Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Riley watched the four men file back into the room after the alpha mindlinked his beta. Leo and Wesley took two of the armchairs while the beta and gamma sat on the sofa. "Is everything ok?" Max asked hesitantly after they were all seated. The alpha nodded at Riley and she sighed. Apparently she was going to do the talking. "Everything is fine," she said to Max. "I will tell everyone what happened, but only under the condition that this information remains among the six of us. That means no one from the Werewolf Council, nor this pack, is to know." "This includes mates," added the alpha, looking pointedly at his gamma and beta. "That's a big ask," Max said. "Better be worth it." "It is," snapped the alpha, giving the beta a sharp look. He looked back at Riley and gave her a reassuring nod. Riley took a deep breath. "The alpha and I have discovered that we are fated mates." "What?" said Wesley. "Seriously?" exclaimed the gamma, sitting forward. "I knew something was going on," Max cried. "Stop," said the alpha, rubbing his forehead. "Just let her talk." Riley nodded. "It was definitely not something we expected and we needed a few moments alone to decide the best way to move forward." "The best way to move forward?" Max looked confusedly between her and the alpha. "It's the mate bond. It's a gift from the Goddess. The best way forward is to accept it." He looked at his alpha. "Kent, this is your second chance. The Goddess has deemed you worthy of another mate. That is almost unheard of." "His second chance?" Wesley raised an eyebrow, looking at the alpha. "You had a mate before?" "She died about four years ago," the alpha said softly. Riley frowned. She again felt a heavy wave of sadness through the mate bond, the same she had felt earlier when he spoke about his previous mate. She desperately wanted to reach out to touch him, to comfort him, but she reminded herself that she wasn't doing anything foolish this time. She would not allow herself to get carried away. "It nearly destroyed him," Max said, turning to look at Wesley and Riley. "It took him years to recover." "Max, please, stop," the alpha said quietly, his voice sounding strained. "He's right though," said the gamma, looking at the alpha. "Lily would want you to have a second chance. She would be happy for you." The alpha closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head slightly. Another pang of sadness surged through the mate bond. The alpha stood up suddenly, walking across the room to the windows. He stood with his back to everyone. 1/3 "You don't understand how important this second chance is," Max said and Riley turned, surprised to find he was talking to her. "You mentioned not wanting a mate, but maybe you just don't understand how great the mate bond can be. Do you understand what it means to get a second chance?" "I do," she replied. "This is my second chance as well." "What?" Leo exclaimed. "You had a mate?" Riley sighed and nodded, looking down at her hands. "It was before I went to the academy. I was just eighteen. He rejected me." "Wesley raised another eyebrow. "Are you serious? Why?" "I don't want to rehash all of that," she said, shaking her head. "Especially not in front of people I barely know. "But is this why you don't want to accept him?" Max asked, his voice rising. "Are you afraid he'll reject you too? Because..." "Max! Stop!" Kent's voice was forceful, but he didn't turn to look at them. "She already said she didn't want to talk about it." "But someone needs to make this make sense to me," Max exclaimed, standing up to look at Kent. "Because I'm lost here. I get why you're hesitant, but why is she?" "Leave it alone, Max," the gamma said gently. "She's right. She barely knows us and a rejection is a deeply private matter. It's not your business." "If she's going to be our luna, I think it is," Max argued. "Stop!" This time it was Leo. "She's one of my best friends and I didn't even know. You aren't going to bully her into talking about something like this." Max seemed genuinely surprised at Leo's tone. It was apparently enough to also make him stop. Max sat down, rubbing his face with both hands. "It was nine years ago," Riley said, catching Max's gaze. "Life moves on. Rehashing awful things won't make it better." "What's your plan then?" Leo asked, his voice calmer. "Are you two going to accept the bond? Reject it?" "Neither," Riley said. "The alpha pointed out that rejecting our bond would weaken us both significantly and with all the rogue attacks, this isn't a great time for that. Since we're not sure we want to accept the bond either, we're just going to wait for now. Once the threat of the rogues is taken care of, we will make a decision." "That's a pretty big f*****g decision to put on the back burner," Max muttered. "There are bigger things to focus on," the alpha said. "f**k. Kent, come on..." Max started, standing up again. "I think Alpha Kent is right," Leo said, cutting Max off. "The rogue attacks are getting more targeted, more vicious and more deadly. We need to take care of the thing that poses the biggest threat to this pack and its members. If Riley and Alpha Kent aren't ready to make a decision about their bond, then leave it alone. It's their decision anyways. Our job is to focus on this pack's safety above all else." 2/3 Chapter o The alpha nodded, looking at Leo. "Well said." "Fuck." Max sat down heavily. "Patrick," the alpha said, looking at the gamma. "Please go over patrols again with Leo and make sure we are secure for the night. Wesley, please phone the commander and let him know that Miss Atwood has arrived safely and discuss any other potential reinforcements we can get. And Max, please show Miss Atwood to her room." Everyone stood. Patrick, Leo and Wesley filed out. Riley looked expectantly at Max. Max frowned and looked over at the alpha. "So about her room..." "For f**k's sake, Max. What now?" The alpha raked a hand through his hair, messing it up. Riley bit her lip, suddenly wondering what his hair would feel like under her fingers. "I don't exactly have a room lined up yet. We have so many visiting warriors right now that most of our rooms are full. I need to double check a couple things. Penny was going to look over it if she got the boys to sleep early." The alpha pinched the bridge of his nose. "I pray to the Goddess that your son gets better soon. I really need Penny to take care of these things. She's a much better assistant than you are." "No argument about that," Max replied. "Go check on things and get her a room. She can wait here with me until you're done." Max turned to leave but stopped, turning back to Riley. "Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?" he asked. "You never did eat and it has been an eventful evening for you." "I'm fine." She smiled, touched by his concern. "Are you sure?" the alpha asked once Max had left. "I can ask someone to get you something." "I'm sure," she said. "If I had an appetite, it is gone now." He nodded. "How about another drink then? I'm getting myself one. Would you care for a second, Miss Atwood?" "Absolutely, but please call me Riley. I guess we are mates after all." The alpha chuckled, a deep soft sound that made Riley's pulse quicken slightly. "Ok. Riley then." She felt a small thrill run through her to hear him say her name. "But only if you agree to call me Kent - not alpha." He turned to hand her a refilled tumbler. "Thank you, Kent." She took a big drink. She knew she was going to need it.