Chapter 51

• My Mate
• ALPHA ZACHARY As much as I enjoy being an Alpha, I didn't appreciate the stress of carrying out the duties that come with the position. "Since when?" Serge barged into my thoughts. "None of your business. I do most of the work while you do nothing but intrude." I said to my wolf bluntly. I was seated in my chamber, working on numerous proposed treaties alone. I didn't have enough time and I couldn't be selfish by staying idle without attending to my other duties as the Alpha of the biggest and most influential pack of the Woodlands. If I'm not working on treaties, I would be organizing a meeting with the pack officials. If I'm not doing either of those, I would be on patrolling duties with my pack warriors or overseeing other things that benefit the pack and sometimes, the woodlands at large. Alan is a great Beta but he couldn't handle my duties for me... Not as much as I wanted anyways. "We both know Our responsibilities as an Alpha are more than that and we also both know that that isn't the reason for your exhaustion. Get a grip of yourself." Serge butted in again and once again, I wished I could see the moon goddess physically to ask her why she gave our wolves the ability to talk and reason. "Leave me alone Serge!" I roared through the mind link. I always lose my concentration whenever he acts like a chatterbox. I did the only thing I could. Blocked him off. "The problem is either our mate or the maid you have taken interest in." Serge managed to chip in before I cut our link. He was right. He was always right. Aside from the choking Alpha duties, my mate has been acting out these past few days. My Luna hasn't tried to hide her annoyance and irritation after I made Haera the assistant chef as she should have been. Ilvira was adding more burden to the ones I had to carry. She frustrated me with every little chance she got. At the dining, in the corridors, in my chambers....just name it. We did have our sweet moments but the rumors flying around the pack about that night were adding fuel to the burning flame of Ilvira's anger. I knew I might have hurt her when I supported Haera the other night but even I couldn't control it. The anger and pain that seeped into my soul that night were new to me and for once, Serge felt it too. Even more, than I did. I assumed and termed my reaction as an Alpha protective instinct but who was I kidding? Haera wasn't officially my pack member. "We can't hurt our mate like that again." Serge said, slipping into my mind when I let my guard down. "How do we explain what we feel for the chef, Serge. You said I would forget her if I have sex with Ilvira but we both know that didn't happen and you can feel it too." I stated and for a while, Serge was quiet. It rarely happens but Serge does have his moments of dilemma too. "I don't know. I'm as confused as you are." Serge responded and I felt his confusion in my veins. Haera.... Her name does things to me. Simply thinking about her satisfied me more than when I slipped into Ilvira that night. Haera... The way she brushed past me every time she served me food invoked a strange but sweet feeling inside my being. Haera didn't have to touch me to ignite my desire, her strong scent was enough to drive me crazy. But there was Ilvira. My mate and my Luna. There was only one thing I could do at that moment. The one thing that I had been doing every night for the past few days. The one thing that has been helping me stay sane. "Don't! You can't continue doing that. You and I can't handle the aftermath of your stupid moves whereas it is wrong." Serge lectured like he usually does. I scoffed at his statement. "How can this be wrong when it feels like the only thing that I have ever done right." I said to my wolf as I stood up and stepped out of my chamber. I was going to do it again and whether Serge liked it or not. "This might be the final straw that breaks your back. I like mine unbroken." Serge declared. "So you don't want me to go to the kitchen tonight?" I threw the question at my wolf but he didn't answer. "You don't want to see Haera taking over the kitchen?" I asked Serge again, taunting him because I knew he had been enjoying our little journey to the kitchen every night. He had the chance to see Haera through my eyes and that was exactly what I was about to do again. "Admit it, Serge. You have been anticipating this hour because you know I would sneak out to see her. Don't act like you want me to stop." I chuckled when my wolf maintained his quietness. He does have to say it for me to know. I took the familiar turn to the kitchen and I didn't forget to check if anyone was behind me or around. It could be Alan or Ilvira or anyone. Nobody should see their Alpha sneaking around his own pack. It didn't take much time for me to get to the kitchen and as usual, Haera's scent reached my nostrils before I saw her frame swaying slowly under the dim lights of the kitchen. The delicious smell of varieties of food made me inhale deeply. I could easily sniff out Haera's natural scent from that of the food she was making but inhaling both scents at the same time was heavenly. I wanted more. I hid at my usual spot, watching her dance to some kind of imaginary music as she chopped some ingredients professionally. She is beautiful and graceful in the kitchen. Recently, I had seen beyond the pimples on her face and I could boldly say that Haera is beautiful. "I don't think others see her that way though...including our mate who we should be with right now instead of gazing at some chef." Serge said suddenly which made me lose my balance. I stumbled upon the metallic frame of the window I was peeping from. The noise I made attracted Haera's attention. Haera quit dancing and she paused her cooking process, scrutinizing the kitchen for the source of the noise. Her amber eyes met mine and I ducked immediately. I cursed under my breath not because Haera caught me but because my peeping charade was about to be discovered by three more maids. They didn't see me yet so I tried to blend in with the darkness of the night. I hoped it worked though. "An Alpha hiding like a rat from his pack members. What other stupid thing are you planning on doing for Haera?" Serge questioned me in my head but I ignored him to concentrate on hiding. ************** HAERA I could have sworn I saw him just now. Or was I hallucinating like I have been doing these past few nights? This wasn't supposed to happen. How do I explain to anyone that I smell Alpha Zachary in the kitchen whenever I'm there, which was every night because other maids had chosen to make me cook overnight in preparation for the next day. And how do I tell anyone that I had been feeling his eyes on me even though he hardly gazed at me in the dining hall? It was as if he stayed with me in the kitchen to make up for such moments. And most importantly, was it reasonable to tell Opaline because she was the only one that listened to me; that I saw Alpha Zachary peeping at me through the kitchen window? I was clearly losing my mind. Everything smelled like him.... Everyone looked like him... And I felt him around me everywhere. Dezra couldn't help me solve this mystery because she had become crazier about him than I was. I heard movements outside the kitchen again and the looming shadow showed that someone was indeed there with me. I guess I wasn't crazy after all. "W-who is there?" I called out, knowing fully well that it was no other person but the Alpha. I cooked well but my dishes couldn't smell as sweet as he does. "I know you are there. You don't have to hide." I said with enthusiasm. He was here. That could only mean he was ready to accept our bond. Oh, dear goddess! Was the moon Goddess on my side? At last. The smile on my face grew wider as the shadow drew nearer and into the kitchen light. The shadow disappeared as soon as its owner stepped into the light and I raised my head slowly, taking my time to prepare myself to see his handsome face. The person before me wasn't who I was expecting to see and she sure wasn't Alpha Zachary nor does she smell like him. I must have been carried away by the excitement and the joy I derived from my crazy hallucinations. If not, how did I miss the difference in the scents of Alpha Zachary and the old maid glaring at me? "What do you want?" I asked her as I returned my attention to the delicacy I was making. The old maid and her gang of friends had never for once stayed in the kitchen up to this ungodly hour of the night which made me wonder why she was there at that moment. "I don't recall answering to you as part of the order the Alpha gave, Chef ugly." She spat out. I rolled my eyes, thinking about how the old maid and her friends had taken it upon themselves to make the last few days as the assistant chef miserable for me. When would they stop calling me names? I mean it doesn't affect me anymore. I ignored the maid after her lewd response. She could go ahead and burn herself to death for all I care. "Come in ladies, the coast is clear." The old maid of the pack said and two other maids strolled into the kitchen. They were her friends. I refer to them as "old maids" because they had been working in the imperial pack before my arrival. They bullied me all the time but I didn't care about knowing their names. My brain shouldn't be filled up with junk. "Is a party supposed to be held here?" Dezra asked methodically. I could literally feel her shaking off her furs. The old maids stood behind me and I did my best to keep ignoring them..... at least until they spoke to me. And one of them finally cracked the silence that had settled in the kitchen. "You cheated us!" She accused, going straight to the point of their unwarranted presence in the kitchen. "How did you cheat these old bitches? They have been saying that for days." Dezra responded even though they couldn't hear her. My wolf tone made me snort and the old maids didn't take that lightly. "Did that ugly duckling just laugh at our pains?" The thicker one in the group screamed at me. I didn't want any form of trouble in the kitchen so I tried to find common grounds with them. "I sneezed. I have a funny way of doing that. If I may ask, what do you mean by I cheated you, and by that do you mean all of you?" I questioned but the response I received stunned me. "You want to play dumb? Didn't you know we were supposed to be promoted before you arrived to ruin everything?" The shortest one attacked me with questions, shouting at the top of her voice. How other pack members didn't hear her was still a mystery to me. The three old maids took turns to talk and they all accused me of stealing their position. I stood in front of them, searching for the perfect answer to their questions and the right excuse for their accusations. How on earth did I steal three people's positions while I had just one to myself. That was absurd. I decided to curb the situation before it goes out of hand by apologizing to them despite not doing them wrong. "I'm sort-" "You didn't get to be." The prettier but meaner old maid cut me off and one of the friends drenched me with the filthy water that I had used to wash the cooking ingredients. I wasn't expecting them to be violent and the water was just the least of it. While I was trying to wipe the water from my eyes, I felt a heavy jab on my ribs. I bit into my lower lip as I tried to swallow my painful scream. "Let me out, Haera. Allow me to put them in their places. That is if they have one on earth...if they don't, they will have to lose their lives...." Dezra ranted, persuading me to shift so she could devour the maids. I couldn't risk them seeing the kind of wolf I had so I kept Dezra in as the three old maids pounced on me. "You bewitched our Alpha." I heard one of them say before she slapped me. I staggered backward only to receive another slap from behind me. My eyes were still closed and they didn't give me the chance to open them. By the time I succeeded in opening my eyes, I was sitting on the kitchen floor, encircled by the three maids who were holding woods of different sizes. "You are a snake. A very ugly one and we are getting rid of you tonight." It was the mean one again. Didn't get me wrong, they are all mean but she was extra mean. Dezra kept pushing to be released and I had little strength left. My wolf might take over soon if I drop my guard. "Let's bleach her face or soak it in a pot of hot oil." My life was always being threatened by people that believed they were better than me. I didn't fight them anymore. My ankle was broken by one of the wood they were using to beat me and my eyes were slightly swollen. They were enjoying themselves while I bear the pain....as I usually do. "The oil is extremely hot." I didn't know which one of them spoke but I knew my doom was near. They shared the oil in three bowls and they took one each, making me close my swollen eyes and coiled into myself with just one expectation. Pain. Hot....skin burning and overwhelming pain. "Let's do this for our pack." I heard one of them say. "Is this what you do to people that are better than you?" A masculine voice asked with venom. I heard the old maids fleeing, leaving me on the cold floor of the kitchen. It was him. It could only be him. He had come to save me again. I forced my swollen eyes open to catch a glimpse of him. My Mate... I smiled weakly when I saw him. I looked directly into his eyes expecting to see the usual color I was used to seeing. But no. It wasn't the color I was used to. Was that really him?