Chapter 2 Thaddeus

Third Person's POV 

It's been six years since the day Thaddeus was rejected. The rejection was excruciating, and it took over a month before the pain entirely subsided. Initially, it left the Alpha weak, making it hard for him to do daily tasks. Food was the farthest thing from the Alpha's mind. He only ate when he was forced to. Even when he tried to eat, the Alpha would fall asleep in his wheelchair with this food barely eaten. 

The nights that should have been welcoming and restful they turned into anything but that. At night, the body experiences withdrawals from the loss of the bond, resulting in painful episodes that, at times, lasted over an hour. The Alpha woke every night sweating and screaming in pain. In the beginning, those episodes came several times a night. As more time passed, the episodes became fewer until one day, they were gone. 

It took almost a year before Thaddeus felt like himself again. But he wanted nothing to do with love and hoped he didn't have a second chance mate. He didn't want to go through another rejection. He didn't want to see the disappointment in another mate's eyes when they saw his wheelchair and his utterly useless legs.

Instead of looking for a second chance mate, the Alpha dove into his duties as the Alpha. He hid under mountains of paperwork and worked harder when on the training field. 

Eventually, he stopped hiding behind his work and began spending time with friends and family again. It wasn't until three years after the rejection that he started thinking about a mate again and wondering if the Goddess gave him a second chance mate. If she did, he wondered where that mate would be. So, Thaddeus began looking. 

The Alpha searched the local packs surrounding his territory. When he came up empty-handed, he expanded his search. The Alpha searched as many packs as he could. When he went out of town for Alpha conventions, he searched there, searching through packs that would allow him, only to return to his hotel empty-handed each time.

Eventually, the Alpha began to lose hope. As more time went by, he gave up altogether. He began to believe the Moon Goddess wouldn't grant him another mate. 

The Alpha began to think of that fateful night six years ago. Words his mate had said began to haunt him again. The Alpha once again hated his useless legs and would have cut them off if it wouldn't cripple his wolf, Zeus. 

The more Thaddeus thought about that day, the more he realized he was better off without a mate. His last mate made it clear that no one is going to accept him or want a cripple as a mate. Maybe that is why the Goddess didn't give him a second chance mate. Who's going to want a pathetic person who can't even use their legs and is stuck in a wheelchair? 

Thaddeus could almost feel Zeus nudging the inside of his head, trying to pull him out of his dark thoughts. The Alpha sighs and then closes his eyes, picturing his wolf. The beautiful black wolf comes into view, and his golden eyes seem to glow as he looks at Thaddeus. 

“I'm glad you're not crippled, too,” Thaddeus said quietly.

                              ~

The drive home from Alpha Michael's territory seemed longer than usual. Maybe it's because everyone was tired after fighting an endless flood of rogues.

Michael is the Alpha of River Pack, and his territory borders the Northwest corner of Thaddeus' territory. Alpha Asher's territory sits North of Michael's territory, bordering Michael and Thaddeus. The three Alphas are good friends, and they grew up together. Their three packs are allies and help each other whenever needed. And today, help was needed.

Rogue wolves are dangerous. They are wolves who have either been kicked out or left their pack. And some are born as rogues when the parents are one themselves. Once you leave your pack, you become a rogue. The longer you remain a rogue, the more likely you’ll become wild and feral and lose your humanity. Once that happens to a rogue, they become dangerous. Feral rogues tend to group together and attack packs, killing other werewolves and their packs. The part that once made them human is gone; only the wolf inside is left, and even the wolf is no longer the same.

When Michael called for help, Thaddeus took his Beta, 3rd in Command, and 50 warriors to their aid, and now, they're on their way home. Thaddeus drives his SUV, which is equipped with an aftermarket device that allows him to drive. A lever to the right of the steering wheel gives the vehicle gas when moved in one direction and applies the brakes when moved in the other.

Xander's mouth hasn't stopped since they left Michael's. He sits in the front seat next to Thaddeus, talking about all the hot she-wolves he’s seen. Marcus rolls his eyes from the backseat, and Thaddeus groans, contemplating shoving him out of the car. 

Thaddeus is almost startled when Xander suddenly hollers out, “Hey guys, why do fathers take an extra pair of socks when they go golfing?.... 

In case they get a hole-in-one!” Xander laughed while Marcus rolled his eyes, and Thaddeus groaned. 

“How does the Moon cut his hair?...

Eclipse it!” Xander laughed even harder as he slapped his knee. 

“Thaddeus, if you don't kick his ass out of the car, I will!” Marcus growled, glaring at the back of Xander's head.

Thaddeus groaned as he ran his hand down his face and was almost ready to throw them both out of the car. 

“Xander, for the love of Goddess, will you knock it off!” Thaddeus exclaimed. Xander folded his arms over his chest with a huff, pouting.

“You guys are no fun!” Xander mumbles under his breath.

“No, you just like having a little too much fun!” Thaddeus said, remembering what the idiot did just a little while ago at Michael's pack. 

After taking care of the rogues, Thaddeus and his men stayed for lunch. Everything was going good until it was time to leave, and Thaddeus had to save this poor mutt from a pissed-off she-wolf's brother.

Her brother isn't just another wolf in the pack. Anders is a bear shifter and he's enormous! His bear is more than twice the size of your average werewolf, and in human form, the man himself is a beast. It's one of the reasons Michael chose him as his third in command.

Anders has never had a problem with Xander, that is until he walked in on the Beta going to town on his little sister. Then, the bear had a problem with Xander.

While Thaddeus was talking to Michael in front of the pack house, their conversation was cut short, and their attention was drawn to the loud commotion rapidly approaching. Thaddeus and Michael turned just in time to see a very naked Xander running down the street in their direction, with a look on his face of both amusement and terror. Anders chased Xander, yelling every profanity and threat he could think of. Each time Anders got a little too close, Xander shrieked and ran faster. 

“Get back here, you fucking mutt! That was my little sister, you asshole! I'm going to rip your fucking dick off and shove it down your throat!” Anders yelled.

Thaddeus wanted to laugh. It was quite a sight to see: the giant bear shifter chasing his naked Beta down the streets of River Pack. But they just so happened to be running straight toward him while he was talking to the Alpha in front of River Pack's pack house. And they weren't the only ones outside. There were many people, including women and children, watching the scene unfold.

Lucky for Xander, Thaddeus, and Michael were able to calm Anders down before the situation escalated out of control. 

Xander mumbled under his breath from the front passenger seat and pouted. But his silence didn't last long. It wasn't even 10 minutes later, and the Beta wouldn't stop talking again.

Unable to take anymore, Thaddeus slammed on the brakes, and Xander's forehead was introduced to Thaddeus's dashboard since he didn't have a seat belt on (which the Alpha was aware of and why he did it). That gave Thaddeus some satisfaction and allowed the Alpha to put up with Xander's nonstop yapping for the remainder of the drive home.

                             ~

Thaddeus sat in the shower, letting the hot water rain down over his body. As he washed his tattoo-covered legs, he remembered how muscular they used to be. Now, they're thin, atrophied from years of no use. The Alpha trails his fingers along the lines of his tattoo and wonders if he did find a mate, would he be able to look past the fact that his legs don't work? Letting out a sigh, the Alpha lets his leg drop and then quickly wraps his shower up.

The Alpha picks out something to wear. Nothing dressy, just his nicest t-shirt and dark blue jeans. Thaddeus isn't one to dress up, but he wants to look presentable for the full moon celebration.

Thaddeus wheels himself down the hallway and isn't surprised when he finds Xander has made himself at home again in his living room. The Beta is sitting on the couch playing video games and eating what looks like everything from the Alpha's kitchen. 

Thaddeus isn't sure where Xander stores all the food he shovels in his mouth. The man eats more than anyone he knows.

Xander cocks his head around the couch to look at Thaddeus and smiles with a mouth full of food. 

“Hey, what's up?” Xander doesn't bother swallowing his food before speaking, and the Alpha rolls his eyes. 

Thaddeus moves around the couch and snatches the bag of chips out of Xander's hand before picking up the food scattered over the coffee table. 

“I don't know why you're eating all this shit! We're about to go downstairs and have a feast, and you're up here loading up on all this junk.” Thaddeus said and wondered where half of the shit even came from. He doesn't remember buying a bag of Doritos or a bag of donut holes. 

“Hey, that's okay! I still have room for all of that, too!” The pig said with a mouth full of food. Thaddeus shook his head. 

“That work I did at Michael's worked me up quite the appetite,” Xander said, and Thaddeus smirked. “Yeah, it must have been hard work with that she-wolf, huh?”  Thaddeus said, and a smile spread on the Beta's face. 

“Hey, I can't help it. She came onto me!” Xander placed his hand over his chest, feigning innocence. 

“You know, you need to learn to keep that thing in your pants!” Thaddeus scolds. 

“What are you going to do when you find your mate?” Thaddeus asked, and the Beta mumbled under his breath.

                               ~

When Thaddeus went outside, the full moon celebration was well underway. The bonfire was lit, the children were playing off to the left, and the rest of the pack mingled, laughing while having a good time. Thaddeus settles in at the end of the table, locking his wheelchair in place before he begins eating. 

The Alpha looks up when Zendaya places another plate of food beside him before sitting next to him with her own plate. Thaddeus laughs at Zendaya, who doesn't think he grabbed enough food. 

“Hey, don't laugh at me! I saw how much you put on your plate, and that's nowhere near enough. Besides, you didn't get any of the damn pig! My grandmother helped Grace with that sucker all day. She'll whip my ass if she knows you didn't eat any of it!” Zendaya gives Thaddeus a firm look, holding it as long as she can before laughing. 

“Well, in that case, I better eat this plate first.” Thaddeus chuckled as he switched the plates around and took a bite of the delicious pig. 

“So, where's that wonderful mate of yours?” The Alpha asked when he didn't see Marcus anywhere. 

“Hopefully, not out there killing Xander. They did a quick run out to the front gate. They should be back any minute.” Zendaya said before taking another bite. 

Thaddeus chuckled and could already picture Xander running for his life after annoying Marcus.

Thaddeus, Marcus, and Xander love each other like brothers. They've known each other their whole lives. They were best friends, and together, the trio worked hard for their current position. But that doesn't stop Xander from acting like the annoying brother. He knows just the right buttons to push, especially when it comes to Marcus. And push them, he does. Marcus can't stand Xander's lame dad jokes, and the man has an unlimited supply of them. 

Thaddeus opened his mouth to say something but closed it when Xander came running out of the tree line. The Beta kept glancing over his shoulder every few moments, and the Alpha knew why. As soon as he was close enough, Zendaya turned just in time to get a pair of shorts thrown on her face. 

“These are yours now!” Xander said, out of breath. The Beta slid as he rounded Thaddeus' chair and plopped into the seat next to his Alpha.

Xander's chest heaves as he tries to catch his breath. Without a word, he reaches into Thaddeus's plate and grabs a chicken leg.

Thaddeus glares at the Beta, giving him a “what the fuck” look, but the idiot simply flashes a smile before taking a bite. 

Zendaya pulls the shorts off her face and then holds them out, looking at them. At that exact moment, a very naked and angry Marcus burst out of the tree line, growling. His eyes immediately land on Xander, and he takes off running for him. The commander slid to a stop when he saw what was in Zendaya’s hand.

“So, you're the one who took my damn shorts!” Marcus said as he plucked the shorts from Zendaya's hand and slipped them on. The commander pulled the seat out next to Zendaya and then sat down, smirking at her. 

“If you wanted me naked, all you had to do was ask.” The commander said playfully, smiling at the beautiful lady next to him. Marcus rests his elbow on the table, his chin resting on his fist as he looks at her face. The commander smirked as he wiggled his eyebrows, and Zendaya rolled her eyes and shook her head. 

“This man!” Zendaya said as she reached for her plate. 

“And this man is all yours!” Marcus said as he waved his hand from his head down his body in a showing fashion.

“Xander, you need to stop spending so much time with my mate. You're starting to rub off on him!” Zendaya said before popping a piece of chicken into her mouth.

Thaddeus laughed, and Xander's face lit up. 

“Shit, now I'm going to spend even more time with him! Before you know it, we'll be finishing each other's sentences.” Xander said before taking another bite of Thaddeus's chicken. 

Marcus groaned while running his hand down his face and then let out an exaggerated breath. 

“Please, baby girl. Please let me kill him,” Marcus pleaded with his eyes closed. 

Zendaya laughed as she reached over and rubbed his back. “Stop acting like you don't like it. You know you love his goofy ass!” 

“Of course, I love the idiot. That doesn't mean I can't NOT like him at the same time,” Marcus said, and Xander's face lit up again. 

“Awe, I love you too, big brother!... Or little brother. You are kinda shorter than me.” Xander flashed his goofy grin at Marcus, and the commander growled at him.

Zendaya placed her hand on Marcus's shoulder, “Xander, if you want to live to meet your mate, I highly suggest you stop poking the beast!” She said while rubbing Marcus's back. The commander opened his eyes and then looked at his mate, smiling at her.