The Wannabe Warrior

Chapter 9

Zane POV

Then the doors opened, and my heart skipped a beat, as Matilda walked in with the most enchanting woman ever seen, my mate. She wore a long blue gown, her hair flowing over her shoulders with a sparkling diamond clip holding it out of her eyes. I noted she towered over Matilda and glancing down could see she had flat shoes. Wow, my girl is tall for a woman. Her scent was intoxicating, my father’s hand landed on my shoulder and I knew it was his warning to stay calm and wait for Madison to come to our table.

At first, it looked like Madison was going to sit beside her brother, and then her eyes glazed over, and I knew she had received a mind-link. Noted, it was Graham. She changed her direction and, to my surprise, sat next to me, Blaze was jumping up and down, happy he could smell his mate and close enough to touch her. Keeping my hands to myself was torture and I wanted so much to just grab her and kiss her till her lips were swollen, and my tongue entered her mouth and to taste her.

I looked at Graham, he was staring at me, I mouthed a “thank you” to him, and he nodded back and mouthed “Don’t hurt her.” I nodded back, my understanding.

‘Good evening, Alpha.’ my mate greeted my dad, and he greeted her back with a soft smile.

‘Good evening, Zane.’ Her voice is music to my ears.

‘Hello, mate.’ I replied softly. Looking at her, I saw her squirm uncomfortably at my stare.

‘Madison, I understand you have to go out and do the job you have come here to do, but don’t put yourself at risk. I don’t want to lose you. Before, we had even had a chance to get to know each other.’ I say this with tenderness. Though that is the last thing I want to say, I know it is only me who does not want her to go out.

‘Thank you, Zane, I will do my best. If it puts your mind at ease, I have been told quite firmly, by my father and Alpha, that the fighting is not why I am here and, unless we are attacked, to leave the fighting to the men, and not to risk myself, as replacing a tracker is harder to do than finding warriors.’ She replies as she grabs some meat and places it on her plate.

‘That is wise of your father and Alpha.’ My dad says before I can respond to her comment. ‘We did have trouble finding good trackers. You are the only one I could get sent here, and believe me when I say, I phoned every single pack Alpha and pleaded for at least one tracker. Our trackers are good, but the area to cover is really great. I am interested to see how you fare with the task ahead, and after all the praise I have received, on how great a tracker you are, you have some mighty big praise to fill.’ Dad says jokingly.

This was the hardest, yet sweetest time I have had in a long time. Hard, because I want to grab her and kiss her and make her mine, sweetest because I get to listen to her lovely voice, and smell her addictive scent and, every now and then, brush my hand on hers or our legs touch and tingles go running up my leg.

‘Madison, will you walk with me in the gardens? I would like to talk and get to know you.’ I asked politely, using all the restraint I could muster not to just grab her by the hand and lead her out the door.

She looks over to her brother, who is standing up and coming over to us. He gives her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He whispers something to her, too low for me to hear what he says before he gives her another hug and leaves the room.

‘Sure, why not, we have to, but let me tell you right here and now, I will not stop doing my job, just because you are my mate’ she says defiantly. I nod, loop her arms through mine, and head out the door.

The night is cool, with a soft breeze, winter is almost over, and the moon is a crescent moon, sitting just above the mountains. My arm is tingling with Madison’s touch and I love every step we take in the garden. I could not have been happier than I was at that moment, as I walked with my mate by my side. I did not speak at first, not really wanting to break this feeling. Then Madison started talking.

‘I remember walking on a night like this, not so long ago, my dad was taking me to my first dance at the pack-house hall. I was scared out of my wits. I don’t mind the company of men, when I have to do patrols with them, to dance with them? Not so much’ she half giggled to herself at something I could not see.

‘Do you dance?’ I ask, now, she has given me an opening.

‘Yeah. I did not have much choice. I was in dance classes when I was little and before mum died and when she died, Dad wanted me to continue to go, even though I thought it was a waste of time. What good was dancing? It wouldn’t save you from an attack.’ She replied remorsefully.

‘Dance helps with your endurance, and helps make you light on your feet. Doing things through muscle memory is why we train as hard as we do. It is not just being able to fight, we train our bodies to do things without thought or second guesses. The less we have to worry about in a fight, the more time we have to actually watch for openings and win. Your dancing may have also helped you with your tracking. You need to be quiet when getting close to your prey, and also, move away from trouble quickly, jump over logs, and under low tree branches. All this is not just strength but flexibility. Don’t put learning to dance as a bad thing. I believe if we made all the warriors take some dance lessons, it would improve their movement, though getting them to join in dance classes may be a little difficult.’ I chuckle and pat her arm in affection, and she looks up at me with shining eyes, I think for a moment she's maybe fighting away tears, and I regret asking such a simple question that might have led to the tears in her lovely eyes.

She smiled at me, blinking back the tears, and my heart melted, that smile was sincere and full of emotions. I sigh glad that it was aimed at me at last and the night was looking up already.

We walked for a little longer, swapping small stories of childhood memories that were of happy times. For how long did we walk? I cannot say being with my mate made me lose track of everything around me and I don’t want it to end anytime soon.

She shivers and I realize it is getting late and colder. I take off my jacket and place it over her shoulders.

‘Come, let us get you back to your room, so you can get warm and head to bed. You have an early start in the morning, meeting with Mitch can be intense.’ He chuckles as he walks her to her room.

I whisper a ‘goodnight’ and leave once her door closes. I want to be in that meeting tomorrow and hear what and where and who, so I know exactly where she will be and what likely danger she will be in.