Book 1 of Alpha Wolf: Mate Mine
Chapter 5 ~ Rocky Balboa's Crush

Elena´s eyes bounced left and right, right and left, tracking her friend´s pacing. If there were a mark on the floor, it’d be from all that back-and-forth.

“I mean El! We were kissing with so much passion, I swear, never had like that before, and then,” a loud clap of hands made Elena jump, “he shoved me away with no hesitation, andwhoosh,” Elena jerked to the side, dodging some of the spray coming from that wooshing, “he jumped out of the window... and that’s not even the end of it!”

“What more could there be.” Elena muttered, snatching a tissue to wipe off his spit from her cheek.

“He didn’t even bother to open it!”

“Open what?”

Marco looked horrified, putting his hand to his chest in a way that reminded me of an old lady clutching her pearls. “The window, El! He didn’t open it!”

“I think that he-” Elena tried to say, but failed.

“After that? Nothing! Zero calls, no carrier pigeons delivering messages-”

“They are Black Devils, not spartans! I’m sure they’ve caught up to the smartphone era.”

“My mate used me and discarded me aside like a condom!” Marco continued.

“Technically, you cant reuse condoms more than once,” she interjected, only to be met with a glare.

“Not helpful,” he spat before rising an eyebrow, “and how would you know about condoms?”

“General knowledge,” she defended herself, crossing her arms.

It had been a week since they started the new school, seven days since Marco met his supposed other half and 168 hours since this other half nearly killed Elena on the spot…for a friendly, little hug! And Elena wasn’t even a male. Imagine that.

Right now, Elena and Marco were alone in the labyrinthine kitchen of the pack house, oddly deserted. She stirred her spoon in her half-full mug, gazing nostalgically at the empty plate with annoying little mushrooms painted on it. Oh, wait, she missed a crumb. Her finger darted to trap the lone survivor on the tip before she popped it into her mouth. “Mmm, bliss,” she sighed. She’d already smashed her allowed daily portion of apple crumble.

Giulia was strangely taking a nap, likely due to her brother’s moodiness, and Rex was busy helping with the influx of refugees from Lord Skull, mostly widows with their pups.

Leaving Elena stuck with needy Prince Marco! With no more apple crumble.

With a small inhale, Elena stretched her arms over her head.Marco used to boast about his conquests, sometimes providing unsolicited details. But he had never complained about one of these dates, only critiqued what they lacked in a critical, yet humorous, way. Elena was sure that his new relationship with his mate was an entirely different story, bringing forth a slew of insecurities tied to real emotions..

“Marco!” She used her Alpha’s voice which of course gave his tirade a pause.

“Oh El! And he never talks to me, like there’s zero communication. I ask him questions or try to start any type of conversation, and nothing!”

Elena tilted her head. “No way! Have you tried talking about, um, hunting? Or his pack?”

“Of course…” he let himself fall loudly onto a chair that creaked in protest.

“So you don´t know what his voice sounds like?”

“Oh, no, I know the sound of his voice, dominant but not in an arrogant way, deep but not oldish…” a dreamy look fell over his prince-like features, “but all that comes from that pretty mouth is ’mate’ and ’mine’. And not even in a romantic way! He just growls words out and only when other males or females glance our way!” His sad eyes and his arms wrapping around his torso revealed a whole new level of vulnerability.

Elena always thought Marco was dipped in a pool of confidence and smugness after he was born.

A small smile curled her lips at how in love Marco seemed already. “Maybe he just needs to get used to this whole new mate thing, and so do you.” Elena suggested, sipping her chocolate milk - if she couldn’t have more crumble she wasn’t going to give up on the rest of the sugar family, “If he is anything like the Killing Machine everyone depicts him as, no wonder he doesn’t speak.” Her plan to calm Marco down worked.

For a whole minute.

“What does he even do when you ask him questions? And oh! Ask him why he doesn’t answer!” Elena was getting excited for her ideas, “And you can point out how it makes you sad when he doesn’t like to share with you.”

“Nothing! He said nothing when I ask,” Marco barked, throwing his arms into the air. “He just stares!”

Elena leaned back in her seat. “That’s it?”

“Then he grabs me, mostly on my shoulders, and starts kissing me... and one thing leads to another and... oh you know how these things end, El!”

Marco seemed radioactive, with how red he’d become and almost glow.

A week of first!

Elena never expected to see a shy Marco version. She well remembered (unfortunately for her) all the stories from his conquests, his lists of pros and cons on whiteboards, the one-night stands she´d bumped into in the corridor when she needed water, the pushy admirers - few had to be chased away by they parents. Or, worse, the pictures Marco received on Tinder, or much worse, what he had replied with!

She shook her head, not wanting to relive those memories. And now Marco, the queer Prince, was acting all shy and insecure about his quiet, brooding mate, who had already captured his heart. If this wasn’t romance, then what was?!

“Aaah and the icing on the cake, El! Last night, I got this text from a guy who asked to meet me just for a quick hook-up... and uhhh” Marco clapped his big hands near Elena’s face, making her choked on the milk chocolate.

“He growled at my phone for like a whole minute before grabbing it, and poof! Out the window, like it was just a piece of used soap!”

Wow.

Elena knew that mates could be possessive - her father included although he always denied it, but she never heard these kinds of reactions… if the Black Devil Beta was that mad, she couldn’t imagine how the actual Black Devil Alpha would be…

Marco snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Full Moon calls El!!! Yuhuu!”

She blinked and glanced at his frown.

“I didn’t finish eh! There’s more!” He said, crossing his arms and facing her with obvious disapproval.

“What more could there be?” She muttered, looking Goddess-ward, wondering why the goddess assigned this mate to her best friend and let Elena deal with the aftermath of this match.

“Ah, he wrote down the name of the guy on his stupid note-pad he keeps with him, and shoved it into his pocket.” Marco wringed his hands

“I’m afraid he will, um, harm the guy.” His voice dimmed to a whisper, as if his mate would just be able to appear from that darker corner like a gremlin.

“Nah, come on. I´m sure he had his share of experiences before you!” Elena was just (partially) teasing, but Marco looked all heart-broken, looking at her like a pup that was told to find a new family the day before Christmas.

“Do you think?” He mumbled, tone even lower.

“I never thought you would turn out to be such a crypuppy!! Wake up Marco!!” Elena exclaimed, poking his ribs and refusing to let her friend wallow in despair. It felt like witnessing the fall of a king, and she couldn’t bear to see him so despondent. Besides, if having a mate made you so miserable and anxious, then she’d rather postpone meeting hers for many, many years to come!

She regretted her words at Marco´s drooping shoulders and quickly added, “your mate completes you and you will understand how to make it work in time. Just allow time for the mate bond to strengthen, my ROCKY!”

Yes Rocky. That was Marco’s nickname, and it was short for Rocky Balboa. Not because Marco was like him in features or character, not at all actually. But because he had a huge crush on Rocky Balboa when he was a kid! The thought still gave Elena cramps.

When she finished mocking Marco for his crush on Rocky ~ it was at least five minutes of a well-deserved laugh ~ she finally hugged her friend, making sure his broody mate wasn’t nearby to kill her.

“You would never forget that, you FARMER GIRL!” He retorted with a cunning smile. She growled at that nickname.

“Davide wasn’t a real farmer! Only because he enjoyed taking care of his garden...” Elena explained for the millionth time to her malicious friend.

She should have been already known that it was impossible to win a verbal argument with Marco.

“I still remember your face when he came to our door with a bag full of organic carrots as a present for you, BUNNY!” Marco was continuing down memory lane, laughing like a hysterical hyena.

Elena snorted loudly, punching her friend in the stomach, and making him cough. But still, he managed to continue laughing.

Damned Beta gens!

Nothing too serious since Elena wasn’t really into him. She had never dated many guys because everyone in her pack feared her father. After Davide, she had been hanging out with a couple of Beta’s and Alpha’s sons only, especially with the future Alpha of their neighbouring pack, Crystal Wolf. Full Moon and Crystal Wolf packs had always had a peaceful and friendly relationship since their previous Beta was Elena’s grandmother.

Elena and Riccardo had been on a few dates but, since they both knew they weren’t mates, things were never serious or had any feelings involved ~ at least from Elena’s side. Sure, he was a handsome and funny guy, very protective of her and incredibly sweet, too much maybe. Riccardo had suggested several times to mate and merge their packs, thus creating a single, powerful one. But Elena was always reasoning with him, explaining that they were fated to someone else.

Rex had always mocked her about Riccardo, emphasising how feminine he was. And that he had always imagined Elena ending up with a powerful wolf.

“The poor farmer is still scared of Alpha Giacomo’s shadow!” Marco exclaimed, wiping his tears from laughing too much.

“Actually, now that I think about it, I have not seen him in a long time! He’s probably in a serious relationship with his pumpkin!” And again, another fit of laughs, while Elena rolled her eyes.

When her dad had discovered her relationship with Davide, let’s just say he didn’t take it too well.

And now that Marco had mated with the Black Devil Beta... saying that his parents were very shocked by the mark on Marco’s neck was an understatement. In fact, they had discussed for hours by themselves, after interrogating a very embarrassed Marco on how the two had met, how this Beta was and what he did.

Her father had already convoked a meeting on neutral land with the Alpha of the Black Devil pack to discuss this new turn of events. There was hope to reach a sort of short-term treaty between the two rival packs. But, since the Black Devil Alpha was away for some reasons, the final decision had to be postponed.

Alpha Giacomo and company were very conflicted on how to handle the issue: they didn’t want to lose Marco, but, at the same time, they didn’t really want to welcome that crazy Beta onto their land. Marco, on the other hand, didn’t mind the final outcome, he was happy to transfer into the Black Devil pack house, as long as he could move in very soon with his mate. A mate that was very impatient and annoyingly entering to Full Moon pack, without any notice, under the hawk eyes of Elena’s father.

Elena smiled at the memory from a few nights ago, when Crucifero busted into their house while they were all having dinner together. He was completely soaked from the rain, stained with blood and wearing only underwear. With a loud growl, he had marched to Marco, then carried him away, under the incredulous faces of everyone. Fortunately, both her and Marco’s fathers dad were attending a meeting in Crystal Wolf’s territory.

“Hello folks” A deep voice came from behind.

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