3, The scent of his mate

Mikael was sitting in his office looking through a report from Diana. One of their pack members hadn’t been seen in a week. Thomas was not the most reliable of wolves, but he had never been gone this long before. Mikael had asked Diana to look into it, better safe than sorry.

‘The agent has arrived. I have sent her up to your office, Mike,’ Ben mind linked him.

‘You sent her up? Why didn’t you escort her?’ Mikael asked, surprised.

‘I think she can handle it, and besides, I think you will thank me,’ Ben told him.

‘What does that mean?’ Mikael asked. His beta didn’t make any sense.

‘You’ll see. I’m going to go with Diana and look at Thomas’ place,’ Ben then said.

‘I thought I was doing that,’ Mikael pointed out.

‘You have the meeting with the agent, and I would like some time with my mate,’ Ben told him.

‘It’s an investigation, not a date,’ Mikael scoffed. 

‘Sure thing, Mike,’ his beta chuckled.

Mikael was just generally confused by the whole conversation. He was about to mind link his beta back and ask him to explain himself when he felt a hit of a scent that had his wolf stirring. It was too faint for him to focus on it, but it intrigued him. 

He sat frozen in his office chair, trying to identify the scent. Pineapple, vanilla, and a hint of smoke? He thought. He was so wrapped up in trying to identify the scent that the knock on his door made him jump. 

“Come in,” he said, trying to ignore the scent and focus on the meeting. 

When the door opened, he got multiple shocks all at once. First, he realised it was Rayvin that walked into his office. Then, he realised that the scent was her scent. Lastly, his wolf informed him that this was the scent of his mate. Rayvin looked as surprised as he felt. 

After he got over the first shock, he stood up and rounded his desk and crossed the space between him and Rayvin in seconds. He stopped just inches from her. 

“Ray,” he almost whispered. He wanted to reach out and touch her, he wanted to kiss her. But he was afraid that if he did, he would find out that it was just an illusion.

“Hi Max,” Rayvin said with a small smile.

She had changed, Mikael thought as he let his eyes move over her. She was almost as tall as he was. Her body looked toned from what he could see through the black jeans, the unbuttoned jacket, and the sweater underneath it. But there were curves in all the right places. 

Her blond hair had grown out and was tied up in a ponytail. What hadn’t changed was her eyes. They were still amber pools of fire that pulled him in. For a while they both stood, just locking into each other’s eyes. 

“You are my mate,” he said and felt the biggest smile appear on his face. 

“Apparently I am,” she smiled back. 

Mikael couldn’t hold himself back any longer. He lifted his hand and placed it on her cheek. The sparks that danced over his hand made him smile even more. Rayvin tilted her head to lean into his touch. 

It wasn’t a dream, Mikael thought, and the moment the thought registered in his mind, he pulled Rayvin into a tight embrace. He nuzzled into her neck and took her scent in. Rayvin hesitated for a split second, tensing up. Then she relaxed and Mikael felt her arms close around him.

“I have missed you,” he told her.

“I missed you too,” she said and rested her head on his shoulder. 

“I have been looking for you,” he told her. He needed her to know that he didn’t forget her.

“I know, I’m sorry,” she said. That made him lift his head and look at her. Why was she sorry? 

“You knew I was looking for you?” he asked her. 

She sighed and lifted her head from his shoulder to meet his eyes. 

“Yes,” she nodded.

“Why didn’t you come home if you knew I was looking?” he asked.

“I wanted to, but my life, my family… It’s complicated,” she told him. 

Mikael could see the pain in her eyes and he wanted to pull her closer to him. He wanted to make the pain go away. But he realised they were standing half a step inside his office with the door wide open. 

Whatever it was that had stopped Rayvin from coming home, it sounded like something they needed to talk about in private. Mikael considered his options. They could sit down in his office and talk things out. 

But there was a high risk that they would be disturbed. There was always someone that wanted to talk to him. No, the better option was to go home and talk about it there, he thought. He smiled. He would finally bring Rayvin home. But first, he needed to do something.

“Come,” he told her and took her hand and led her over to his desk. He opened his top drawer and took out a small key. He used it to unlock the glass case on his desk. 

“Is that…?” Rayvin asked as she looked at the content of the glass case with big eyes.

“Yes, it’s your necklace,” Mikael confirmed and took it out.

“I have had it on my desk to remind me of the promise I made you when you left,” he told her as he unclasped it and held it up, waiting for her to turn around so he could put it on her. 

She shook her head.

“It’s yours,” she said.

“I would rather see it around your neck, where it belongs, than in a glass case on my desk,” he told her. 

She hesitantly turned around and let him fasten it around her neck. Mikael saw how her hand came up and her fingers gently probed the pendant. 

“Beautiful,” he told her, and had the pleasure of watching her blush. 

“Let’s go home and talk,” he told her and reached out his hand. She took it and he smiled.

“Don’t you have work to do?” she asked and looked at his desk, which was covered in papers. 

“Not today. I’m taking the afternoon off for the first time in eight years. I think the pack will survive,” he smiled as he led her out of the office and closed the door behind them. He started walking toward the stairs that led down to the entrance. 

“I thought we were heading to your apartment,” Rayvin said.

She was looking over her shoulder toward the door that led to the apartment where his father had lived when he was alpha, as had every other alpha since the pack house had been built.

“I don’t live there. The memories, I just couldn’t,” Mikael said, and he felt her squeeze his hand. 

He smiled at her, she understood. She and Ben were the only ones he had ever been open with about his childhood. 

“I have built myself a home next to the pack house, and we turned the apartment into a research library,” he told her. 

“I can’t wait to see it,” she smiled.

“We will get your luggage on the way. Where is it?” he asked as they walked downstairs. 

“It’s in my car, but why are we getting it?” she wondered. 

“Because you are staying in our home, of course. Wait, car? Did you drive here?” he stopped to ask.

“Yes,” she nodded. “But Max, we need to talk about this mate thing. I can’t. It’s not that easy,” she said.

“If you don’t feel comfortable sleeping in the same bed as me, I understand. I have several guest rooms, you can pick one,” he told her and started walking again. 

“Is this your car?” he asked as they got to the parking lot and the only car there was a silver Toyota Prius. 

“Yes,” she nodded and unlocked the car and grabbed a duffel bag out of the trunk. Mikael grabbed the bag from her.

“You drive a Prius? A silver Prius?” he asked.

“What of it?” she said, sounding defensive.

“Sweetie, that’s the most boring car there is,” he smiled.

“I know, that’s the point. If I’m tailing you in this, you won’t notice it, as you really don’t notice a silver Prius. If I were in one of those black monstrosities that most wolves drive, you would spot me in two seconds unless you were blind,” she huffed. 

That actually made sense, Mikael thought. And it served as a reminder of why she was here. He felt a sudden impulse to say she had to give up the investigation. He couldn’t stand the thought of her being in danger. 

Instead of telling her that, he pulled her to his side and started walking to his house. He was excited to show it to her. 

“Alpha Mike!” a voice called out before they had left the parking lot. 

Both Mikael and Rayvin froze, and Mikael could feel his mate tense up. Milly came hurrying from the pack house. 

“Alpha Mike, I’m so happy I saw you. Do you have a moment to talk?” Milly asked and smiled one of her flirtatious smiles at him. 

Mikael sighed. It was always the same with her. As soon as she saw him with another woman, regardless of the context, Milly had to get his attention and try to stake her claim on him. It didn’t matter how many times he and Ben had talked to her about stopping. She would cry and promise to stop, just to do the same thing the next time. 

But this time it was bad, Mikael thought. This time it was Rayvin. She had been the one that had suffered the worst from Milly’s tries to get Mikael to mate her. Mikael had wanted to ban Milly from the pack. But as they couldn’t prove she did it on purpose, despite what he thought, he could do nothing. As alpha, he couldn’t use his power for personal vendettas. That would have made him just as bad as his father.

“Milly, now is not a good time. If it’s urgent, talk to your brother. If not, then I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” he told her and let go of Rayvin’s hand and wrapped his arm around her waist instead. 

Milly noticed his action and looked at Rayvin for the first time. Her eyes grew bigger in surprise.

“Rayvin? What are you doing here? You are banned from the pack,” Milly said.

Mikael growled at her without realising he did it. He was almost as surprised by it as Milly looked. Rayvin placed an arm around his waist, mirroring his hold on her. 

“Hello, Milly. It’s been a while. Since I’ve been talking to both your brother and Max and still haven’t been thrown out, I think I’m safe for now,” Rayvin smiled. The smile didn’t reach her eyes. 

“The ban was lifted eight years ago. It was the first thing I did as alpha, you know that Milly,” Mikael said in a dark voice. He would not tolerate Milly getting in between him and Rayvin. 

“Come, Ray, we should get going. Milly, talk to your brother,” he then said and turned around and started walking again. 

“I’m sorry,” he said to Rayvin.

“It’s not your fault,” she shrugged.

“I would have thrown her out for what she did to you, but there was no evidence,” he said. He needed her to understand.

“I get it, Max, it’s okay,” she smiled at him. 

‘I’m taking the afternoon off. I don’t want to be disturbed unless there is a body count of some sort.’ Mikael mind linked Ben.

‘I take it you liked the surprise,’ Ben replied, sounding smug. 

‘She’s my mate, Ben,’ Mikael confessed. It felt unreal to put it into words.

“Well fuck, congrats, man. We finally got a luna. Should I get the pack together for the announcement?” Ben asked.

‘Let’s hold off on that. There are things we need to talk about. But Ben, I need you to talk to your sister. She already tried to do her usual thing. I won’t accept that shit this time. I can’t risk Ray feeling unwelcomed. I just got her back,’ Mikael told his beta.

‘Fuck. I’ll talk to her and I’ll make sure she understands,’ Ben promised. 

‘Thank you. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,’ Mikael said, and cut off the connection. They were almost at the house and he started to get nervous that she wouldn’t like it.