Paul’s POV
I sat next to Molly, facing the window for hours as the car moved.
A few days had gone by, and we took a rest in different hotels to eat and take baths. Now that we were close to my territory, I felt uneasy.
Although Harley chose to sit next to Molly throughout the journey to keep her company, her eyes were mostly on Alpha Sky while Riff drove.
I didn’t want to talk or look at my mate because Snow was still upset over my words, and I was doing my best to ignore him and keep him in check.
“You can’t ignore me forever,” he growled.
“I can’t; that I know. But I also don’t think it’s right to claim her when she has her own life and lover,” I answered silently.
“Are you insane? She is our mate, ours! And look at how she is looking at us; she wants us,” he said.
I took a deep breath and released it.
“I said, look at her!” he commanded me as I did.
She instantly smiled at me, and my heart fluttered.
I frowned and then shifted my gaze back to the window.
“It looks like we are pretty close to your pack’s border,” Alpha Sky said as I looked at him.
Why was he sounding happy about that?
“I thought you hated my Alpha,” I whispered.
“Well, I did, but when I talked to him at my pack, I kind of got to like him a little. When Riff told me how he wanted to have a word with him, I saw no problem with that,” he answered.
I quickly looked at Harley, hoping he wasn’t thinking of doing something stupid, like attacking him.
“Everything will be just fine,” she whispered.
I wanted to ask her to swear on her life but stopped when Molly moved her hand on top of mine.
I groaned low, then focused on the road as beautiful tingles spread throughout my body.
When the pack’s border came into view, I smiled happily.
I loved staying beside my mate, but I also missed home a little, although I never wanted to acknowledge it.
“I’m glad you look happy,” Molly said in a low tone.
“What can I say? Home is home,” I answered.
When we crossed the border, my heart began to beat rapidly, and when the pack house came into view, I saw Jace, Talic, Edith, and Lillian waiting for us close to the entrance. I had expected them to alert the warriors and Las, but I guess they really were not on bad terms.
Instantly, the car was parked. I got out and held the door for Molly.
When she came out and held my free hand, I closed the door while Riff went to open the other door for Harley.
“I was beginning to worry that you wouldn’t make it,” Jace said loudly when Alpha Sky stepped out.
“Well, we are here now,” he answered.
We all moved closer and stood in front of them.
Riff quickly bowed to show his respect to Jace, and Lillian and Talic did the same.
“Welcome to my pack,” Jace said.
“Not bad at all,” Alpha Sky answered while looking around.
“Paul, it’s good to have you back,” he said when he looked at me.
“Thank you, Alpha,” I answered seriously.
“He didn’t mistreat you with his pack members, did he?” he asked.
“You wish,” Alpha Sky answered playfully, and then they both laughed, surprising me.
If I didn’t know both of them, I could have thought they were very close friends.
“Talic, show these guests to the living room,” he said, and then looked at Lillian and smiled.
“Paul, you stay behind; I want to have a word with you,” he said when he shifted his gaze to me.
“Come with me, please,” Talic said and then turned.
They all went in except for Molly, who was still holding my hand.
“You need to go in,” I said softly.
She looked at Jace, then back at me.
Since those words I had said to her back at that pack, she had been acting differently. She was always by my side and didn’t want to leave me alone. I had to talk her into not sharing a room, and luckily, it worked. But when I woke up, she was right there at the door knocking.
“You have to go in; I’ll shortly be with you,” I said.
She hesitated, then let go of my hand and walked in.
“It looks like she has accepted you, so why does she not have your mark?” he asked.
“That’s because she hasn’t truly accepted me, Alpha. Not only is she engaged and soon to be married to her lover, but she has no idea what mates are,” I answered seriously.
He kept quiet for a few seconds and then sighed heavily.
“You had all the time to tell her what mates are, yet you couldn’t. Why?” he asked.
“Jace, did you not hear me when I said she will soon get married?” I asked with emphasis.
I was getting annoyed at his questions.
“I did, so what?” he asked.
“Are you kidding me right now?” I asked back.
“No, I am not. I am very serious. You held on to Leah with your life when she wasn’t even your mate. You were willing to go to the end of the world and die for her sake when she was clearly using you. Your love for her was unlike anything I had ever witnessed, so why can’t you…,”
He stopped talking and turned. I, too, looked at the door when I picked up my mate’s scent.
“Molly, we can tell that you are there,” I said loudly.
After a few seconds, she moved and approached us with a sad expression on her face.
“Were you listening to our conversation?” I asked.
“No, I wasn’t,” she answered and then lowered her gaze to the ground.
“I heard a little because I wanted to ask you if I should bring you a glass of wine that Lillian is serving,” she said and then looked up.
She had a pained expression on her face, and we could tell how she must have heard us talking about Leah.
“I’ll go and have that glass of wine, Paul, so take your time,” Jace said and then walked in.
“How much did you hear? I know you said it was a little, but how little are we talking about?” I asked seriously.
“Who is Leah?” she asked coldly.
“Ah, fuck,” I muttered and then rubbed my forehead.
“It’s alright if you don’t want to tell me about her,” she said, and then turned to walk away when I grabbed her wrist.
“No, I want to tell you everything. But before that, I want to ask you this: What do you think a mate is?” I asked.
I was going to tell her everything, and that was the truth, even if it meant her hating me.