Word Count: 2004

~Meara

I stare at Hazel's wooden door, gathering courage.

"Be nice," I bite out, looking sidelong at my mate.

He looks out of place on Hazel's old porch. He's attempted to look more mortal, as he put it, which consisted of wearing plain clothing and styling his hair slightly different.

It doesn't matter how he presents himself, he looks like an Alpha, and Hazel will be able to sense his magic.

"You don't think I'll be nice?" He sounds a little hurt.

I sigh through my nose. "Just...Don't intimidate her."

Hazel wants to like Sire, for my sake. She will try her best, although I don't want her to have flashbacks to the night Sire chased me down and took me away. She had thought I had died, and I don't want her to look at Sire and be reminded of that.

"I'll try my hardest." He stares down at the salad I made him bring with us as a peace offering.

I want this lunch with Hazel to go well. I want to feel normal again.

"And don't flirt with me in front of her," I add.

Sire smirks. "Now that I don't think I can do."

I raise my first to the door, ignoring him. However, before it can make contact with the wood, it is flung open, revealing a very confused looking Hazel.

"Oh, you're just standing out here," she says, smiling a little. Could she hear us bickering?

"Sorry, we were about to knock," I tell her uncomfortably.

I glance at Sire, who has the most uncanny look on his face. It's stuck between a smile and a grimace as he senses how strange this situation is, and yet has been instructed by me to be as nice as possible.

"Well, come on in." Hazel takes the salad. "Hello Sire."

He dips his head. "Hello Hazel. I've heard all sorts of wonderful things about you."

I nudge him in the side with my elbow as he walk inside. He's examining her closely, curious about her witch blood.

This is meant to be a friendly meeting, not one that involves Sire determining what use Hazel may be to him in the future.

"I've heard a lot about you. Actually, read is probably the more appropriate term," Hazel says, setting the salad down on the table amongst all the other food she has laid out for us.

I take my seat, Sire settling in next to me. Hazel sits on the opposite, tense.

"All terrible things no doubt. I didn't have many admirers," Sire admits, rubbing the back of his neck.

Hazel blinks, nodding numbly.

Her eyes are so wide at this point that I fear they may fall from her head. Seeing Sire in person is an entirely different experience to seeing him in a book. Watching her grapple with that reality is oddly amusing.

"Especially not after you...you were cursed," she stutters, carefully trying not to offend him.

He smiles. "It's okay. Feel free to speak about it as openly as you please."

She nods again, smoothing her hair back.

Sire's smile vanishes as quickly as it appeared at the crushing reminder of what happened to him. Every book written about him, depicting his reign as Alpha would have been massively false and suited to the victor's narrative.

"So Hazel, how have you been," I ask smoothly, busying myself by piling my plate full of various foods. Salads, meats and two bread rolls that I plan to smother with butter.

"Good. There's not much point leaving the house, so I've been concentrating on how to end the curse," she says, motioning to her left.

I peer through the entrance to her office.

Her desk is piled high with various books. Papers packed with information are pinned to the walls, some even littered about the floor.

For someone so dedicated to her Pack, she was comfortable with the idea of Sire coming back to enact his revenge.

"We were chasing a lead all yesterday. It didn't end up going anywhere," Sire tells her.

I sigh. The lead was an old witch Sire thought he remembered. Turns out the witches great grandchild had decided not to procreate so their family line died out a long time ago.

"There will be a way to end this. We will find out soon," I say, painting a faux smile on my face.

My spirits haven't been very high recently. The curse has slowed down from it's initial devastation, but it is still very prevalent.

It's only a matter of time before Hazel or I get sick.

Hazel's eyes dip down to her plate. "I hope so..."

"For now, let's enjoy some lunch." I start digging in, kicking Sire under the table so he does too.

For a while we just sit in silence, enjoying the food while we consider the implications of what we are all trying to resolve.

Every so often Hazel's gaze flickers up to Sire. She's deciding whether she likes him or not.

When his attention shifts to me, I narrow my eyes. She shrugs a little.

We'll see, she seems to say.

Sire is the first to cut through the quiet. "So, you have witch blood, don't you Hazel?"

There it is. He has been waiting to inquire about it since the moment he knew I was setting up this lunch.

Hazel flushes. "Oh, ah...yes. Not much. An embarrassingly low amount actually."

"I've always loved witches. Even if they sometimes don't like me," he admits.

Sire loves witches, I realise, because he is one, in part. Not in the traditional sense, but his grandmother breed with an Alpha which created one of the strongest lines of power in history. His power comes from witch blood, and mixed with Alpha blood makes him terrifying.

"Did you know many witches?" Hazel asks tentatively.

"Plenty. I was very fond of a very particular one, but she never liked me back," Sire admits, laughing a little at the memory.

I draw in an uneasy breath. Did he like her more than friends?

I quickly stamp down that thought. What, am I jealous? He lived far before my time, so I can't get at him for pursuing others when I'm not even sure he should be pursuing me.

"Did you have a lover before you were cursed?" Hazel asks.

My eyes widen but she refuses to look at me, knowing that her inquiries will anger me.

"Not right before I was cursed. I didn't want to put anyone's lives at risk when I knew the other Alpha was making an attack. I had my fun here and there, but I never could commit to something," he explains.

He swallows like there is a lump in his throat.

Both Hazel and I fall silent. That kind of sacrifice is noble, but also terribly sad. He gave up a life of contentment for a life protecting his Pack, which ultimately led him to an even more horrific fate.

"Do you think you can commit to Meara?" Hazel suddenly blurts out.

I kick at her under the table but she is too far away to reach. She isn't teasing, she is serious. I brought Sire here and now he is going to be subjected to the more protective side of my best friend.

"Of course I can. She is my mate."

"But you understand why she would be reluctant, right?" She pushes.

"Hazel!" I snap.

Sire looks at me then back at Hazel. "Yes, I understand that. I'm willing to prove to her that I am more than willing to give her everything I have."

Hazel knows the power of the mate bond. She knows Sire will give me everything he can, but that's not going to stop her from ensuring everything is near perfect.

Maybe it's revenge for the shake-down I gave a guy that she was seeing a while ago. Or perhaps it's because she saw how heartbroken I was when Case cheated on me, and wants to ensure that is never repeated.

"Why don't the both of you go away for a while? Just you two?" Hazel says, smiling suddenly.

Her sudden shift in strategies has me reeling.

"We have the curse to figure out, Hazel. People are dying," I remind her through gritted teeth.

Sire and I being alone in his manor is one thing...in there, he is fairly easy to avoid, and most of the time we are trying to figure out the curse.

But if we went away...there would be nothing else to concentrate on.

"I may have an idea that could work, but I need some time to flesh it out," Hazel exclaims, swallowing her mouthful of the salad I took from work this morning. "You won't be any help here."

She gives me a knowing smile in response to my accusatory glare.

"I would be happy to go away somewhere with you," Sire murmurs, smiling down at me softly.

I ignore him. "No. We stay here."

"You parents will be itching to see you...to meet your new mate," Hazel brings up.

I close my eyes in defeat. Now she's done it.

"Parents? Where are your parents?" Sire questions, touching my hand to draw my attention.

He has inquired about them before but I quickly changed the subject. It's not that I don't love my parents, it's just that they are awfully doting and would take too well to knowing I have a mate.

Not to mention, Sire is an ancient, cursed Alpha with inexplicable powers. He may just give my mother a heart attack.

"They live outside of the Pack. They probably don't want to be bothered," I explain.

Them living outside of the Pack used to bother me. It's dangerous out there, but my father was once a soldier and insisted he could care for my mother. So far they have been fine, and now the curse ravages this Pack, I'm grateful they are as far away as possible.

"I would love to meet them," Sire pushes.

"I don't think so..." I drift off.

Sire seeing my parents feels too real, too permanent. My mother will want to know how I'm feeling about him, and I don't have an answer to that right now.

Sire's gaze falls back to his meal. "You would have loved my parents, if you could have met them."

Hazel shrinks back in her chair, raising her brows at me.

I stare at the side of my mates face, sadness creeping between my ribs, gripping my heart.

"Were they alive when you were cursed?" I ask tentatively.

"My mother was. I lost my father a few years before, which was when I became Alpha. My mother didn't want anything to do with being Luna without my father. She was such a kind woman." His voice cracks a little and he clears his throat.

Suddenly the thought of losing my family so suddenly sends a jolt of panic straight through me. Sire didn't lose them because they were killed, but because he was cursed...

His mother had to continue living after, knowing he was alive but unreachable. Now she has passed and Sire lost his chance to say goodbye.

"I wish we knew where she was buried," I breathe.

"Me too." She shakes his shoulders, snapping himself out of mourning. "Meeting your parents may make me feel better."

I raise a brow. "Really?"

"It's important. You're my mate," he says softly.

"Alright. We will see my parents," I murmur.

And we will face more questions about the mate bond then I am ready to answer.

🤎••🤎

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"...I've never had an orgasm before!" I blurt out, backing away a few steps.

He sits up, dark hair ruffled and messy from the fingers I ran through it. His eyes, once wide, slowly darken.

"You what?" He breathes.



~Midika 💜🐼