7: Torn Between Mother And Daughter

Calhoun's POV

"We have a little birdie in our midst," Bruce slams his fist on the executive wooden desk, startling the men seated at the table with us.

"He has been gathering bits of information and sharing them with our enemies, so the crafty can plot their attack and bring us down," Bruce continues as he pops his head from one man to the other, through a suspicious squint.

It's evening and I'm supposed to spend quality time with Natalie since it's nearing the hour of our wedding night, but I excused myself from her, promising to return in a few hours. When in reality I wanted to be away from her to clear my head.

I literally forced Bruce to our pack conference hall despite how hard he tried to resist, claiming it was my wedding night and I needed to ensure other engines were serviced. The bastard sure knew what he meant.

From The power seat where I am, I mind-link with my Beta who in turn tells me the culprit amid us.

It's no other person than Donovan, our very own Delta.

Who would have thought?

"Seize him!" This authoritative command erupts from my mouth as I jerk my finger right in his face.

"Alpha Calhoun?" Donovan rises to his feet and fakes confusion for a second, "I don't understand."

"Photos of you were captured," Bruce slaps a beige file at the table, "you not only snitched on us with Alpha Pete, but you also had his men brought here and disguised them as servants. Poisoned the first wedding cake, set the kitchen on fire, and killed two men just this morning."

My eyes almost bulge out of their sockets in shock, when I take a look at the photos.

To think such things happen right under my nose and I didn't have the slightest clue. Two people were killed? Shit!

"Don't let me repeat myself," I growl, referring to my order earlier.

At this, my men grab Donovan, and press him to the floor, making his face kiss the cold marble floor.

"Too bad eyes were on you the entire time. You wanted to turn our Alphas wedding into a disaster but you failed woefully," Bruce chuckles to himself and looks at me, "What should we do with him?"

With anger seeping through my veins, I rise to my feet.

"Don't kill him yet, lock him up in the cold dungeon and do more research about him. Afterward, he'll serve as a scapegoat to other spies in this pack."

Despite Donovan's pleas and struggles, my men drag him out of the conference hall.

Bruce kisses his teeth and turns to face me, with both his brows uplifted.

I know he always has something to say when he looks at me like this.

"It's your wedding night, you ought to let me handle things," he says at last.

"Why didn't you tell me about the deaths and the poisoned cake?" My frown is huge on my face, "I am your Alpha."

"And as your beta, I should look out for you when it's required," Bruce thins his lips and clasps his hands together, "you should go spend the night with Natalie. You don't want to keep the woman waiting."

My chest rises and falls when I try to think about Natalie but her daughter paves into my mind.

Kristen. My mate. My wife's daughter.

"You saw her, didn't you?" I ask Bruce after a slice of silence passed between us.

"Yes. I thought she came to ruin things because you two hooked up last night. It's just so sick that she's Natalie's daughter," Bruce puts his hands on his waist and sighs.

"She's my mate," my throat works after I make this known to my beta. And for a second, he stiffens like he just saw a ghost.

"Kristen is your mate? F*ck me!" He exclaims, "How do you intend to go about things?"

"Natalie is my wife, Kristen is my stepdaughter. Things would've been less f*cked up if we weren't mated. And there's the mate bond which powerfully consumes every emotion in me."

"F*ck!" Bruce curses, loud enough for everyone to hear even though we're behind closed doors.

***

"You're here," Natalie rises from the bed when I shut the door behind me. The grand room has candles and petals of flowers everywhere.

Natalie is wearing a black lingerie, looking breathtakingly magnificent with her black hair falling on her shoulders.

She leaves the king-sized bed and walks until she's standing in front of me. Her scent is supposed to be enticing, arousing but because my mind isn't here, I just feel unsettled.

Natalie takes my hand and puts it at the small of her back, before tipping her head to kiss me.

I let her kiss me for a few seconds before I pull away.

"What's wrong, Calhoun? It's our wedding night. We've anticipated it, you made jokes about how I'll be unable to walk for days," she presses her body against mine.

Not only does my wolf control my body to maintain distance between us, my hands are stubbornly refraining from touching her.

"I'm sorry but can we do this another time?"

"Why? I prepared for this," worry takes over Natalie's face and I feel like the biggest jerk to ever exist. I love her so much that I hate myself for being this way. I want to kiss, touch and make sweet love to her but I can't. Not tonight. When I know my mate is in this building and I can feel her even though we're far away from each other.

"Don't you like the lingerie, I can wear another one if you want."

"No, no. You're so f*cking sexy that it hurts to look at you."

"Then why don't you want me? Are you fed up because we've f*cked a hundred times and now you're fed up with my body?" Fear is evident in her eyes and I just want to punch the wall so badly, for stirring up this emotion in my wife.

"Something happened today and I cannot rest until I look towards the end of it. This pack needs to be protected, as much as you," I cup her cheeks and stare into her eyes, "and I am sorry that I cannot touch you tonight. I promise to make it up to you."

Natalie's eyes soften at this and she nods.

After placing a swift kiss on her forehead, I exit the room without turning to spare her a backward glance.

The guards have evacuated this side because they wanted to give me and Natalie some privacy.

Thunder cracks in the sky, indicating an impending downpour. But I doubt I'll stay indoors. My wolf needs to be let out for a run, to stretch.

I am on the balcony on the third floor when my eyes spot something from afar.

It's a small gray wolf running.

Kristen. I know it's her right away because I can feel her.

What is she doing out here all alone?

Self-control leaves my body when I let my wolf take over. He doesn't even take the stairs but jumps through the balcony and chases after Kristen's wolf.