The Mating Rules

Raelyn’s POV

Now I’m not actually screaming at the man like a banshee, I can fully appreciate just how handsome he actually is. I knew he was good looking, I mean, I had eyes, and I’d seen him arrive before, but even when he stepped out of the car yesterday, I couldn’t fully appreciate just how attractive this man is.

Then, when he sat me down and calmly explained to me that he hadn’t been intending to hurt Henrietta and explained his shock at finding me stood in his room, I felt like a complete i***t. Of course the man had been taken by surprise, who expects to walk out of their bathroom to find a thirty year old woman on the other side? I mean, I’d been shocked myself!

My mortification quickly turned to dread as I ran over exactly what I had shouted at the Beta during my rage fuelled tangent. Oh Goddess, I near enough called the man a p*****t. What the heck is he going to do now? Is he going to tell my Alpha? Will he make a complaint about the crazy woman who burst into his room uninvited and berated him as he stood there in just a towel?

I’m not even supposed to be here. No one is supposed to see me, that’s the one rule I have to abide by, no exceptions. If the Alpha finds out that I not only got seen by a visiting wolf, but in fact got in his face, poked him and called him names, my a*s will be confined to my room till they leave and then for every future visit we get. Yet despite knowing this, here I am, not only in said visiting pack member’s room, I’m sat having a chat with him like it’s perfectly normal for me to be around people who don’t know me.

I should be high tailing my a*s out of there and hiding until he leaves, but something about him makes me want to stay and when he starts to ask me questions, I can’t stop myself from answering him. Something deep inside me wants to make this man happy, wants him to like me. I don’t know why, usually I don’t worry about if people like me or not. I was raised by the Alpha and his family so I always got treated well by everyone anyway.

I have also never met any strangers before to have to worry about what they thought about me, so this feeling is new and I don’t really know what to do with it.

When he suddenly asks me if I’m mated to someone as a reason for never having seen me before, I actually snort with laughter, which is not my finest moment. Yeah, well done Raelyn, way to show yourself up as the uncultured weirdo you are, but the idea that this man actually thinks I might be mated when I have no wolf is hilarious.

I’m surprised at the look of disappointment that flashes across his face when I say I’ve lived here my entire life, why would that disappoint him?

‘Oh’ he mutters, ‘well I apologise for not noticing you before’ he adds.

I shrug, ‘don’t be’ I reply, ‘I’m pretty forgettable,’ noting his shock I hastily add, ‘because I’m an Omega, we kind of fade into the background don’t we.’

He nods slowly, ‘I suppose’ he agrees, studying me intently, ‘umm, if you don’t mind me asking . . how old are you?’

Aww, he’s blushing! The big bad Beta is blushing about asking my age? Smothering a smile I reply, ‘I’m thirty, I’ll be thirty one in a few months.’

Beta Isaac tries to cover his surprise but fails spectacularly, I know what he’s thinking, how am I still here, most females that don’t get claimed would have been used in a treaty by now, even Omegas were known to be traded.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Our Alpha would never trade a female without her consent, that was one of the things I respected most about him. He insisted on meets between the proposed couple and both had to agree to the mating before he would sign any agreement.

‘How old are you?’ I ask, trying to get past the awkwardness.

Isaac’s demeanor changes slightly, he stiffens at my question, ‘I’m thirty four’ he admits, looking away from me.

Now it’s my turn to be surprised, as the second highest ranked member, I’d have expected him to have picked a chosen by now. Everyone knows that a Beta being mated was as important to a pack as the Alpha. The two of them were exponentially stronger with a mate, even a chosen one. It was unheard of for a Beta to be thirty four and not have a mate already, in fact, I don’t think we’ve ever had a wolf that old come to a claiming hosted by our pack.

I must have been equally bad at hiding my surprise as he grimaces sadly, ‘this is my last mating’ he grumbles, ‘if I don’t find my mate this full moon I will be picking a chosen mate.’

‘Oh’ I reply, unsure how to take that news, part of me isn’t surprised, that is the way of our world, but a small part of me feels a pang of pain at the thought of this man mating and marking a female that isn’t his mate.

I have no idea why this even bothers me; his mating has no effect on my life but for some unknown reason I hate the thought of him not waiting for his mate.

Isaac shrugs casually, ‘it’s time’ he mutters, though he sounds less than thrilled about the idea. ‘I can’t wait forever in the hope my fated mate appears, I . . . uh, my pack and I, we all need a female Beta, it’s the best thing for my members, the best thing for me.’

I’m not sure if he’s trying to convince me or himself but I wisely decide not to argue with him. It’s not my place to tell anyone how to live their life, especially not the Beta of an allied pack.

‘Well’ I say standing up, ‘I hope you find your mate on the full moon.’

He gives me a small smile as he nods, ‘yeah’ he breathes though there is no conviction to his tone, ‘me too.’

I move toward the door, reaching for the door handle before hesitating and turning back to the Beta, not sure why, but feeling the need to cheer him up.

‘Hey’ I call back, smiling at him as his brings his attention back up to me, ‘don’t give up hope OK?’ I offer. ‘Maybe this is your time, the Goddess always has a plan right? Isn’t that what we are always told from when we are a pup? You just have to trust in her, she will lead you to where you are supposed to get too.’

Isaac grins back at me, his body relaxing as he stands up as well and heads back toward the bathroom, turning back to look over his shoulder as I pull the door toward me.

‘I won’t be saying anything to your Alpha’ he suddenly calls out to me, and I spin around quickly to find him once again looking at me with that intense gaze.

‘About this’ he adds, waving a finger between us, ‘the misunderstanding? Just in case you were concerned about it. I have no intention of speaking to your Alpha or the Beta about anything.’

I study him, frowning slightly, ‘why?’ I ask finally, silently kicking myself for not just taking the win.

Isaac shrugs good naturedly, ‘it’s quite refreshing to see someone stand up for the lower ranks’ he admits with a small smile. ‘At my pack, we treat our Omegas fairly, they train, get an education and are spoken to with respect. Not all packs have the same view about lower ranking wolves. It’s really good to see someone stand up for a younger and weaker wolf when it looked like she might be in danger.’

I nod my understanding, before I give him a small wave and slip out of the door, leaving him to finish his shower and get on with his day.

I hurry back to the bookcase, reaching in to release the catch and open it wide enough to slip inside, pulling it closed behind me. Resting my back against the rear of the door and letting out a breath.

The deep brown eyes of Beta Isaac swim into my mind and my heart rate picks up slightly as I remember his chiselled features and flawless body. The man really is a work of art, and whoever he ends up mated to, is going to be a very very lucky she wolf.