Lycan's Mate (His Claim) Chapter 88

Fiona's POV

"You may both leave now. I'll make sure Blake and Anthonio leave the premises."

Ben eyed Joel for a few seconds before looking up at his Beta and motioning for him to follow as he walked around the desk and made his way out the door. Before leaving, the Beta paused at the doorframe and bowed respectfully in Joel's and Blake's direction before doing so to me. My eyes widened in shock at the sudden gesture, but before I could question it, he was already out the door and closing it shut behind him. I turned around slowly and faced Joel, who now had a bright smile on his face as he stared up at me. I tilted my head in question until a sudden thought occurred to me

"How do you know their names?" I asked, pointing at Blake and Anthonio before folding my arms over my chest, waiting for his answer.He let out a soft chuckle before shaking his head.

"Well, it is an Alpha's duty to know each and every single Alpha, as well as their Beta's, in the United States. I would bother to learn the others around the world, but some of them are too hard to pronounce," he said, waving his hand dismissively in the air

I nodded in understanding before something he said made me freeze. I looked back at him with wide eyes before I gave him a once over. He couldn't be. "Wait…." I said, bringing up my hand and feeling all eyes on me at that moment. "Did you say, Alpha's duty?"

He let out a hearty laugh before looking back at me.

"Are you having some difficulty hearing, my dear?" He asked jokingly

I gave him a playful glare before walking around the desk and leaning the palm of my right hand against the desk as I faced him with curious eyes.

"You mean to tell me that you….you were the Alpha of the Lincroft Pack?" He simply nodded once, the usual smile reaching his eyes.

"So that makes…." My voice trailed off as I pointed at the door, my eyes never once leaving the old man seated before me

He nodded, his smile slipping slightly as he stared at the door as if he could see right through it.

"Ben, my grandson," he finished for me

My eyes widened some more (if that was even possible) as I digested his words. So wait, that means they're related. Joel is related to Ben. Ben is related to Joel. Ben and Joel are both related. My mind quickly imagined both faces next to each other and wound up with not that many comparisons, except for their eyes. I mentally face palmed myself as I realized how similar they actually were. There weren't many people around here with that hue.

Heck, they might be the only people around here with that shade of gray. How was I not able to see this before? Was I really that blind? Clearly I was since I wasn't even able to detect werewolves around me when it was so obvious back home.

"Well, that just made things interesting," Anthonio said quietly, shaking his head with a small smile on his face

"Since when has he been your grandson?" I asked, baffled at the turn of events occurring before me.

Joel raised an eyebrow in my direction before saying slowly,

"Since the day he was born."

Behind me, I could hear a small chuckle erupt through the air and I quickly turned around and shot Marcus a deadly glare which caused him to shut his mouth immediately. Even with the silence in the room, he never once let the smile fall from his lips. Sending him one last glare, I looked over at Blake who was staring at me with an unreadable expression. Not being able to hold his gaze any longer, I looked back at Joel, opening my mouth to ask him a series of questions but he beat me to it

"Don't worry Fiona, I'll explain everything one day." I let out a soft sigh before nodding as he stood up, pushing the chair a little back to stand up properly. "Now, I think it'd be best for you to get a move on since there's a lot of things to do today."

"Don't remind me," I muttered, slumping my shoulders as I made my way around him and towards the door. I know, it would've been easier for me to go through Blake and Anthonio since that was the quickest way to the door, but after feeling his dark eyes on me the entire time, I couldn't help but try to keep a good distance away from him despite the fact that my body was screaming for me to go to him

As I reached for the doorknob, the sound of footsteps walking behind me caught my attention and I immediately turned around, allowing my curiosity to get the best of me. Joel was now standing on the other side of the desk in front of Blake, shaking his hand as my mate bowed before the old man. Marcus and Anthonio followed suit on either side of them and I couldn't help but do so myself. Luckily for me, nobody seemed to notice the gesture. Huh, the things you learn everyday

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Alpha…." Blake's voice trailed off as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion

Joel chuckled before him, shaking his hand as he spoke.

"Alpha Lincroft. But you can call me Joel. Fiona here already does," he said, motioning with his head to my direction. I simply smiled sheepishly.

"But the pleasure is all mine. It is always great to meet the new soon to be Alphas. And seeing as you are the soon to be Alpha of the most powerful pack in the United States, it's truly an honor." Joel then bowed his head in Blake's direction before releasing his hand

"I look forward to speaking with you in the near future," Blake said politely as he made his way towards the door, his eyes trained solely on me

"As do I," Joel said with a nod of his head.

"Now let's get you boys out of here before my grandson picks up another fight."

Marcus chuckled behind him with a goofy smile on his face.

"I'm pretty sure he will soon."

Joel simply nodded, a disturbed expression overtaking his features before we all exited the room. We made our way towards the main lobby where Clara was still typing away at her computer. Sensing our presence, she lifted up her head and nodded in our direction before smiling up at me. I returned it with ease before turning around and facing the other men. Marcus nodded in Blake's direction, seeming to have some conversation with him before standing next to me. Anthonio waved goodbye at us, even being polite enough to say so to Clara before walking out the door with Joel close behind him

Instead of leaving as he was supposed to, Blake stayed behind, staring down at me with that unreadable expression still written on his face. I tried my best to decipher what that emotion was, but his eyes seemed to build up these walls, not allowing me to enter for some unknown reason. I was just about to say goodbye to him before the unexpected thing happened

Without hesitation, he took a large step forward and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against him for a hug. For a few seconds, I remained frozen in place, my arms on either side of me. Shaking my head, I lifted up my arms and wrapped them around his waist as best as I could, seeing as I was a lot smaller than he was. His grip tightened, pressing my body close to his own where they both seemed to mold perfectly together. I took in a deep breath, my mind suddenly going fuzzy from the scent of his cologne. Did he always smell this good

As his fingers traced small circles on my lower back, I couldn't help but shiver at the sensation he was causing me. It was as if a jolt of lightning was suddenly coursing through my spine, igniting a fire within me that I had not known had burned out to begin with. I closed my eyes, tightening my hold as I continued to breathe in his lovely scent. To relish the moment as our surroundings seemed to disappear without my notice

"Stay safe, beautiful. I'll see you after work," he whispered into my ear, his lips lingering longer than necessary before he pulled away.

As I took a step back, I couldn't help but blink a few times to rid myself out of this spell he had somehow casted on me. I looked up at him just in time to see a knowing smile spread across his lips before turning around and making his way out of the building where Anthonio and Joel were waiting patiently.

I watched his figure disappear out of my line of sight until I felt a presence appear at my side. Not bothering to look, I let out a soft sigh as I ran a nervous hand through the loose strands of hair that had managed to fall out of my tight bun.

"Tell me something," Marcus said in a hushed tone, his eyes gazing out the doors as well.

"What?" I asked as I began to redo my bun once more for the long day ahead of me.

"Why exactly did you leave Blake in the first place?" He asked, his blue eyes meeting mine as he waited patiently for my answer.

My mouth opened and closed several times as I rummaged through my brain, looking for an answer. But as I continued to stare up at him, all my mind could utter was, I don't know..?.