Mate = Liability

Asher POV

The look on her face went from curiosity to utter devastation in two seconds flat.

Rejection wasn’t easy on a wolf. They felt it down in the very depths of their soul. I felt bad that I had to reject her, but I couldn’t risk any of my enemies, especially Ian, using my mate against me to get what they wanted.

“Are you crazy?! We can’t reject our Mate! I refuse to do it, Asher. I will not break her wolf like that. I can already feel her wolf and she’s strong.” Thor was frantic. The panic in his voice was something I had never heard from my generally over-confident wolf.

A Mate was a liability. A way for others to get leverage over you and manipulate you to their will. I just couldn’t allow that to happen. My pack was counting on me to keep them safe and in order to do that I needed no distractions.

It was obvious in just the first two minutes of meeting my mate that all of my beliefs were true. All my brother did was shake her hand and I couldn’t repress the growl that escaped my lips.

“Asher, what are you doing?” Alex hissed at me. He looked to Alpha Lance and continued speaking, “Please excuse my brother. I think he’s just in shock. If you don’t mind, we’re just going to step out of the room for just a moment and we will be right back.”

Without so much as a response from Alpha Lance, Alex ushered me out of the room as quickly as he could.

“Let me repeat myself from earlier. What. Are. You. Doing?!” Alex gave me an incredulous look and I’m fairly certain he was about ready to throttle me.

“I’m doing what I must for Blood Moon Pack, Alex. You wouldn’t understand. You’ve never had to put the needs of others above yourself. Besides, I have never wanted a Mate. They’re nothing but a nuisance and a liability.”

Then my brother did something he hadn’t done since we were young. He sucker punched me right in the face.

“I’ve never put others’ needs above my own? What do you think it is I do with you every fucking day, Asher?! You’re the Alpha while I’m the lowly Beta. Your needs ALWAYS come before my own as do the needs of the pack. Right now I’m going to tell you that if you reject that she-wolf you will regret it for the rest of your life.” Alex was red in the face with anger, which could only match my own anger at being sucker punched.

I paced back and forth trying to calm myself before I lost my temper completely and pummeled Alex for his cheap shot. Alex never spoke to me this way. Nor did he ever act this way towards me.

“For once I agree with Alex.” Thor said nodding his head.

Great. Two on one. Everybody was teaming up against me. Not that it mattered. She was my mate and it was my right to reject her if I wished to do so.

However, I could tell that my bull headed little brother wasn’t going to relent.

“Alex, there is a lot for me to consider with what we have coming. We have a war on our hands whether we like it or not.” I said.

“I do understand that, but a mate is supposed to help make you stronger. Imagine what having a Luna would do for Blood Moon.” Alex pointed out.

I thought about what he said. He wasn’t wrong that it was said that a mate did indeed make you stronger. However, that physical strength didn’t ensure that the mate couldn’t be used to manipulate you and I wasn’t willing to chance the lives of my pack members.

Or I didn’t want to believe I was willing to. One look at her and everything else seemed to disappear. The war, the other wolves in the meeting room. All of it.

As I had neared the room I could smell her vanilla and caramel scent. Not only did she smell absolutely delectable but one look at her and I knew I would eat her alive. I’d never seen such a gorgeous she-wolf in my life.

She was tall in comparison to most other she-wolves and she had the most intriguing eyes I had ever seen. One blue and one green, but they were so close in color I would have missed the difference if I hadn’t been staring so intently into them.

I shook my head. This was why I couldn’t have a mate. I couldn’t afford to lose myself in one other person when I literally had thousands of other wolves who depended on me for their safety and livelihood.

“Let’s head back in there and get down to business.” I said to my brother. “I swear I won’t reject her right now, but I can’t promise it won’t happen before we leave.” I tried to placate my brother and Thor.

Alex seemed less than enthused with my response, but something in what I said must have been what he was hoping for, as he nodded his head and we headed back into the meeting room.