The Reluctant Mate (On Hold)

Chapter 7

Nathan's POV

Oh dear goddess, that guy is gonna be more than just a handfull!, I think the moment Alex starts throwing his not the least adorable temper tantrum. And when he storms off and slams the door to his room, I can't hold back a chuckle at how predictable his actions sometimes are. And a bit too Emo for my taste. Nothing I can't fix, though. I'll help him mature once I have him by my side, and as soon as I bring home my first pup for him to take care of, he's going to be too busy - and tired - to still act up like this. Maybe shedding some of his sexual frustration wouldn't hurt, either. Another thing I can help with... He's not ugly, and thanks to the mate bond, I could get hard if necessary.

His family seems to have long since surrendered, and just gotten used to his obnoxious behavior, but I won't tolerate it! He didn't just insult me, or his family, but my parents and the entire pack, too, and that's not acceptable. My mate will have to learn to obey me, especially since I'm not only his future partner, but also his Alpha.

Training my hearing in the direction of Alex' room, faint sobs reach my ears, and my anger turns into pity. His whole demeanor is far more pitiful, than annoying, to be honest, and I'm sure he doesn't even realize it, the poor guy.

The next moment, I stop short in my compassionate thoughts. That little... He's faking it! As his mate, I start feeling his emotions stronger and stronger, and he's currently not sad, quite the opposite actually. He's feeling happy! Okay, that's it. Right tomorrow morning, I'm going to give an old friend of mine from college a call. He's into all this BDSM-stuff, maybe he has some good advice how to tame my little shithead of a mate! Okay, I won't really do that, but it's still an option I'll keep in mind...

„Alpha, Luna, Nathan, please accept my deepest apology for my son's disrespect. He should know better, trust me, because I sure as hell didn't raise him like that..." It's obvious who Jay blames for Alex' lack of manners by the way he looks at his wife, an unspoken accusation I'm definitely not sharing. I still vividly recall the harsh way in which the oldest brother treated my mate, without Jay stepping in.

I leave a response to my parents, who start a short, but animated talk with the Grand family, and prefer further thinking about my irritating mate, and his strained relationship with his family.

Although I've been close friends with Kyle since Junior High, for the life of me I can hardly remember ever meeting Alex in all these years. James and the sister, Shannon, spent time with us occasionally, but they never really mentioned their baby brother, less invited him to tag along. Admittedly, back then, he was still a little kid, and an age gap of five to seven years is huge when you're a teen. Yet, that didn't hinder other friends of mine to at least let their kid siblings play with us every now and then.

Since Alex' face isn't one to stand out in a crowd, I can only assume I must have seen him at pack meetings, but can't remember a specific moment or incident involving him. That means his nonconformist behavior must have started after I left, when Alex was just thirteen. Yeah, that fits. Beginning of his teenage years, all the hormones going crazy... Fuck, he's young. I tend to forget how young he is. Seven years my junior. I went through some troubles, too, at his age, I really have to grant him that when judging him.

I contemplate whether or not I should let Kyle in on the things Alex' wolf told Apollo, because he's anything but unbiased, and the brotherly bond doesn't seem close. Yet again, I'm going to need all the help I can get, and information only someone from his family is able to provide, if I want to get to the bottom of what my secretmonger of a mate is up to. Therefore, I mind-link him: „Kyle, we need to talk – in private. Can you drive me over to the pack house?"