"I can't accept you as my mate. I only thought it fair to come and..." She began to say after a long drawn out silence. Her rambling was cut short by my laughter. I hadn't meant to laugh. It just kind of burst out, and I couldn't bring myself to stop. I couldn't even explain why I was laughing. Clutching my stomach, I looked up to see Izzy's face turning a bright shade of red, not out of embarrassment but anger. I swear if it were possible steam would have been coming out of her ears.
"Why are you laughing?" She demanded, stomping her foot, like a small child throwing a tantrum. Her actions were only serving to make me laugh more.
"I--It's just," I finally managed to get out, my laughter subsiding. "Just that we can't be mates."
"Excuse me? Are you saying I don't know how to recognize my own mate?!?" She yelled as she started to make her way towards me.
"No, it's just that--"
"That what? Just because you're an alpha, I can't possibly be your mate?" She seethed, cutting me off.
"No, what I mean is--"
"I'll prove it to you," she said cutting me off again, reaching up to grab my hand. Though it was nothing like the pure electricity I felt with Olivia, I tried to hide my shock when I felt a tingling sensation from her touch. Looking up at Izzy, I could see the effect that our contact was having on her. Her once gray eyes were slowing becoming black. As if on cue, our gazes met. She quickly yanked her hand from mine and turned away. I shook my head in disbelief. There had to be another explanation.
"Look, we can't possibly be mates," I explained one last time, sighing in resignation. I could feel the all too familiar pain closing in on me.
"Why not?" She asked, turning to face me. Her arms were wrapped around her body as if to shield herself from what I was about to say. Turning to look at a picture on my desk, I allowed my fingers to gently trace the edges of the frame. Olivia's beautiful face stared back at me. This beautiful angel had been my mate; nothing would ever make me doubt that. I looked back up at Izzy, with unshed tears in my eyes.
"Because my mate died," I whispered. She raised her shaky hand to cover her open mouth and began to shake her head in disbelief.
"That can't be true," she whispered though her tone told me she knew I wasn't lying. Without another word she darted out of my office, slamming the door behind her.
I am not really sure how long I sat there with a dumbfounded look on my face, just staring the closed door. It wasn't until Griffin walked in to get some paperwork from my desk, that I finally snapped out of it.
"What's wrong?" Griffin asked taking in my expression. I turned to look at him, but when I opened my mouth to say something, nothing came out. I sat there for a couple of moments just staring at him with my mouth agape.
"Dude you're scaring me. What's going on?" He asked again as he slowly approached me.
"Uh, nothing. Have you seen Izzy?"
"Izzy who?" He asked confused.
"The damn she-wolf," I said getting frustrated. I needed to talk to her, to make sense of this whole situation. Obviously, I knew she wasn't my mate, but for some reason, she was convinced I was her's. I also wanted to understand why, even though she was sure we were mates, she planned to reject me so quickly. Mate rejection was rare if not unheard of. It was painful for both wolves, and sentences each of them to a life of loneliness.
"I don't know. Do you need me to look for her?"
"No, it's fine. Never mind, did you need something?" I asked still a bit distracted.
"Not really. I was just going to ask if you wanted to go for a run." Griffin was a very hands on beta. Even though he trusted our guards, he still liked to do runs once in a while. He was more of an alpha than I was at the moment. I hate to think what I would do without him.
"Yeah, just let me drop off a few files in my room." I knew if I didn't leave them there, I wouldn't get around to reading them anytime soon. As we walked down the hall, Griffin suddenly came to a stop. It took me a moment to realizes he wasn't still beside me.
"You finally did it. Good for you," he said sounding slightly excited. I turned to look at him.
"What are you talking about?" But before he could answer, I realized the door to Olivia's "everything room was slightly ajar. Walking slowly towards the open door, I paused at the entrance. I still smell like my Olivia, but something was off about it. Like it was mixed with something else.
Finally, I mustered the courage to push the door open, my hand shaking. Everyone knew this room was off limits, not that many people came to the pack house anymore. Stepping into her room, I realized it was different from the last time I had been in here. Griffin was right, she had painted it again. The walls were no longer light purple with intricate silver swirls. They were now dark blue with stars and moons. Tears started pooling in my eyes at the realization that she had been turning it into a nursery.
"What the hell are you doing in here?" Griffin spat. Looking in the direction he was facing, I realized the reason the scent was off.
"Izzy?"
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