Thor's POV
"What next?" I ask Eric as we walk out of my dad's room. It feels as if my brain is shut down and I can no longer think properly. The thought that I almost lost my dad again scares me shitless. I wonder, what if he has another heart attack? Will he be able to survive it or he wouldn't like the doctor had said
"You need to rest now. Get some sleep. We still have a couple of hours before the sun comes up. There's the meeting with Alpha Nate and who knows what trouble or mystery the fake news of your dad's death would bring to us?"
"Yeah, we should go back to the house," I replied absent-mindedly. I'm not really sleepy and would have kept myself busy with work if I was at home but I'm not. Since there's nothing for me to do this early in the morning, I have no other choice than to go to bed as Eric said, knowing I would probably count sheep till the sun comes up
We finally arrive back at the house and immediately I enter the room assigned to me, everything changes.
'It seems I will be getting some sleep after all,' I thought to myself as I walked straight to bed.
'My mate will be putting me to bed. She's not there with me but I smell her essence strongly as I enter the bedroom. I undress and immediately fall naked in bed where I'm engulfed by her musk.
I close my eyes and smile when I remember everything that transpired in that bed earlier. Thinking about her makes my dick stirs before it quickly grows hard, throbbing painfully but I resist the urge to rub myself. Tomorrow seems so far away but it will surely come, and she will finally find out the truth about me
I couldn't have known what people say behind my back if not for Eric that kept me updated even when we were in Denmark. I never knew the shifters here heard about all the wars we fought in Denmark but to think they thought me to be a heartless, cold-blooded killer that drinks beer out of the skull of those who I've killed?
Yuk! That's gross. The thought of anyone drinking beer out of dead people's skulls makes me want to puke. I don't use to care about what anyone thought about me but not anymore. There's Flame now and I care a great deal about what she thinks of me. I don't want her to look at me and see a cold-blooded killer. I can't wait for tomorrow to come... My mind continue working till I finally drifted to dreamland
***
"Cinderella, wake - up!" I feel the space beside me on the bed slightly dips as the mattress yield to Eric's weight when he lays on it
"Cinderella, wake - up!" He says directly into my ear this time. I grab one of the pillows surrounding me and hit him in the face with it.
"Get the fuck out of my bed fool!" I open my eyes and growl out with displeasure, making him laugh.
"Did you remember that cartoon we watched when we were kids where Cinderella was sleeping and these tiny birds were chirping into her ears... 'Cinderella wake - up!"
"And?... Why are you bringing that up right now" I ask irritably. I hardly get a good night's sleep which he is always worried about. More reason why I'm surprised to see he's the one disturbing my sleep. Telling me about Cinderella!? What exactly is his problem? I wonder
"You were sleeping so blissfully, you reminded me of Cinderella. I couldn't help but be the bird to wake you up"
"You realized I was sleeping blissfully and yet you couldn't help but be the annoying bird that disturbed my sleep this early in the morning?"
"Well, yes! I had to wake you because contrary to what you think, it's not early in the morning, It's almost ten and..."
I don't wait for him to finish what he's saying before I jump out of bed.
"What the fuck, Eric! It's almost ten and you didn't deem it fit to wake me up earlier! How could you just watch me sleep when you know we have to meet Alpha Nate about the duel? Plus the information about the fake news..." I complain, making him groan out in exasperation.
"You're one difficult Alpha to please Thor, you know that right?"
"And you're the most disrespectful Beta that I have ever met in my entire life!" I reply and we both grin.
"While you sleep, Ella arrives with Ivar. Bear already picked her up to go take care of Uncle Knox. I asked Ivar to come join in the fun since Bear and Henrik are watching Uncle Knox. We don't know the kind of welcome party Justin and his mom might have waiting in store for us. Better be prepared than sorry you know
"Yeah, thanks, man!..." I say in appreciation to him for always thinking ahead of me.
Mr stomach grumbles then, reminding me that I had little to eat on the plane and we didn't eat dinner the previous night since we left in a hurry to save my dad
"Anything to eat around here? I'm famished"
"Yeah, you don't need to tell me. I heard your stomach loud and clear. Ella brought some food but I told her to take them to the hospital for Henrik and Bear. Since Ash cooked before she left, I figured you might want to know what your mate's cooking tastes like, right?
"She cooked?... I ask eagerly like a kid that was promised goodies. Even though I don't like the idea of my mate cleaning and cooking for anyone, I'm glad I'm the one receiving the service this time.
"Yeah, she did..." He replies, looking amused by my enthusiasm
"Great! I say with a smile "I just hope it would still be edible though. It's been hours since it was prepared"
"Yeah, it is. I found a sticky note on the fridge. Hurry up, go shower so we can eat! I'm also famished"
I enter the bathroom to brush my teeth and have a quick shower. When I came out, I saw my clothes had been laid on the bed. Ella might have brought them for me. I thought as I got dressed before going downstairs to the kitchen area.
"General" Ivar immediately stands up from where he was sitting by the kitchen island and slightly bows in respect when he sees me walk in. He's another of my fierce warriors, big, with a temper as fiery as his red hair. He's also Ella's mate. I'm glad to have him around to watch my back
"Hey, man. Please sit!" I say to him as I pull out a chair to sit down myself
I see Eric now has an apron on and I wonder why since I'm not sure it's necessary for him to wear an apron just because he wants to microwave our food. Then I see the eggs he already cracked inside a bowl, ready to go into the pan on the fire
"You're cooking again? Thought you said Ash already cooked?"
"Yeah, she did... She made summer rolls. Summer rolls would have been great if we were having it for lunch or dinner, not breakfast. I'm not sure if you would like to eat a meal that is meant to be served cold in the morning?"
"I wouldn't normally but my mate prepared it so I'm going to gladly eat it"
Eric chuckles
"This is incredible! Damn! You're even smiling happily! If anyone had ever told me you would have a smile on your face that doesn't seem like a predator grinning at his prey, I wouldn't have believed it"
"Better believe it" I reply and deliberately made my smile wider to his amusement
"The general has met his mate?" Ivar asks with surprise. He at the same time has a smug look on his face which I know means 'Now you'll find out what it feels like to have a mate.' We've always made jokes at his expense anytime he came late for training. We would all joke about how we should get a special kind of wrench to help pull him and his mate, Ella apart from each other every morning
"Where's she? When is she going to be introduced to the team?" Ivar ask
"Tomorrow, immediately after the duel. I want everyone who came from far and wide to watch the duel, to know who the new Luna of the Silver-moon pack is."
***
Alpha Nate's office is located inside the pack house building. As we walk through the wrought iron gate, I can't stop my neck from turning here and there while my eyes roam around as if I'd lost something. Hoping I will see my mate
"Can I trust you to act as if you don't know her and keep your hands to yourself if we walk into your mate right now?"
"No!" I reply flatly. I'm not going to make a promise that I might not be able to fulfill.