ALPHA MARCELLUS STORM
Everything else became insignificant and faded into the background as he was overwhelmed by the honeysuckle scent, his wolf demanding him to track down his mate.
After ten years of nothing despite how hard he had looked for her, travelling from pack to pack, she was right here, under his nose the whole time. In his pack house. Waiting for him.
How could that be possible?
If Marcellus was thinking straight and his mind wasn’t clouded with the idea of finally finding his mate, he would have realised that if she was a part of the pack then he would have realised the moment she turned eighteen; old enough to be granted a mate.
So, either she had been hidden away in his pack the whole time or today was her eighteenth birthday.
Either way, he didn’t care as he had been eagerly anticipating having a mate of his own for the past ten years. Only the Moon Goddess knows how many nights he spent praying and pining over a woman he had never met before but today, in a moments time, this was all about to change.
He just hoped that his mate, whoever she was, wasn’t afraid or too hesitant to embrace a ten-year age gap.
“Marcellus?” Dalton called out in surprise at the distant look on his Alpha’s face. “Why do you look like that?”
If Marcellus was in the right mind, he would have laughed at the stupefied question but instead, he merely charged past his friend – careful not to run into him as Dalton was holding his sleeping son – and allowed the scent to guide him.
Once you find her, ask her where she’s been hiding these past 10 years! His wolf growled in anticipation, just as eager as his human counterpart, if not more, to finally meet their mate.
Yes, because that’s definitely going to make her want to run into our arms. He chuckled as he power walked behind the scent, first following it in and then out of the kitchen.
Only Marcellus and his wolf – with the exception of the Moon Goddess – knew just how much he desperately desired to have a mate of his own, to love and to hold just like everyone else. Having to run the pack and the business these past ten years all by himself, and then having to return to an empty bed had really taken a toll on Marcellus, to the point where he himself had began to fear the prospect of the Moon Goddess not giving him a mate or even worse, her dying before they had the chance to meet.
Hearing it from the Alphas today made the scary thought all the more real but now, he knew it couldn’t be further from the truth.
Never before had he smelt such a beautiful scent before, one which could only belong to his mate so he knew that this wasn’t a false alarm and he definitely wasn’t just imagining things.
She smells like honey.
The sweetest honey I’ve ever smelt. Marcellus couldn’t help but hum in agreeance, his lips twitching at the corners.
And the sweetest honey we’ll ever taste, too.
We have plenty of time for that later, but let’s find her first.
The scent then took him from the kitchen and into the living room, and then disappeared out of the living room and down the stairs which led to the den in the basement.
It was usually the teenagers and younger wolves that hung around in the den and the reality of today being his mate’s eighteenth birthday started to become more plausible but he didn’t care. Whatever apprehensions and concerns she had about the situation, he would be sure to resolve but for now, he needed to find her first.
The moment he burst into the basement, every single pair of eyes turned to stare at him, all of them a mixture of confused and surprised to see their Alpha down there as the den wasn’t quite his choice of location for relaxation, always opting to spend his free time either in his office or outside in the forest.
Ignoring the many sets of eyes set on him, he turned his head in all directions to look for his mate, unable to spot her anywhere. Before he knew it, he was swivelling around on the spot he was stood on, even going as far as to check behind the door as if she would be hiding from him.
It was a good thing she wasn’t there as she would have been struck by the door with the way he had burst into the place like a man on a mission.
To all the wolves looking in, they probably thought their Alpha had finally lost the plot after having been without a mate for too long and Marcellus himself didn’t blame them, as he was starting to think that himself.
It was only when he came back to his senses and glanced around the den that he realised she wasn’t here anymore. However, with the way her sweet, honeysuckle scent lingered all over the den and its furnishings, both him and his wolf were determined that she had definitely been here, and not too long ago.
“Alpha? Is everything okay? Are you looking for someone?” A curious voice sounded from within the den and the group of people that have been watching him carefully for the last few minutes.
His head snapped toward his pack member at the sound of his voice, his eyes wide and barely able to keep his wolf at bay. He was sure that his eyes were currently flashing between his usual hazel green eyes and the deep gold that signified that his wolf was on the surface.
Marcellus momentarily paused and stared back at Justas, currently sat next to his mate, Raphael, on the sofa, the very one which they honeysuckle scent was the strongest.
Just demand them to tell you where our mate is! His wolf demanded, growling between each word.
“I need to have a word with the both of you.” He murmured quietly, glancing around the room, making sure his eyes lingered on every single wolf to ensure that they got the message.
When they all shifted and began for the door, he nodded slightly in thanks before turning his attention back to the mated couple.
Justas frowned lightly but sat up straighter, stretching out his arm behind his mate in a protective stance as the Alpha had a feral glint in his eyes, not that he for one second believed that either him or his mate were in any sort of danger.
“Is everything okay, Alpha?” Justas repeated his question, his gaze wary as Marcellus walked over to take a seat on the sofa opposite to them, almost drunk on the sweet scent of his mystery mate.
“Everything’s fine. There’s no need to worry.” He tried to assure them before proceeding to clear his head awkwardly, unsure of how to approach the situation without setting off any alarm bells. “It’s just, you both smell a little different today. Why is that?”
Justas and Raphael frowned and shared a look, surprised with the weird question directed at them.
“You wanted to talk to us about smelling differently?” Raphael asked cautiously, the surprise evident on his face.
Marcellus nodded stiffly. “It’s a pretty strong scent, one which I don’t recognise.” He lied expertly through his teeth, choosing to feign being the concerned, protective Alpha instead of the freaky, crazy one which could smell his mate but not locate her. “I thought there was a non-pack member in the pack house but it appears not.”
Understanding dawned on the couple as their lips turned up into big matching grins.