WANTED by the ALPHA

Nine

"When are you going to stop sulking?"

"Leave me alone" Evan mumbled walking past him. He was acting like a five-year-old because he found his mate but they weren't what he expected.

Caspian had been furious when he'd thought Celeste was Evan's mate. His wolf had been ready to go for the kill but luckily that wasn't the case. His reasoning was that if she had turned out to be his beta's mate, he should have been informed. To justify his anger, he'd said he was only angry because he thought they'd let her leave with someone who wasn't her mate. It was a lame excuse but Evan was too absorbed in his problems to care. Apparently, he'd been on patrol when he came across a rogue wolf who just happened to be his mate. His rogue status wasn't the problem. It was the fact that he was a man and not a woman. He was torn between claiming him and rejecting him because he wasn't his ideal type.

"Why him?" He asked from the chair he'd been in for the last two hours. Ever since Caspian had asked for the truth, the i***t had treated him as his therapist and poured out all his worries. Now he regretted worrying about him.

"What is wrong with having a man as your mate? At least you found him"

"Yeah, but what am I supposed to do with him? How are we going to have pups?"

Caspian threw a small eraser at him "Stop being an asshole and claim him so he can have a pack. Did you even ask why he's a rogue or you just took one look at him and ran in the opposite direction?"

"That's something else I don't understand. Why a rogue? Out of all the wolves out there, why him?"

"Why not? The moon goddess doesn't make a mistake. Aren't you worried? What if something happens to him out there?"

Evan sat up with a start "Something like what? He's big and he can look after himself. Right?"

"How should I know? I've never met him"

"He's beautiful. His eyes and..... and....."

"And?" Caspian probed

"I can't accept him but the thought of rejecting him hurts like a b***h. What am I going to do?" He whined lying back down.

"Ask Sid. He has a lot of experience when it comes to dating" Evan was out of his office so fast that Caspian blinked in surprise.

It was clear his beta wanted to accept his mate but was worried about how others would see him. In truth, when it came to mates, gender didn't matter. As long as the bond was there and two people recognized each other, no one would question them. Evan was being an ass because he'd envisioned the perfect life with a woman only to find out it was a man. He'd need a bit of time and a little push to switch his definition of his ideal mate. What Caspian wouldn't do was allow him to reject the poor guy. There werewolves who weren't so lucky. Some howled in pain when they found out their other half had died or mated to someone else because they'd given up looking for them. He considered that bond sacred, which was why he'd stopped his foolishness before it cost him his mate.

The rest of the month went by quickly. As each day passed, he thought less and less about her and more and more about Isolde. Their life had gone back to normal, with him starting the day by making love to her then proceed to miss her throughout so that by evening, he craved her like a starved man would food. Of course, once in a while, thoughts of that witch caught him unaware. He wondered how she was and if she was happy living with the rogues. One time he thought of asking Evan to introduce him to his mate just so he'd ask how she was. Marmon was the leader of the rogues so there was no doubt the rest would know his mate. In his opinion, they weren't suited but there was nothing he could do. Maybe if she'd been a wolf, he would have offered her a place in his pack.....

Caspian shook his head to clear those unwelcomed thoughts. How that woman lived her life didn't concern him. What he should be worried about was the attack the rogues were launching recently. An image of him tearing Marmon to pieces crossed his mind. He pushed it to the darkest corner of his mind. Word had it that they'd attacked the Boldfur Manes, Jarom's pack. Since they had all been against signing a peace treaty, Caspian couldn't give a s**t about them. He'd offered his help and they'd declined it therefore were on their own. What worried him was Brec's pack. It was still small and wouldn't be able to defend themselves. But as much as they were allies, the other Alphas were bound to refuse to send help, claiming they would be left defenseless.

As an Alpha, he understood their concerns but as a friend, it didn't sit well with him. So he had sent a few of his enforcers to the Darkmoon as a precaution. He would be a few warriors short but the remaining ones would still be able to protect the pack just fine. That was what he thought. Until a rogue arrived with a piece of disturbing news. His warriors at the gate hadn't had a chance with him. It turned out he was strong enough to take them out but he hadn't. Instead, he'd asked to see the Alpha. If Caspian wasn't impressed by his strength, he would have killed him on the spot.

"This better be important or I'll use your skin as my bathroom rug"

Unfazed, he'd said "My name is Enid and I'm here to warn you about the trouble that's coming your way"

"Why would a rogue warn me about what his fellow rogues are planning?" He had looked at the warriors and enforcers behind him, from one to the next then stopped when his eyes landed on the person standing next to him. Evan.

"Because I want to join your pack and I thought bringing this kind of information would help everyone accept me"

"We can't trust him Caspian," Sid said puffing out his chest "What if he's a spy?"

"I assure you that I am not a spy"

"Yeah, we'll just trust your word filthy rogue. How stupid do you think we are?"

Caspian kept his eyes on his beta, watching his reaction. Evan balled his hands when Sid called Enid a filthy rogue. He wanted to defend his mate, his wolf wanted to beat Sid for disrespecting Enid, especially since he was inferior when it came to rank but Evan was fighting it. Maybe his mate could see that he wasn't ready to tell anyone about the bond they shared. That's why he'd given them another excuse for going there. Although, it wasn't necessarily an excuse. When Evan accepted him, they would have to live there because there was no way he'd become a rogue. No matter how strong their bond was, Evan was a beta. He would only ever change his status to Alpha and nothing below that.

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"This way, let's talk in my office," Caspian said making Evan clench his jaw. Why was that damn i***t so welcoming to strangers? For once couldn't he just tell him they weren't looking for new members or some other believable s**t?

But then again Caspian wasn't foolish. Somehow he'd figured out who Enid was. Otherwise, he wouldn't allow him to step foot in their territory. What was he supposed to do especially when the other man's scent was so tantalizing that it had his wolf jumping up and down in excitement ready to mark him? Their first encounter had happened when Marmon came for that troublemaker Celeste. Evan hadn't liked that witch for a reason. If she hadn't shown up on their doorstep, he wouldn't have met Enid. He'd been one of the rogues waiting at the back in case something happened to their leader. The plan was to take a few hostages until Celeste agreed to go with them.

Evan who had been lounging in his office had caught a whiff of his scent and followed it. The joy at finally finding his mate had quickly disappeared, replaced by disappointment that he was a man. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined something like that happening. His first instinct had been to reject him there and then. Since they hadn't mated or marked each other, breaking the bond would hurt but they'd survive it. However, his wolf wouldn't allow it and honestly, he didn't have the heart to do it. So he'd left without saying anything. Enid had come back a few times and made it clear that he would do anything to be by his side. Evan hadn't believed it until today. Quietly he followed them to the office, too conflicted to say anything. Along the way, he noticed how the unmated females looked at Enid.

"Hey handsome, let's have some fun later," Morgana said winking at him. Evan growled low in his throat. Luckily Caspian coughed at the same time, masking his little slip and confirming his earlier suspicion. That fucker knew who Enid was.

"I don't think I introduced myself. I'm Caspian" he said sitting behind his desk. Evan looked at the two chairs opposite Caspian. Enid took one and before he could make a decision, Sid pushed him onto the other one.

"Your reputation precedes you"

"I would hope so. Let's get down to business then. What kind of trouble were you talking about?"

"I'm sure you've heard of the trouble rogues are causing of late"

"Yes, what about it? It's not something new. We've dealt with rogues....."

Evan zoned them out. He couldn't concentrate on what they were talking about while sitting so close to him. How did Caspian do it? How did he manage to keep his hands off Isolde for even a second? His were itching to reach out to him, so much so that it took everything to keep them on his lap. If Cas allowed him to stay, sooner or later the whole pack would know they were mates. He'd been there for less than an hour and Evan wanted to..... No. He wouldn't let himself think about it. What would the others think? Don't think about it. He warned himself. The sound of a chair scraping against the floor snapped his attention back to the present.

"....meet me at the field Sid" Caspian ordered "Evan, stay here and keep an eye on our guest. I might have allowed him to come to our house but I don't trust him" then he was out the door with Saige on his heels. When had she arrived? Or had she come in with them?

"You look well. Really well" Enid said turning to him. He wanted to say something witty back but words failed him "Do you honestly don't want me here? I risked my neck because I didn't want you to be caught unaware and get hurt"

"Thank you for your concern"

"I don't want your gratitude, I want you to look at me"

"Don't...."

"What? Don't what? Want you? Want your attention and acknowledgment?"

"You have to understand that I wasn't expecting this. s**t, I feel like your appearance just turned my world upside down. How is this even supposed to work? I want a family..." He trailed off because Enid had just touched him. The hand at the back of his neck pulled him closer. Evan thought the way his heart hammered in his chest was ridiculous and that he ought to push those hands away but for the life of him, he couldn't bring himself to do so.

"I will not allow you to push me away or even think of rejecting me" he hissed before meshing their lips together.

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Raise your hand if you like Enid. He's definitely my kind of guy. I think you guys will love how he handles that stubborn head Evan.