Octavia could feel her composure crumbling. Her chocolate brown eyes met his muted gray ones as they waited for the other to speak. Her parents waited patiently for them to answer. Katya and Henrietta appeared beside her parents.

"Alpha Maksim was in bed with mama Octavia this morning." Henrietta explained.

"Yes, they were hugging each other like this." Katya mocked their hug by hugging Henrietta closely, with a leg over Henrietta's side.

"Is that so?" Her father questioned and his hands moved to his waist. He only does that when he was about to give a serious lecture. Octavia's mother did not look happy. She glowered at the Alpha.

"Yep and then mama Octavia came running out of the bedroom like Alpha Maksim was doing something very bad. Alpha Maksim came chasing after her once she ran out of the bedroom." Henrietta added. Katya nodded and then spoke up again. Octavia was dying of embarrassment.

"Alpha called mama Octavia a tease." Katya pointed out. Clearly happy to get all four adults' attention. Maksim pressed a finger to the point between his eyebrows before rubbing the stubble on his jaw. This was totally getting awkward.

"Katya and Henrietta, darlings, why don't you two go join your siblings outside." Her mother said gently to the two girls. They smiled as if they just had a wonderful adult conversation and skipped their way out.

After the kids were out of ear shot, her mother turned her wrath toward Maksim.

"Who do you think you are? You are our new Alpha and you think you can just come prancing in here and sleep with anyone you want. You forced my daughter, didn't you? I will have you know, she is unmated and pure. You, sir, slapped me in the face with so much disrespect. Also, I will just have you know, this is unacceptable!" Her mother yelled and moved to jab at Maksim's chest repeatedly before stopping. He moved to rub the place she had jabbed with his palm. His eyes moving to find Octavia's.

Octavia, wanting not to embarrass herself further, waved her hands in the air to make her mom stop, as well as stop her mother from killing her mate, she made a move to stop.

"Ma, it's not like that." She managed to squeak out with her heated cheeks.

"Oh, I think I know what happened! I am old enough to understand and this is unacceptable! I will not tolerate disrespect, even if it is from the Alpha. You will respect my daughter-"

"He's my mate!" Octavia blurted out and her mother's mouth clamped shut. She looked between them for a very long time. Maksim was the first to break the silence.

"I apologize. I wish we had met in different circumstances and with all due respect, I never meant to disrespect your family or your daughter. Truly, we didn't do anything at all. Also, your daughter is my mate and I will treat her with the upmost respect and equality. She will never be looked down upon. I can explain about last night. It was very late, but I came by to check in on her. She lives alone by the edge of the woods. You can see my dilemma here." Maksim explained and Octavia can see her parents starting to relax. She could breathe a little.

"I just wanted to see her safe and then return home, but I was completely worn out from tracking Alpha Hansen - I ended up sleeping on her bed." Maksim continued his explanation.

"Oh..." Her mother managed to say.

"So, you two are mates?" Her father asked.

Octavia glanced at Maksim, who in turned looked at her. She turned back to her parents and nodded.

"When did you two find out? How come I wasn't informed of this?" Her mother asked and you can tell she was growing increasingly upset for being blindsided.

"The riot-" Maksim started, but was interrupted by her mother again.

"That long and I wasn't even informed of this!" She turned to Octavia. "I am your mother, Octavia."

"I know, ma. It is just that I have been busy. I planned on telling you and pa, but I have been distracted of late." She reasoned. Her mother huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. She can tell her mother was embarrassed for lashing out at her mate.

"Well, I better get going. There are some pack matters I have to take care of and my sister should be arriving soon." Maksim changed the subject. Octavia's father nodded and moved to shake his hand again.

"It was nice meeting you two." Maksim said and her father returned the gesture. After seeing Maksim leave, she turned to her parents. Her mother's eyes were angry, but also held something else behind there. She knew she wouldn't be able to escape until her mother found out exactly how she met her mate.

**

Maksim went back to the pack house and showered. Standing under the showerhead, with the water running down his body, he thought about Octavia. Just the image of her face has his heart fluttering like he was a teenage pup.

Last night was the last of what he needed to prove that he needed his mate. Seeing her asleep, curled on the side of the bed, was a beautiful image. He wanted to wake up to her. He wanted to hold her at night. It took away his demons and it was the best sleep he had in forever.

He woke up to her sleeping on top of the blanket and he couldn't have that. He moved her underneath the blanket and it was like a natural thing took over as she scooted closer to his body, savoring in his warmth as he was savoring in her closeness.

What he didn't expect, but brought a smile onto his face, was his mate was an ass grabber. He chuckled softly to himself in the shower and proceeded to wash off the soap in his hair, before grabbing the bar of soap and lathering it over his body.

Honestly though, it was hard for him to leave her this morning. Last night, everything in him pulled him towards her and this morning it took everything in him to leave her behind. He knew she was safe, but it didn't settle the knots in his stomach. He wanted his mate near.

Sighing under the shower, he pushed back his wet hair and lifted his face to the running water. He remembered something from a while back. His father told him something about the mate pull. Male werewolves tend to sleep around more often, to calm their wolves as they wait for their mates. Females are more complex creatures and are able to contain their sexual hormones. What he found interesting though, was that the females sometimes experience a phase where their sexual hormones are released, even if the female tries to contain it. However, it often doesn't happen, unless the bond has been left untouched for a very long time.

His heart came to a stuttering stop and he froze as he was washing the soap off his body.

He was thirty-five years old, hasn't slept with any women, and his mate and him have yet to complete the bond. He ran through his brain to see if heat was even a possibility and who was affected between the two of them, but that was an area he fell asleep on. He scolded himself mentally for not listening during his studies.

Shutting off the water, he grabbed the towel he hung nearby and dried his body before wrapping the towel around his waist and walking out to his bed, where his clothes were laid out earlier. He bent down and picked up his shirt. Again, the unsettling feeling in his chest came back and the knots in his stomach doubled. He exhaled a little shakily before shrugging off his emotions and pulling on the rest of his clothes.

He pushed the topic aside because right now, he needed to get a full report on Alpha Hansen's escape. He made his way to his office where his friends were waiting for him. Darren wiggled his eyebrows.

"Tell me, did you two do it?" How he found out about Maksim finding his mate was beyond Maksim.

Maksim ignored his friend's friendly jab and walked over to his desk, where he sat down. Antonia spoke up first.

"We did a full body count on Alpha Hansen's warriors. Five of them are missing, including the Captain and Beta." Antonia reported.

"Let me guess, they aided him in escaping." Maksim muttered. He made a mistake, but it was a mistake he was sure going to correct.

Antonia knew Maksim was taking the escape of Alpha Hansen a little hard. It wasn't normal of Maksim to spare a life, but it meant he was also a man who had a conscience.

"It's not your fault." She pointed out.

"My pack and mate now have a threat running around that we can't seem to locate. It is my fault." Maksim replied and again the clench in his gut occurred. He grimaced and let out a soft sound.

Antonia's eyes narrowed in on his face. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." He snapped a little too harshly. "I will be better if I find that idiot that is running around."

Roman chuckled. "It will make my life easier. We were planning on heading back home."

Antonia blushed a little, understanding her mate's eagerness to go home soon. Roman wanted to mate with her, but on his territory and under his pack's approval. He wanted to do it the right way and announce to his pack he had found his Luna.

"I think we can all agree on wanting to wrap stuff up here quickly and head home." They all nodded in agreement.

The twist in his gut clenched harder and he growled as he clutched at his stomach. The burning in his chest grew and he closed his eyes for a moment as he breathed deeply through his nose and mouth.

"Something is wrong." Antonia said.

The door flew open and in came Octavia. She was breathing heavily as her chocolate brown eyes searched for Maksim. When she found him, she walked over to his side of the desk.

"We need to talk." She said huskily and turned to everyone. "Out."

The simple order and bark behind it was enough to send all his friends scurrying away. He looked up at her. She was sweaty and panting a little. Her body shook as she moved to cup his cheek. He closed his eyes at the instant relief from the burning pain inside of him. Nonetheless, it only confirmed what he had suspected. They both were in trouble as her chocolate colored eyes darkened along with his.