22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

-Naomi-

I returned home to change, my entire body still aflame from what Alpha Reese had done to me. It was clear that something was pulling us together, yet neither of our wolves offered any answers.

As I shed my ruined clothes and slipped into something fresh, I collapsed onto my bed, feeling utterly defeated. I couldn’t believe the predicament I found myself in. Alpha Reese had always been my dream, but now it felt like a nightmare. How long before we succumbed to our desires completely? I dreaded our next encounter, knowing it would be charged with even more sexual tension.

Maybe we should just try to get it out of our system? my wolf suggested.

“No! I am not sleeping with him just to get something out of my system,” I stated firmly, crossing my arms.

Then what do you suggest? she inquired.

“I suggest we stay away from him. No more dates or evenings. Wherever he is, we won’t be.”

That’s going to be a bit complicated considering he’s our Alpha, and perhaps our mate. We don’t want to be apart.

“Then claim him or tell me if this situation is absolutely ridiculous!” I demanded.

I... still can’t choose , she admitted quietly.

“Do you want to claim him?” I pressed.

She remained silent, leaving me with more questions than answers and a throbbing ache between my legs that only he could satisfy. It wasn’t fair that someone held such power over me, and that I couldn’t do anything about it. If I hadn’t heard my clothes being torn, he would undoubtedly have mated with me, and I would have eagerly accepted. But none of this made sense. Why were we affected this way? And why couldn’t anyone give us an answer?

Instead of returning to my job, I had dozed off, pondering over my many questions. When I woke, I found someone hovering over me.

“Mom?” I questioned, seeing her in my room, gazing down at me with an unusual intensity. She seemed more focused than she had been in years.

“Why do I smell something?” she asked, her tone laced with curiosity.

“What do you mean?”

“I smell an Alpha, marking something as his,” she murmured, her words sending a shiver down my spine.

Then, unexpectedly, she grabbed my hair and began sniffing it, before pulling back with a shake of her head in disbelief.

“So much Alpha,” she commented, her expression unreadable.

I stared at her in shock, unable to comprehend her sudden behavior. She was acting even stranger than usual. Then, she took hold of my arm and drew us closer together.

“Why is your mate an Alpha?” she questioned.

“H-He is not,” I insisted. “Mom, you’re just confused. It’s late.”

“You need to be careful with Alphas.”

“Mom, please, just go to sleep,” I urged, hoping to end the conversation.

“Alphas are very powerful, and different dynamics in pairings can make things confusing,” she continued, her words sounding more coherent than they had in a long time.

“Come, let’s get you back to your room,” I suggested, attempting to divert her attention.

“No, Naomi!” she insisted, causing me to pause and look at her. “He smells wild.”

“And?” I responded, unsure of where she was going with this.

“It’s not a good scent. It’s everywhere. Why does he smell so wild?”

“He is... troubled,” I replied, trying to downplay the situation.

“No, this is not the scent of a troubled Alpha. It’s the scent of one who is desperate, as if he is losing something,” my mother murmured, her words adding to the mystery.

“Mom, it’s a complicated situation,” I explained, feeling overwhelmed.

“Are you rejecting him?”

“Um, no, I don’t think so,” I replied.

“Then why does he seem so desperate to mark you?” my mom pressed.

“He doesn’t,” I insisted.

“I smell it. It’s his wild nature he placed on you, meaning he is afraid you will leave him. He wants to mark you to ensure you stay with him.”

Her words became more and more unsettling. Alpha Reese wasn’t afraid of losing me. He might even end up with two mates, a situation I couldn’t even fathom dealing with at the moment. Therefore, I decided to focus on my mom.

“Hey, let’s get you to your own bedroom,” I suggested, leading her with me.

“Naomi, the house reeks of his desperation,” she persisted.

“I’m sure it’s just bad ventilation. I will have it checked.”

“No, you need to be careful. Desperate Alphas are dangerous, even to their mates. He could mark you violently.”

“And what do you suggest? That I give him what he wants?” I chuckled.

“Yes,” she insisted.

We halted in the hallway to her room, and I turned to her, noticing more life in her eyes than I had seen in ages. It was rather unsettling, and I wondered if she thought this was a dream.

“What?” I prompted.

“To appease the Alpha, you give him what he wants,” she said.

“I don’t understand.”

“You let him mark you, and it will appease his instincts,” she explained.

“Mom, it’s not that simple.”

“Why not?” she inquired. “Between mates, it’s very simple.”

I didn’t know if I should tell her, but if this was one of her lucid moments, did it hurt to lean on her a little?

“Mom, it’s Alpha Reese,” I informed her. She blinked, looking a bit confused, as if she didn’t know who that was. “You know, the former Alpha’s son.”

“But he is a boy,” my mom said, making me shake my head.

“No, he is all grown up now, and he has a mate.”

“You?”

“No, a Luna, an actual Luna. But we are... drawn to each other, and something seems to be happening when we are together,” I admitted, playing with my blouse, uncertain of how much I should reveal to her.

My mother studied me for a moment before stepping closer and inhaling deeply. “He desires you,” she declared.

“He might desire us both—”

“No, he desires you. I can sense it. You exude his scent, as if he needed to assert his dominance.”

“Mom, he has two mates,” I pointed out.

“She is the mistake then. It’s you. Only an Alpha who desires you this intensely would leave such a mark,” she clarified.

“Then she must bear his scent too,” I argued.

She shook her head. “This is primal.”

“Mom, I don’t understand. Besides, he has already admitted he prefers having one mate.”

“Then he means you.”

“No, he was quite clear about wanting the other. It would also strengthen the pack if they were together,” I explained.

“You would strengthen him, which in turn strengthens the pack,” she countered.

“Mom, it’s late. I don’t think we should continue this conversation,” I said, rubbing my eyes and feeling drained. I couldn’t think about Alpha Reese or what had occurred between us so late into the night.

“Naomi, you should claim him now.”

“Why?” I half chuckled. “Why should I?”

“Because he belongs to you. Claim him!”

“Mom!” I sighed, but she shook me, insisting that I should claim him, causing me to push her away. She stumbled, and I immediately regretted my action.

“Sorry, Mom,” I apologized, reaching out to her, but she didn’t want me near, holding up her hand as a vacant expression clouded her face.

I sighed, overwhelmed with guilt, but her demands had made me feel trapped. Without a word, she retreated to her room, leaving me more confused than ever.