The Mating Rules

Hadley’s POV

‘Your turn’ I rumble, looking down at my pad, suddenly unable to meet the Alpha’s gaze. ‘You have to find something nice about me.’ A grin slides across my face as I add under my breath, ‘and you can’t just say I’m not as much of an a*****e as you thought I was.’

Caden obviously hears me as a deep chuckle echoes around the room as he shakes his head. ‘Fine’ he huffs,, tapping his pen to his chin as he thinks, ‘you are a really good fighter’ he states. ‘You are one of the strongest fighters in our pack, you can keep Leeway safe and her safety is paramount. You are also fair though, you won’t fight dirty, I’ve watched you spar, when you knock a guy down you always step back so they have a chance to get up again.’

I’m a little shocked, I had no idea that the guy across from me had given me any attention, especially not enough to see how I fight in training.

Caden shrugs, ‘I’ve watched you fight quite a few times, you are really really good but you are also a good sportsman, you never take advantage like other wolves do. It’s almost like you want them to challenge you, learn from your moves.’

I nod, embarrassed, ‘if others can learn from how I take them down, it only makes our pack stronger against our enemies’ I admit. ‘Beating a man on the ground doesn’t help him become a better warrior it just makes me a bit of a d**k.’

Caden huffs out a laugh, ‘you mean like me?’

I laugh too, ‘yeah, you are just like that with me’ I reply, ‘I’m a special case, everyone else, you do the same thing.’ I feel colour heat my face, ‘that’s actually where I learned it’ I mumble, ‘you would beat a guy, get him on the floor and then hold out your hand to help them up. I thought maybe if I was more like that, maybe you wouldn’t be such a d**k to me sometimes.’

The Alpha’s eyes snap to mine but he doesn’t comment on that, just says, ‘well if you ask Leeway, I’m also a d**k to Isaac, I never told him his weakness when fighting me, she nearly cut my balls off with the knife at the restaurant when she found out.’ He sighs, ‘that’s probably a second tick in your box with her, you wouldn’t keep another warrior’s weakness from him just so you could win a fight against him.’

I tilt my head, studying the Alpha, ‘I doubt you did it maliciously’ I remark, ‘you and Isaac have been tight since you were born, you just really like to win, especially when it comes to me and your own Beta.’

I notice the tick in Caden’s jaw at my words, seems I’ve hit a nerve, ‘how I look is important’ is all he replies though.

Shaking off my own unease, I fiddle with my pen as I think of something positive about the man in front of me. ‘You and Jamie-Lee share the same sense of humour’ I offer with a tinge of jealousy. It’s true, the pair of them laugh at all the same things, they have the same sarcastic humour that I don’t really get. I have heard them talking, teasing each other as they enter the pack house after a date and you can see how they gel.’

‘Well you do all that romantic stuff she likes’ Caden shoots back. ‘It was you that suggested the picnic in the gardens and giving her a flower each. I just asked the Omegas to make us food! Let’s be honest, if you had been doing that on your own, you’d probably have made all the food with your super amazing cooking skills that she has gushed about to Ashleigh on more than one occasion.’

I frown, ‘you would have thought of a picnic at some point, it’s like the grade school entry of dates! It’s hardly on par with taking her to a dancing lesson’ I snap back.

‘You can dance!’ Caden growls, ‘I’ve seen you do it at some of my parents bashes. I’m pretty sure my own sister developed a crush on you after you twirled her around the dance floor a few times when we were seventeen.’

‘Not like you can though’ I argue back, ‘you had professional lessons for Goddess’ sake, every she wolf in the pack was itching for you to ask them to dance when we were younger!’

This is pretty much how the night has gone, the two of us arguing like cat and dog, neither of us seeming to be able to take a compliment from the other.

‘Fine’ I grumble, determined to come up with an unrefutable positive that the a*****e can’t argue with. ‘You have impeccable manners,’ hurrying on when I see his eyebrow start to arch, I continue, ‘You won’t embarrass her in front of others when you dine out. She could eat in a fancy restaurant with you and you wouldn’t be wondering which bloody fork you are supposed to use or wearing half your dinner down your shirt that you had to take from your dead father’s wardrobe because you don’t own any.’

Caden shook his head, ‘that doesn’t matter to Leeway’ he replies firmly, ‘you know her, she’s a burger and fries girl, she hates fancy restaurants, they make her uncomfortable.’ He huffs loudly, ‘as for the shirts, I’d be borrowing my dad’s if I didn’t have my mother ordering all my damn suits for me so I don’t show up the family!’

He clenches his fists as he glares at me, ‘Let’s just face it, you have more in common with her, we can just say it as it is, I’m not the guy for her, not really, you are.’

I’m staring at the man in front of me, watching as his body curls in slightly with defeat, and I’m surprised that I feel a discomfort in my chest. ‘Lets go and see Jamie-Lee tomorrow, I’ll pick you up’ Caden sighs, ‘I’ll reject her then and you can help her through accepting it.’

He stands up as if to leave and I find myself reaching out, stopping him. ‘No’ I growl determinedly, ‘you are not rejecting her.’

The Alpha meets my gaze resignedly, ‘look, you are the better fit’ he mumbles, ‘we both know it, so let’s just get it done.’

I can feel my wolf whimpering in my head, but I know I have to do this. I stand up, grabbing Caden’s wrist and glaring at him. ‘I’ll reject her’ I state firmly, ‘it’s the right thing to do.’

The other werewolf stares at me as if I’m insane, and I have to admit that I think I might be. He just handed me my mate, and I’m turning him down, what is wrong with me?

‘We just decided . . ‘ he starts, but I cut him off.

‘No, you decided’ I retort, ‘we decided nothing. It doesn’t matter if you are a better dancer or if I’m a better cook Star, what matters is Jamie-lee and her happiness. She is never going to be happy if she rejects you. I know you said all that spiel about being Alpha not mattering, but it does matter. It matters to Jamie-Lee that our pack will suffer if she isn’t your Luna! Don’t you see, even if you reject her and she accepts it, she’s still going to know that it was because of her that our pack is weakened.’

I swallow, forcing the words out, because I have too, ‘she needs to be your Luna, not just for you, but for me too.’ I rub my forehead with my thumb and forefinger as a headache forms, ‘this pack means everything to me man. Your parents took me in when they had no idea who I was or where I came from. I could be the child of an enemy pack for all any of us know but it didn’t matter, not to this pack. They all treated me like I belong here, yeah there were some a*****e kids at school, but all the adults never made me feel like anything other than a member of this pack.’ I lick my suddenly dry lips, thankful that Hunter is no longer whimpering, instead his ears are perked as he listens to me. ‘I love this pack Star, it’s my home and to be the cause of it’s weakening? I can’t live with that, no more than Jamie-Lee can. She needs to mate with you, give you pups and grow our pack, it’s her destiny.’

I truly believe what I’m saying, Jamie-Lee was born to lead this pack, her temperament calms Caden’s aggressive Alpha wolf, she challenges him and refuses to back down to him if she thinks she is right. No other she wolf will balance the man like our mate does and I can’t stand in the way of that no matter how much I want too.

Caden is staring at me, ‘you’re serious aren’t you’ he mutters, ‘you are going to reject her.’

I nod, holding on to the last shred of resolve I’ve got, ‘it’s the only way’ I reply, ‘I knew when I stepped into that clearing and Skarla claimed us both that I’d be the one who lost her.’ I swallow down the lump forming in my throat, ‘I just didn’t ever want to think that it would be me rejecting her.’

The Alpha nods, pulling his wrist from my hand and engulfing it instead with his own. ‘Thank you . . Hadley’ he murmurs, taking me by surprise.

‘My given name?’ I ask with a strained laugh, ‘careful Star, people will think that you actually like me.’

Caden laughs, ‘yeah, we can’t have that, you and me being friends? That would be a catastrophe. I’ve got a reputation to uphold around here, can’t have people thinking I’ve gone soft.’

I smile tightly as I nod before I pierce the man in front of me with an earnest stare. ‘Take care of her Caden’ I order roughly, ‘you make sure she’s happy every single day of her life, if I see one tear fall because of you, I swear I’ll rip your limbs off one by one.’

The Alpha grips my hand firmly, holding my gaze, ‘my whole life is, was and always will be devoted to Jamie-Lee’s happiness’ he responds and I know with out a shadow of a doubt that he means it. The man in front of me breathes for our mate, will do anything for her, I have no worries about her safety with him.

I release Caden’s hand and take a small step back, clearing my throat, ‘what time should we do this then?’ I ask, trying not to show the fact I’m dying inside right now.

The Alpha’s lips turn down as he sighs, ‘tomorrow’ he replies. ‘We’ll do it tomorrow, after dinner, here where no one will stumble in on us or overhear what we say. This is a private matter between the three of us, I don’t want anyone else getting involved.’

I nod in agreement, at least afterwards I won’t have far to stumble toward my bed. I’d rather break down in my own home than suffer the indignity of another wolf finding me as I ride through what I know will be the worst pain I’ve ever experienced care of a broken bond.

Caden lets out a slow breath before giving a sharp nod of his head, ‘I’ll bring her over’ he says decisively, ‘eight o’clock. Patrol will have changed shifts and everyone should be inside eating or settling in for the evening.’

Stepping around the werewolf, I head toward my front door, Caden behind me as I open the door to show him out.

Hesitating, the Alpha turns to me, ‘thank you Hadley’ he says roughly, ‘thank you for giving her to me.’

I shrug, ‘I did it for her’ I reply, ‘and this pack.’

Caden nods, ‘I know’ he says softly, ‘but still, thank you for my Luna, I promise to love her in the way she deserves, she will be treated as the Queen she is.’

‘I know’ I grumble, ‘you already treat her like that, if you didn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.’

The werewolf huffs out a laugh, shaking his head, ‘no, we wouldn’t’ he agrees sadly looking down at his trainers. ‘I really wish this could be different’ he mutters, ‘that we each had our own mate and this didn’t have to happen. Why do you think it did?’ he asks tightly, ‘did we all do something that upset the Goddess? Do you think we are being punished?’Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

I can’t answer him, I’ve asked myself the same question over and over for the last month, wondered what we all did to be put in this place where we all have to hurt.

Caden huffs, turning and walking out of my front door, ‘bye Carrington’ he mutters over his shoulder.

‘Bye Star’ I reply as I close the door behind him, flick the lock and sink slowly to the floor. A sob catches in my throat, but I refuse to give in to the void of pain and sadness. I’m doing this for the woman I love, her happiness is paramount even if it comes at the expense of my own.