Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 161 I Can Do All of that Myself
They arrived at the entrance foyer to find Lexi and Allen seemingly in a bit of a stand off. Allen was refusing to look at her, whilst Lexi had a mild look of amusement on her face as she lazily cast her gaze over him.
“I don’t know why you’re so scared of me Beta boy.” She commented as Ann and Adam pushed the doors open. “I’m not scared! Why is it such a big deal if I’d rather ignore you? There’s no law saying that I have to engage you in conversation.” Allen grumbled as he held a box in one hand and steadied two large suitcases at his side with his other hand.
“Don’t kid yourself. I can practically taste the fear and trepidation oozing out of you. I don’t bite you know?” Lexi smirked, “Well… not unless you want me to.”
Allen scowled and sighed heavily, as Adam cleared his throat and they both looked towards them expectantly. “Ironic that you both turned up at the same time really.” Adam drawled with a sardonic smile.
“Perhaps it’s fate…” Ann teased as Allen spluttered indignantly.
“Don’t even joke about that. I’d rather..” Allen hissed before stopping himself and taking a deep breath to calm the
flare of anger that had flashed in his eyes.
“You’d rather what, sweet-pea?” Lexi purred, “Live a boring life with no excitement?”
“Hardly.” He scoffed, “I’d rather live in blissful peace and quiet without having to listen to your bland conversation and unnecessary innuendo’s at every turn.”
Lexi gasped theatrically and held her hands over her heart mockingly.
“Oh! Such devastating words! I’m irreparably wounded!” She cried sarcastically, “I mean…if you tried hard enough Beta boy…maybe you could be in-my-end-o…” she smirked as Allen roared in frustration and stormed past Adam into the enclave, dragging the suitcases along violently behind him.
Adam looked across meaningfully at Lexi as he spoke.
“You’re going to give my Beta a heart attack. Go easy on him, okay?” He said as he turned and planted a tender kiss on Ann’s forehead and continued, “I’ll go and calm him down and make sure your things get to our room. I have some business to take care of, but if you need me, call me, okay?”
Ann nodded and smiled up at him.
“Of course. Do you want me to call you when they take us to see… you know…” she asked quietly as Adam nodded.
“Of course. I’d like to know what I’m dealing with too. Dark Moon will need to be prepared too.” he said as he turned and left to follow Allen, leaving Ann and Lexi alone in the foyer.
Ann shook her head at Lexi but couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face as she looked at her friend’s unrepentant smirk.
“What?” Lexi asked with a shrug.
“You really shouldn’t tease him so much you know? I keep telling you…” Ann said as she gestured for Lexi to follow her inside.
Lexi sighed and her shoulders sagged a little as she followed her down the maze of corridors.
“I know, I know. I can’t seem to stop myself though. Every time I’m near him, it’s like an itch that begs to be scratched. If I don’t do anything about it, it eats away at me inside, until it becomes all I can think about.” She mumbled begrudgingly.
“Maybe it is fate then. What if…” Ann asked with a scowl before Lexi hurriedly put her hand over Ann’s mouth and glared furiously into her eyes.
“Don’t you f*“*‘g dare say it. Not a word. Don’t tempt the fates by giving them the damn idea, Ann. I promise you… I’ll be pissed if it happens.” Lexi seethed as Ann removed her hand from her mouth.
“Lexi, there’s really nothing you can do if he is your fated mate, aside from rejecting him. Although, if he was, I’d have expected him to claim you by now.” Ann frowned lightly as they continued walking.
”Claimed?! I’m not a f****‘g possession Ann, I’m not available for ownership!” Lexi shrieked indignantly, causing some of the people that passed them in the corridor to turn to look at them curiously.
Ann smiled apologetically at them as they passed before she turned to face her friend.
“You know that’s not how it works with wolves. You aren’t a possession no, but they would feel it is their duty to care for you, protect you…”
“I can do all of that myself.” Lexi interrupted grumbling loudly.
“But…”
“Enough about this anyway, I don’t want to talk about it, there’s zero chance that me and that furball are fated so drop it.” She snapped, ending their conversation on the topic.
Ann sighed loudly before a thought suddenly occurred to her.
“Do Daemon’s have an equivalent of fated mates? I mean, I know you said your dad was fated to your mom. ..”Ann asked quietly, trailing off towards the end as she wondered if she should really be asking this.
“Yeah, Papa and Mom were heart bound… or… fated… whatever you want to call it. Honestly, there are so many words and phrases used to describe it across the different races.” She shrugged as Ann directed them into the office that she knew belonged to Bartholomew.
“So, is it all Daemons? Or just the…powerful ones? Like the lords and such, or kings and queens…” Ann fumbled as they took their seats.
“I mean… they live so long but are only ever gifted one heartbound. There are no second chances for them. So, if their mates aren’t of Daemon blood or some other gifted race, chances are low that they ever want to fully embrace immortality.” Lexi grimaced, “It’s pretty brutal, but also explains why so many Daemons are so damn bitter.”
Ann nodded in understanding, mulling it over as Lexi glanced around the comfortable office. It reminded Ann of the sort of study you would see old grandfathers have in the movies, permeated by the smell of leather and old books gathering dust on the shelves.
“Why are we in here?” Lexi asked as she perused some of the books lining the walls.
“Waiting for Bartholomew. He’s one of the Senior Elders, which makes him one of the advisors that I’ll be relying on for… we… advice really I suppose.” Ann explained.
“Senior Elder?” Lexi snorted in amusement, “Goddess, just how crusty do you have to be in order to be a Senior Elder? Elders are already ancient enough aren’t they?”
“Oh, not too crusty, my dear,” A cheerful voice came suddenly from the doorway as Bartholomew entered. “Although I will admit, I did think that by the time I had reached this age, I almost certainly thought that I might rustle a little.” He chuckled.