Chapter Revelation
It was five o’clock and he stood at the entrance to the back garden. He had never been so nervous in his life. He did not know why he was letting it get to him, this was not his first date. But admittedly, this felt different, it felt more important. He wondered if she would show up at all and give him an opportunity to apologize for his ways. He wanted to get to know her. The real her. Not what he had been led to believe.
He hoped that tonight could be the start of building some trust between them. He had thought long and hard about what he truly wanted. Once he came to a decision, he knew exactly what he had to do. He needed to win her over. He needed to fix his mistakes. There was no time to waste.
He had planned a lavish picnic at the back of their garden. There was a large, ornate fountain back there that depicted two lovers in an embrace. He had always thought that this would be a great place for a date, with the right girl of course. He had a feeling that SHE was the right girl.
He looked down at his watch and noted that the time was five minutes after five. She was a few minutes late, but that was no reason for concern just yet. There were many reasons why she may be a little late. He needed to calm himself down. He did not want to give her any cause for concern, and he certainly did not want her to sense how nervous he truly was.
Several minutes later, he could hear the distinct click of heels coming down the stone path. He brushed the imaginary dust off himself and smoothed down his collared, button-up shirt. Then took a deep breath. A smile spread across his face, and he watched for her, waiting for her to round the corner.
His excitement was immediately deflated when the person that he least expected walked up to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and attempted to kiss his lips. At the last second, he turned to the side, forcing her to make contact with his cheek instead. She frowned but did not let it deter her.
“It is so good to see you, Farris.” She cooed.
“It is Alpha Farris.” He corrected her, as he removed her arms from around him. “What are you doing here, Sauda?”
Farris was extremely confused. He had delivered that bouquet to Mystique’s door, personally. How had his invitation ended up in Sauda’s claws? There must have been some terrible mistake. How would he ever explain this?
“What do you mean? I received your invitation this morning.”
“You received it?” He questioned almost more to himself than to her.
“Yes, it was delivered to the mutt by mistake, and she brought it over to me. She’s a good little servant really. Maybe we should consider letting her work in the pack house for us. Remind her where she truly belongs, serving her superiors.” Sauda laughed as if she had just said the most amusing thing in the entire world.
Farris, however, was not amused by her statement. Not at all. Her words infuriated him to no end, and it took everything inside of him not rip her to shreds where she stood. No one was allowed to disrespect his mate. Not anymore.
“Watch your mouth, Sauda!” He barked.
Sauda gaped at him in astonishment. She clearly had expected a different reaction.
“You are not to speak about Mystique in such a manner. You are NOT her superior!”
“What the hell has gotten into you, Farris? Why do you keep protecting that mutt all of the sudden?” Sauda pressed, her eyes narrowing in accusation.
“I said to call me Alpha.” He reminded her with a growl. “And you will not speak so disrespectfully about my mate.”
“YOUR MATE?!” Sauda cried in astonishment.
Farris paused for a moment, surprised by what he had just done. Word would definitely get out about his relationship to Mystique now. Everyone knew that Sauda could not be trusted with a secret. She was a gossip queen. He knew that the pack would find out eventually, but he was hoping to leave the choice in Mystique’s hands. He wanted her to have control in their relationship to make up for the lack of control that had always been her life. But this part, was out of both of their hands at this point.
“Yes, Sauda.” He sighed. “Mystique is my mate and your future Luna.”
“You cannot be serious!” Sauda accused. “You cannot really be thinking of making her Luna!”
“Why not? She is my mate, after all.”
“Because she is a mutt! No one will respect you for this decision!”
Farris growled in response, unable to control his reaction on this matter. Nervousness could be seen flashing in Sauda’s eyes, but she quickly righted herself, prepared to stand firm in this matter. She did not want to see the mutt as Luna. She could not imagine bowing down to her or being forced to offer respect that she did not actually feel.
“They have no say in the matter. The Moon Goddess has paired us. They will give her the same respect that I receive.” Farris responded, confidently.
“You can reject her.” Sauda stated, flatly.
“I will not do that, Sauda.” Farris was growing more irritated by the moment.
He had been more than understanding up until this point, but he was losing his patience.
“What would your father think, Farris? He would never stand for this!” Sauda charged.
“My father’s opinion is none of your concern.” Farris ground out through clenched teeth. “He is not the Alpha any longer.”
“I cannot believe that you would do this to me, Farris! To the pack!” Sauda cried.
“I have done nothing to the pack except provide them with a Luna!” Farris roared back.
“We will see about that.” Sauda promised, her words dripping with menace.
Then without another word, she turned on her heel and stomped back towards the house. Farris threw back his head and yelled to the sky. Why was this so difficult? Should it not be simpler than all of this? He trudged towards the back of the garden with his shoulders slumped. Since Mystique was not coming then he did not need the picnic anymore. He went to clean it up while contemplating how it had all gone so wrong.
He had wanted to reach out to Mystique but all he had done was piss off Sauda. He did not mind so much that Sauda was angry, he found that part rather amusing. His only apprehension with that was that she could now tell everyone in the pack about his connection to Mystique before the two of them had even had a chance to talk.
He would have to approach Mystique soon with a more direct invitation. He needed to be certain that she understood that he had no intentions on rejecting her. He just had to decide exactly how he wanted to do it. So far, his attempts at being romantic had not gone according to plan. He could only hope that he would be better prepared next time.