A Royal Mate

I collapsed onto his chest lying there as our breathing slowed and our heart beats synced as one. I picked my head up and looked into his beautiful blue eyes with sorrow. He noticed my change in mood and immediately pulled me up and rolled us to our sides wrapping me in a hug. "What's wrong beautiful?"

My eyes swelled with tears as I said "I'm so sorry, Jack. I'm sorry about everything. I...I...don't really have an excuse for what I did, but I promise I will never run away from you again."

"I don't know what happened to you before I met you but it's in the past. You are my mate, no matter what."

I nodded my head and smiled at him. His phone rang interrupting our moment. He closed his eyes and sighed reaching for the phone on his nightstand. "Hello...I'm fine Austin...Yes we will be there later today...No I think it is a little early for that...Goodbye." He hung up and looked back at me.

"What was that about?"

"Austin said the pack members and the council are requesting our presence at the pack house."

"I bet they have been worried about you. They will probably hate me for being the cause of your absence."

He chuckled and said "No. In fact they can't wait to meet you."

I looked at him with a surprised expression on my face. "Why are they so excited to meet me?"

"They can't believe they will have a Royal for their Luna." He said as he got out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

My eyes widened at his response. How did he know I was a Royal? My mind was whirling at the revelation. I remember the day I escaped from Ryder and how Karina said he knew I was "special" and that being my mate would make him the most powerful wolf of them all.

What if all Jack wants to be is powerful? His pack was threatened and having a mate like me would make him unbeatable. Wouldn't it? No. No, Jack would never do that. He is my real mate. He was hurting just like I was when he left. I felt him dying inside. But more importantly I felt wanted and cared for and the attraction between us was undeniable. I never felt that with Ryder.

I heard the water turn off in the shower and I sat on the edge of the bed. He walks out with a towel wrapped around his waist and water dripping down his chest from his wet hair. He looks absolutely delicious but my thoughts are somewhere else and I looked away closing my eyes.

I feel him standing in front of me and when I look up he's starting to kneel down so that we are eye to eye. "What is it, Anna?" He says in a concerned voice.

"How did you know I was a Royal?" I asked with a lump in my throat.

"Your eyes gave it away. When I was a kid, my father told me the story of the Royal wolves. He told us that they were the greatest wolf that the Moon Goddess ever created and that they were given extra special powers . He showed us pictures of them and told us their green eyes glowed because she took the light from the moon and placed it inside their eyes." He placed his hand on my cheek and I leaned into his embrace.

"I never knew my family or what I was, as a matter of fact. They were killed when I was 2 and me and 7 other children were hidden from the attack before being sent to live with other packs for our protection. I still don't fully understand what I am but..."

He grabbed my hand placing a kiss on my palm and said "Anna, I would never use you for your powers. I knew you were my mate even before I knew you were a wolf. I knew it the moment I saw you in your office."

I leaned down and grabbed his face planting a kiss on his lips. "We better get to the pack house before they come looking for us."

We arrived at the house and were greeted by Austin and Val along with Brayden the Gamma and a few guards. I ran to Val and hugged her. "I've missed you so much!"

"Me too. We have a lot to catch up on so as soon as this meeting is over, it's me and you!"

Jack walks over to Austin slapping him on the back as the guards shuffle them towards the house. He turns around and motions for us to catch up then he wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close to him.

"Don't be nervous. My pack is trained to be intimidating but they are also drilled to be respectful." He gave me a squeeze as we continued walking towards the house.

My nerves were a mess but I knew there was no way Jack would let me fail. So I took a deep breath and held my head high as we walked through the front door. The whole crowd erupted into cheers as they celebrated the return of their Alpha. My chest swelled with pride and my eyes filled with tears at the sheer amount of care they had for this man. He walked forward with his arm still around my waist as he shook hands with a few people.

"Thank you all. These past few months have been hell and there were moments when I wanted to die but I held on for you, my pack. And I never would have been found if it wasn't for my mate and your future Luna, Anna." He pushes me forward and nodded as the crowd screamed in excitement. I smiled confidently as something warmed inside of me. Love, this was love.

After the noise died down, Jack introduced me to everyone that was in the room. I met all of the council members along with the ambassadors, including the four who came to our meeting. Each one apologetically shook my hand.

Jack never left my side and held me the whole time showing his dominance every time another male wolf touched me. It was kinda cute how jealous he was of his own pack members.

But I couldn't help the way he reacted around Tyler, one of his newer members. He seemed like he was a nice guy but when he introduced himself to me, Jack suddenly tensed and tightened his grip on me. When I looked at his face he was staring at him with an expression I couldn't read. Was it anger? And when I heard the menacing growl I realized it wasn't anger, this was hate. Pure hate.