Oh Hell No

Chapter 4

She didn't exactly mean to say that out loud, but it was a little late to change it. Her mate didn't seem to hear her, instead being more focused on the people that had just been threatening her. Jamie had always been...conflicted when it came to mates. Sure, they're supposedly your perfect match, someone who will always be there, but that sounds so unreliable. She's known plenty of people that rejected their mates, and even more that had what she perceived as toxic relationships. It couldn't be healthy to rely on one person to be there for you and take care of you.

And plus, why the hell did all the women just throw themselves at their mates, perfectly happy to be toted around like a prize to be won? Maybe some people were okay with that but not her. She had already learned that relying on other people gets you hurt, either because they betray you or endanger you with some stupid plot that you would otherwise have no involvement in.

Alpha Mason put a hand on his shoulder, getting a growl and glare in response, "Ryder, you need to calm down. If she really is your mate then I'm sure we can figure something out," He wasn't the type of alpha that killed every single rogue that dared step foot onto his territory, often offering new rogues a place in his pack. It was the dangerous ones he killed, but Jamie didn't seem overly dangerous and the mate bond could make her trustworthy. Could.

"So we're not gonna talk about Jamie's reaction to them being mates? Okay," Astral points out quietly.

Braxton shifted back, prompting Ryder to tighten his grip on Jamie, "You can't be serious about protecting a murderous rogue, whether she's your mate or not!" Temperamental bitch, Jamie thought to herself.

"You can't be seriously questioning me!" Ryder growled back, "She is my mate, and I won't let any of you so much as touch her! If anyone has a problem with that then you'll have to go through me."

Actually, that might work out in Jamie's favor. They won't attack her so long as she and Ryder are mates, so she should be able to get away. Not right now though, she suspected Ryder wouldn't quit chasing after there, even if she was faster than him. There was also the problem that he was holding her up off the ground so she really couldn't run if she tried. As soon as he let his guard down though, she could simply ask to go for a walk alone, and make a break for it. The last thing she needed was for those idiots to catch up to her. She suspected they were just as persistent as her mate would be.

Ryder buried his face in Jamie's neck to calm himself down, but she reflexively worried that he would try to mark her right there and then. She shoved him away, stumbling slightly as her feet made contact with the ground again. He looked shocked for a moment before frowning. It was clear that most people didn't deny him, verbally or any other way for that matter.

Ignoring him for the moment, she looks towards Mason, "So wait am I like, off the hook or...?" She asked, figuring it best to steer the conversation away from the mate bond before her. Revealing her distaste towards the idea itself could wait, especially if it meant keeping her heart in its rightful place.

"For the most part," Ryder snarls, "I do still want to ask you some questions about your past. The mate bond is important, but I cannot blindly trust that you will not endanger any of my pack members."

"That's fair."

"She won't."

Ryder and Jamie spoke at the same time, glancing at each other afterwards. He was frowning, obviously not liking her answer. One, why would she (possibly) want to hurt one of their pack members? Two, why would she practically admit it and put herself in danger? Her eyes were narrowed, not liking the fact that he tried to answer for her. He didn't even know her, so he couldn't realistically know that she won't harm them, and honestly she didn't know either. Hence why she answered so indecisively.

"Question; are we gonna have this conversation out here or do you want to finish interrogating me somewhere I can sit down?" Wolves may be stronger than humans, but that didn't keep her feet from being sore after putting weight on them for the better part of an hour.

Alpha Mason sighed, "We can go to the pack house, since I'm sure you two will want to get to know each other once I'm done," His eyes glazed over as he sent out a mind-link to his entire pack, letting them know in advance to not attack the rogue, "Chelsie, can you go ahead to clear up some confusion?"

The tan wolf nods and takes off the way she came from. Mason began to lead the way towards the pack house, Jamie, Ryder, Chris, and Braxton in tow. Astral and David ended up going back to the barbeque to explain the situation and hopefully salvage their free day. Braxton didn't trust Jamie enough to leave her with his alpha and the alpha's son and Chris was worried that Brax would try to tear someone's head off.

Not even a minute into the walk there, Jamie noticed Ryder glancing down at her hand. While part of her, the human part, wanted to gag, her wolf, Artemis, insisted that she should take his. As a compromise, she ended up keeping her hands out of her pockets, letting him decide whether he would man up and hold her hand, or chicken out. The side of her not dominated by the Moon Goddess's will hoped he would chicken out. He didn't.

He took her hand, not crushing her hands by any means, but it wasn't the most gentle grip ever. It was firm, almost like he was warning her against pulling away. Desperate, she thought. Confident, her wolf fired back pridefully. She resisted the urge to snort audibly, coming from the one that can't even speak properly.

It was common knowledge that their inner wolves struggled to communicate verbally, but that was never a problem since you could understand your own in an almost empathic way. They'd be pretty useless otherwise. If your wolf takes control while you're in human form it's possible, but it's rare for a wolf to need to talk in the first place.

The walk to their pack house was short, and Jamie could tell Braxton had spent most of the time glaring at her. Good for him. Commitment like that surely takes some effort. Just like the one at her old pack, the house would more-accurately be described as a mansion. Any humans that saw it would probably think the owners were loaded, and they probably were, but that didn't mean it was overly luxurious on the inside. Jamie suspected that all of the bedrooms were taken, meaning she'd probably be forced to share with Ryder. Ew.

"Welcome home, Jamie," Ryder announces, pride brightening his features.

A/N: Forgot to mention in the prologue's A/N, but wolves can't talk very well. The character and their wolf just have such a strong connection that it isn't needed. And besides, regular wolves can't talk at all so saying these ones can is a little weird to me