Chapter 4: Mate Bond

Zach

The first thing I thought when I was told that Alpha Squad was deploying immediately was that I was going to miss my opportunity to get to know my mate. I turned and looked at her, standing in the crowd watching us with rapt attention.

“Cipher!” Raptor snaps.

I turn back to him. “Yes, sir?”

He clenches his teeth. “You finding your mate today is not ideal. However, our jobs are not nine to five and we don’t have the luxury of putting work aside for personal matters.”

Damn.

“I understand, sir.”

“However, mate bonds are extremely important. You won’t always get this level of grace, Cipher, but take tonight. Get to know your mate, mark each other if you’re both in agreement, and tomorrow, meet us at the Academy at eight o’clock sharp.”

“Thank you, sir!” I say, thrilled that I have one night to be with my mate.

Before I go talk to my mate, I go to Alpha Nevaeh. “Alpha, a quick question,” I say.

“Yes, Cipher.”

I realize that from the moment Raptor gave me my new name, everyone would begin using it.

“Alpha, as you know, my mate will be a student here next year. I was wondering if, rather than us having to move off campus, could I just keep my room on the freshman floor and have her move in with me?”

“If your mate is willing to share a room with you, Cipher, I’m okay with that. Are you sure you want to stay on the freshman floor?”

I shrug. “I’m already there, Alpha, and it will put Sadique closer to the other students in her year. I can ask her what her thoughts are, but I think it would be better for her to be closer to the other students than to be isolated from them, especially if I’ll be travelling on assignments.”

“Spoken like a caring mate, Cipher. Talk to her and let me know. We have time. The next semester doesn’t start for a couple of months.”

“Thank you, Alpha.”

When I turn, Sadique hasn’t moved. She’s still watching me with those intense grey-blue eyes. Damn, I’ve never felt my body yearn like it is for her, and I don’t even know her yet.

I make my way to her, our eyes never leaving each other. I swear the room could be burning down and I wouldn’t notice. All there is in the world is her.

“Sadique,” I say quietly.

“Zachary,” she says and it’s like her voice has pushed a button to ignite the nerve endings in my body. That one word has me aching for her in a way I’ve never ached for a woman in my life.

“I’m being deployed,” I say.

“I heard. You need to leave?”

I shake my head slowly. “Raptor, that’s my boss, he gave me tonight to be with you. I have to report for duty tomorrow morning at eight o’clock. Do you want to spend the rest of today and tonight with me?”

She smiles and it feels like my heart is swelling from just that look. I imagine it will every time she looks at me that way. I want to do everything in my power to make her smile at me like that again.

“I’d like that.”

“Good. We have some things to talk about. Do I need to speak to anyone about the two of us staying here together?” I ask.

She looks around as if suddenly realizing that there is more than just the two of us in the world.

“My parents, they’re here somewhere,” she says, looking around.

“We are literally standing right beside you, darling,” an older woman says. She looks enough like Sadique that she must be her mother. She turns to me. “I am Luna Pari, Sadique’s mother.”

“Luna, I am Alpha Zachary, Sadique’s mate.”

“And I am her father, Alpha Ramin,” the large man beside Luna Pari says.

“Alpha, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Is it? I’m not sure how I feel about my daughter leaving with you when you’re going on an assignment tomorrow morning,” he says.

I open my mouth to respond, but my mate beats me to it.

“And I am an adult who is able to speak for myself, father. If Cyra has taught you anything, I hope it’s that you should not underestimate the women in your life,” she says.

Luna Pari is facing away from her mate, so her smile is wide, but she still tries to hide it. Alpha Ramin looks at his daughter.

“I’m just trying to protect you, precious one,” he says.

“And I appreciate that, father. But Zachary is MY mate. I will decide how much time I’m willing to spend with him and how much of myself I am willing to give to him knowing that he’s going on assignment tomorrow,” she says.

I can’t help it. I smile at my mate.

'She’s magnificent.' my wolf, Merric, purrs.

“Shall we, Zachary?” she asks, putting her arm through mine.

“Alpha. Luna,” I say, nodding at them and walking my mate outside.

“Are you always so forceful in getting what you want?” I ask her.

“No. But my father is stuck in the old ways and now that I’m an adult, I no longer have to live by his old, outdated ways of thinking.”

“And what are those outdated ways of thinking?” I ask.

“That I have to abide by his rules, his expectations, and his dreams for me.”

I stop and look at her. “And what are your dreams for yourself, Sadique?”

“To be an elite fighter,” she says, the passion of her words burning in her eyes.

I smile. “I can help you with that.”

She smiles, then something shifts in her eyes. “That’s not why I want you, though.”

“Why do you want me?” I ask.

“Because you were meant for me. In my family, fated mates are sacred.”

“In mine as well. But perhaps the Moon Goddess put us together partly because we were both meant to be elite fighters,” I say, starting to walk toward the Academy dorm again. “Whatever her reasoning, you were meant for me, and I was meant for you. At the risk of being too forward, I spoke to Alpha Nevaeh about our living arrangements next year.”

She looks at me and raises a very elegant, very arrogant eyebrow.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Most elite warriors move to the elite warrior housing which is located closer to The Council’s chambers in town. I asked to remain here, on the freshman floor so that you and I could share a room.”

“How very bold of you,” she says with a challenging look in her eyes.

“Too bold?” I ask her.

“That depends.”

“On what?” I ask her.

“On whether or not you intend to put your mark on me tonight.”

I growl and pull her body against mine. “I absolutely do.”

“Good. I see our mate bond is starting off well. We’re in perfect agreement,” she says.

After spending the afternoon getting to know each other, I spend the most amazing night of my life exploring my mate, tasting her, and listening to her come again and again. In the morning, when she walks me out to say goodbye, it’s MY mark on her neck, MY scent on her body that lingers to remind everyone that she’s MINE!