Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Wolf’s Bullied Mate Chapter 11

Isaiah

"Golden nectar from the mountaintops," I groaned as I held the mug under my nose. Tendrils of steam wisped to my nostrils, sending my eyes rolling back. "I've never tasted anything so good in my f*****g life." Troy sat across from me with a bewildered expression. "It's just...ground dark Colombian."

"But it's so good."

I took hefty sips, gulping sips, slurping sips that would have set off anyone with ASMR issues. Considering the amount of time since my last cup of coffee-which had been about two and a half days ago-this was a real treat. A damn reward for the commitment I had made in haste to Jada.

At the time, the offer was fair. She was upset. I had done something to offset her upset. It cheered her up. Everybody won.

Until it came time to pay up.

It wasn't like me to back out of a competition. Whatever I said, I did. It was just the way I was with everyone, even the people I didn't like. Jada wasn't among that group anymore, but I didn't fully like her either.

Fogginess crept back into my brain. I chased it away with an orgasmic sip of lifesaving coffee. Sweet nectar, delicious golden mana from heaven...

Elias shuffled into the living room and crashed onto the couch next to me. He nearly made me drop my mug. I glared at him over the ceramic, practically drilling another hole into his head right between his eyes. That man was towing the line between being a bad boy and being a bad nuisance.

Before I could speak, my alpha cleared his throat.

I sat ramrod straight. "Yes, Alpha?"

Troy smiled kindly. "How's your mate doing?"

"She's fine." I blanched. "She's not my mate. You know that, Troy."

"How do you know she's not your mate?"

I shrugged off the question. Wasn't it obvious at this point? "Coffee is more important."

"Your drink is more important than that a*s you've been tapping?"

"She's not a piece of ass," I hissed. More coffee made the anger subside though it wasn't quite enough to take off the edge. Two and a half days was a long time without caffeine. My head was pounding. "She's a person, you know. With feelings." "But she's not your mate," Troy stated matter-of-factly.

I shook my head. "Correct."

"Either she is, or she isn't," Elias pointed out. "You're not making sense over there, pal."

"Like you ever make sense about that schoolteacher."

He scowled. "Shut your trap, troll."

"Stop calling me that, you idiotic fool!"

Troy held up his hands. The coffee he had brewed went back to my mouth, shutting me up, keeping me from saying anything more than I already had to get myself into trouble with him. Yet maybe it wasn't me. Maybe it was Elias. Shit, it was hard to think clearly.

"Your energy is all over the place," Troy observed. "It's like the withdrawals from the first time you went sober."

I stared into the muddy liquid of my cup. That wasn't something I'd expected to hear come out of his mouth. How many years had it been? Too many. Long nights were spent sweating the junk out of my system in my bed with my alpha at my side and Elias and Wendell keeping guard of the door so I couldn't bolt.

That shit was hard. This was just coffee. I wasn't addicted to it.

Troy gave me a compassionate grin. "It's like the hard stuff, you know."

"It's nothing like junk."

"It's worse than alcohol. Cigarettes too." He stroked his chin. "I never met a man who could quit smokes as easily as you gave up drugs and alcohol."

I lowered my head. "It wasn't easy."

"Nothing worth doing is easy."

Were we still talking about coffee or was he trying to lead us into something else? "So what?"

"You're strong, Izzy. You deserve happiness."

My eyes closed instantly. That phrase had been uttered in the darkness of my bedroom where I was withdrawing like a true junkie. He had never told me I had great potential. He'd simply reminded me that I was enough, that I was stronger than the dope that was working its way out of my system.

What was I on back then? I thought. Just as quickly, my internal wolf sniffed with amusement as I added, What wasn't I on back then?

Good gods, even Jada had no clue as to what drove me to wake up in a cold sweat at night. She knew I had lost my pack. She knew about the medical experiments. She knew about my alpha.

But she didn't know about the other crap.

I took a deep breath. "I know."

"As you say every time."

"As I'll keep saying every time."

Elias grinned and held up his mug. "To saying the same things over and over again."

"Shut up, Eli."

Troy jumped to his feet to clamp a hand over his cousin's mouth. Sometimes, Elias just needed a damn ball gag. Perhaps a bone would be appropriate for him to gnaw on.

"Enough," Troy said calmly while his eyes warned of greater consequences. "Wendell is out with the alpha and his security team. We have time to talk about what's going on." He turned to me. "Why are you resisting the ritual?" "I'm not resisting anything," I claimed.

Though I wasn't entirely confident about my response.

"I'm just thinking about all the angles," I reasoned. "I'm just passing the time."

Troy kept his hand over his cousin's mouth. Elias looked bored. But Troy appeared invested in my business. "Explain."

"You know Blake made a mistake," I found myself saying. Did I believe that? "I don't have a mate. I never will have a mate."

Elias swatted away his cousin's palm. "That's bullshit."

"Yeah, right," I snorted. "Just like it's bullshit that we're stuck on this ranch with these complete strangers."

"Your neighbors say you're happy with Jada," Troy stated. "What's changed?"

"Nothing," I growled. And then I hung my head. Why was I snapping so hard at my alpha? It wasn't like me. "I'm sorry."

Troy scuttled past his cousin and sank into the couch next to me, forcing Elias to scoot over in a way that would have pissed off anyone. But not Elias. Not us. We were different.

I couldn't stay mad for long either. "Stupid coffee. I told her I'd give it up."

"Why?"

"Because she was sad."

Troy smiled, amusement glittering in his eyes. "Why would you give something up for someone else, Izzy?"

"Because I lo-"

Nope.

That wasn't about to pop out of my mouth.

My heart lurched in my chest as I swallowed my words and tried again. "Because I love seeing her happy!"

"Yet you claim you're not her mate."

"I'm not."

Troy's lips trembled with a brand-new smile. He was holding back laughter. I could tell. It should have ticked me off to no end.

It sort of did.

And it sort of didn't.

"Izzy, you were never good at lying," he teased. Just as I felt myself get riled up, he tapped the back of my wrist twice. "She'll be angry when she finds out you've had coffee." "I know."

Another phrase that slipped right from my lips. When was I going to get back to my clearheaded thinking and planning? Did coffee really fuck me up that much?

"I know," I repeated softly. "I'm just..."

"Struggling," Elias finished. "We get it. We've all struggled."

I cleared my throat. "Not like this."

"No, but we've all lost things," Troy assured. "We've all been forced to give up certain things."

I set the mug down. "Like your power."

"I didn't give up power."

"Yes, you did. You deferred to a different alpha. You've given up your power."

Elias puffed up. "You can't speak to Alpha like that-"

Troy held up a hand. That was all it took to silence us, to stop the bickering and the fighting and the showing off. One hand raised. Troy had perfected the gesture for years prior to his taking on the throne. When he became alpha, we fell in line with him without question. He had always been meant to lead.

I hated seeing him rule underneath someone else's ruling. "Alpha, with all due respect, you haven't given us a plan. How long are we supposed to deal with these backwards traditions?"

"Forever," Troy replied calmly. "We're staying with this pack, Izzy. I know neither of you want to hear it, but Wendell has been supportive of the decision from the very beginning-"

I was incredulous. "Why did you tell Wendy before us?"

Troy glared at me. "At ease."

My inner wolf whimpered as it skittered off to the other side of the room. Fury was difficult to handle as an emotion in general because many wolves put off a harsh scent along with it. Disappointment? That was something else. That was far more painful to feel, especially from my superior who I was tied to through an emotional and spiritual connection.

It was like barbed wire around my heart. It made me want to hide. "I'm sorry, Alpha. My apologies. Please, don't be angry."

Compassion quickly returned. Then Troy looked far more tired than usual. "I'm sorry, Izzy. I don't know what came over me."

Elias touched his cousin's shoulder lightly. "You're stressed. We can tell."

"This has been trying for us all. I just want us to have a family again. I just want us to be safe above all else."

I bowed my head respectfully. What my alpha wanted was what I wanted. His urgency for peace alarmed me into action. I returned to the couch and pushed the mug aside, swearing the stuff off both internally and physically. "It's not drugs. I can handle giving it up." "She'll be upset," Troy reminded me. "You have to be honest with her."

"It's one small cup. She won't be any the wiser. It's not like it's drugs."

He tapped my wrist. "So you've said, Izzy."

"What?" I looked away. "It's true."

"That doesn't matter. The fact is that you're lying to your mate about something."

I opened my mouth and snapped it closed just as fast. It was best not to interrupt my alpha while he was speaking, no matter how much I disagreed.

"If you're willing to lie to her, then who else will you lie to? Would you want to be known as a dishonest man to the rest of the pack?"

Alright, that's not fair, I thought. He knows I'm too proud for that crap.

To say my alpha had a good point was too much for the moment. Pride wouldn't allow me to admit that as much as it was embedded in my nature to agree with my alpha. The laws of physics were fighting each other viciously as I gave in to what Troy was saying. Fine-I didn't want to be perceived as a dishonest man. I kept my promises, unlike the jerks who used to hang around in our pack. Those liars had left a trail of bloody hearts right through the streets. After I was through with them, they'd apologized, but it shouldn't have taken a guy like me threatening them to hold them accountable to their word.

I had given my word to my alpha that I would follow Blake's instructions. That was still true. I didn't want to be made a liar in that situation either. If all it took was admitting a small slip to Jada, then fine, I would do it.

But not because I cared about her feelings or something.

Troy smirked as if he could hear my thoughts. "Stubborn."

"You never complained in the past."

"Are you so sure about that, Izzy?"

Elias chuckled from his spot on the couch. He reached for my mug, snatched it out of the way before I could grab it back, and then guzzled down the decadent liquid inside.

Never again would I taste such glorious coffee. I had always been the death before decaf type. Now I had to adopt a new habit. "What about tea?" It was logical to ask, wasn't it? "What about natural herbs?"

Troy stood up with a sigh and went to the kitchen. "You're trying to find a workaround to your addiction and it's not going to work." "I'm not addicted to coffee."

"Prove it," Elias challenged. "Give it up for a week. If you're not jonesing for more at the end of that, then you're not addicted." I growled at him.

But the growling ceased with Troy raising his hand. He wasn't even in view. That was how good he was with the whole gesture thing. "He's right," Troy agreed. "Give it up for a week. The least you can do is try, Izzy. Be a good man and be a good mate."

She's not my mate, I fought internally. Any minute now, the other shoe is going to drop and she's going to take off. She's going to leave. Everyone else had left. Why wouldn't she do the same?

Troy rested a hand on my shoulder while extending a hot mug to me. The contents smelled earthy. I accepted the mug, hardly cringing at the temperature. Years of manual labor had given me callouses that could pretty much count as oven mitts at this point. I sipped the concoction. A few herbs stuck to my lip to which my alpha smiled bashfully and shrugged. "I'm still getting the hang of loose leaf. Sue me."

"No caffeine?"

"No caffeine."

I slumped. "This isn't going to end well."

"Remember your work is vital to the community. You must cleanse and clear your head."

Elias hummed like a monk in the background. I grabbed a pillow and launched it in his direction, smirking when he sliced it right out of the air with a karate chop.

I sipped the tea. It was alright. "Alright, but I'm complaining the entire time."

"That's acceptable. You're welcome to complain," Troy said. "Just make sure you don't try to force anyone to complain with you."

No truer words could have been spoken by my alpha.