2. Can You Mark Me?

ALPHA KING AYDEN

My Grandma’s voice had been in the background but I ignored her calls for me to join her in the living room. She made use of the mind link but I placed a mental block between us.

I needed my sleep.

“What Alpha King sleeps till-”

“A responsible Alpha King that hardly gets to rest, Granny.”

I shouldn't have responded when she entered my room. Maybe I would still be sleeping in my room if I had turned a deaf ear to her.

“You are wrong, Ayden. It's only an Alpha King without a mate that will remain in bed even though the day has broken hours ago.”

My grandmother, Regina Roberts, a woman I loved so much and would do anything to please, muttered to me. Her face appeared before my tired eyes when she crouched before me to give me that signature smile of hers. 

“It's just a matter of time before my mate shows up, Granny. Wait a bit more-”

“I can't wait any longer, Ayden. What if I die tomorrow or the next day or-”

“You aren't dying anytime soon. So can I sleep more now?”

I cut off my grandmother and pulled the cover over my head to avoid seeing her face. As much as I loved her, I haven't been resting enough and the Moon Howlers Territory needed a fit Alpha King.

“No, can’t do, not until we find you a mate, Ayden.”

Regina took the covers off my body and attempted to pull me off the bed as she use to when I was younger.

“Where do you plan to find her, Granny? You and I both know that things don't work like that-”

“Sorry to spell it out to you, Alpha King but I, your old grandmother, can no longer bear to hear the rumors flying around about you.” Grandma started, she stood akimbo before my bed, “they are even saying you killed your mate, Ayden. Why have you been this relaxed? The territory needs an Alpha King but the people need the Luna Queen.”

Honestly, if I had been eager to find my mate, I would have found her somewhere among the packs that I ruled but I had been hoping that our meeting would happen naturally. I knew many despicable women and they disgusted me, however, I had always wanted to meet my mate.

 “I will start searching for her if that will make you happy, grandma-”

“What will make me happy is you meeting Zadie today and choosing to marry her as your chosen mate rather than wait forever for a mate you haven't-”

“What? I should choose a chosen mate? Where is that coming from?”

If I was sleepy before, my eyes cleared and I jolted out of bed the moment my grandmother spoke of Zadie, a girl she claimed was her savior but I suspected was an enemy in disguise. And did she say, she wanted me to choose that girl as my mate? She has got to be kidding me.

“That is coming from a heart that cared about you, your reign, and the people of this territory.”

Grandma spoke so gently yet her words held so much power and she knew that I wouldn't say no to her. She was putting me in a tight spot and I needed to find a way out… fast. Where was Jaxon when I needed him? 

“Choosing a mate isn't acceptable, Ayden. I don't want to mate with someone that isn't her.”

My wolf beast, Karl, chipped in. by “her” he meant our fated mate. We had both been dying to meet her but how do I say no to Regina without making her sad or worried? 

I understand where you are coming from, granny but-”

“There is no but, Ayden. make me happy by meeting Zadie. She is a sweet girl and you will like her.”

Regina countered and she closed the distance between us to put her small hands on my arm. If only she knew that Zadie might not be who she thought she was. I had once told Jaxon, my Beta to investigate Zadie after the poisoning incident she seemed to have saved Regina from.

I found out that the attempt on my grandmother's life was staged by one of the packs on the borders. They have been after me and my family just so they could escape my rule and on that particular day, Zadie was there to be my grandma’s guardian angel. 

Since I refuse to believe that the woman called Zadie happened to be there coincidentally, I asked Jaxon to run a background check on her. My Beta found out that Zadie was related to Alpha Calvin, the irresponsible Alpha of the Shadow moon pack. 

That hiked my suspicions but no matter how I tried to separate my grandma from this Zadie, Regina wouldn't stop seeing her and talking to her.

“I can't do that, Grandma. I want my fated mate alone and-”

“You should have searched for her when you had plenty of time, Ayden. You have just two choices now. You can either accept Zadie or accept the girl Alpha Clavin of the shadow moon pack is planning to send to you as fine. Which would it be?”

My mouth hung loose when my grandma threatened me in the most affectionate way ever recorded in the history of our people. How did my grandma find out about Alpha Calvin’s plans? 

Even I, the Alpha King that fined the unfilial Alpha wasn't certain about his plans. Although I did suspect that he wouldn't pay the fine and make things up to those that had suffered due to his incompetence. 

Just like he had been sending females to other packs to build alliances with them rather than strengthen his pack warriors and borders. Alpha Calvin 

was an excuse for an Alpha and I would soon bring him down… someday after I deal with my grandma’s request. 

“You can't order me around, grandma. I am the Alpha King-”

“And I am the Alpha King’s dearest grandmother. So what will it be Ayden? Don't keep your old woman waiting, child.”

My grandmother quickly stopped me from using my position as an escape route. That had never worked on her.

“You will never accept a female from Alpha Clavin, right? You can’t do either of the two, Ayden. The two females are related to that shitty Alpha and I still don’t want to mate with just anyone. We have always wanted a mate. Why should we let that go just because of some stupid rumor about-”

“What are you telling him to do, Karl!” 

My grandmother whimpered after noticing that I was interacting with my wolf and she gave me that look that I had never been able to resist.

“Fine. I will meet her next week. She and-”

“Not next week, you have to meet her today and we need to leave home now so we can get to her diner before her customers start arriving.”

My grandma had announced and I reluctantly freshen up according to her request before leaving our home for Zadie’s Diner that morning. That was how I, Alpha King Ayden was made to sit in front of a small diner to wait for one of my subjects… a female that I suspected was one of the enemies.

“You can make her reject you. By so doing, grandma wouldn't hold it against you and she wouldn't force you to take Alpha Calvins’s offered female if you explain the disadvantages to her. She was like that because she wanted you to meet Zadie.”

Karl explained. He thought he understood Regina more but Grandma always had twists. However, I planned to make Zadie, a woman I had never met before, reject my proposal to marry. Grandma would relax for some days and I would be able to begin the search for my true mate during those few days.

“Regina! Good to see you!”

A sweet and prominent Choco musk scent reached my nostrils even before those words got to me. The scent was rich and it instantly drove me and my wolf beast crazy. I inhaled deeply to understand why a scent like that would smell intoxicating to me but before I could figure that out, Karl beat me to it and he spoke up, announcing a piece of shocking and unexpected news. 

“Mate.”

Swift., short, and full of strength. Karl howled excitedly and he pushed me to leave my seat and toward the female that my grandmother had called Zadie. Zadie, my grandma’s savior, Alpha Clavin’s sister-in-law, and the suspects I had in mind turned out to be my mate. 

The same person Regina chose for me turned out to be the moon goddess's chosen mate for me.

Of course, I was excited too. Meeting and finding my mate had always been one of my biggest goals but that excitement died down when I noticed that Zadie didn't react to the mate pull between us as she exchanged pleasantries with my grandmother. I even left my seat and walked toward the duo yet she acted like she couldn't sense the natural bond.

“... come closer…” 

My grandmother beckoned and I did that reluctantly still staring at the woman that I had been fated to live the rest of my life with. She was beautiful or was it the mate pull that make me feel that she was? Her round face turned red when she became aware of my eyes on her and after she introduced herself. 

Apparently, she had discussed getting married to just any man with my grandma this morning. That discussion was what warranted Regina’s actions before we left home.

“... Introduce yourself to the lady.” Grandma patted me just as Karl said “I can’t communicate with her wolf. Move closer to her.”

I did introduce myself but I didn't move closer to Zadie and I lied to her about my identity. 

“Play along, Grandma. Keep our real identities a secret until I can trust this female.”

I quickly said to my grandma through the mindlink before she would spill the milk to her precious Zadie. My grandmother rolled her eyes and we argued through the mindlink.

“You shouldn't be lying to her, Ayden. That isn't a good way to start a relationship.”

My grandma pointed out but little did she know that her precious Zadie hasn't been completely truthful with her. I doubted that my grandma knew that Zadie was Alpha Calvin’s sister-in-law.

“It's for the meantime. Can you also give us some privacy? I need to converse with her without you here.” I sent those words through the connection between our minds.

“Be kind to her, Alpha King. I owe her my life.”

My grandmother warned before she agreed to leave Zadie alone with me. If I was to follow my feelings, I would jump Zadie without wasting a single second but I quietly followed her inside her diner. 

“What do you think is wrong? Could she be pretending not to sense us? Could it be that she doesn't have a wolf?”

Karl fired questions at me as I clenched and unclenched my fists as a way to stop myself from acting upon my emotions and the natural pull between Zadie and me.

The exchange that occurred between us almost made me snap. Especially her responses. She would marry just anyone when I had been waiting to meet her all my life?

How could she not feel the tingles when her hand brushed over mine? How did she not sense me struggling with Karl who wanted me to get closer to her and claim her on spot? How on earth did he not perceive how my body reacted to hers when I had her backed against a wall and when I asked her if she would still want to marry me despite knowing that she would never be able to back out? 

I suspected that Zadie might want to take advantage of the mate bond but that didn't weaken the pull of the bond… not a bit. 

“Now, do you still want to marry me?” my heart beat erratically as I waited for an answer. She already made me understand that she could go ahead and be with another man. She could say no to me. Although I was trying to make her think twice about her decision to marry just anyone yet, I was terrified that she would reject me. 

May the mate pull be damn!.

“I will still want to marry you, Ayden.”

I couldn't tell what made me happier. Was it her response or the fact that she called my name? Yet I guarded my emotions. I was shocked that this female still chose to mate with me even though she didn't seem to feel the mate bond. 

Was this some kind of game? 

As if I hadn't had enough surprises, Zadie spoke again, stunning me.

“Can you mark me? Now?”

Why the rush? 

“Now?” I inquired stupidly but I was too stunned to feel embarrassed. 

“Yes, now. Will you mark me, Ayden?”

That was a question that caught me unprepared. My response came in the form of an expression and before now, I didn't know I was capable of that particular expression.