looks at you, which means he isn't fit to be your guard."

"You can't do that!"

"I'm the alpha! I can do whatever I want."

"Well just because he's not my guard, doesn't mean I won't see him anymore. He's still my friend." Lucas was the first person in this pack who actually bothered to acknowledge my presence and continue to be there for me. I wasn't going to give him up so easily.

"You would've let him kiss you if I hadn't walked in. He can't have what's mine." Angry veins became more distinguishable as he continued to accuse me of things.

"No, I wouldn't have. And I may be your mate, but you do not have some sort of possession over me. I have the right to make my own choices and be around whoever I want to. I will hang out with Lucas or any other unmated males if I wish to do so."

It was that statement that drove him over the edge. His warm brown eyes turned to a lethal shade of yellow and his canines sharpened. I was then forcefully pushed and held against the closed door. His movements happened so fast that I didn't even register them until his mouth descended upon my neck.

Panic flooded me when I felt his canines sink deep into my skin. The action was painful until a new sensation came alive. It was want. The deepening of our bond made my body desire Calum but my mind felt repulsed. He only wanted to claim me for himself, so bad that he was willing to do it even without my consent.

When his canines retracted, I bolted without hesitation. I ran to the garage, where I grabbed the nearest key and entered one of Calum's cars. He wasn't even following me. It was likely that he hadn't yet realized what he'd done as a result of his anger.

I drove to my brother's pack. It was the only place I had to go. It took everything in me not to cry the whole way there. My heart ached, partly because of the distance from my mate, but mostly because he had betrayed me by losing his control.

Leo was in his office when I arrived. Instead of going to bother him, I went up to my bedroom and laid in bed. Even though I showed up unannounced, Erin found me in my old room.

"Oh sweetie, what happened?" She came to the bed and tried her best to comfort me with her one arm.

I let out a sob and moved my hair off my neck to show her the mark. "I didn't want him to."

"It's ok. He shouldn't have done that but I know it will work out for you two."

Together we stayed in my old room for the next couple hours. Eventually, my tears ran out so we talked and even played with Lilian once she was awake.

A knock on the door then sounded and Leo entered the room.

"Hey."

"Hey, sis. He begged me to let him come see you." There was no question who he was. I knew exactly who Leo was talking about. "Do you want to talk to him?"

"Sure."

Leo began leading Erin and Lilian out of the room so that I could be alone. "Let me know if you need me at all."

Once they were gone, Calum stood in the doorway looking at his feet.

"I'm sorry."

"I know." This meeting started off as awkward as I had guessed it would.

Calum found the courage to leave the safety of the doorway and sit next to me. "I don't think you actually realize how truly sorry I am. I shouldn't have done what I did today."

"You shouldn't have." My gaze never left the floor as I spoke. I didn't feel like looking at him right now.

"Can you try to imagine how I felt though? Seeing you so close to him made me more jealous than I have ever been. What would you do if you saw me in that position with another girl?"

"Not what you did."

"No, but do you understand how angry I felt? I'm so sorry that I couldn't control my emotions. Believe me that I wanted to mark you on a romantic evening after you told me that that was what you wanted."

I took that time to imagine what that would have been like instead of how it actually happened. Everything could have been perfect.

"That sounds nice."

"Please, we've been making so much progress lately. I thought we were in a really good place in our relationship before I fücked it all up. What can I do to get us back to that? How can I earn your forgiveness?" He asked.

"I want to be with you. I want our relationship to work out because you're my mate and we're meant to be together. But you marking me without my consent isn't going to be an easy thing for me to get past."

"I know. Please just come back with me tonight. I know I don't deserve another chance but if you give me this last chance I won't let you regret it. We can go on our double date tomorrow and I'll show you around more of the pack lands or do whatever else you want. I need you, Morgan."

He wasn't making it easy for me to say no, so I didn't. "Okay."