Marked by the Alphas

Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Kane POV

I am fuming as we return to our office.

“The mouth on that girl,” I rage as I slam the door shut. “The amount of disrespect is mind-blowing.”

“I know, you’re right,” Axel sighs, sitting on a couch. “But just let it go, already.”

“How can you be so ...”

“Because we got what we wanted,” he cuts me off brusquely. “We did, and Alice did, but she hasn’t. The least we can do is allow her one moment to blow off steam and voice her feelings. Because, let’s be honest, we’re giving her a great home, but she’ll be alone. Surrounded by our happiness.”

“I ... I never thought of it like that,” I admit, sitting beside him.

“Neither did I,” Axel exhales deeply. “Until she pointed it out.”

“You know what? I know it’s a terrible thought, but for a moment I even thought it would be enough if Elara was with us.” Axel continues. His words totally throw me off. It’s like they opened a Pandora’s Box, and I just go quiet.

Silence fills the room as we filter each filter through our thoughts when Alice whirls into the office.

“Let’s go out tonight,” she announces, standing in front of us.

I raise an eyebrow, biting my tongue from telling her she is insane.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now,” Axel says gently.

“But there’s nothing to do here,” Alice pouts, slouching down on the sofa opposite us. “Even you two are just sitting around.”

“We just returned from a meeting,” I grunt, standing up and walking to my desk.

Irritation gnaws at me as I sort through the new documents we must sign regarding the new matings. Even though the Elders decide the matings, the legal paperwork still must be signed by the Alpha. We have stacks of papers to go through, and news from other packs to catch up on regarding their mating assignments and outcomes, and I do not have the time or patience to deal with Alice, who was not getting what she wanted. “I’m sure I can come up with some items you could attend to as the new lady of the manor.”

“Like what?” She wrinkles her nose.

“For starters, you need to become acquainted with the staff,” Axel explains. “Then you should start thinking about the winter ball. The guards’ mates live on the premises, so you’ll need to look at attending their get-togethers and learning what they do to support the guards.”

“We have a list,” I open the top drawer. “Mother used to do it, but now that we have a Luna, it will fall to you.”

Father stepped down as Alpha as soon as Axel and I were eligible to take over. He is still strong and able, but after the Great Wars, he chose to step away from politics and leadership. He wanted to enjoy his life and retirement with Mother.

Mother continued to handle Luna’s duties, especially since she loved doing it so much and enjoyed connecting with our pack and planning events. freewёbnoνel.com

“I have ... duties?” Her brow furrows, and she looks back and forth between Axel and me, confusion lining her delicate features.

“Yes,” I smile lovingly at her. “You’re a Luna now.”

“Wow,” she mumbles, looking around flustered. “I thought I just ... like ... have pups and that was that.”

“No, love,” Axel chuckles “, There’s a lot more to being a Luna than providing pups. How do you ...”

“Don’t worry, Alice,” I cut Axel off. “Mother will guide you through everything. I know it’s a lot to take in, but you’re smart, capable, and amazing. You’ll be perfect at it.”

“What the hell?” Axel glares at me.

“The last thing we need is for you to imply she’s stupid and then have to deal with her complaining that you’re being a bully,” I reply. “We both know how these arguments end and how we have to make it up to her to soothe her ego, and we don’t have time for that right now.”

“Fair enough,” Axel replies. “Oh, shit.”

Through our bond, I sense his heartbeat skyrocket, and he holds his breath as he looks at me, obviously trying to hide how frantic he feels.

And then it hits me. Now that we claimed Alice, she could hear our inner conversations. The dialogue we were so used to having is no longer just ours.

I groan inwardly, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, waiting for Alice to freak out because I used her name and stupidity in one sentence. Axel and I have our work cut out to talk ourselves out of this.

But Alice remains quiet, sitting on the sofa, still pouting and picking at her cuticles. A sure sign is that she is upset, since she always keeps her hands perfectly manicured.

“Alice, love. I’m sorry. I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed,” I apologise through the mate bond.

Silence.

Fuck.

“Alice, you know how insensitive he can be when he’s hungry and has a little bit of work to do,” Axel says with a teasing smile, reaching over and placing his hand on her knee. She looks at him, still scowling, then over to me.

“Why are you both looking at me like that?” She frowns.

“Because we’re apologising,” I say tenderly.

“For what?” She sits up a little straighter, flipping her blonde hair over one shoulder and running her fingers through it. “Does that mean we’re going out tonight?”

“No,” Axel replies patiently, giving me a concerned look. “Kane was a bit of a jerk, so he’s trying to apologise for that.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say he was a jerk when he told me about all the things I must do,” she shrugs nonchalantly. “But he is being kind of a meanie for not going out tonight.”

I stare at Alice in awe. What the hell is going on with her? How can she ignore what I said about her complaining? Any hint or reference to her complaining was typically a trigger for her, even when said in jest.

And then it hits me, and my head buzzes and my ears ring with disbelief and shock. She cannot hear us through the mate bond.

Axel POV

Alice stares at us as if we have two heads.

“I’m not going to sit here while you guys act like weirdos,” She huffs, jumping up. “If we’re not going out, then I’m going to bed.”

“What ... the ... fuck,” Kane growls as the door slams shut behind her.

“I don’t know,” I breathe out slowly. “We must’ve made a mistake during the mating.”

“Mistake? How?” Kane jumps up and starts pacing back and forth, his eyes flashing as his wolf pushes to the surface. “We bit her, she bit us. It’s not fucking rocket science!”

“I never heard of this happening before,” I admit, running my fingers through my hair, and clenching fistfuls in my hands. “When you complete the mate bond, you have the mind link. That’s it, end of story.”

“Then we should redo it tonight,” Kane says.

“Nope,” I shake my head. “Alice is already pissed at us. If she finds out the mate bond didn’t work, she’s going to lose her damn mind.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Kane sighs in frustration.

Without warning, my mind wanders to Elara.

“You don’t think it’s because of Elara?” I ask Kane. “I mean, we thought it was because she was in heat, but maybe there’s more to it?”

“We had mind-blowing sex with Elara,” he murmurs. “And maybe I was thinking about her when we were with Alice, but we didn’t claim Elara. It doesn’t make sense.”

“No, it doesn’t,” I agree. “Is it because we took Alice as a second mate?” frёeωebɳovel.com

“Fuck if I know,” Kane shrugs. “This is all new to me.”

“It’s new to everyone.” I sigh, rubbing my temples. “The High Council is probably the only ones with answers, but it’s not like we can ask Elder Anton right now.”

“Yeah, considering you threatened him and basically called him a senile old man,” Kane smirks.

“Fuck,” I mumble under my breath. It is true, we pissed him off royally using that loophole. No way was he going to help us out now.

A hard knock at the door pulled us both out of our thoughts.

“Enter,” Kane commands, and a High Guard steps into the office.

“Alphas,” the guard says somberly. “You are summoned by a High Elder.”