Chapter 43

• ZACHARY
• "Her. I want her." I announced confidently which was surprising because right before Alpha Jarvold's offer, I had no intention of taking her with me. My eyes remained on her and they only left her frame due to the massive wave of surprise that reached my nostrils or should I call it shock? My mate's shock at my request was more prominent. Probably because I already marked her and my eyes soon connected with her questioning gaze. "I didn't know you found my mom's company indispensable. Who would have thought you wanted her to leave her pack for yours?" Ilvira spoke out. She placed her hand on my lap as she giggled at her attempts to crack a joke. Only it didn't sound like a joke to me. "I knew I told you you can request for whatever that pleases you but I can't give you my Luna, Alpha Zachary." Alpha Jarvold retorted, Supporting his daughter's misinterpretation of my words. The family laughed at their assumption but I cleared the air immediately. "No offense to your Luna but I meant her. The chef." I pointed again... to the woman whom I had taken pleasure from the other night and everyone at the dining table was once again shocked. Even Haera didn't hide her surprise. "You are wasting my father's offer on an ugly good for nothing maid? I can't stand her!" Ilvira said, spelling out her irritation. If only she knew what I was experiencing at that moment. Despite being an Alpha, how do I explain that I had been perceiving the same scent from two different women? I had fought a lot of inner battles but I had never felt something this strong. I was practically holding myself from getting lost in what I had termed to be lust. I lusted for another woman who wasn't my mate. "You aren't acting like you regret the passionate moment just like you sa-" "Don't taunt me." I cut Serge off through the mind link and my eyes went back to those familiar amber eyes. Haera was staring at me just like how my mate and her parents were. The other maids had their heads bowed but she wasn't. She wasn't affected by the presence of four Alpha blood wolves. Even on that night, I had believed she wasn't an omega because of the strong scent she processed but yet she was an Omega. Perhaps I was mistaken. "Perhaps, you are confused!" Serge whispered in my head. As much as I hate to admit it, he was right. I was utterly confused. Who wouldn't be? I mean I found my mate but I'm attracted to another woman...strongly attracted to another. The tingles and sparks that took over my body when I touched her in my room that night were unforgettable and I didn't feel half of it with my mate last night despite the fact that Ilvira bears my mark. "I want her." I declared but not only to myself. I couldn't be more relieved when I realized my mate and her parents didn't understand what I meant by WANT. "That's if you are willing to release her to me as a gift." I quickly added, to ease the tension at the table. Well, it was mostly my tension and some of Ilvira's. Forbidden but sweet memories of how Haera felt in my arms threatened to invade my mind. I tried to resist but it was irresistible. Was it the scent or I was just like my father? How can her soft moan of pleasure not be right? It felt so right and I would have thought that with my marked mate beside me, the memories would make me cringe or feel guilty. It didn't. In fact, I wanted to get lost in it more than I did the morning after the steamy incident. Flashes of what I did with Haera took over my mind while I did nothing to stop it nor did Serge try to talk me out of it. He was enjoying it as much as I was. "If I may ask. Why do you want her?" Thank the Goddess for blessing me with the ability to control my emotions. I don't know what would have happened if I usually wear them on my face and I was glad Alpha Jarvold's question snapped me out of my trance. My eyes roamed the table as I searched for the perfect but not necessarily true reason to give my mate's father. I didn't miss Ilvira's anger but surprisingly, it didn't bother me at that moment. "Well?" Alpha Jarvold asked again just when my eyes fell on Haera's chef uniform. Perfect. "Who wouldn't want to have a gem like her after tasting her food? She is a good chef and I love her cooking ability." I mumbled as I swallowed a large chunk of my dinner to make emphasis. It was perfect and true. "Do you love the taste of what she cooks or that of her skin?" "Shut up, Serge!" I wondered if my wolf couldn't sense that I didn't need his wise counsel but I'm certain he knew that too well. I could sense the hesitation from my mate's parents even though it was overshadowed by Ilvira's burning but feminine anger. I understood Haera was the pack's chef and letting her go with me would be difficult. Alpha Jarvold shouldn't have given his words to give me anything. He was regretting it but I was enjoying it. I smirked without thinking of the problems I was about to create for myself. Haera seemed impatient as she awaited her fate. "I fear I would have to say no, Alpha Zachary. My Luna adores the pack chef and I wouldn't want to hurt her." Alpha Jarvold tried to break his promise but I wasn't about to let that happen. "Don't forget the code of the Alphas. We don't go back on our words and I'm sure you don't want to break that." I used my greatest weapon on my mate's father. "Just ask for something else. Preferably, something more valuable and beautiful." My mate hissed, insulting Haera due to the condition of her face. Somehow that didn't sit well with me. Ilvira was being unnecessarily mean. "I know she is our mate but trust me, Ilvira is rude." Sergei stated the obvious. "I will send a better chef to your pack as soon as I return to mine." I offered, ignoring my mate's protest and hoping her parents won't ask me something like "If you have a better chef, why do you need ours?" And luckily for me, they didn't question my offer. "Just like you said, Alphas stick to their words. You can take the chef with you when you leave tomorrow." Alpha Jarvold finally honored his words and I was satisfied. Haera was excused from the hall after she served us all with orders that she should pack her belongings. Haera's amber eyes glared at me before she left the hall yet all I could see was the beauty they held. I sighed as I thought maybe that was how my dad started. My quest of not ending up like my father was becoming more difficult than I imagined. There was no undoing it. Haera was going to my pack....with me. The chair beside mine released a screeching noise when Ilvira suddenly pushed it backward. She stood up and strutted away from the table without excusing herself. She was angry. "Where do you think you are going, Ilvira?" Her mother asked. "As you can see, I'm leaving the table, mother. I lost my appetite." My angry mate responded rudely and slammed the door. Her parents didn't appear to be surprised at her behavior nor did they stop eating their meals. I excused myself, thanked them for the food, and went after Ilvira. "You have to handle her anger alone because you did a great job handling her father's offer alone...without asking for my opinion." Serge interrupted my moment of silence. "Would you have asked for something different?" I questioned my wolf even though I knew what his answer would be. He was attracted to her as much as I was. There was no denying that. "You had to take this long to get here after annoying me?" Ilvira attacked as I entered my room. I didn't understand where that was coming from but I chose to apologize instead of arguing with her. "You don't understand? You hurt her feelings an-" "Don't apologize! You clearly knew I wasn't happy about the stunt you just pulled at the dining room!" Serge's lecture was cut short by our mate's outburst which astonished me as well. Serge stopped talking afterward, leaving me to deal with OUR mate's fury alone. "That wasn't my intention, sweet-" "I told you I couldn't stand her and I still can't stand her but you went ahead to bargain for her." It was I who she cut off this time. I had never seen her angry and it was obvious I still had a lot to learn about my mate but that doesn't change the fact that I'm an Alpha and I despised it when anyone shouts at me...including my mate. "You do not shout at me!" I barked at her and she jumped out of fear just like how everyone else does. I was prepared to make Ilvira understand that I wouldn't accept disrespect from her but one look in her eyes was enough to calm me down. She had begun to cry. I unshed tears glinted in her eyes as she backed further away from me. I breathed in and out to get rid of my anger. "I'm sorry, Ilvira." I closed the distance between us and gathered her in my arms. Although she avoided my embrace at first, I caged her in my arms, whispering how I didn't mean to make her cry into her ears. "Are you certain you don't have any hidden motives for asking my father to release the ugly chef to you?" My mate asked, holding my gaze as she waited for my answer. I wanted to correct her about referring to Haera as ugly but what good would that do? And it was true that Haera appeared to be ugly to most people. Why I wasn't one of most people shouldn't baffle me but it did. "Is she why you couldn't even see through touching and making love to me last night?" Ilvira didn't wait to hear my answer to her first question before she asked another which rendered me speechless. "Sadly, you are right, Mate. Touching you was nothing compared to caressing Haera and I derived zero satisfaction from making out with you last night." I responded truthfully, staring into Ilvira's confused eyes as I confirmed her suspicion to myself and myself alone. What kind of mate would I be if I had told her that? But it didn't make much difference because the truth was buried deep within me and it was only a matter of time before it would begin to tear me up from the inside. "Your silence tells me what I need to know." Ilvira peeled my arms off her as she hissed venomously like a wounded snake before leaving my room in anger. I sat on my bed as I watch her go. I had caused her pain and she was probably going to hate me for it. I couldn't let that occur! I stood from my bed as I ventured to go after my mate for the second time that night but Serge stopped me in my tracks. "It's better to let her be tonight if you don't want to worsen the situation. Persuade her tomorrow." "What gives you the impression that you know more about her than I do? You know nothing about women as well as I do." I replied. "Which explains why you are trapped between two of them." Serge countered. That shut me up.