Hate Mates (The Alpha Shifter)

“Do we have an agreement?” she asked.

“I don’t know how this is going to work, but I’m in. I don’t want to spend any longer feeling this way than I have to. I don’t mean hanging out with you, I mean, you know, the fuck-ups?”

She chuckled. “Yes, I agree. I don’t want the fuck-ups. Not anymore.”

****

Landon had mixed feelings about Alexa’s plans. First, he wanted out of the cuffs to be able to perform his duties properly and to have the pack not being difficult for the sake of it. That was what he wanted, but he also loved being bound to Alexa. Being close to her helped to calm him. He’d also noticed on the days he spent with her, his weakness had started to ebb away. It was no longer difficult for him to open a jar of sauce. Up until his father’s punishment, he hadn’t been able to open a jar, and he’d been getting weaker daily.

He also noticed Alexa’s strength had started to balance out. She was no longer tearing doors off hinges, putting holes in walls, or even bending metal.

So far, their closeness wasn’t a problem. They were fixing each other.

What Landon didn’t like was the idea they were never going to be mates. He wouldn’t say it aloud because that would be awkward. Mating Alexa had never sounded like a bad idea to him. They had their issues, but he’d never admit that he wanted to mate with her.

This was their problem.

Alexa’s plan to show the pack they were working together turned out to be harder than they originally thought.

After one month, they were no closer to getting the cuffs off, but tomorrow night was the full moon. Landon didn’t know what was going to happen during that time, but he knew from experience the cuffs would need to come off.

He couldn’t believe they had been bound together for a month, but it hadn’t been a great month. His duties as an alpha had come with so many difficulties. On one occasion he’d been so angry at two neighbors, he’d nearly exposed what they were to humans. If it hadn’t been for Alexa reeling him in, he’d have lost it. They had been arguing about the size of the garden hedges. He’d gone to great lengths, spent a lot of time researching the effects of gardening on health, and all the crap it entailed, only to set out a logical solution. When he went to implement it, the two neighbors had opted to chop them down and create one long yard for their kids to play.

He’d wasted time and sleep trying to help fix a problem that wasn’t even a problem. Then of, course, there were the never-ending disasters that happened when he helped out Alexa. The diner was the biggest problem. Wrong orders. Spillages. He’d nearly burnt a child with the coffee pot.

They always got sent home early from that job.

The library wasn’t much better. Alexa had been on the phone, and he’d let a young boy check out an erotic book, which wasn’t allowed. That had resulted in them both facing the wrath of his father.

Now as they walked, hand in hand, toward their home after another day of fuck-ups, he was so fucking bored of it all. The pack thought they were helping, or at least they thought they were, but they were only making things more difficult.

Walking into their home, which also wasn’t theirs, grated on his nerves. After slamming the door closed, he couldn’t resist giving the door a kick. Much to his surprise, his leg went through the main door, and he had no choice but to yank his leg out. His jeans were torn, and there were a few streaks of blood.

He missed not being able to bleed.

When he first transitioned, it was rare for him to bleed. As he got older, and the months turned into years, his ability to bleed grew. He knew it was because of his and Alexa’s stubbornness. Neither of them was willing to give into one another.

Alexa stood by his side, and he glanced in her direction. “Are you going to call me an asshole?” he asked.

“No. You only did what I wanted to do.”

“I wouldn’t recommend kicking the door.” He lifted his hands, then realized he was pulling Alexa with him. “Shit. Fuck. Sorry.”

The cuffs were becoming a huge issue for him. The smallest action was no longer private.

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. Stop being so nice.”

She smiled. “I can’t help it.”

He rolled his eyes and nodded at the stairs. “Can we sit?”

“You don’t want to beat the house up a little more?” she asked.

“Nah. I’ve got to figure out a way to fix that. My dad’s going to be pissed.”

“It’s his fault and the whole of the pack’s fault.”