The Sigma Wolf

Chapter 7 - Neighbors

Diana POV

Susie was too happy not to notice. She is deeply in love with him. What I can see is that he has a special affection towards her. I am not certain if it is the same feeling she feels for him, or something close, because one thing is for sure, those two understand each other better than anyone else I know, even better than Mike and Maggie.

She waved goodbye and I locked the door behind me. I yawned, the long trip yesterday wore me off, and I was ready to cuddle with a mug of coffee in front of the top-of-the-art entertainment system. I know, I was being a party-pooper, but at 8 in the morning, you won't expect me to go around touring campus and meeting new people.

Ten minutes later, I heard the doorbell. Did Susie forget something? It is not unusual for her to be this spaced out, especially when Alan is concerned.

Without looking at who might be on the other side, because let's face it, who the f**k knocks on another’s door at this time in the morning? I opened the door… -“What was it this time? Your wallet or your head?” I said, turning my back immediately.

I heard a growl, and at that moment I realized that it was not my f*****g friend. -“Mate!” A deep voice said, making me shiver and turn myself around.

The guy standing at the door was older than me, he was gorgeous and just my type. He was tall, hunky and had dreamy eyes. My wolf stirred inside me, and kept chanting in my head ´Mate, mate, mate…´ The realization hit me like a ton of bricks… the guy at the door was my mate.

-“Mate…” I whispered, and he gave me a dashing smile, but neither talked nor moved. Behind him, another guy, slightly taller and with strong features spoke,

-“Hi, we are your next-door neighbours. Forgive my friend and his impatience, but when we arrived yesterday, he scented you, and he was determined to knock on your door…” He said, and I chuckled, looking at my embarrassed mate.

-“Knock it off, Ajax…” He grunted his teeth, making the entire thing adorable.

-“Hi, I am Diana…” I extended my hand towards the stranger who spoke.

-.“I am Ajax and this is my friend George, but we call him Gio…” The guy said, before I could shake his hand, Gio growled at him, and pulled me into his embrace.

-“Diana… what a beautiful name…” Gio said while I giggled between his arms.

-“Would you like to come in?” I asked them and they nodded.

I opened the door and pointed at the living room, so we could all sit comfortably. -“Where are you from?” Ajax asked,

-“Arcadia Pack, and you?” I replied politely,

-“Royal…” Gio said, and I nodded. The Royal Pack and Arcadia Pack were neighboring packs, which made the deal ideal because even while living in the heart of the Royal pack, I would be within driving distance from my family.

Gio looked at me, and he sighed -“Can I take you out tonight?” He asked, and I slowly nodded. This was too sudden, too soon, too much… but somehow he made me feel seen and loved.

-“Sure…” I was staring at him deeply when his friend, Ajax, interrupted,

-“Do you live alone?” He said, inhaling the air and looking around.

-“No… of course not… I have three roommates and best friends: Susie, Mike, and Mags…” I said, and he nodded… she was looking around as if he was searching for something or someone. “We have been friends since childhood…” I replied and he nodded.

Ajax kept looking around, and the conversation died down until Mike walked out of his room looking like a homeless person. -” Hey, good Lord! We have been here for less than a day, and you have two gorgeous guys on the couch… way to go Di!” Mike was being Mike, and I couldn't help but chuckle at his antics.

-“Mike, this is Gio, my mate…” I said and he lifted his eyebrows…

-“And the gorgeous hunk next to him?” Mike asked, clearly making Ajax uncomfortable.

-“Ajax, his friend and they are our neighbors…” I informed Mike.

-“Nice to meet you…” Mike said, and I saw Ajax inhale deeply… I realized he was scenting our apartment...

-“Who does smell like jasmine and lemongrass?” He asked, the weirdest question of this bizarre morning. Could it be that either Mags or Susie were his mates?

-"Susie?” Mike quickly replied. He was still sleepy and clueless about details.

-“Susie…” I saw Ajax whisper her name.

-“Where is she? Don't tell me she is still sleeping?” Mike asked me.

-“The opposite… she is out and about already…” I said and Mike lifted his eyebrows, and then laughed… Ajax was confused, while Gio took my hand and started playing with my fingers.

-“How about we go out to have some breakfast… and maybe your mate and his friend can show us around… we need some groceries…” Mike proposed, and I looked at Gio.

-“Of course… I can show you around…” He said, looking at Ajax, and he slowly nodded. I could see that Ajax had a strong temperament and a guy of few words.

-“Gio can show you around… I have training…” Ajax said, while Gio gave him a strange look. “But we can have breakfast… call all your friends, it will be our welcome gift as your new neighbors…” Ajax finished.

Mike clapped, “I will go and get Maggie…”

-“Are you going to call your other friend?” Gio asked, and I shook my head. Not in a million years would I dare bother Susie… she was with Alan, the love of her life.

Ajax POV

Her scent was strong and lingering around. I could tell she was not in the apartment, but who the f**k goes out at 8 in the morning in a strange city?

When Diana introduced the rest of their group, I could tell they were a tight group of friends. The guy, Mike, clearly was more feminine than the girls, so he must be one of those gay friends the girls include in their sororities.

Overall, we will have four neighbors; Maggie, Mike, Diana -Gio's mate-, and Susie, my mate. My wolf can't wait to see her, to meet her… I, on the other hand, am curious but not that eager. I don't want to stop my dreams because I found her. As soon as my father or the council find out about my mate, they would be all over me, forcing me to go back, and I was not ready to lose my freedom.

-“So, shall we go?” I asked the group, and they all nodded.

-“Where are you from?” Mike asked, and I squinted my eyes. Didn't he recognize us? I was the future king and my image appeared every other week in the tabloids.

-“Royal Pack…” Gio replied quickly, Mike. Then he mind-linked me: ´They don't seem to know who we are, let's roll as commoners, and then we can tell them…´ He said,

I tightened my lips, I didn't know if hiding our true identity was the way to go, especially with our mates. I understood why he wanted to keep that information a little longer. As soon as people find out who we are, they act strange, or women start flirting or doing inappropriate s**t… I was all in for normalcy.

-“Wow, that is the biggest pack around…” Mike said, but then Maggie slapped the back of his head,

-“You i***t, ours is the second largest… they are not that further apart…” Maggie rolled her eyes at Mike, clearly not enjoying his dramatic demeanor.

We made our way down the elevator and into my SUV. It was big enough for all of us to sit comfortably. Gio asked me for the keys, he wanted to drive his mate around, and, of course, I was pushed to the back seat, allowing him to be next to her. I was annoyed, but at the same time, I could make small sacrifices for my friend's happiness.

I was in the back of the SUV, taking the entire third row. I was not interested in their friendly banter nor their inside jokes until Mike bit back at Maggie with a loud… -“Gosh, you are such a Gracie…” - making Maggie shiver and make a puking sound.

-“I am guessing you are not fond of the Alpha family…” I said, and they looked at me with weird expressions, then they laughed. I was not happy to be made fun of, but I wanted to find more about them, and perhaps about my mate.

-“ Alpha Leo is a great Alpha, but is blindsided by Luna and her daughters…” Mike paused. “Gracie is a major manipulator and a super-villain b***h… while the youngest girls are just two carbon copies of Gracie…” Mike said,

-“So a nice Alpha with an entire family of mean girls…” I said and Mike shook his head…

-“All but one…” Diana said and that caught my attention. I didn't realize that Diana was taking part in the conversation.

-“Yeah, all but one…” Mike sighed… “And that one daughter makes up for the entire family. She is hilarious, caring and kind… She is the best friend anyone can have… She is passionate about everything, full of life and has a mean sense of humor. She is strong-willed, and she can get into trouble faster than sneezing…” Mike said,

-“And don't forget her originality… everyone can see how special she is, but herself.” Maggie said, and was about to say something else when I interrupted them.

-“You know a lot about her” I said, curiosity getting the best out of me.

- “Of course, Susie is the best…” Mike said, and my heart raced. Susie? As in the girl that is sharing their apartment and potentially is my mate? Damn it… now I will be dragged back to my pack. Definitely.

We stopped on the first place Gio wanted to show them,it was just a couple of blocks aways from our building. As soon as I stepped out of the SUV, I was not so sure about meeting my mate anymore… “I will walk back… I forgot I have something to do…” I said and Gio lifted his eyebrows, he knew I had nothing else to do,

´Are you alright?´he asked through our link.

´Yeah, just not feeling like ging aorund town anymore…´ he knew there was something else, but thankfully he decided not to press.

´You can´t avoid the innevitable, Ajax… Just keep that in mind…´ he said, and with that I turned around. He was right, I would be meeting her soon, thankfully not today.