Octavia was in the middle of making BLT sandwiches for lunch as the pup she was taking care of ran off and played with the other pups. She sliced her homemade bread carefully into even slices as the bacon sizzled on the stove. With Alpha Hansen out of the way, food has been properly distributed to everyone. She was glad to be able to finally cook a good meal for the pups.

"Smells delicious in here." A pleasurable shiver ran down her back at the sound of her mate's deep voice. She turned around to see that he had decided to come in without knocking.

Unfortunately, she couldn't help trailing her eyes up and down her mate's perfectly built body. He wore a dark green Henley that hugged his body all too well and with a low rise pair of dark denim jeans. She would so love to run her hands up and down his body, but then images of earlier this morning with Nikita plastering herself to Maksim brought Octavia reeling back to reality. She turned back to slicing her bread.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned and couldn't stop sounding like she was a jealous mate.

She saw him step further into the kitchen until he was right behind her. She could feel the heat of his chest radiating through her t-shirt. Her back stiffened and she fought to keep her mind in control. He leaned down until his head was right by her right shoulder, both hands now propped on either side of her - entrapping her between him and the counter.

"I wanted to talk to you." Maksim's voice dropped into a deeper tone. Her core was dancing like a ballerina at the sound of it.

"About?" She snapped a little too harshly.

"About yesterday. I was too quick in assuming. I didn't give you a chance to explain. I was wrong." He started, but stopped when she scoffed and slammed her knife onto the cutting board. Turning, she took a stuttering step back when she saw how close he was. His face was only inches from hers. She cleared her throat and met him eye to eye.

"Yes, you were wrong." She stated. "I don't care what you have to say. At this time, I am not ready to forgive, or to even accept you as mine. I'm upset. You are like a child. You saw pups and immediately assumed that I was unfaithful and then you threw a tantrum by allowing another woman to touch you."

She snarled the last part because jealousy was burning inside of her now. He smirked - a cocky smirk. She was sputtering all kinds of curses at him in her mind. He was too damn gorgeous, even when he was acting so confident.

She was about to knock down his domineering presence a few notches, until his hand came up to cup her cheek. She stiffened in surprise as the warm tingles from his touch coursed through them both. His eyes were dark with desire and admiration.

"Can you blame me? You are my mate, Octavia. To me - you are the most beautiful being I have ever met. No one can compare to you. I can't help being possessive of you. The realization of how beautiful you are and that you are made only for me; it stirs a protective instinct in me. I don't want anyone near you, touching you, even breathing in your scent."

Her breath hitched as he spoke. His eyes dipped lower to her parted lips, his thumb moving to trace over her bottom lip softly. She watched his eyelashes fan his cheek as he continued to eye her lips.

"Do you realize just how much I need you? Seeing you for the first time, I had to fight with my wolf to not claim you right away in front of everybody." His eyes dipped lower down her body and she shuddered again. "This body was made to tempt me with every move and every curve."

Her heart raced so fast in her chest, it could very well run off and jump right into her mate's hands.

"I know you are angry with me. If you did the same with me, I would be angry too." He whispered. His face dipped lower and she can feel his breathing on her face as his lips hovered just above hers. Her hands clenched at her sides until one of his hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against him. She placed her hand on his chest - the only thing keeping them apart.

"Yes I am." She managed to squeak out.

His lips twitched and a slow smile played on his face. "I hurt you."

"Yes, you did." She whispered and his lips brushed against hers. A small moan elicited from her. It was all too much. His scent was wrapping around her, making her a little deluded. She couldn't think straight.

"You are mine, Octavia." He growled possessively, but it was so feral and so hot. It had her feeling wet between her legs.

"Not if-" She was interrupted when he spoke again. His eyes flickered up to hers and she saw how black they were. He was completely and utterly aroused. She can smell it from him and he wasn't afraid to hide it and oh, she was bad, because her wolf and her were responding to his arousal.

"I promise you, Octavia. I will do everything in my power to make you see that I am a worthy mate for you. We might have started off on the wrong foot, but in the end the truth is clear. You are mine as much as I am yours." He vowed huskily.

He released her and she fell back onto the counter. She didn't realize she was having a hard time breathing until he did. She was breathless. He adjusted himself and she can see clearly he was turned on. They stared at each for a moment and after a few minutes the front door burst open. She turned to the bacon immediately and removed them off the pan. Thankfully, they didn't burn. The strong bacon smell was also helping in masking their arousal scent, but then it was also okay, because little pups don't have their wolf senses yet until they shift.

"Alpha Maksim." Aleksander said as he entered into the kitchen. "What are you doing here?"

Maksim cleared his throat and crouched down to Aleksander's eye level. "I wanted to tell you that someone is coming here to take the Alpha title."

Octavia stopped in the middle of making the sandwiches and turned to face her mate. He looked up at her and probably saw the question in her face.

"It is my sister. Some pack members here prefer to stay behind. It wouldn't be right of me to force them to move when they feel comfortable here." Maksim answered her unspoken question.

"That's great! That means we can stay, right mama Octavia?" He asked and tugged on the hem of her shirt. They have yet to know that Octavia has found her mate and she didn't know how to answer him exactly.

"How about we take it one day at a time?" Maksim answered Aleksander. "Who knows, you might decide to leave with me when the time comes."

His eyes were on her when he said that. She felt it was made towards her. She turned her back to him and continued prepping the sandwiches.

"I guess you're right." Aleksander said. "I won't say anything yet then."

Maksim ruffled his hair affectionately. "Good then. Why don't you go wait with the others while I help your mama Octavia out in the kitchen?"

Octavia's stomach did a flip. He wasn't going to leave yet. The man was going to stay in the kitchen, but it was already so hard to concentrate with him so close.

Maksim moved to lean against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest, he looked at her while she tried really hard in cutting her tomatoes. He didn't move or say anything - simply stared at her. It was making her feel all flustered.

Her mind went back to their earlier conversation before the pups came in. Did he really mean it? Did he really want to try? He might have jumped to conclusions, but she was quick to fight him off. Should she allow this time to at least get to know him?

"So, you have a sister." Octavia began.

He nodded. "She's seven years younger, but it is just her and I."

"Do you two get along?"

His lips curved into a soft smile as he thought about his sister. "Yes. She's a pain in my arse, we quarrel sometimes, and sometimes come into disagreement, but she is still my sister."

"You love her."

His smile broadened. "I do. I love my family."

She smiled softly. Her parents were still alive. In fact, they were still living in the pack, but they only had her. She has yet to tell her mother about Maksim. She can already see her mother's excitement. She will be jumping around, all happy that Octavia finally found her mate.

"Do you think she is skilled enough to become the Alpha for this pack?" Octavia asked as she picked up another tomato to slice.

He nodded immediately. "I trained her. She is the best in her class and almost beat my Beta, Antonia. In my pack, women are not inferior."

Octavia was relieved to hear that. "Alpha Hansen would beg to differ. He thinks women are simple minded people and are only there for breeding. As you can see from your first meeting with him, he likes women. He had slept with many and probably forced many to do things they didn't wan-"

"Did he force you?" His voice turned dangerously lower and stiff.

She blinked and frowned slightly as she turned to look at him. His soft features were now hard with anger. She placed her knife down and moved to touch his chest. It was unexpected, but seemed so right. He relaxed a little under her palm. She moved her hand and continued cutting again.

"No. He tried many times, but I refused him." Octavia answered as she looked down at the cutting board.

"I'm going to kill him." Maksim snarled and pushed off the counter. It happened a little too quickly and she ended up cutting her finger. She gasped and lifted the injured finger up to her face.

"Sh!t." He whispered and moved to grab a hold of her hand. She was still staring at it when he brought it to his lips and sucked on it.

"What are you doing?" She whispered.

"Stopping the blood." Being that they were mates, he was able to heal her minor injuries with his touch and help. Blood wasn't a disgusting thing for mates. It was actually an aphrodisiac - kind of like marking. The scent of their mate's blood entering their mouth was enough to have a werewolf drool and become crazy. The same works here, but Octavia was a hemophobiac and the world was already spinning.

Maksim saw her eyes roll up before her body crumbled in front of him. He let go of her now healed finger and grabbed a hold of her around her waist. Her head lulled back and forth as he picked her up bridal style, without missing a beat.

Aleksander and Katya walked into the kitchen. Aleksander was the first to speak. "She cut her finger, didn't she?"

Maksim's lips curled into a smile. "Yes, she did."

"She does this all the time." Katya propped her hands on her waist and shook her head.

Maksim chuckled before asking. "Where is her bedroom?"

Katya piped up. "I'll show you."