My Eternal Mate
Chapter Twenty Three

LYRA

"You little bitch," Alexander's mother sneered, narrowing her eyes as she approached me. "You think birthing my son's pups will make him want you?"

"What are you doing here?" I asked, shocked to replace her alive, glancing around to replace Alexander nowhere in sight.

My brows furrowed and I turned to glare at the woman currently stalking towards me. I wasn't even sure where we were, in the middle of the woods somewhere. But I was not backing down.

The woman, snarled, "I will not allow you to have his pups. You can only dream."

Anger boiled inside of me at her words. "A bit rich coming from you after what you have put us through. Get the hell out of our lives," I snapped, not taking her bullshit. "Or help me, I will kill you with my bare hands."

An evil laughter escaped from the woman, her head tilted back and she chuckled in to the sky. "Oh sweetie," she taunted, glaring at me once she has composed herself. "How can you kill me when I'm already dead?"

My brows pulled together, and I considered her words for a mere seconds, knowing for sure that she was dead. But she looked so real, I charged towards her to prove that.

"Lyra," Alexander's familiar voice urged, making me frown in confusion. "Baby, I need you to wake up."

His voice seemed separate and distant from where I was, and I glanced around but couldn't see him. That was until my eyes fluttered open in a panic, realising that it had all been a nightmare, and I sat up abruptly, shook to the core at what I had seen. My forehead was coated with a light sweat and I felt very hot. A nightmare.

"Lyra," Alexander whispered, sitting up by my side with his arm wrapped around my waist. He pulled me close to him and rested his head against mine, with his lips by my temple. "Hey, I'm here," he cooed, "It was only a dream. You're alright."

Breathing heavily, I nodded, but I couldn't seem to relieve the frown on my face or calm the frantic beating of my heart in my chest. Even in my dream, I hated that I had seen his mother. I hated her now and never wanted her to cross my mind, let alone dream of her.

"Okay," I muttered when I noticed Alexander's concerned gaze on me. Swallowing hard, I assured, "I'm okay."

"Do you want to talk about the dream?" he questioned, his voice low and calm, as he brushed my arm with his free hand, soothingly.

Shaking my head aggressively, I responded with, "No, I need to forget about it. It wasn't pleasant."

"Alright, baby," he replied, in a comforting tone, before he placed a gentle kiss on my exposed shoulder. "Come here, let's get you back to sleep. It is hardly past two A.M."

Groaning, I brushed my hair out of my face before I allowed him to lay us back down. Despite how mad I had been at him before our sleep, I needed his comfort right now more than anything.

I didn't want to tell him about my nightmare because it wasn't necessary. And we were already on terrible terms, I didn't need his mother to haunt us both in my dream and in real life. I wouldn't let her have that effect on me.

I wasn't sure what my dream meant, but I wanted to forget about it and not chase its definition. It really didn't matter. His mother was dead, and that was enough consolation.

My wolf was trying to comfort me at the same time, but I ended up whimpering in to Alexander's side once we had laid down. He must have thought there was too much distance between us, so he tugged me closer to him, holding me firmly.

I wasn't sure how long I laid there with my eyes open, replaying the nightmare in my head.

Alexander knew that I wasn't sleeping so he stayed up with me, but didn't utter a word.

Instead, he held me tightly and would occasionally pepper kisses over my head and temple to remind me that everything would be alright. I was grateful for the small gestures because, incredibly, they helped.

The next morning when I woke up, my body ached in all places, and I had possibly the worst headache. Groaning, I pried my eyes open to the brightness of the room. I was not used to the bright light after sharing a dark bedroom with Alexander.

My hand reached out to where Alexander had been last night but only to replace his side empty. I cocked my head up to glance around the room, only to replace myself alone in the room. Disappointment filled me and my wolf whimpered quietly, hating that Alexander hadn't been here to wake up to.

I didn't get much time to ponder on the thought when the pink, single flower on the bedside table caught my eyes. Only then did I notice the small note beneath the flower.

Confused, I rotated myself enough so I could reach for the flower and the note, bringing the flower to my nose to smell it. It didn't smell much more than an earthy scent, but it was pretty.

I lifted my hand with the note and began reading, realising it was from my mate.

'Last night was not the best night for us. I want to make it up to you. Meet me in my office when you are ready. I love you. - A.'

Biting my lip, I clung on to the note and flower as I recalled last night. Perhaps, getting mad at him had been petty and unnecessary. I had been so frustrated because of his expectations; for me to tell him everything, whereas, he got to choose and pick what to tell me. It didn't and wouldn't work like that.

Sighing, I pulled myself off of the bed and headed for the shower. His message asked me to meet him in his office when I was ready, and I definitely was not ready straight after waking up.

After showering and changing in to a summery dress that hung just above my knees, I made the bed quickly before I headed for Alexander's office.

I wasn't sure if he was in a meeting, so I knocked, not wanting to intrude. I didn't even have to wait for a response when the door swung open, revealing my handsome mate.

Alexander, with a phone pressed to his ear, beamed at me. He was dressed in all black, wearing a black shirt with matching coloured jeans.

Holding his hand out for me, I let him pull me in to him as he embraced me. He placed a soft kiss on my head, before he manoeuvred around me to close the office door.

"Yep," he muttered in to the phone, as he snaked his arm around my waist and guided us to the chair behind his desk. "No, absolutely. That is perfect. Thank you, Jonathan. It is unfortunate, I can only imagine what this has caused for you."

Alexander sat down on his chair and moved me so I was seated on his lap, his arm holding my body close and firmly to him. His head was leaned on my shoulder as he said a couple of last words in to the phone, before he placed the phone down on to the desk, to signal the end of the call.

"Good morning, baby," he murmured in to my neck, pulling me closer to him as he inhaled my scent. His lips peppered kisses over my neck lightly, before he asked, "Did you manage to sleep alright after the dream?"

Sighing, I shrugged. "I guess so. I was disappointed to replace you gone this morning, though."

Alexander chuckled lightly. "I couldn't sleep after what happened. I came down to my office to chase a couple of matters after you fell asleep."

At his words, I gasped and turned my torso around to face him. "What? You haven't slept all night?"

"Baby, that's normal for me," he assured, pulling me closer to him as he brought his head to rest on my shoulder again. "My wolf does not require much sleep. Besides, I got to ensure that you were alright all night. That is more than what sleep can offer for me."

"Alexander," I whispered, his words causing for butterflies to erupt in my stomach. "I'm sorry for how I acted, I was really mad at you."

My mate nodded, before he planted a kiss on the area behind my ear and down my neck. "Understandable," he murmured. "I am also sorry. When you are ready, we can talk about what happened with my mother."

"No," I quickly said, remembering my nightmare and not wanting to know anything of what she had done. "I think it's for the best if we move forward without unlocking the past. It won't change anything or add to our lives. It will only make our lives more difficult."

He didn't need to know about my dream, because I refused to let his mother haunt us even after her death. She had ruined many lives, including ours. But my mate had already sought revenge on my behalf, and honestly, that was enough for me now that I thought about it.

I refused to let her control my emotions like last night, and the nightmare, despite how worked up I had gotten from it, helped to serve as a reminder of that.

"I wanted to keep it from you for that precise reason," he chimed in, before he continued. "But I will try to be more transparent next time, I promise you."

"Good," I beamed, and turned around to face him. "You can start now by telling me who that was on the phone."

Alexander's blue eyes slowly darkened at my question, and I saw his muscles tense, with his jaw squared. "That was Jonathan," he elaborated, leaning back in the chair to create some distance, his voice hard. "The Alpha of Sirius Pack."

My brows furrowed. The Alpha to the same pack that Jessica had belonged to. Confused, I asked, "What did he want?"

Alexander sighed, his nails on my waist digging in to my skin slightly as his grip tightened on me. "Jessica's parents want revenge for her death," was all he said before the familiar loud bell of our door echoed in the room, making me yelp and frown.

Jessica's parents wanted revenge. Alexander and I really couldn't get a break, could we?