Made To Be Pleased: Chapter 9

-Flint-

"Thank you everyone for coming." Conri offered a sincere smile as he shuffled his papers. Mingan nodded encouragingly from the head of the long oak table. "I've read through your reports, and I've summarized the talking points in the handout for today's meeting."

I quickly scanned the page. I wasn't required to be at this meeting, but unfortunately I felt obligated nonetheless. It'd been about 2 weeks since the omegas first came, and the meeting today was about their progress and integration into the pack. Some of the other attendees were the volunteers who opened their doors for the omegas to stay, including Waya and my former Beta, Rider. A few were those who still had reservations about taking them in and wanted to voice their concerns. Obviously, Alpha Mingan was there, and Conri since he was heading the efforts.

I leaned back in my chair with folded arms. Irritation crept up my neck at so many people stuffed into the medium sized conference room.

"I want to start out by congratulating Flint and Koda on finding their mates amongst them." Conri's smile spread across his face as he snuck a glance at me. There was a round of applause.

A young Beta chuckled nervously with a brilliant blush. My brows rose curiously. I hadn't heard of anyone else in my situation, but I suppose it was only a matter of time.

Someone snorted derisively from across the room. I spared a peek in their direction and narrowed my eyes at none other than Gregor. I was never particularly fond of the other Alpha due to his brashness and Ill temper, but he never outright went against me after I defeated him in a fight for Alpha 30 years ago.

"They aren't real wolves," he spat. "So they can't be their real mates."

A low growl escaped my throat without my permission. Though I've tried to keep my distance from my mate and haven't interacted with her after I brought her breakfast, I didn't want to think such a thing. Though, the thought sometimes lingered at the back of my mind from time to time. She hated me. Did she even feel the bond?

"The purpose of this meeting does not concern such wild conspiracy theories." Mingan's icy voice sounded above the murmuring. "If you'd like to remain in this meeting, I'd advise you to allow my mate to lead."

I smirked. Mingan's tone left for no more objections. Gregor looked angry but he said nothing. Instead, Conri cleared his throat and continued.

"First, I'd like Rider to take the floor to present his findings."

Rider nodded before turning to address the room. "Many of you may have noticed something like this, or perhaps you handled this better than my mate and I," he scratched the back of his neck. "The Omegas living with us, Seven and Berry, uh… well, we didn't explain how the showers worked, so they were using the toilet water to bathe."

I couldn't contain a harsh bark of laughter as many others muttered in dismay. Rider shrank in his chair with an embarrassed look.

"Don't feel bad." The corner of Conri's eyes wrinkled with amusement at the older wolf. "We didn't know the conditions the Omegas were living in, it was an honest mistake."

"What's important now is that we make sure the rest of the Omegas aren't doing the same thing." Mingan added.

I grimaced. Was my mate doing the same thing? Surely her fluffy white tail would appear more matted if she wasn't able to clean herself properly?

I barely paid anymore attention through the rest of the meeting. It wasn't until the hundredth time of someone complaining about the communication barrier that I finally couldn't contain my comments.

"Why don't we put them in school?" I said with exasperation.

"They aren't pups!" Gregor rebutted quickly. "We can't let them mingle with our pups. We don't know what kind of sick freaks they really are!"

I shot him a death glare as the muscles in my shoulders tensed, to which he immediately recoiled.

"We can do a night school for them!" Waya exclaimed excitedly. "We'll move at their pace."

Conri nodded eagerly and arched an eyebrow at Mingan, looking for her input.

"We will break them into a few groups then." Mingan finally spoke. "We should do this as soon as possible."

My body finally relaxed. Maybe if my Mate could understand me, I'd have a better chance to win her over. After the first interaction I had with her, she probably hated me. And to be honest, the way she reacted to me days ago only cemented that idea. It made my chest hurt, and the lingering thought that she'd never grow to want to be with me persisted.

The rest of the meeting consisted of ironing out details for their night classes, and as soon as it ended, I was quick to rush from the room.

"Flint! Wait!" My son called.

I groaned inwardly. I didn't want to hear any more from him. I already knew how much of a fool I'd made of myself, I didn't want to be reminded. However, I slowed my steps as I trekked down the path away from the pack house and toward my own home.

"Why do you keep running away?" Conri hurried to my side and matched my long strides. I grunted. I didn't want to talk about this.

"She asked about you, you know."

My steps faltered and I stopped my journey. "What'd she say?" I tried to hide the pleading tone in my voice, but the smirk he shot me told me he heard it anyway.

He ignored my question, though. "She ate what you gave her."

I snorted. I didn't want to admit that this pleased me, but the knot in my stomach unfurled slightly.

"I don't think she likes vegetables." He grinned. "She picked them all out but ate the rest."

"She's picky." I narrowed my eyes, but pleasure bloomed in my chest nonetheless. I wasn't much fond of vegetables either. The image of her snarling face came to mind, for the millionth time this week, and I suppressed a smile. Maybe my mate would grow into something strong.

Conri sighed. "There's no pleasing you."

I scoffed, and renewed my steps. I had a new errand for the day it seemed.

"Where are you going?" Conri didn't follow me and opted to shout to me as I reached the main road.

"I'm going hunting." I responded with a flick of my wrist. If my mate liked meat, she'd have more than she could dream of.