Chapter 41 Claiming What's His
Zayne's POV
There was a permanent smile etched on my face, even Kael hasn't stopped dancing around in my head. Last night was magical and that was barely enough to describe it.
“Finding a witch is more difficult than I imagined." Xavier said, jolting me back to the present. "It feels like they're purposely going into hiding because they're scared of getting into trouble.” He added.
“Thinking about it now, why were they even banished in the first place?” Tristan asked, sitting upright.
I paused, realising I never thought about it. I just assumed they did something wrong and since the pack had never needed them before now, there was no use asking about it. But now, it didn't make sense that all the witches were gone.
“It seems we have a lot of things to dig into." Kael said, and I agreed but there were other things that needed our attention.
The door creaked open and a part of me expected to see Red, instead another girl who I could swear that I had never seen before entered and my gaze went to Tristan. "Since when did you have a girlfriend?” I asked him, and a look of horror appeared on his face.
“I-I…she's definitely not my girlfriend.” He stuttered, causing me to raise a brow at him before looking at her.
"Hi Alpha Zayne!” She greeted me and even the sound of her voice irritated me. “My name is Ivy."
“Fuck!" Xavier cursed underneath his breath, before standing up. “You shouldn't be here." He said to the girl who didn't seem to care.
I massage my temple softly, trying to make sense of what was happening. Who was she and why the fuck was she acting like we knew each other.
“I swear, I thought I mentioned it." Xavier said through our mindlink. “She's one of the ladies Luna Valerie sent to the Pack for the selection process…”
Hearing that, I froze, taking another look at the girl who looked obvious to how much I wanted to throw her out of my office. I was already imagining what Red's reaction would be if she mistakenly comes around now and it didn't seem good.
“Get the hell out of my office!" I growled, and the smile was quickly wiped off her face.
“A-Alpha Zayne…” she stammered, now visibly trembling. "I think we're going to be a good match. I've been training to become a Luna since I was born.”
My hand formed a fist as she went on to list what were supposed to be her advantages. Kael was begging to be let out so he could teach her a lesson which I knew wasn't going to end well.
“Get out of my office." I repeated, this time, letting my Alpha command slip and I watched as her eyes widened before she scrambled out of the office. And I took a deep breath but that didn't last long as the door soon burst open again, this time my mom stood at the door, shooting glares at me.
“That was fast.” I thought, referring to the fact that the girl, whose name I couldn't remember, just left the office barely a few minutes ago.
“What the hell do you think you're doing?" She growled, her wolf coming to the surface. The guys stilled, meeting my gaze, but I ignored them as I let Kael take over. She was my mom but at the same time, I was Alpha which means I wouldn't accept disrespect from anyone…my mom included, especially when my mate was involved…and seeing my mom this way, I didn't doubt she was here because of Red.
Xavier and Tristan immediately stood up, murmured some greetings and were gone, leaving me to deal with her.
“Don't let anyone in." I mindlinked Xavier.
His response was immediate, “Yes Alpha."
My mom took the seat in front of me and not long after, Ivy and another girl entered, both of them glaring at each other but I wasn't that curious to know why.
“You were saying?” I asked, and she shot me a glare.
"Why did you stop the selection process?” She asked, "Do you know how many calls I've received because their daughters are heartbroken?”
"Deal with it,” I replied, "if you had listened to me in the first place, we wouldn't be having this conversation.” Keeping myself under control was harder than I imagined. "I have a mate, and the sooner you accept that, the easier it is for you to move on.”
Her eyes flared, anger burning through them. “A mate I didn't approve of…she's an Omega, not fit for the position.” She said.
“Watch your words," I told her, my voice dropping low but she ignored me.
"How dare you mark that good for nothing Omega?" She asked, and this time I didn't stop the growl that left my lips. But before I could respond, a faint smell of lavender now mixed with mine, reached my nose.
“Mate," Kael called, and I ran a hand through my hair. She didn't need to be here for this but even before I could ask Xavier to make sure she didn't come in, the door opened and Red entered, looking between my mom and the girls but she didn't say anything.
I stood up, reaching for her. “I'm going to handle it." I promised, through our mindlink but she just hummed, kissing my lips.
“I know." She murmured.
I was taken aback by her confidence…normally, she would shy away from any confrontation but it felt like she was marking her territory. “I definitely loved this side of her."
She sat in my chair and fuck if she didn't look like she belonged there. I turned to face my mom, who looked ready to rip everything apart and was barely keeping herself together.
“Good thing you're here." She said instead, “these girls here are more capable of becoming the Luna and I'm sure you already know that."
“Mom," I warned, but she just ignored me.
“Make your choice, it's either Ivy or Marie…I don't care as long as it's not her…”
I lost it, "get out,” I said calmly and a wave of shock crossed her features but she remained seated while the girls with her were already on their feet and visibly trembling.
"I'm your mother…."
My fist tightened, “that's why I'm saying it one more time, get out of my office. You've constantly looked down on my mate and that's going to stop now.”
This time, they obeyed and left and only then did I turn to face Red, who was grinning widely. “Have I mentioned you look hot while handling business?"
I chuckled, pulling her up so I could wrap my arms around her. "No, but you can tell me just how hot you think I was.” My face was close to her own and any slight movement, we'll be kissing.
“Very,” she whispered, her breath brushing my lips.
That one word ignited something in me. I cupped her jaw gently, letting my thumb stroke her cheek. Her eyes fluttered, her hands sliding up my chest like she was drawn to me without even thinking.
“Yeah?” I murmured, my voice low. “Good. Because I meant every single word.” She swallowed, her heartbeat echoing through our bond.
“You defending me like that…” she exhaled, “it does something to me.”
I smirked, leaning in until our noses touched. “Tell me.”
Her fingers curled into my shirt. “It makes me feel like I’m really yours,” she confessed, voice barely audible.
That broke whatever control I was holding onto.
My lips brushed hers, just enough to make her inhale sharply but I didn’t close the distance yet. “You’ve always been mine,” I whispered against her mouth. “Even before today.”
She let out a soft sound—half a sigh, half a whimper—and pulled me in.
And this time, I didn’t stop the kiss.