The Gentle Witch And Her Fierce Alpha

Can't Stay Away

Xavier was completely out of sorts and unreasonable as he bellowed orders at his pack, sparred continuously and was so angry that the only person who dared approach him in this mood was his Beta Ryan who came crashing into his office with a loud slam of the door as Xavier scowled at him.

"What do you want" he growled as Ryan flopped into the chair opposite his desk.

His brown eyes stared into Xavier's ones with a seriousness that made his Alpha look surprised. "You need to calm the hell down Xavier. You're scaring the entire pack with this bad mood of yours."

Xavier's look was thunderous "do I need to remind you who you are talking to?"

"I'm talking to the Alpha of my pack" Ryan shot back irritably "who won't have a pack at this rate if he keeps this up."

Ryan was stunned when Xavier looked away and muttered "I know it's just..."

He ran a hand through his blonde hair "just what Xavier" Ryan prodded, knowing very well that there had to be a good reason for this. Sure Xavier had a temper, could be infuriating at times but this was well beyond that. Something was troubling his Alpha, what was it?

"I found my mate" Xavier answered thickly avoiding Ryan's eyes.

"That's fantastic" Ryan was enthusiastic, genuinely happy for Xavier. Werewolves mate's were a sacred thing to them, the complete other half and were cherished and loved when they accepted the bond. Werewolves would fight to the death to protect their mates and pups. So why did Xavier sound so morose.

"Did she reject you" Ryan asked slowly. That would explain the Alpha's bad mood. Was he heartbroken? If so Ryan could empathize and explain to the pack who would understand what he was going through.

Xavier shook his head "she doesn't know that she's my mate" he said quietly, fingers drumming on the desk nervously.

"How can that be? Wolves can sense their mates instantly unless....is she human?"

"No she's not human, it's worse than that."

"Vampire then" Ryan guessed "it's rare but not unheard of. Why is that such a bad thing?"

"She's a witch Ryan, a damn witch" Xavier almost shouted as Ryan flinched.

"Oh boy" Ryan muttered. Wolves didn't like witches generally but had been know to still accept those who were mates, albeit a bit reluctantly. However Xavier hated witches even more than others, a dark witch responsible for the death of his parents.

How did Ryan approach this delicately? "Is she a dark witch?"

Xavier shook his head thoughtfully "no her magic is white so she can't be. But white witches are rare, so few of them and the only ones we know of that exist are the ones that are mates in other packs."

"If she's a white witch Xavier then she's not a dark one or a bad person" Ryan told him "how do you know her magic is white anyway?"

"I got stuck in a trap while on a run and she healed me."

"See that shows kindness and empathy."

Xavier was still annoyed "doesn't matter if she's a witch" he spat out "the whole lot of them should be exterminated."

"Xavier, you might say that but I'm willing to bet that shadow disagrees with you."

Damn right you imbecile. Serena is perfect for us if you would let go of your hatred and actually look at our mate properly. I swear I'll never speak to you again if you reject her, I'm telling you right now Shadow threatened.

"But the pack" Xavier tried again, Ryan just giving a chuckle.

"The pack will accept her if she is your mate, Xavier you know that. Stop looking for excuses to reject your mate."

Xavier sighed. Was it really as easy as Ryan was claiming? Was he finding problems where there was none? Even he was able to admit that Serena was the complete opposite of a dark witch but it was still difficult to not judge her based on her race or kind. That wasn't her fault though. If her ever found the dark witch responsible for his parent's death he wouldn't hesitate to rip their throat out but that hatred shouldn't be directed at his mate. 

He looked up with a grimace "fine" he told a very amused Ryan "you might be right. I'm thinking I'll go back and watch her first, make sure she's not pretending to be good. Besides Shadow's itching for a run anyway."

Ryan gave a grin and silently patted himself on the back. With luck this would propel Xavier out of his funk and maybe even make him a little bit less ferocious in his dealings with the pack. As it was whenever a child saw him they went running in the opposite direction, something that Xavier wasn't even aware of. He was a good Alpha but since the death of his parents he had gotten angrier and more short tempered. A mate would be a good thing for him.

Xavier was almost out the door when Ryan suddenly spoke, halting him in his tracks. "I would like to come and see this mate of yours myself" he said quietly "if she's gotten under your skin this much then she must be something special."

"Fine but we stay out of sight and if you approach her I will kill you" Xavier was short, dashing out the door as Ryan kept up with him easily. Unabashedly they took their clothes off, placing them behind a tree and shifted without ceremony. 

Xavier mind-linked him. "It's a fair distance away so make sure you keep up. You fall behind it's your problem."

Ryan just gave a small howl and together they raced into the forest, dodging around trees and over fallen branches like it was a second nature to them. They would never get tired of how exhilarating it was to run at this speed, everything so bright and vivid with scents that drifted to them. It was something that couldn't be described properly, a side of them that was embraced wholeheartedly and never taken for granted. 

Xavier slowed down, careful to place his feet so that he was silent, stealthily lowering himself to the ground as Ryan copied his movements. They could hear the sound of racing footsteps crashing towards them, heavy breathing, hearts racing. Neither one of them expected to see two girl's almost running directly into them, eyes wide and hair mussed as they raced from who knows what.