Sandy
I followed Wyatt down a long hallway, into an office where he slammed the door with such force I thought it would fall apart.
His anger was so vast its scent soon filled the room, cloying the air around us. I waited. I was patient and knew he had to calm down before I spoke.
He paced back and forth, his fists clenched at his sides as he muttered, “What the fuck was she thinking? Growling at my mate! No way, not on this earth, not while I live and breathe.”
I remained silent, allowing him to rant and vent his rage.
I agreed with him, to a point. Belle should never have done what she did, but I suspected she wasn’t fully in control and that’s what had caused her to react as she had. She’d done her best to avoid conversation on our journey from the airport, even though I could clearly see her reaction to me. I didn’t push her, not like some would have, I had more restraint than most but she was obviously in denial.
Moving as silently as possible, I sat in an overstuffed armchair and waited.
Wyatt continuing to curse and rant. I knew he’d be fighting his beast too. It’s primal instinct to protect their mate so great it would want to destroy anything, or anyone, who threatened Sadie. A lesser man wouldn’t have been able to stop himself taking swift, immediate, and deadly action. It was a testament to his control that he had managed to walk away at all. The least he deserved was this time to fume.
After long minutes passed he stopped pacing, running his hands through his hair and finally turning to me. The look on his face was one of anger and confusion. “What the fuck just happened? Belle can sometimes be a handful, but she’s not aggressive, and I would never have thought her capable of what she just did.”
I waited a beat to see if this was truly a question, or just more ranting. Wyatt came over and sat in the chair opposite me, raising an eyebrow. “Well?”
“Alpha.” I kept eye contact. “I’m certain she is my mate. I knew as soon as her scent filled my senses at the airport earlier, but she doesn’t seem to know this, or understand what’s probably happening inside her. I would think her beast took over earlier, and it wasn’t Belle, not exactly, that acted in that manner.”
I kept my tone formal as I reasoned with the man who could take away the one thing on this planet that meant the world to me.
“What?” Wyatt’s eyes shot open in shock. “You’re certain?”
“Aye.” I allowed a small smile as I thought of my beautiful Belle. “She’s definitely my mate, I canny deny that, neither man nor beast.”
“Hot damn!” Wyatt threw his head back, looking at the ceiling. “I hope you’re ready for a rough ride, Sandy. She doesn’t trust easily and she can be a bit headstrong and needs to be reined in from time to time.”
“I can handle her.” I grinned. “If I can deal with our lassies in Scotland, I’m sure I can take care of anything Belle has to throw my way.”
“She’s certainly out of sorts today.” Wyatt’s eyebrow raised. “It would’ve been hard not to miss the scents she was giving off. If you know what I mean?”
“Aye,” I agreed, knowing how embarrassed she’d been by her body’s reaction to me. “But she’s either fighting it, or doesn’t know what it means. No matter, I’ll break through her walls and make her mine. I won’t leave here without her, Wyatt.”
“What if she doesn’t want to leave?” he asked the question that had been rolling around my brain.
“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,” I said firmly, knowing she had to return home with me. “I’m Beta, my Alpha and my Pack needs me.”
“I wish you well on that.” He smirked, his anger abating. “She can be a contrary little madam but she has a good heart and she’s a strong Wolf.”
“She’ll need to be,” I admitted. “My position in the Pack will require my mate to be strong. But I have no doubt she’s the one for me and I’ll make damn sure she knows that. There’ll be no other for me.”
“I know what you mean. When I first realized Sadie was mine it took all of my restraint not to throw her over my shoulder and take her to bed.”
“Aye, that thought has passed through my mind more than a few times since I recognized her.”
I couldn’t wait to show the feisty Wolf what pleasure I would shower upon her delightful body.
“I’m glad you intervened,” the Alpha confessed. “I was about to lose control and hurt her.”
“I’m aware of that,” I sighed. “But you didn’t, that’s the main thing.”
I’d wondered earlier what I would do if he hurt Belle. Feck, I knew what I would’ve done: fought to the death to protect her.
“Yeah, well I’m glad things didn’t get out of hand.” He nodded, knowing full well we would’ve fought.
“Me too,” I smiled. “So, when is this scenting ceremony you were talking about?”
Wyatt laughed, his head falling back on the seat as his legs straightened before him, now relaxed. “You don’t have long to wait, it’s the night after tomorrow.”
“And you’ll make sure Belle is there?”
“Sure will,” he confirmed, still smiling. “Now, let me tell you how things work at the ceremony.”
The next half hour passed with him explaining things and although I thought the concept was old fashioned, primitive even, I listened to every single word. I had to ensure I did this correct in the eyes of her own people.