Enchanter

Chapter Seventeen

When Anton exited the bathroom, he expected to find Aaric sitting on the bed. It was part of the reason he wore just a thin white towel around his waist, as he wanted to tease his mate, but he was greeted to emptiness.

"Where the hell is he?" he grumbled. Walking into the closet, he looked through the clothes in hopes of finding something that looked like one of Azalea's outfits.

"Like he has any women's clothes in there," she snickered. "You're just going to have to wear his stuff. Besides, his pack warriors seem to know about us, so I wouldn't be too worried if I were you. He's your mate, he will protect us."

"Then why are you so harsh when he's around?"

"Because I do not need to worry about his tempting body to waver our goal. We need to unlatch, and we cannot do that if he is around to tempt you to mate with him," she explained. "I should be allowed to be worried. I know how horny you wolves happen to be with one another."

"But you also know me, and when have I have let my wolf take control?" he scolded. "I am telling you, I want to unlatch from you just as much as you want to from me. I am not going to let anything compromise that. I will do whatever I can to leave you, because I want you to be free and revolt against the council that locked you up in the first place. Alright?"

Azalea nodded. "Okay," she whispered. "Sorry."

"Relax, I'm not mad. There's nothing to be sorry about."

After getting dressed, he exited the bedroom and sniffed the air for his mate. He could sense him down the stairs in the kitchen. A handful of wolves sat in there, talking and crowding around a book on the table.

"Are you sure you saw it in here?" Clive questioned.

"I am fairly certain there was something of the sort in here," Alpha Cedric replied. "If it's to help the Alpha and Luna, then we should do what we can to help."

"You do understand that I will merely be another Alpha, not the Luna, correct?" Anton stated. He had nothing against the pack, and he knew there was no need to be so hostile with his tone, but he couldn't handle the disrespect. He was a male wolf, and the Luna was a special title held to the Alpha's female mate. If the Alpha were to be a female who had a male mate, he would be the second Alpha, just as he would be addressed.

"What's wrong with Luna?"

"Just to be clear, everyone here does know that I am a male, correct?"

"You are?" Alpha Cedric exclaimed. "There is nothing wrong with being a woman, if that is who you are. We are very open and welcoming here."

He may have had long hair and presented himself as a woman when he first met Aaric, but Anton identified as a male. "I am not a female. I do what I have to do to protect myself. Now, can someone please tell me where Aaric is?"

"He's at the pack hospital right now visiting his Beta, my older brother," Clive responded. "Would you like to head over there?"

"What happened to your brother?"

"He went under surgery, and he needs to take some time to rest and heal. This isn't the kind of surgery he can come out of easily with our quick healing capacity."

"So...he wasn't injured in battle?"

"No," Clive whispered. "If you would like me to take you to him-"

"I'm not sure if this would be the best time to introduce myself," Anton replied as he cleared his throat.

"Then come and join us, Alpha. Tell us more about the Bleeding Rosebud you happen to be searching for," Alpha Daryn urged.