little one

chapter seventeen

*the beautiful new cover was designed by the lovely LunaQueen310

also random side note, but do any of you see the updates I post to my page? I try to post updates on when chapters are coming so I was wondering if any of you see them! thanks so much for reading! love you guys!

and for those asking for more alexei content, get ready! i've got some plans for our little goofy gamma. hey that rhymes or whatever idk ;)

sebastian's pov

Both Thea and Acacia were out like a light as we drove back to our territory. The long day had worn out there still recovering bodies. Ainsley had warned both Jace and me that we needed to be careful with what we exposed them to, due to their fragile immune systems. Even a small cold could be dangerous. Though werewolves aren't known to get sick, runts have more of a human-like immune system making them more susceptible. I've been making sure that Thea's always bundled up whenever we go outside, because of how cold of a fall it's been.
*
"How you been settling in?" Alexei had joined the pack only a few weeks before Thea arrived, and I'd been a little worried about him with Jace and I both being a little occupied. He had come from a pack in Eastern Europe, so he had a bit of a Russian accent. With us being gone, most of the work had fallen to him, so I don't think he's had much of a chance to acclimate with the rest of the pack. We don't have official ceremonies either, so he hasn't met many pack members.

"Haven't really been doing much of anything but work, Seb."

"I'm really sorry about that Lex, now that Thea's more settled in I'll be able to take some of that work off your hands. I can't thank you enough. With you giving me the peace of mind that everything was OK with the pack, I was able to focus on my Little Mate here." I smiled softly at her as she slept.

"As long as Sebastian's OK with it, and you, I'm gonna try and take some time off for Acacia. I don't think she's quite ready to meet a lot of pack members, meeting you guys seemed to be difficult enough." Jace spoke up.

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad I was able to make things easier for you guys. Plus it's kept me from losing my mind. Lately I...." He trailed off, seemingly off in his own mind. I had never seen Alexei so serious. He was generally an easy-going guy. Jace and I both exchanged looks.

"What's going on, dude?" As the Alpha, I was close to all my pack mates, but those that I worked closely with I had a deeper relationship. Alexei hadn't been here long, but he fit right in with Jace and me. So seeing him in such distress bothered me.

"I can feel her. Sometimes when I'm around the pack, it's like a faint scent, and I have half a mind to track down every female in this pack and find her. But I also can feel her fear. Anxiety, stress, worry, something along those lines... I can't quite place it. I'm really losing it guys. I'm worried she's feeling the same way as I am, and that's where her feelings are coming from, and I don't want to be the cause of that... So, I wait. In agony, not knowing how to handle this situation. The thought of being the source of my mate's worry... I can't..." Alexei looked absolutely shattered.

Jace and I both fell silent, feeling his pain. I understood his worry, but I also knew a mate soothes the darkness inside every male. The longer a man is without there mate, the more feral they become. I have no idea what happens to a male that feels his mate near but does not claim them. I worry that Alexei might not be able to handle it for much longer. Or if it was healthy for him to go on like this. I wish I had some sort of solution for him, but I'm up to my knees in my own mate problems.
*
After Alexei's revelation, there wasn't much said during the ride home. Acacia and Thea slept the whole ride back, and neither Jace nor I knew what to say. Alexei's problem didn't have an easy solution. Finding his mate, in a pack of 1000, and around 50% of those wolves being female? Especially with Alexei's fear of how she felt about the situation, ordering all the females for him to "sniff her out" didn't seem like the best idea.