That was corny

Nick's POV

I take the side table near me and throw it to the wall, once it connects, the table breaks into pieces...

"Man, stop, you can't do that just because you're frustrated" I hear Theo's voice.

"Theo, let him cool off" Dylan shuts him up.

Since we rescued Alice, we've been here planning how to deal with the rogues, the simple thought of them hurting my mate has been tormenting me since we rescued her but... am I any better?

Every time I close my eyes the only image that comes to my mind is her jumping from that window.

I-it was me... the one that made her take that decision... she almost died... I don't care how she healed. I don't care what she's not telling me, right now I'm just glad she's alive.

I feel a hand on my shoulder "Dude, you need sleep, you've been here all night, it's too much".

I shake my head and move his hand away. I can't sleep, I just can't, not when that image is hunting me...

"What the hell did I do Dylan? She hasn't even met me for a fucking week, and I already made her hate me" I rest my face in my hand, can I even make her see me any other way? Can I make her fall in love with me? Do I even have the right to try?

I groan.

"S-she's our mate!! She will love us! Mates are supposed to forgive you and love you!... Right?" Apollo asks me but honestly, I would be lying if I say yes.

"Ok, that's enough! You're not going to fix any of this mopping helplessly" Theo says annoyed, and I raise my head to look at him. "You fucked up, and we fucked up. We didn't protect her from you, so we're under the same light for her"

"The thing is, nothing's going to change staying here, if you really mean it if you really feel sorry for her then start changing! Change for her or let her go, simple!"

"I'm not letting her go!" I shout at his stupid idea. I can't live without her, I can't be away from her.

"Then change! Because if you don't, you will lose her, she'll be here but at the same time she will be not, her heart at least will not be with us" Theo keeps saying

"That was corny as fuck" Dylan chuckles.

"Well, I'm a corny dude, leave me alone" Theo shrugs his shoulders.

"You seem to like her a lot" I find it weirdly heartwarming that my third in command like my mate this much, that he takes her safety and her happiness as something that goes hand in hand. I honestly thought someone caring about her that much would make me jealous but, I like it. I like that she has someone else to rely on.

"She helped my mom a lot, Nick" Theo looks at me with a complicated smile "Before she met Alice, my mom was broken. We had to practically beg her to get out of bed. She was ready to die, Nick. The day after the funeral we found her ready to swallow a handful of pills in the bath"

That information took me by surprise. I didn't know Aunt Kat tried to do that. I knew Sophie's death was heavy on her, but I didn't expect her to try that.

"I'm sorry Theo... I didn't know".

Death is weird in this pack but it's not unknown, we're not humans, people dying is a common occurrence in the werewolf community, and that's why I was expecting Aunt Kat to be sad but not... not try to...

"I know you didn't. We decided not to tell you, you had so much on your shoulders, with the red river, the rogues, and then your mate, we didn't want to add more to your plate" Theo laughs and rubs the back of his neck.

"The thing is, after that morning Alice talked to my mom, she changed. My mom is still sad, she still cries from time to time but it's different, she doesn't look as... as... fucked up. She's not trying to kill herself anymore" Theo keeps talking. "Alice helped my family, Nick. She helped us and I didn't help her... I don't know about you but I'm going to defend her against you if you fuck up again"

I'm glad I have them, without Dylan and Theo running this pack would be close to impossible.

"I wouldn't expect any other action".

I need to change; I need to change for her, or I will lose her forever.

Dylan puts his arm around my neck "you look better, did you make up your mind?" he asks, and I smirk "I'll take that as a yes, then let's go eat, it's late and we're starving!" he puts his other arm around Theo's neck.

"To the kitchen!" Dylan shouts happily and I smile at his stupid display.

They're always like that. Theo is the voice of reason and Dylan makes us feel in control.

We walk towards the elevator and the moment I step on it I start feeling anxious, that anxiety only increases with each passing floor.

"Nick? What's wrong, man?" I hear Dylan's voice and I go out of the tunnel I was feeling trapped in.

"Nothing, I'm good".

I'm scared. Will I meet Alice in the kitchen? Will she even talk to me? See my way?

"She will talk to us! She should be alright by now!" Apollo says desperate, I know he's just trying to convince himself.

"You're such a weirdo!" I hear Jos's laughter in the kitchen.

We walk inside and I see her, she's seating with Lucas and Jos. I look at my mate, but something feels off... she looks majestic, she feels like a queen... like... like...

I gasp.

She feels like an alpha.

She stops paying attention to Lucas and Jos and turns to look at me.

"Hello, Nick" I hear her monotone voice and I look at her.

Her voice sounds as calm and as uninterested as always, but it feels different, it holds authority, an authority worthy of an alpha, of a ruler.

"...Hello".

Did she finally accept her role as the Luna of the pack? Is this change in her aura related to that?

No, her eyes still hold that defiance and hate in them, hidden but still there.

"Is the Silver Dagger Pack still staying here?" she asks keeping that stoic expression.

"...yes, they'll be staying for the rest of the week" I reply, why do I feel these shivers down my spine? I feel like prey being looked down upon by a predator.

She smirks, a small, almost indetectable smile but it looked wicked and exciting.

"I see..." she says with a voice slightly happier than earlier; she sounds amused.

"ALPHA!" one of my trackers runs towards me. He looked pale as if he just saw a ghost. "t-t-t-t-t-the...!!!" he couldn't finish what he was trying to say, he looked as if he found it hard to breathe.

I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Breath, Ross, breath" I try to calm him down and he does as I instruct. Once his breathing goes back to normal, I ask "alright, now, what is it?"

"THE ROGUE KING!!" he shouts

"What?" I say bewildered.

"The rogue king joined the Red River!" he says with urgency.