Madeline’s POV
This wasn’t going to go well.
I could already picture Janet’s face when we told them. I could already feel the hate radiating off her. She would freak out and I didn’t want to tell her.
But I couldn’t stop Alpha Dimitri from telling her. I would have to tell him why, and I wasn’t going to do that. How could I tell him that his mother was making me feel like trash for the last nine months? I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t hurt him like that.
I would just have to take everything she would say or do to me. I could handle it. I could handle it for him.
I glanced up at him and my heart skipped a beat.
I could handle anything for him.
Alpha Dimitri looked down at me and smiled. He tightened his hold on my hand, lifted it, and placed a soft kiss on my palm. My knees buckled and I almost fell.
“Don’t look at me like that, princess,” he said quietly. “Save that look for later when we are alone.”
My eyes widened and I looked away from him immediately. I didn’t even realize that I was looking at him in a special way.
Alpha Dimitri chuckled and my heart skipped a beat.
Goddess, what was wrong with me? I wasn’t even sure if I wanted this and…
‘Stop it,’ Skye sighed. ‘Of course you want it. He is our mate. He loves us and we love him. I won’t let you leave him, Madeline.’
‘Is that why you won’t shift?’ I asked her. ‘You think that keeping me without my wolf will keep me in this pack?’
Skye sighed. ‘No, but that is an added bonus.’
I wanted to argue with her, but we just walked into the kitchen and I didn’t have time to.
“Happy birthday, honey!” Mike exclaimed and started approaching me with a huge grin on his face.
He was only a few steps away when his eyes fell on my hand in Alpha Dimitri’s and he stopped walking abruptly. He gasped and looked up at us.
“She is my mate,” Alpha Dimitri said softly as he pulled me to him and kissed the top of my head.
Fuck. I didn’t expect him to say it immediately.
Shit. I should have let his hand go before we walked into the kitchen.
I looked at Janet and my heart stopped beating. To say that she was pissed would be an understatement. She wasn’t pissed. She looked like she was about to shift and rip me apart. She was looking at me and I could feel her hate seeping into my body.
“Are you kidding me?!” Mike shouted and I forced myself to look at him.
It was so hard to look away from Janet. It was like her hate was magnetic. I couldn’t run from it no matter how hard I tried. I could still feel her eyes on me. I could still feel her anger in the air.
Mike had a huge smile on his face and he looked like he was about to cry.
“Oh, Goddess, I am so freaking happy!” Mike exclaimed as he took those final few steps toward me.
He pulled me from Alpha Dimitri and hugged me tightly.
“Oh, congratulations, honey,” Mike said. “I am so happy for you. Dimitri is a wonderful man and I know that he will be an amazing mate.”
I gulped and wrapped my free arm around Mike. Alpha Dimitri was still holding my other hand tightly in his.
“Thank you,” I said and patted Mike’s back gently.
Mike let me go and looked up at Alpha Dimitri. He narrowed his eyes a little and pointed a finger at him.
“Take care of my little girl, Dimitri,” Mike said sternly. “Don’t make me beat your ass.”
Alpha Dimitri snorted and pulled me back into his arms.
“Don’t worry, Mike,” he said. “She is my greatest treasure and I will always keep her safe.”
I looked up at him and he bent down to kiss my forehead.
“Did you hear that, sweetie?!” Mike exclaimed. “Our kids are mates! I know it’s a bit weird that we kept calling them siblings, but whatever.”
I looked at Janet and saw that she was still staring at me with a pissed-off look on her face. Mike and Alpha Dimitri noticed that too.
“Janet?” Mike called her, his voice laced with confusion. “What’s wrong?”
Janet growled quietly. She clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes at me.
“I don’t approve of this,” she said coldly. “Reject her, Dimitri. Now.”
Mike gasped. Alpha Dimitri growled and pulled me behind him.
“I don’t give a fuck, Mother!” Alpha Dimitri shouted. “I am not rejecting her! She is mine! Mine!”
“What the hell, Janet?!” Mike exclaimed angrily. “Why do you have an issue with this?!”
Janet looked at Mike angrily.
“She isn’t a Lycan,” Janet said. “She isn’t strong enough to be a Luna. Savannah should have been Dimitri’s mate.”
Hearing that name was like having a knife plunged into my chest.
“You can still fix this, Dimitri,” Janet said as she looked at him. “Savannah will take you back. She loves you. You can still…”
Alpha Dimitri growled so loudly that I could feel the vibrations in my bones.
“Shut up, Mother,” Alpha Dimitri said angrily. “Do not mention that bitch’s name in front of me and my mate. I am not leaving Maddie for anyone. She is my mate and your Luna and you will respect her.”
Janet looked at me murderously.
“You said that you would leave this pack, Madeline,” Janet said. “Leave.”
Alpha Dimitri growled again. He turned around, wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and started leading me out of the house.
“Dimitri!” Janet yelled after him.
“I am so sorry, princess,” Alpha Dimitri said softly. “I had no idea she would react like this.”
I did.
“Please don’t listen to her, my love,” he continued. “You are my mate and my Luna. You are not leaving and I am not choosing anyone else.”
“Dimitri!” Janet yelled again and this time Alpha Dimitri turned around.
“Talk some sense into her, Mike,” Alpha Dimitri said angrily. “We are leaving. I will come back for Maddie’s stuff.”
I looked up at him and furrowed my eyebrows. I wouldn’t be staying here anymore?
Alpha Dimitri opened the front door and pulled me out of the house. I glanced at Janet one more time and my stomach turned.
She was going to make my life a living hell.
