6 Chapter 6 : Duty

*Shane*

I watch Morgan and Tanya go upstairs. God, that woman is maddening. Why does she have to make everything into a whole ordeal? She could make my life so much easier by just cooperating even slightly with me.

It’s like Morgan enjoys getting under my skin. How can this woman be destined to be my mate when she annoys me so much? I know I irritate her as well. That much is obvious. Is that a prerequisite for being a perfect match? You have to infuriate each other to no end?

I understand that I accidentally outed her as a witch to her village – which I apologized for – but did she have to make this whole process so difficult? I had envisioned this whole ‘destined mate’ thing to go much differently. Why does my mate have to be a hard-headed witch? Before my two best friends, Serena and Cain, can question me about how it went, I stand up and go into the kitchen. I’m not ready to face their interrogation.

In our big kitchen, I prepare two plates of bread, grapes, and cheese. I’m starving after my eventful day with my ‘destined mate’. I bet Morgan is also hungry, but I feel like we had more than enough of each other for one day. We need our space if this is ever going to work. I stare at the extra plate, considering what I should do. Tanya comes into the room as if she has read my mind.

“Can you please take this plate up to Ms. Morgan?” I ask Tanya.

She nods and takes up a pitcher of water as well. There. My mate is taken care of, at least for tonight. As I pour my own glass of water, I idly think about Tanya. I feel weird asking her to do things because I’ve known her since she was three. She’s been living at our pack house ever since my mother found her on the streets. Tanya is like a little sister to me, and I trust her to care for my mate.

I bring my drink and plate into the sitting room. As soon as I sit down, Cain reaches over and tries to steal a grape from my plate. I slap his hand away and move my plate so he can’t reach it.

“Don’t you dare! If you take any of my food, you will no longer have a hand,” I warn him.

I talk around the food in my mouth, and Serena gives me a dirty look. She’s always getting after Cain and me for our terrible table manners. I wonder if Morgan has the same views on manners.

Woah. Why did she randomly pop into my head?

“Oo, I’m so scared,” Cain jokes.

Serena and I laugh with him. It feels good to be laughing with my friends after a tough couple of days. I eat in silence and wait for them to ask me the obvious.

“So, how did it go?” Serena finally pipes up. I knew she would be the one to get to the point. Out of all three of us, Serena is the most direct. It is a quality I admire about her though.

“I don’t even know where to start with that woman. I…” I groan, and my head falls back in frustration.

I put my empty plate on the table in front of me. How do I even begin to tell them what occurred between Morgan and I? How do I tell my best friends that the person who is intended to love me, hates my guts? Morgan can barely stand the sight of me now. How am I ever going to make this work?

“It went that well, huh?” Cain questions. I ignore this and give them the short story of the past few days and how I finally got Morgan to accompany me to our pack house.

“You aren’t going to like what I’m about to say,” Serena notes after I finish with my story. She isn’t afraid to be honest with me.

“Just say it,” I respond, wanting her to say what she needs to say. It’s like ripping off an adhesive cloth that is over a healed wound.

“I understand why Morgan would be upset, Shane. Her whole life has just been uprooted because of you.” Serena notices that I’m about to argue with what she said and continues. “I know that you didn’t mean to expose her as a witch, but you have to admit it happened because of you. Also, all of her belongings were destroyed in the fire, so she has nothing from home.”

I sigh. “Fine, yes.”

“So, you need to be patient with her. Also, from what you’ve told me about her, I hope she’s equipped for what it takes to be your mate,” Serena adds.

This is something Serena would know about. We were engaged a mere month ago. I’d only ever seen her as a friend, and we aren’t physically attracted to each other. But when my father's health began to decline rapidly, I proposed to Serena out of necessity. My dad is the Alpha of our pack for over twenty years. He is a tough but fair leader. When he became ill, I panicked because our pack law states I have to be mated to become Alpha.

Right before I was set to marry Serena, my mother received word from her fortune teller friend, who’s respected in our community, that I had a destined mate. Destined mates are respected in our pack, and if you have one, you have to marry them. No exceptions. My father is slowly growing sicker and will surely die if he keeps having to hold onto his Alpha position. Even though he puts on a brave face, I know he is suffering.

Immediately, I tracked Morgan down with the information the fortune teller gave me. I watched her from a distance, studying her while she collected her herbs. When I first saw her, her beauty took my breath away. Her long brown hair blew in the warm forest wind, and her soft, confident hands moved so effortlessly as she filled her woven basket. I watched her work in the woods for a long time.

I waited until the next day to reveal myself, but it didn’t go as planned. She noticed my eyes in my wolf form, and I scared her. That’s when I decided it would never be the right time to tell her that she was my mate, so I broke into her home. In hindsight, I realized that wasn’t the best way to convince her to come live with my pack.

After I talked to Morgan the first time, I felt an undeniable connection to her that I couldn’t explain. Even though she refused to listen to me, she intrigued me. I wanted to know everything about her and her past, and I still do. Despite what she may think, I didn’t want to reveal her secret to her close-minded village on purpose. Also, I felt terrible when I inadvertently burned down her house.

Why did she want to live with those horrible people anyway? They turned on her so easily and wanted to hang her without even asking for an explanation. It’s not like they even witnessed her practicing witchcraft. Someone could have framed her. Morgan should be thanking me for taking her away from people who were demanding her death. Also, I provided her with a new place to live. I even provided her with Tanya, who would take excellent care of her. I’m even making sure she’s fed. But has Morgan thanked me at all? No.

My new mate has made this whole situation so difficult for both of us. The attraction and connection I feel for her just makes everything more confusing and complicated. Why can’t this whole mate thing be purely transactional like it was with Serena? We had both known we were getting married for the pack, and we were completely fine with that, happy even.

But adding feelings—Morgan’s and mine—complicates things considerably. My father taught me everything I need to know to become Alpha. I’m ready. I’m ready to take the lead of the pack and allow my father to enjoy the time he has left with my mother. Why does my pack have to have a law saying I need to be mated? It isn’t fair.

The other two allow me to get lost in my thoughts before I break the silence.

“How’s my father doing?” I ask my two friends. I would go check on him myself, but I don’t want to disturb him during the late hour.

“He’s, uh, the same,” Cain answers too quickly. This means he’s doing badly. Cain always gives me the answer I want to hear, so I look at Serena for the honest one.

“He’s steadily declining,” Serena tells me after a moment. I put my head in my hands.

“Guys, this is why I need this thing with Morgan to work. It’s the only way to save my father. Will you please help me? Will you help her transition into the pack? Help her be accepted?” I beg, making eye contact with each of my closest friends.

“Yes, I’ll help you. I just don’t want to hear any of the gross stuff that goes on between you and the witch,” Cain states.

“Don’t worry. I don’t think anything will happen between us,” I tell him.

But because he mentions that, my mind automatically thinks about what Morgan’s pink lips would taste like. Then, I imagine sliding off her shirt to see what her tan skin looks like beneath her clothes…

Serena snaps her fingers in my face knowing exactly where my mind just went. The girl knows me too well.

“Yes, of course, I’ll help you. I'd do anything for our pack,” Serena says, and crosses her long legs. “You know exactly who you have to worry about though. Whose opinion is respected greatly.”

I sigh. I know exactly who she was talking about. Reginald is the harshest and coldest elder of our pack. His job is to advise our pack and aid us in making decisions. When I informed everyone of my quest to find my mate, Reginald was in full support until he found out Morgan was a witch. He is prejudiced against other supernatural creatures, even though he is a shifter himself.

“Yeah, I’ll worry about him when Morgan can actually stand the sight of me,” I reply, only half kidding.

“Don’t worry, Shane. With Serena and I on your side, there’s nothing you can’t do,” Cain tells me.

“Oh, no. I’m screwed,” I tease, and the three of us laugh together.

At least I have the support of my friends. Together, we’ll get through this. One way or another.