Mates: Melanie's Warrior

Chapter 12

~Melanie~

I can’t believe this; I mean, who does this happen to besides me? Not only was that asshat outside of the ring ready to bother me more, but my supposed mate was there as well. Did he think that he would say ‘mate’ and that would make me melt? I’m not that easy or hard up to find my mate. Actually, I don’t want to find him at all. The mate bond is not to be trusted, and I learned that the hard way.

Brooklyn started walking ahead of me with Shanice. Sparks on my arm stop me in my tracks, and my arm is pulled. I turn to him, trying to dampen the impact that this stupid bond is having on me.

You just said it yourself; the bond is having an impact on you. You know this bond is real.

I don’t know s**t! I know that we’ve been through this before, and it was all bulls**t.

That wasn’t the same, and you know it. If you’d ju- I throw a block up. Winnie has been at this all day, and I’m sick of it. I don’t want to hear anything else about this supposed bond. I’m perfectly content with my life as it is.

I pull my arm from his grasp and take a deep breath. I pop my hip out and cross my arms over my chest. He should get to it if he has something to say because I’m not impressed. I’m definitely not impressed with the muscles all over his well-toned body. I don’t care about his stringy hair that I want to shampoo and run my fingers through or the beard I want to rub my face over. I could care less about those dark gray eyes piercing through me.

I swallow and tighten my arms around my body. I can feel tiny shivers go through me, but I know it isn’t because I’m cold. I need to find a way to keep my body from betraying me, but it seems to be winning right now. “What?!”

“What? Is that all you have to say to me, what? I know you can feel it.” He takes a step forward, and I take a step back. Our eyes never leave each others. He takes another step forward while I take a step back. He starts to smirk, and I swear that irks me even more than everything else about him. “Playing hard to get?” I huff.

“I’m not playing at anything, to be honest. What do you want? I just completed my last battle of the day and want to relax.”

“Maybe we can relax together and get to know each other. I’m also done for the day, so I’m free.” I roll my eyes and try to keep them in the same position, not letting them roam over his luscious body.

“You are free to do what you like, but it won’t be with me. Are we done here or…..” I don’t wait for a response. I turn and walk quickly to catch up to Shanice and Brooklyn. A big shiver runs through my body, and I ask the Goddess to spare me the embarrassment of everyone scenting my arousal. The bond may not be trustworthy, but that is a juicy man, and there’s no denying that.

~Geoff~

I’m stunned….like completely stunned. I can’t even be mad because she’s everything. She’s feisty and sarcastic. She’s intelligent and sexy. I’d imagine she’s sweet as hell too. I lucked out in a major way; I just need to figure out how to get her to agree.

I feel a clap on my back, and I jerk away, getting in a fighting stance. A man is standing there watching Melanie hurry off. I notice a mark on his neck, so I know he’s mated, but I have no idea what the hell he wants from me. “So you’re mated to Melanie, huh? She’s going to take a lot of work.”

I straighten up and look at the man. “Who are you, exactly?” He holds his hand out.

“I’m Jax Percy, the Beta of Summit Mountain, and your mate is Melanie Richmond, our Gamma.” I relax and take his hand. This man knows my mate and may just be able to help me figure out what to do. “Look, Melanie would probably kill me if she knew I was talking to you, but I love her too much not to do it. I think you need to know a few things about Melanie.”

I look around and see no one near us. I’m, honestly, shocked. Who would think they’d be able to get inside information on their fated mates? Whatever he tells me should help in getting me closer to her. “Are you sure you want to do that? This could ruin your relationship with her.” Jax sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

“I’ve been thinking about that since she told me she had found her mate. I love Melanie like a sister, and I’m fiercely loyal to her. I also promised always to protect her and keep her safe. At this point, I feel I need to protect her from herself. Yeah, things may go badly for me, but what else can I do? I can’t sit back and let her do this to herself. She deserves all the happiness in the world, and if I can help her get it, I want to do that.” I nod and start to walk. I know Jax is following me.

“We should find somewhere to talk. Let me ask though, the kid……is that hers?” Jax laughs.

“No, that’s her charge and bestie in some ways. She’s our Alphas’ daughter. The moment Melanie met her, she was lost. She knew she wanted to protect her with her life.”

“Uh, shouldn’t she be protecting the Luna?” I may have been a rogue for much of my life, but I know that Gammas are usually responsible for protecting the Lunas. I find it interesting that, as a Gamma, Melanie’s focused on a kid instead.

“Yeah, about that…..” I look at Jax, and he has a grin on his face. “Our pack doesn’t have a Luna.”

“Oh, your Alpha hasn’t found his mate yet?” Jax chuckles, and I’m officially lost.

“Our Alpha found HER mate, and he had a daughter. Turns out that both of them are of Alpha blood, so we have two Alphas and no Luna.” Wow, a woman Alpha. I have to respect that, honestly. If you can do the job, you should hold the title, which is not dependent on gender.

“I would love to meet these Alphas. They would be a good team to have on my roster.” Jax slaps my back again.

“I’m so glad you said that. If you were one of those small-minded people who felt women shouldn’t lead, I’d tell you to cut your losses now because Melanie would in no way entertain your ass.” I definitely get that vibe from her.

“I grew up in a pack like that where women weren’t valued. No woman would ever hold a ranked position and the Luna wasn’t even treated as anything more than a trophy wife. I never agreed with that treatment or that assessment of women.” I would never expect my mate to act less than just because she was a woman. I value everything about a strong female.

We make it to a deserted picnic table. I figured things would be empty since they were wrapping up the festivities for the day. The night before the final event, there will be a big party. They want to make sure they get people before they leave. I sit and indicate the spot across from me for Jax to occupy. “So tell me what I need to know about my mate.”