Taming the Alpha King

Chapter 24

The walk up is tense and awkward. After Xerxes let Tobias have control again, then only thing he said was 'sorry'. Now we walk hand in hand, without another word, to the pack house.

Once we get to the front door, Tobias squeezes my hand gently and the door opens greeting us with smiling faces. "Alpha Tobias! Welcome!" An older woman who seems to be in her late sixties stands at the door and children scurry around her feet. She dodges them the best she can while she moves to the side urging us to come in.

"Miss Joana, this is my mate Belle." I cringe at the introduction. I know I should be glad he's introducing me as his mate, but I'm not just his and I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea. "Belle, this is Miss Joana she runs things around here."

The woman laughs a hearty laugh at Tobias's words and pats him on the shoulder. "Oh, he's just being silly. This place wouldn't be standing without this boy." The look in her eyes when she looks ate Tobias is full of pride. I wonder what her story is. She shakes my hand and smiles widely, "You can call me Jo honey. Everybody around here does."

"Nice to meet you." With that said more and more pack members came over to introduce themselves. We must've met at least twenty pack members during my trip from the front door to the living room couch. Tobias and I sat and spoke with some of the members that were watching tv in the room and children were running past everyone as if it were the most normal thing to do.

Talking with everyone was so fun and comfortable. I felt like I had been a part of the pack for years. I learned that this pack house truly did mainly house unmated wolves that chose to live on their own, or young couples not yet ready to part and live in their own complex. The children, I learned, are mostly orphaned. Miss Jo watches over them.

I also learned Miss Jo truly does run the place around here. She cooks the diner, watches over the children, and she even got Tobias and the other male wolves to help clear the table after dinner.

I smile as a few of the little boys chase after a little girl in pigtails. I pick up a few cups from the table and carry it to the kitchen. In the kitchen one of the little boys slips on the floor causing him to fall straight on his face.

Quickly I place the cups down and rush over to the boy. I help him and kneel next to him. He can't be any older than 5 by the looks of it. "Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"

He rubs his hands together and nods his head shyly, "I- I'm okay."

I smile and hold his hands gently, "Good. What's your name tough guy?"

"To- Toby." He's so cute, I just want to pick him up and keep him.

"How old are you Toby?" He holds up four fingers and looks down at his shoes. "Wow! Four years old, that's super old!" I tickle him ,and his laugh erupts through the large kitchen. He once again stares at his shoe timidly, "I like your shoes Toby. I think their super cool."

"You- you do!?" His eyes immediately shine with excitement and I nod my head in agreement. "Wow thanks! Hey guys guess what the Luna say my shoes are super cool!" With that he runs off chasing his friends again and disappears through the crowd.

I pick up my cups from before and make my way to the sink where Miss Joe is washing all of the dishes alone. "Miss Jo, let me help you."

"Oh no sweetheart I can manage." She laughs and scrubs another plate clean.

"No, I insist. Besides I lost Tobias somewhere in the crowd and I doubt I'll be finding him anytime soon without getting lost." This makes her laugh and she scoots over letting me wash besides her.

We stand there and wash together only making small talk here and there. More kids runs and scream past us and Miss Jo sighs, "You kids better stop screaming!"

"Yes Miss Jo!" They all say in unison running away quietly.

"I don't know how you do it." I look at her amazed and she just laughs.

"Well when you've been doing it as long as I have it comes as a second nature to me." How long has she been doing this?

"How many kids do you have?" I dry the plates and stack them on the counter while she hands me another dish to rinse.

"Oh, I don't have any kids of my own." None? That's a very rare occasion. You normally only see that with someone who doesn't have a mate. But if she couldn't find a mate you would think she would've found a chosen.

She must know what I'm thinking because she continues to explain, "My mate had the unlucky opportunity to be blessed with twin mates. Normally even twins have their own mates, but on the rare occasion they share a mate." The image of Tobias and Alexander crosses my mind. "He met my sister first while I was off travelling different packs. When I met him they were already mated. My sister didn't want to share but he didn't want to let me go. I couldn't reject him. I was never able to find a chosen because a part of me still belonged to him."

That's terrible. How could a man, her mate, do that to her? Her story just reminds me even more that I need to choose quickly in order to allow the other to move on. "I'm sorry..."

"Oh, don't be silly child there is nothing to be sorry for. I would never change a thing. Thanks to no longer being tied down to a man I have raised more children than I can count. They will always be mine in my heart, even if they're not my blood." This woman truly is amazing. Her mate was stupid to let her go.

"Belle? Are you ready to head home?" Tobias stands by my side and grabs the clean and dried plates, putting them away with ease.

"Oh, almost I-"

Miss Jo interrupts me, "Oh no Luna I can handle the rest myself. Thank you for your help. Don't let this one go Tobias, treat her right. Hear me?"

"Yes ma'am." He smiles and wraps his arm around me. Don't let me go Tobias... Don't let me go.