Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 206 Not His Sins
By the time Lexi, Allen, and Lord Brarthroroz arrived at Bartholomew’s office, Adam was already there. “Alpha.” Allen greeted him seriously with a nod of his head as they filed in, Lexi and her father taking seats at Bartholomew’s sweeping gesture, indicating for them to take their pick of any of the chairs that sat before him.
“Thanks for coming so quickly,” Adam said gratefully as he and Allen clasped their forearms and took their respective seats opposite one another. “Well, seeing as how you seem intent on getting my bestie knocked up so quickly, someone has to help you handle things,” Lexi smirked as she lazily examined her nails.
Adam smiled wearily in her direction as he laughed lightly.
“It’s not like I have a choice in it. You try ignoring the primal urges of the souls inside of us and let me know how well you do.” Lexi snorted loudly and fixed him with a no-nonsense stare.
“I’m telling you now, mister furry, there’s no way I’d be rolling over and spreading my legs just so my supposed ‘mate’ could put a baby inside of me.” she said vehemently as she used her fingers to mimic quotation marks in the air as soon as she uttered the word ‘mate’.
Adam glanced across at Allen with a raised eyebrow and felt a pang of pity for him at the brief flicker of hurt that crossed his face. “It’s not as easy as you think Lexi, you’ll find that out soon enough anyway,” Adam answered seriously as he turned back to her with a frown. “It’s a primal, animalistic, urge to procreate for the survival of the species, and if you’re mated to a wolf, then you too will experience a heat. Whether you like it or not.”
Lexi snorted and shook her head as Adam continued, narrowing her eyes dubiously at him.
“Besides, for Ann and I, we can’t really afford to wait for pups. We have a duty now, as the heads of the royal family, as well as leaders of the Dark Moon, to ensure the line remains strong and unbroken. A large family with multiple heirs means a direct, unbroken line of succession and reduces the chances of conflict and power plays within the pack…”
“Yes, because a baby can do a lotto fend off attacks… give me a break.” Lexi interrupted as she snorted again and rolled her eyes theatrically. “I’m not getting into this with you now, Lexi.” Adam sighed impatiently, “It should be enough for you to know that both mine and Ann’s interests align with that of our wolves and we are more than happy to start trying to build a family of our own. What you do with your own life and your own mate is your business, and I won’t comment on it. I would respectfully ask that you refrain from passing comment on the decisions that Ann and I make between us, for the good of our people and of our own family.”
Lexi blinked wordlessly and her face fell slightly. It almost looked as if she had been slapped by his words, and although she would never admit it, his words had stung her painfully.
She had been Ann’s family for so many years, and Ann had been her rock. The only dependable constant in her life for so many years and as stupid as she knew it was, there was a niggling voice in the back of her head that told her she was being replaced.
Lord Brarthroroz patted his daughter on the shoulder gently and squeezed it lightly, sending an understanding smile toward her as Allen watched quietly.
Did she really not want children of her own? Did the mate bond mean so little to her?
‘You can’t expect her to just roll over so easily for us, you know. You f****d up spectacularly in your treatment of her for such a long time. Why would she want to honor you with pups when you couldn’t honor her for the call of the bond?’ Orvar snapped, ‘You’re such a stupid, insufferable prick sometimes.’
Allen clenched his jaw and didn’t respond, the vein on his temple pulsing as his mind whirled with the possibility of never having a family of his own with her.
He had thought that she had fully embraced the possibility of their future, but with these words, it seemed like she hadn’t at all Was that how it was? Was he just a f**k to her? One of many that she had obviously accrued over her lifetime. How many men had she even slept with anyway?
‘Stop it. Right now Allen. Don’t make this worse with your jealousy. Why is it I’m the f*’***g sensible one and you’re the one with ridiculous caveman-like instincts?’ Orvar growled contemptuously, ‘Just keep your mouth shut and swallow the pathetic words that you’re about to say for once, okay?’
“I think that’s enough chit-chat,” Bartholomew interjected carefully, “I do unfortunately have further appointments today and I’d like to get you all up to speed as quickly as possible.”
The tension in the room dissipated slightly as they turned their attention to the Elder who explained as concisely as possible the events that had unfolded whilst they were away.
Adam added smaller snippets that he and Ann thought might be useful, but the longer the discussion went on, the more anxious and unsettled he seemed to become.
Bartholomew smiled knowingly up at him and chortled slightly.
“It’s ok, you can return to her. I think I can handle it from here.”
Adam sighed and shrugged apologetically.
“I’m sorry, Baldur isn’t giving me a moment’s peace whilst she’s up there alone. Before I go though, you should know that the Dubois are here, Allen,”
he said in hushed tones as Allen’s eyes seemed to harden. “Why?” He asked simply, his tone emotionless.
“It’s Felix… not his brother,” Adam answered, his tone almost cautious as the tension seemed to weigh heavy in the air once again. “I didn’t ask that. I asked why they were here.” Allen snapped tightly as Lexi glanced across at him curiously.
“They are here for diplomatic matters, Beta Allen” Bartholomew answered levelly, “Whatever distaste you hold for the Dubois family, you will suppress whilst you are in the Enclave, do you understand? I will not have a repeat of the debacle with Greyson.”
Allen was silent for a moment as his face seemed to flicker through a myriad of emotions, anger, outrage, pain and then fury before finally, as he swallowed whatever it was he wanted to say, his face hardened into an emotionless mask as he nodded.
“Understood, Elder.” He replied simply, although the effect of compliance was somewhat reduced by the fact that the words were practically hissed out from between his tightly clenched teeth as the muscles in his jaw twitched excitedly.
Adam said his goodbyes quickly before turning to leave to make his way back to Ann, but he paused briefly and glanced over his shoulder at Allen with a complicated expression.
He hesitated for a split second before making his way over and leaning forward and murmuring quietly into Allen’s ear at a volume that no one else would hear.
“Felix is not the same man that his brother is, Allen. Do not place the burden of his brother’s sins on his shoulders. Do not let me down. We can’t afford to make an enemy of the Dubois now, more than ever, and you… you are better than that.”
Allen nodded stiffly as he stared fixedly at a spot on the wall in front of him while Adam withdrew and stood upright, staring down at his long-time friend with a worried expression.
With a regretful glance and a barely perceptible sigh, he turned and left the office, shutting the door behind him quietly. This wasn’t a position that he had wanted to put Allen in, but he had been given little choice.
Adam could only hope that Allen could keep his temper long enough for an agreement to be reached swiftly between the kingdoms regarding the rogue issue and that Felix and his entourage would be able to leave in one piece.
Adam smiled grimly to himself as he made his way back to the Royal quarters. This was just yet another bump in the road that they would have to overcome, and there was nothing much that he, nor Ann, could do to resolve this… the responsibility for that lay with Allen.