Quirking one eyebrow, he slowly straightened, wiping at his eyes "Don't get me wrong love, I think you're adorable when your 'sleeping'... But... Well, if you think your 'womanly antics' are plausible enough to deter him from claiming you I think you are sorely mistaken." Still chuckling, he continued, "That little... performance you just pulled was amusing, but trust me, it was not convincing..." Smiling widely he added, "See I would have added in some deep sighs, some mumbling... maybe a fart or two just too added in some theatrics."
She couldn't help the loud sharp laugh that escaped her. Quickly covering her mouth, she continued to snicker, her eyes watering in her attempt to control her laughter.
At her outburst his smile grew wider, turning positively devious as he said, "Ah-ha! I knew you'd find me to be better company after you woke up than your oh so sweet tempered mate"
She quickly sobered at his statement, "If you are going to pick up where HE left off before I blacked out... well... we can just end this conversation here. I am not his mate and I will never be the mate of an overconfident, condescending, domineering ASSHOLE!"
He smirked at her, "Well, I can't deny you that evaluation of his character, as he is ALL of that and then some." he chuckled halfheartedly, "I've known him since we were pups, going on over 300 years now, and I can tell you that he has many..." He paused a moment looking up at the ceiling before he said, "Layers? Sides? No, not that... Well, let's just say he's complex-"
"Look... um... Victor? I like you, you seem to be a nice man, but I don't care how complex OR simple you think your friend's 'personality' is all he's shown me is that he is a hot tempered asshole with no 'chill'. Frankly, as first impressions go I can soundly say I don't want anything more than a business relationship with the man," she held up her hand as he was about to interrupt her," and that's ONLY because I don't plan on letting such a petty thing as your child of an alpha ruin what my father's legacy was as the Keeper of this pack." Shaking her head in bewilderment she lowered her hand and continued, "I can't see how you have stayed friends with the man for, what did you say, over 300 years?! You must be a man of patience and good humor to put up with... with THAT for so long!" She made a swirling motion with her hands towards the chair where the alpha had sat when she was last lucid.
He sniggered at her attempt to sum up the man that was the Alpha of their pack. She watched as he unfolded his frame from the window and made his way over to her bed. She sat up straighter, eyeing him suspiciously as he moved to sit beside her in the chair the Alpha had previously occupied.
"Well, I can't promise that I was a saint myself during our entire life," He said with a lopsided grin winking at her, "I can honestly tell you he mastered a few of those hard stares and grumpy ways due to a few of my own shenanigans when were youths. So I will admit to my part in why he might be the way he is now." His expression turned pensive as he eyed her, "I won't make excuses for his actions towards you yesterday, but the way the situation came about is very peculiar if you think about it. I am positive this is not first time that he could have come across your scent. You've lived with Wynnie and Burim for years and we've come into contact with them enough times, where I am sure, Alik would have scented you off of one of them and realized at some point they harbored his mate."
Dropping her head down, she closed her eyes and started to rub her temples in circles to relieve the pressure building there. His words brought up questions that she was unable to answer and the Alpha's presence and actions brought up feelings she was too frightened to address.
Instead she said, "That is what I've been trying to tell you all! I have witnessed enough mating pulls to realize that the first waft of a mate's scent sends the mating pull into action," dropping her hands, she looked up at the ceiling continuing, "Ryon experienced his pull when he was young when he first met me, how can after over 20 years of KNOWING I lived with his keepers and meeting them an infinite number of times over the years and on EACH occasion being in close proximity of my lingering scent on them that he NOR his wolf noticed I was his mate?"
She paused, still looking up at the ceiling waiting for a reply before looking down into his confused eyes, "Because I'm not his mate."
~2 Weeks Later~
***Hazel***
Pulling into the small parking space behind her mother's old flower shop, she sighed heavily dropping her head to the steering wheel. It had been a long day and an even longer two weeks since she'd been released from the hospital. But with the Keeper induction ceremony being tonight, she'd had plenty to keep her busy and away from the overbearing Alpha.
After her conversation with Victor, she had refused to see or speak to Alik until she'd seen that Ryon was alright. She had never seen him so bruised and battered before, but then again, he'd never gotten into a fight with an Alpha before either. She blew out another heavy sigh as she remembered the ensuing battles between her and Ryon, her and Alik, Alik and Ryon, Ryon and the elders, the elders and Alik. Her head spun at the tangled web they'd woven to even slightly appease everyone that day.
She would have been dragged off the minute the doctor released her from the hospital if she had not agreed to move out of their family home and into the apartment her family had above her mother's flower shop in town. It wasn't like she would be able to stay in her old room after Alik and Ryon had destroyed it, and half the upstairs, in their brawl. This change of scenery, however, allowed her to avoid the domineering Alpha and had saved Ryon from countless other hospital trips.
Victor ended up being a great ally to her with keeping the persistent Alpha out of her hair. He'd kept her up to date on the Alpha's schedule so that she could avoid him and his incessant 'my mate should this' and 'my mate should that' statements.
She knew couldn't always avoid him as some of their meetings were for the Keeper's inauguration ceremony and required both of them to attend. But she had to applaud Victor and the elders as they always acted as a buffer to control the tense atmosphere that always arose when the Alpha entered any room she was in. Victor's light hearted character was such a contrast to the brooding Alpha, that she was surprised they could even stay in the same room together for more than an hour, much less having been best friends and companions since birth.
During the few times she'd encountered the Alpha over the past few weeks, she'd caught him a numerous amount of times staring at her with such heated gazes she'd thought he'd melt her from the inside out. Her nerves were so shot, that she felt his gaze even as she closed her eyes to sleep at night.
She sighed again, shaking off the memories of his gaze and turned off the car. Gathering her stuff, she got out of the car and walked towards the wooden stairs that led to the apartment above the shop. Using the keypad, she let herself into the house loving the added security feature that almost Alpha proofed her apartment. Groaning, she threw her car keys onto the front table just inside the doorway, peeling off her suit jacket and ascot, leaving everything where it fell. She was so exhausted she could barely balance to kick off her pumps. She hated the stuffy suit and heels she had to wear to those Keeper meetings, but she knew she couldn't embody the 'business lady' façade that official Keeper had to portray in her comfy "Pink!" Pajama shorts and fluffy "Pink!" slippers. Her mind turned towards the little shop just below her aching feet, picturing it as the silver lining in the whole situation. She closed her eyes smiling at the thought.
She was in the process of turning the flower shop into a bakery and the renovations were almost complete. She'd been quick to express her idea to Ryon, who she secretly still met and talked to while the Alpha was not around, and he had expressed his support. He was all for her finding a project to focus on to help deal with all the extra stress and changes going on in their lives. The renovation plans kept her grounded and focused, but when she was alone, she couldn't help but feel lonely. She rarely slept due to the threat of nightmares and the overflow of memories from that fateful day. She tried to focus all her energy on the inauguration dinner plans and the bakery renovations. She wished her parents could've been here to help her with the renovations, although her mother probably would have had a fit over her beautiful flower shop being turned into a sugar paradise.
Even though her mother had always told her that her relationship with nature was uncanny and that she could grow flowers from a rock, she'd never wanted to go into the flower business, much to her mothers' frustration. It had always felt wrong to raise those beautiful flowers only to cut their lives short in their prime to decorate someone's table or nightstand.
Kicking her shoes into the corner, she walked down the little hallway and into the kitchen grabbing a Capri-Sun out of the fridge. She was taking the straw out of the little wrapper when she heard a muffled noise. She spun around quickly, the hairs on her arms rising as she sensed something. Her eyes darted around the kitchen and over the breakfast bar, into the adjacent small living room. Quietly walking around the island counter, she stood on her tiptoes to look over the bar and caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes darted to the window, as she jumped slightly before she saw a bird on one of the window's ledge. She dropped down off her toes, relaxing as she released her pent up breath and resumed opening her drink.
