Finding Her True Alpha
Chapter 120: Resentment

Mason

“Derek, what the f**k was that?” I growled at him after Ashlyn left our room. “You feel the same way. Don’t act like you don’t,” he yelled back.

“Sure, but you don’t have to tell her. She made a decision that she can’t change and making her feel guilty about it won’t help. I understand how you feel, but we love her and she needs us right now.” I scolded him.

“We are always going to come second to that fucken alpha.” he growled out. Before he could storm out, I yelled after him.

“If she wanted him, she had a way out. She remarked us because she wanted us.”, I told him. I must have made my point, because he hesitated before slamming the door behind him. Sighing, I left our room. I had a meeting with my father this morning. I was debating canceling so I could sort my mates out.

I understand why Derek is so upset, but it will change nothing. She’s here with us, and that’s what matters right now. I don’t like her relationship with lan either, but I don’t want to control her. I don’t think she would ever cheat on us and if she was going to leave, she could have. She marked us before she knew lan had found his mate. If she really wanted to be. with him, she had the chance.

I met Brandon at the front door. He was coming with me while Liam was on protection duty. Matt should be back tomorrow, and then we can make up a schedule for the warriors. We had warriors stations all around the house and yard. The news of an heir had spread, and we wanted to keep not only James safe but Ashlyn as well.

We didn’t know what she was capable of now. And after everything that has happened, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

“That good, huh?” He asked after we exited the house.

“Yeah. Derek’s pissed about this whole lan thing. He feels like she gave up being with our son to save lan.” I sighed.

“That’s rough,” he said.

“And he told her,” I said, and he gasped.

“f**k. And what did she say?” he asked me, while we walked to the pack house.

“She agreed and said that it would never happen again. And then she left our room,” l answered.

“Mase, you know you have nothing to worry about. If she wanted lan, then she could have left, but most importantly, she wouldn’t have let you mark her again.” he said.

“How did you know we remarked to her?” I asked him.

“We all saw it this morning in the kitchen,” he answered. I don’t even remember seeing it.

“Right.”

“She clearly doesn’t need the mate bond.” He shrugged.

“Would you have marked Sage without the bond?” I asked him.

“Without hesitation. But Sage was so worried about me wanting kids and then it was her parents. The thought of hybrids isn’t well liked,” he answered.

“Who would have guessed that we both would end up with witches?” I told him and he chuckled.

“Right? As crazy as our lives have been, I’m glad that you found Ashlyn, and I found Sage. Things will get better.” he said, and I nodded. Before we reached the pack house, my phone chimed in my pocket. I pulled it out to see an alert on James’ baby monitor. My heart was instantly in my throat. I opened the app to find that Ashlyn and Sage were sitting in the window. Brandon leaned over to see what I was looking at.

“Mase, you probably shouldn’t ease drop.” Brandon said. And I knew it wasn’t right, but before I put my phone away, I heard something that Ashlyn said that broke me.

“I’m no longer important. I’m no queen. Maybe being mated to Mason and Derek. I can understand being worried about James’ safety, but mine? I’m a no one again.”

“How the hell can she think she isn’t important?” I said out loud.

“Mason, stop listening.” Brandon said, grabbing my phone.

“However, she feels it’s up to her to tell you. She must not know about the cameras,” Brandon said, and I shook my head. My phone saved the footage, so l clipped the clip of her saying what she said and sent it to Derek.

“Mason, What are you doing?” Brandon asked me, while I was busy on my phone.

“I heard what you said, but I just want Derek to hear what she said. Just that part.” I told him.

“Fine, but if she kills you, I’m bringing you back just to say, I told you so.” He said and I pushed my lips into a line.

Brandon and I were sitting in a conference room with my father and his gamma. We were going over plans for the new council building since the whole thing will have to be demolished and rebuilt. It’s going to be a massive undertaking, especially since we are working with four other kingdoms to get this done. The phone in the room rang and my father answered it.

“Yes?” he answered.

“Oh, that is wonderful. Please send them up.” My father said, his mood taking a 180.

“Father?” l asked him when he hung up the phone.

“Ashlyn is here with James.” My father announced, and I looked over at Brandon. My look at Brandon did not go unnoticed by my father.

“Should you not be happy that your mate and child are visiting?” he asked me and I let out a sigh.

“Its complicated.” I told him. And before he could say anything else, there was a knock on the door. My father rushed over to the door to answer it.

“Ashlyn, it’s so good to see you up.” He exclaimed, Wrapping her in a hug.

“Thank you, Arthur.” She returned his hug. I felt awkward as I sat there looking at the two of them.

“Now, what can I do for you, my dear?” he asked her, k!ssing James’ cheek. She could now hold him on her h!p. She had the whole mom look down.

“Could I speak to you in private, please?” she asked him, sounding nervous about something.

“Of course, my dear” he told her before turning his attention back to the room.

“Gentlemen, will you excuse me?” he said, and they both left. I felt a ping in my heart that she didn’t even acknowledge me.

“Are you not going to go see her?” Brandon asked, and I shrugged.

“If she was here to see me, she would have asked for me,” I told him, going back to my work.

“And you think what Derek told her was bad,” Brandon mumbled under his breath. I pushed away from the table. I went to leave the room, running into my father who was entering while I was exiting.

“Where are they?” I asked him.

“l believe she needed to get some books from the council building She didn’t find what she was looking for in the library.” My father answered.

“The council building isn’t safe for her or James,” I told him.

“Really, Mason? Yes, of course, I would send my daughter-in-law and my grandson into danger. She said that she was going to take some warriors and leave James at home with Sage. And Mason, I don’t know what is going on with you and Ashlyn, but you had better fix it. I didn’t watch you fall apart every day for the last eight weeks, just so you could f**k it all up.” my father scolded me.

“And how the hell do you know it was my fault and not hers?” I argued.

“She has been lying in bed, fighting for her life for the last eight weeks. What the hell did she do? Sleep too long?” His voice was full of sarcasm.

“I did nothing,” I told him.

“Bullsh!t.” Brandon sneezed behind me.

“Dad, she’s only been awake for less than 24 hours.” I told him.

“And yet you are here working? I could have handled this today, so why did you really come in today?” he asked, and I sighed. I didn’t have an answer.

“Fix it. Victor and l are coming over for dinner tonight. And both you and Derek had better have pulled your heads out of your a*sses by the time we arrive.” He told me before taking his seat. I turned back to see Brandon holding back his snickering.

“And how is that fair? 1, for one, did nothing wrong.” I told him, sitting down again.

“I still see you sitting here with us, instead of with your mate. So, yes, you are doing something wrong. Something is clearly bothering her and you should be able to feel her emotions through the bond. Are you not bothered because she didn’t even bother to say Hi to you when she came in here? And you didn’t even greet her. It doesn’t matter how angry you are, you always greet your mate and you also show them you love them. Relationships aren’t perfect and they are hard work. And is the mother of your child not worth your hard work?”

“Fine, I’ll go see her.” I yelled in frustration. I stood up and headed for the door.

“It doesn’t matter now. She’s at the council building,” my father said. And I was about to punch this damn door.

“Are you f*****g kidding me? You just tore me a new one about not being there for my mate, just to tell me she left Silver Moon.” I growled.

“Next time, do better. Now, sit, we have work to do” He said, going back to his paperwork like he didn’t just scold me like a child. I flopped back down into my seat and pulled out my phone to text Derek and Liam. I needed to make sure that Liam was with Ashlyn.

me: Ashlyn is at the council building.

D: and?

Me: just letting you know.

D: why did she go there?

Me: she’s looking for a book, according to my father. I haven’t spoken to her.

D: She didn’t take James with her, did she?

Me: No, he’s with Sage.

D: okay, good. I think my father may be right. Everything has changed with us. Now l just had to figure out how to get us back to how we were before.

Me: Liam are you with Ashlyn?

Liam: Yes, she wanted to go to the council building. James is with Sage back at home. And we took half the warriors with us and left the other half at home.

Me: Okay, just keep her safe. That place isn’t safe to be wandering around in.

Liam: Already on it.

I went back to work, thinking about what I could do to help strengthen our relationship. I know I marked them both because l love them. And I felt the bond now. I can feel that she is okay, maybe upset. I can’t place the emotion. Derek, on the other hand, is angry. I don’t know if he was angry with himself or with Ashlyn. Both of us should have skipped work and just been there with her and James. We are stuck in this routine of not having her and we need to break it.

I love her, and I don’t ever want her to question my love for her. The first moment l laid eyes on her, I could have marked her. I knew I wanted her, with or without the mate bond. So why is this so hard? I prayed every day that she would wake up and now that she is, I’m here at work doing whatever the f**k this is.

“Dad, I’m going home,” I told him before I stood up and left, without saying another word. I can just wait with James until his momma comes home. I was over being away from her. All four of us need to spend time together. We are a family and a part of that family has been gone, but now that they are back, we need to work through everything. Our family was worth fighting for.

l entered the house, finding Sage playing with James on the floor in the living room. He let out a squeal as soon as he saw me, making me smile. I wandered over to him and picked him up, k!ssing his cheek.

“We didn’t expect you home,” Sage said.

“I know, but I just needed to be home.” I told her and she nodded.

“Ashlyn told me what happened this morning.” Sage told me, sitting on the couch.

“And?” asked her. I knew she had more to say. One thing I knew about Sage was that she would always speak her mind, no matter how honest.

“Her soul is broken. That’s why you feel so disconnected from her right now,” she said.

“I don’t understand. How is she broken?” I asked her, confused.

“You and Thor are two sides of the same coin. You both share a soul. And now that Ashlyn doesn’t have Tundra, she is broken.” My stomach was in knots from the guilt I was feeling about what happened today.

“Also, she talked to lan today. I don’t know why you and Derek were so worried about him and Ashlyn? She just wanted her friend to be happy, and you both twisted it into something that it wasn’t.” She stated.

“He loves her.” I defended.

“Being in love and loving someone are different. You can love someone without being in love with them. He was her safety net. And you both twisted it and made her feel guilty about being happy. She clearly loves both of you. Ashlyn is hurting and when you both walked away from her, you pulled away your safety net.” She explained.

“Why can everyone see it but me and Derek?” asked her, confused. Brandon, my father and now Sage. And I’m sure Liam noticed it as well.

“Because both of you are resentful of the decision she made. Would you have left Brandon or Liam behind?” She asked me and I sighed.

“No,” I whispered.

“Even if you knew you might die, leaving behind your mates and son? Would you just say f**k it and leave them behind?” she pushed her point.

“No” I told her.

“Then stop blaming her. She could have stayed dead, but she came back, broken, for you three. Her being broken was worth it as long as she had you three. So both of you need to make this right before something happens that you can’t take back.” She said, and I nodded.

My phone rung in my pocket and l juggled James around so I could pull my phone out of my pocket. I noticed it was Liam before l answered.

“Mason, we need you here. It’s Ashlyn.”