DIMITRI POV
I nearly growled out loud at the sound of someone knocking on my door. However, a bigger part of me was relieved. What was I thinking?
"You were thinking that you wanted to be close to our mate." Ajax said.
"Shut up. I don't." I snapped.
I yanked the door open and this time I did growl. As if I needed another headache right now.
"Hello Dimitri." Jennine purred.
"What the hell do you want Jennine?" I snapped.
I hadn't forgotten what she did earlier today. She must really think highly of herself to attack Lily the way she did. To say I had been pissed was putting it mildly. Ajax had been begging me to let him out to teach her her place. It took a lot for me to keep him in this morning. The only thing that calmed him down was watching Lily handle herself. And she handled herself alright. Not many pack members stood up Jennine and her friends. I'd felt pride for my mate this morning, just like I had a few minutes ago when she said what she had about standing by the pack members.
Jennine stepped into my office like she had an open invitation to do so.
"I thought we'd have some fun." She smiled and fluttered his lashes at me. I almost rolled my eyes.
I felt anger coming from my mate and I glanced in her direction. She was giving Jennine a look so cold, I was surprised she didn't turn to ice under her stare. So much for not being jealous.
"Not in the mood Jennine. Especially with you." I said.
She laughed, the sound grating my eardrums. "Oh come on baby. You know you-"
It was that moment she noticed Lily. Her eyes narrowed into slits and the smile dropped from her face.
"What is she doing here?" Jennine hissed.
"Let me out! I need to teach this slut a lesson!" Ajax snarled.
"Calm down! I'll handle it."
"She's here because she had something to discuss with me. Furthermore, this is our floor. She lives up here too. Not that any of that is your business. However, it's actually good that you're here Jennine." I leaned down so we were eye level. "Care to explain why you attacked my mate this morning?" I asked.
Her eyes went wide and she started to look nervous.
"I...I..."
"Spit it out already."
Planting her feet, she met my eyes.
"She's not good enough Dimitri. Look at her! She's small and useless. She will never be a good Luna for our pack. She will never be good enough for you!"
With one move, I had her pinned against the wall by her throat. Her legs dangled, trying to find grip where there wasn't any. I squeezed, cutting off her air.
"You will not speak that way about your Luna. I've let you get away with so much for far too long Jennine. You think you're very high and mighty, but don't forget your place. You will respect me and you will respect Lily, or there will be consequences. Do I make myself clear?" I growled.
She made a squeaking sound that I took as confirmation and I dropped her. She dropped to the floor, her hand going to her throat.
"Oh, and one more thing. You are not my girlfriend. If I hear you telling one more person you are, I will personally throw you in the dungeon myself. You were an easy fuck, that's all." I snarled. Jennine looked at me with tears in her eyes but I couldn't care less. Shakily, she got to her feet and fled; I slammed the door behind her. Good riddance.
A small whimper had me turning my attention to my mate. She stood off to the side now, probably to avoid Jennine's body when I slammed into the wall. The look on her face though sent me into automatic alert mode.
"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked.
She just shook her head, taking a tiny step back.
"You idiot. You scared her!" Ajax said.
"Huh?"
"Remember how she arrived here? Obviously she was abused at that pathetic excuse for a pack. And you just went all Big Bad Alpha in front of her."
"Oh."
There was definitely fear in her eyes. She was shaking too. An unfamiliar feeling crept up on me; It took me a second to put a name to it. Regret. I felt regret for scaring my mate? I never felt regret for anything.
"She needs to toughen up. I'm an Alpha. I'll do what I have to in order to ensure my pack stays in line."
"Wow. You really are an asshole Dimitri."
Ajax retreated to the back of my mind. At the same time, Lily threw the door open and ran from the office. Literally ran. More regret ran through me but I shoved it down. What did she expect from the cruelest Alpha after all? Sitting down at my desk, I went back to my work. However, my mind kept replaying her face. Why did it bother me so much that she openly feared me? Many people feared me. I didn't care. perhaps it would stop her from coming into my office unannounced and yelling at me.
But no matter how I justified my actions, the urge to go and see if Lily was okay wouldn't go away. I drowned myself in paperwork well into the evening. Or I tried to. After reading the same page a dozen times, I finally gave up. Sleep is what I needed. Locking the door behind me, I made my way to my room. Pausing with my hand on the knob, I glanced at Lily's door. Tomorrow night she would shift. And the mate bond would start to become more forceful between us. Ajax had been going on all week about how excited he was to meet his mate, his other half. He couldn't wait for tomorrow night, but me... I wasn't sure about it.
Alpha Theo told had me Lily was an Omega. Weak. It was confusing that I would have a weak mate, given that I was an Alpha. But if she made me stronger, what did I care? I'd intrigued about her past, but he couldn't give me much. Just that they adopted her when she was a kid, and she didn't know where she came from. They assumed she was an orphan and she never mentioned her parents or what pack she was from. She looked weak, but that could be because of her lack of care. She certainly didn't act weak. On the contrary, she was rather sassy.
Shaking my head, I went into my room. The girl occupied far too much of my mind today, resulting in me getting absolutely nothing done. I took off my clothes, save my boxers, and climbed into bed. Sleep came lazily, and I was almost there when images of what having Lily in my bed would be like. Having her under me, or on top of me. I groaned loudly. I'd never get to sleep if she kept invading my mind!
"It's because she's close to her shift." Ajax said. "You could embrace it you know. The bond."
"I thought you were ignoring me?" I grumbled.
"Just think about it Dimitri. She's our mate. Ours. And I don't want to lose her."
"We're not going to lose her."
"Really? Did you see her face today?"
The image flashed in my mind for the ten millionth time.
"Keep going like this, and you will lose her. And then it won't matter why you chose to bring her here, because she'll be gone."