9 Chapter 9: Who’s My Mate Then?

Alex POV

As Destiny walked into the room, I sucked in a breath. I didn't want to have to face her yet. It hurt when I rejected her, but it damn near killed me when she accepted it without even putting up a fight. I didn't get a moment of sleep last night; I just sat up in bed, thinking over my decision to reject the Moon Goddess's most perfect gift. "She deserves someone better," I told myself over and over. I wasn't a good guy, I was tainted, and Destiny didn't need to deal with all of my conquests sending her evil looks or petty remarks.

She was too pure, too perfect. She was perfect-my angel. This though had rung over and over in my head. Jax had shut himself off to me, and I feared that I would never hear from him again. I had rejected his mate, his perfect mate. "She was perfect, so, so perfect..." I repeatedly said out loud.

Before I knew it, the sun was coming up and started to stream through my window. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and never leave my room again, but as the future Beta, I knew I had to attend the Alpha meetings today. When her golden honey eyes landed on me, my mind went blank. I could form only one thought, one word, "perfect."

I watched as she took a couple of steps towards me before her eyes swept up to just over my shoulder. As curious as I was, I couldn't tear my eyes away from her face to see what it was that had drawn her attention. I watched her eyes move slowly down then back up. Her breath began to hitch as she stuck her tongue out slightly and licked her delicious lips. Then I smelled it-her arousal, Destiny was standing right in front of me, looking at someone else, and she was turned on.

A growl ripped from my chest, which pulled her attention back to me. She looked down, seemingly ashamed, and I took the opportunity to spit out, "Why are you here, Destiny?" I wanted to know what would possess her to reject me then come and tease me with her scent. I stood up and grabbed ahold of her arm. I was going to pull her out of the office and find out what game she was playing.

Before I could turn to walk out of the room, I hear a heart-stopping growl behind me, immediately proceeded by "MINE!" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dustin walk into the room and say, "Well, this just got interesting." I was lifted off the ground by my neck and stared into the eyes of an extremely pissed off Alpha Travis Grey of the Amethyst Moon pack. 'What the actual fuck...' I thought to myself before I started to blackout.

*****

Destiny POV

I stood there, speechless and unmoving. Alpha Travis was holding Alex up at least 3' off the ground by his neck. Alex was a Beta, and a strong one at that, but he was clearly no match for a seething and possessive Alpha. I watched as Alex went limp before Travis loosened his grip and let him fall to the floor. Travis then turned those pools of onyx on me before growling, "You. Are. Mine!"

He grabbed me by my waist and lifted me like I weighed nothing, then pulled me to his chest with one arm while he cradled my head with the other hand. Travis buried his face in the crook in my neck and inhaled deep. Still shocked and more than a little confused, I placed my hands on his rock hard chest and let out the breath I didn't realize I had been holding. That's when I smelled it again-freshly baked bread. Amethyst was howling in pure bliss in my head.

~Wait, why was his scent on my pillow this morning?~

~Who cares, Doll? He's our mate! Our mate wants us, he claimed us!~

With all the strength I could muster, I pushed Travis's face from my neck and wiggled in his arms to have him put me down. I saw a small flash of hurt in his eyes, but he quickly obliged and placed me back on my feet. By this time, Dustin was standing right next to me and was looking just as confused as I was. I looked up at him and watched his facial expressions as he tried to process what he'd just seen.

I saw when something finally clicked into place, and he roared, "Is this your mate? The one who rejected you?!" Dustin grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him before he stepped up to Alpha Travis, causing another deep growl to slip past his lips. "Rejected?!" I heard both my dad and Travis cry out in unison. So, I was surrounded by my highly pissed off father and brother, a seemingly super possessive Alpha who claimed that I'm his, and a blacked-out mate.

This was all becoming too much, but instead of walking out, I decided to face it head-on. "Dustin, Alpha Travis is not my mate, and he did not reject me. That honor goes to the one and only Alex."

"You have got to be kidding me," said my dad's Beta, Luke, with a groan. "You're telling us that my son rejected you?"

"Well, I didn't want to announce it to the entire crew here in attendance today, but yes. Alex and I found out that we were mates last night before my birthday party. Once he realized this, Alex took me to his room, where he proceeded to reject me. I accepted his rejection."

Anger rolled off the men in the room in waves, but it seems that I felt the anger from Travis the most. Luke bent down and slapped his son across the face a few times in an attempt to wake him. When Alex came to, he looked around the room in a daze before his eyes landed on me. Upon seeing this, Travis growled and again tried to lunge at Alex; I'm sure to kill him this time.

Luckily the men were able to hold him back while Luke and Dustin helped Alex up and into a chair. As the haze started to clear, Alex looked over at his dad and asked, "What the hell happened? I remember trying to take Destiny out of the room to talk, and this idiot attacked me," he said, pointing at a now seething Travis. I heard the rumble from Travis's chest, and instinctively I stepped a bit closer to him and took his hand in mine. Travis quickly started to calm himself, and looked down at me, offering a small smile.

When Alex saw this, he jumped up and yelled. "Get your hands off my mate you fucking mutt!" Before I could register what was happening, I'd been pushed behind Travis, who then moved in front of Alex so quickly, if I hadn't been a wolf, I wouldn't have seen it. Travis leaned down, looking Alex right in the eye. "She. Is. Mine. From what I gather here, you rejected her. You were given this incredible gift, and you threw it away. You caused my mate pain; you made her cry. I could snap your neck here and now for that, but I won't. Out of respect for Alpha Michael and Beta Luke, I'll spare you. But if you ever come near my mate again, or try to take her away from me, you won't live long enough to regret it."

The air in the room was thick with authority emitted from Travis's Alpha aura. He turned back to me and again pulled me up and into his chest, inhaling my scent. "Are you alright, my Little One?" I heard him ask while keeping his head down in my neck. "Yes, I'm okay," I whispered back, still shocked, and not 100% sure what was going on. My hand came up and began to run through Travis's silky smooth curls, making his chest rumble with a deep sexy purr.

~It's just as soft as we thought.~

I nod my head in agreement as a small smile played at my lips.

Travis took a couple of steps and sat in a nearby chair, pulling me into his lap. He placed a protective arm around my waist before turning back towards the group. I tried to get up, but Travis firmly took hold of both my hips in his strong hands, immediately stopping all thoughts of relocation. Sparks shot up my body from the contact, and I internally sighed in contentment. My body relaxed into his touch as I leaned back and rested my head on his shoulder.

I glanced over and saw Alex looking at the two of us with so much hatred, it almost hurt. It made me sad to see before Amethyst reminded me that he rejected us. I closed my eyes and just breathed in my mates' scent. I still needed to find out what happened last night. I had a ton of questions, and at that point, zero answers. Travis's scent was all over my bed, but I wasn't worried. Being close to him felt like home, so I decided just to be content with that. "So, Alpha Michael, shall we begin?" I heard Travis say.

I looked up at his face, and he sent me a wink and a dazzling smile that instantly make me melt. 'Damn, this man is delicious,' I thought to myself. I took Amethyst's loud purring as confirmation that she agreed. "Wait, you really expect us to have the meeting with her here?" Alex asked, venom dripping from every word. I looked up and saw him still shooting daggers in my direction. 'What the hell is his problem, he rejected me!' I thought to myself. "As future Luna of the Amethyst Moon pack, my mate has every right to sit in on these meetings if she wants. It's really up to her; what my Little One wants, my Little One gets," Travis said while looking me square in the eye.

My mouth fell open a bit when I heard his words. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the tip of my nose, and I sighed in contentment. "Oh, come on!" Said Alex from across the room. "Alex!" My dad boomed, "If you expect to become Beta of this pack one day, you'll learn to respect our allies. If Alpha Travis or his Luna feels that she should sit in on these meetings, then she will." The Alpha tone was undeniable, and all Alex could do was bow his head in submission. "Yes, Alpha," he said after a few seconds. "Well, if we're all ready, gentlemen, and lady," my dad said, sending me a quick smile, "let's get started."