Falling For My Cruel Mate
Chapter 55

"Okay." Samuel says before making note of it and passing the paper along to me. I sign the bottom of it quickly and hand it back to Sam.

"That's all for today." I stand up from my chair and immediately loosen the tie around my neck as I make my way out of the conference room.

I exit the pack house with the thought of my mate still on my mind. Her lips. The way she tasted. I could feel myself get excited at just the mere thought of kissing her again.

But I'm not sure at all about how she felt. She's been avoiding me. I'm pretty sure she's been spending her nights in Cipher's room and over planning her days so that shes always too busy.

I throw my tie onto my perfectly made bed and remove my jacket. I roll up the sleeves of my pressed white dress shirt, feeling agitated and stressed. Alexander required that we dress like this for every meeting, no matter how large or small it is. It's quite an annoyance actually.

My level of stress only increases when I think of the potential danger my mate is in. How dare that fool even think of harming something of mine? It's as if he had a death wish. He and I both know that his father deserved to die. He was sick and cruel. I shake the thoughts from my head before they begin to grow dark and disturbing.

I head downstairs to the kitchen and pour myself a glass of whiskey. It was only noon time and I'm already having a drink. I couldn't help it. All I could think about was her. How did I get to be like this? So enthralled by her...

The closing of the door awoke me from my thoughts and grabbed my attention. The smell of vanilla and coconuts made me set my glass of whiskey down quickly and head over to the door.

There she was heading up the stairs, casually as if I might not even be home.

"Octavia." I call her name.

A small shriek escapes her mouth before she spins around horrified, nearly causing her to fall down the stairs. I hold back a smile and a laugh that threatened to surface. The shock and surprise that fell on her face was adorable.

"I-I'm so- I didn't think you would be here." She stumbles over her words as her hands rake through her hair nervously.

"How long are you going to continue to avoid me?" I ask, ignoring her previous statement.

"What?" She acts surprised, placing her delicate hand over her heart and raising her brows. "I'm definitely not avoiding you."

A smirk dawns upon my lips. She looked as beautiful as always. Her chocolate brown hair fell loosely around her shoulder in waves. Her full lips were painted in some sort of gloss, making them appear even more... delicious. The way the sun poured into the room made her green eyes sparkle as if they were an emerald.

"Then come down here and talk to me. I just got back from a meeting. I assume you'd like to know what's happening with the pack borders?" I question and watch her eyes dart around the room. She seemed nervous which made me feel... powerful. To a certain extent I enjoy the fact that I can make her nervous.

She walks down the steps slowly. Her green eyes focus on mine and the closer she got the more red her cheeks became.

"So what's going on with the pack borders?" She asks once she's standing right in front of me. Her intoxicating scent floods my nostrils and my wolf becomes slightly uneasy. The mate bond is so strong now that I have to take a small step back before I do something stupid.

I shove my hands into my pockets to refrain from touching her or pulling her closer to me. "Sam took it upon himself to personally check the entire perimeter of the pack lands and evaluated where we might need reinforcements." I explain trying to keep my eyes from roaming around her face. "The west border, which is closest to us, requires more men. Also there will be more rotations of guards outside and inside the house so don't be alarmed if there are some unfamiliar faces."

"You think Jalex will attack from the west?" She asks as she rocks back and forth on her heals nervously. She bites down on her bottom lip and it takes everything in me to not kiss her again. She doesn't seem to notice my distress, seeing as she's preoccupied with the possible attack.

"We're not sure." I clear my throat and her eyes refocus on mine. "It would make some sense if he's coming after you but he's also might come from the east and reek havoc on the pack lands until he gets to you."

She sighs at my words somberly as she pushes her hair behind her ear. I watch as her neck becomes exposed giving me a full view of my mark. I could feel the worry practically pour off of her in waves. I hardly even thought before I reached my hand out to her, cupping her face gently.

"Don't worry about it. We still have a few weeks to prepare and practice our procedures. Everything will be alright. You're safe." I stare deeply into her forest like eyes, searching them.

She nods her head and breaks eye contact, replaceing a sudden interest in the ground. I sigh and press a small kiss to the crown of her head.

"Now go and get dressed. Mandatory pack training starts in thirty minutes." I tell her before taking a step back.

"Sure." She mumbles as she turns on her heals and heads up the stairs towards her room.

I too head upstairs towards my bedroom to change out of my suit. I slip on a pair of grey jogging pants a long with a plain white shirt that was a little too fitted for my liking. I guess it'll have to do though since I don't want to ruin a good shirt.

As I'm tying the laces of my black running shoes there's a knock at the door.

"Come in." I say loudly and finish tying up the second shoe. I stand up straight to replace Octavia standing in the door way.

"I-um-I figured we could walk over together." She stutters. I couldn't help but smile at the small effort she was showing. Maybe if we both try to move past what's happened between us in the past... then maybe this could work.