Xander's Mate

by Abigail Raines

  “Xander-”

  “You said the Godrun drone would be used for war,” Xander says, turning in his chair now to face me. “Not by us, of course, but by humans. Their wars are bigger...which is a bit like saying the sun is big compared to earth. When we fight...civilians don’t die often. Innocent pups don’t die often. Humans are rarely so careful.”

  “You’re panicked about this war with my father,” I say quietly. “It made you panic about the drone.”

  “You said I shouldn’t make the drone too!” Xander sputters.

  “Yes,” I say, “and I’m glad you’ve changed your mind, but the….way you’ve done this-”

  He seems to suddenly realize the extent of what he did; cancelling the biggest project of a company worth billions with one brief email and no explanation. He rubs his chin, his eyes wide and worried. “Yeah…”

  “You can’t do all this by yourself,” I say slowly.

  He jumps to his feet and says, “I gotta go.”

  “What? Xander!”

  “I gotta go,” he says. “I gotta go home.”

  “Now?” I ask him. “After that memo?”

  “Do you really think that matters?” He says, stepping in close to me and getting in my face. “Do you think that any of this matters? Compared to my family? To their lives? To the lives of the clan?”

  There’s a knock at the door and Xander barks, “What?”

  The door isn’t locked and Ryan from down in HR pokes his head in. He’s the guy who handled my on-boarding and he’s looking at Xander like he’s afraid he might collapse at some point. “Hey, Mr. Tremblay. May I come in?”

  Xander nods curtly and Ryan walks in, holding a binder under his arm. I see two security guards standing just outside and it makes the hair on my neck stand up.

  “Ah, some member of the board have spoken to me,” Ryan says slowly. “They’re rather concerned about this memo…”

  “I’m the CEO,” Xander growls.

  “Yes,” Ryan says. “No doubt about that. But uh...well, they are just concerned about your state of mind and they would like you maybe to go home for a few days.” He smiles as if he’s just given Xander great news. It almost makes me laugh. “Just go home, relax a little bit. Maybe see a doctor? Get a clean bill of health? And the rest of us will handle things while you take a little break.”

  That sounds alarmingly like he’s about to get ousted and I look to Xander, expecting him to toss out some obscenities and slam the door in his face.

  Instead Xander says, “You know what? Sounds good.” He grabs his jacket. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

  “Oh…” Ryan looks as shocked as I am. “Didn’t expect that to actually work.”

  “Me neither,” I say and all I can do is stare when he pecks a kiss to my forehead before walking out the door.

  Ryan gives me a funny look and says, “Are...are you two officially involved?”

  “Is that really at issue right now?” I say, about to blow my own top.

  Ryan looks a bit sheepish at that and nods. “Eh, we’ll talk about it later. Do you mind locking up his office?”

  “Sure,” I say, shrugging.

  This is bad, I think to myself. This is all very bad.

  For the rest of the day, I find myself putting out small fires as much as I can. It doesn’t even make sense. I’m not even assistant to the CEO. My job is in one subset of PR, yet everyone has caught on to the fact that I’m close to Xander and they assume I know what he’s thinking or doing at any given time. I find myself fielding a lot of phone calls and emails and assuring them that Xander Tremblay knows exactly what he’s doing and that their patience is appreciated. After an hour of that, I actually go to my car and grab some emergency spell ingredients and whip up a brew for calmed states and financial stability. I’m hoping that if nothing else, the stock will stop dropping. It was only just recovering from the initial drop after the suspension of the drone but now I’m seeing it take a nosedive when I check it on my phone.

  I hate worrying about things like stocks but here we are.

  Things do calm down a little bit and if I do say so myself, sometimes I forget what a good witch I am. But a spell like that is really only a short term solution.

  The problem is that Xander can’t handle pack and clan business right now and run his company at the same time, if he ever could. But I don’t know if he’ll be willing to admit that.

  On the other hand, he just panicked and bolted. So maybe he’ll be willing to listen for a half a minute.

  Work at the Tremblay Company keeps me so busy, I hardly know how fast the day is passing until I get a text from Mason Tremblay saying that Xander is home and not answering his phone and everyone is worried. I reflexively text back that I’m wrapping up and I’ll go talk to him.

  I can’t imagine I’m going to be more persuasive than Xander’s own brother and oldest confidante, but if Mason thinks I will be, I’m willing to try.

  It’s after nine by the time I finally leave the office and get over to Xander’s house. I guess the good news is that my father hasn’t made another move yet. He seems to be biding his time. Or else he’s plotting an attack.

  Hopefully, it will be enough time for the clan’s most powerful alpha to get his shit together like I know he can.

  I take a deep breath when I reach the door but he opens it before I can ring the doorbell or knock.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Xander says darkly, glaring at me before he pulls me inside, looking over my shoulder outside as he shuts the door. “You shouldn’t have come here alone. What if one of Didion’s people had seen you?”

  “I can take care of myself,” I say, glaring right back.

  Xander’s wearing jeans and no shirt and he’s holding a bottle of whisky. He’s got dark circles under his eyes. I suppose he did when he came in this morning. I wish I’d noticed before. I sigh and stand on my tip toes, reaching up to stroke his cheek. “Baby,” I murmur. “I’m worried about you.”

  “I’m fine,” he murmurs, ducking his head even as he leans into the touch. He takes a swig of whiskey and sits on his couch, sinking his head in his hands as he sets the bottle down. Nothing about this scene exactly screams “fine.”

  “You need to talk to me,” I tell him, sitting on the table across from him. “Or talk to somebody. You’re trying to handle this all on your own and it’s freaking you out so badly, you can’t handle anything. And I know you’re stronger than that.”

  “If I’m so strong, what am I doing here hiding from my company and my pack and my clan with a bottle of whiskey,” Xander says, slurring just a little. He rubs his eyes and I take a breath and the bottle, setting it on the table and out of his reach. “Listen to me,” I say slowly. “You have been doing everything for your people, for your family, for the board and the shareholders… You have been carrying this for years.” I take his hands in mine and wait until he raises his eyes to meet mine. “It was too much for anyone and you carried it. Your dad may have founded that company but you’ve made it what it is. You’ve made your pack and your clan what it is today. Things are changing. You know that now. You’ve had to face it. Your clan is going to be a leader in how packs act after what happened with Hardwidge. And you are leading that clan. Xander…” I cup his cheek again, and find myself overwhelmed with love for him. “You’re so good at leading. You just need to know when to let other people help you. You can’t do this all on your own anymore. And part of that is because of how you’ve changed it all. Let people help you.”

  I can tell he’s listening. He’s looking at me steadily and I see him absorbing what I say. Even though we started out at odds, I feel like we understand each other in a way I’ve never understood or been understood by anyone.

  “I should’ve stood up for you,” Xander says, reaching up to clasp my hand against his cheek. “I could have told them all that you are my mate because you are,” he says fiercely. “And I just...let it lie. Feel like I betrayed you.”

&
nbsp; “I didn’t expect you to do that,” I say softly, though I’m touched that he’s bothered by it. “Xander, you forget. I grew up with shifters. I know how it goes. I may have been trapped in that lab for most of my childhood but I got a really good idea of how it works. And I’ve known shifters since then. No human mates. I didn’t expect you to blow that up suddenly.”

  “I want to,” Xander says, his eyes now looking a little brighter as he sits up a little straighter. “I want to stand up in front of them all and tell them that you are mine and I am yours. Because the rules need to be rewritten, Olivia.” He laughs to himself, shaking his head. “That’s what I’ve learned. It all started with Aaron falling for Michelle and the clan having to accept a mate with a shifter gene. You’re right. Things are changing. How we deal with humans and how we live as packs and what code we follow… It’s all changing. I can’t help but think it’s going to be a new age for shifters.”

  The way he’s talking, his eyes so bright and clear and intense, he’s giving me tingles. I can see why people follow him and trust him. He makes you want to trust him to lead.

  “And if that’s true… The clan’s going to need an alpha who can guide them through the new age. And right now they need an alpha to be a general of war.”

  Xander takes a deep breath and gets to his feet. I watch him walk over to the windows that look out over Quinton. He sticks his hands in his pockets. I can practically hear the machinery of his mind whirring.

  “I think I need to ask Mason to step in as CEO,” Xander says.

  “Oh!” I say in surprise. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

  “Yeah…” He spins around and runs a hand through his hair. “Not the first time I’ve thought of it actually. He is on the company payroll since he does so much money and investment stuff for us. But I’ve...I’ve run everything by him since the beginning. We don’t always agree but he always has good ideas and… I don’t know who else I’d trust for that job other than my dad. And it’s time...for me to not have that job. At least for a while.”

  “Are you sure?” I ask him. “You’re going to step down? You’re absolutely sure?”

  “Olivia,” Xander says, rolling his eyes. “What have we just been talking about? You’re right about everything and I’m right too. It’s a new day for shifters and being the leader the clan needs right now is way too much to juggle with being CEO of the company. It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve thought of that, it’s just...hard to admit I can’t actually do everything.”

  “Do you think Mason would agree to that?”

  “Yes,” Xander says, without hesitation. “If I tell him I need him, which I clearly do… he’ll be there for me. He always is.” He smiles fondly and says, “All of them always are.”

  “So... the plan is to put Mason in charge of the company,” I say slowly. “And then you can concentrate on the war and whatever comes next.” I step up in front of him and he slides his hands around my waist and nods.

  “And I’ll have Aaron and Micah by my side for the strategy,” he says. “Aaron’s good at that sort of thing. You know, if I wasn’t alpha, I’d want him to be.”

  “Have you told him that?” I say, a little taken aback.

  “I have,” he says smiling.

  “What a good brother you are.”

  He titters at that but his smile turns serious as he takes a long look at me and pushes a bright red curl behind my ear. “I don’t know how I got so lucky as to meet you,” he says, looking a little awestruck. “You understand me so well. You get it. All of it. I wouldn’t want to change a thing about you. Nothing. I wouldn’t want you to be a shifter just to make life easier or any shit like that. I love everything about you just as you are now.”

  I’m a little winded at that, especially under the intensity of his gaze and I suck in a breath. “You really know what to say to a girl, Xander Tremblay.” I rest my forehead against his and we stand like that for a bit, just swaying there together, basking in the light of the bond between us that I know can never be broken no matter how much anyone might try to shatter it.

  “Next time,” Xander whispers in my ear, “I stand up for my mate.”

  Chapter Fourteen: Xander

  I’ve thought about having a mate before. I’ve thought about having a mate plenty of times. I guess I didn’t have very specific expectations for it other than wanting it so badly in a vague kind of way. I’ve always wanted somebody there who I would wake up with in the morning. But I never really thought about having a mate who would understand me so completely. I suppose I always thought a mate would obviously understand shifter life, having always assumed I would end up with a shifter. But beyond that, I pictured a mate wouldn’t understand what it is to be an alpha and a Tremblay and the defacto leader of a whole clan. Even my brothers don’t completely understand it sometimes. In a way, they’re actually too close to see it all steadily.

  And then this human comes along…

  If I ever doubted that Olivia is my mate, I can’t now without lying to myself. She might be human but she gets me like no one ever has. She sees how I’m constantly forced to make impossible choices; between company and family, between clan and pack… She can see my strengths and weaknesses so clearly, it almost makes me uncomfortable yet I know it’s good for me.

  “I’m going to send Micah and Aaron out,” I say now as I throw on a fresh shirt. Olivia has her phone out. She’s texting my brothers a couple updates as she shifts from foot to foot. “They can round up our definitive allies.”

  “Hey...oh!” Olivia gasps a little and says, “Aaron says your dads has heard from Lou Sherman? From Olympia? His son ran into one of the Hardwidge boys who got loose lipped talking about taking on the Tremblays... His son played along, trying to get some information... Said they’re going to attack the estate.”

  I stop abruptly with a jerk and take a breath, sliding my arms into the sleeves before buttoning up. I’m not surprised exactly. I fully expected that eventually there would be an attack on the estate. And yet, it’s a shock to hear it stated as a fact. It’s a shock too to fully absorb how much a bunch of people want me and my family dead.

  “Do they know when?” I ask her, turning around. She looks horror stricken as she stares down at the phone. I watch her swallow and I watch her little porcelain face shift, the line of her mouth firming up. It’s like I can see her physically trying to accustom herself to the notion of a war.

  “Soon, they think,” Olivia says softly.

  “Right.” I nod but no panic sets in. I feel much calmer now. I have a plan and I know what’s coming. It’s just a matter of being prepared for it. “So we’ll...have to do this quickly.”

  “You still going to appoint Mason as CEO?” Olivia says.

  “Yeah,” I say, grabbing my jacket. “Too many rely on the company. I can’t appoint second best. They deserve better. So… Micah and Aaron will go out to round up the allies. Send foot soldiers. We’ll have to secure the estate. Put a guard all around the forest. God, we’re gonna need a hundred guards for that.”

  “Should I be taking notes?” Olivia says.

  “No,” I say with a snort. I put on my jacket and turn around to see Olivia pocketing her phone, breathing deep, and looking a lot more nervous than I am now. But she stands up straight, looking at me steadily. My mate. “You’re not my secretary. Besides...I’ll remember.”

  I check myself in my closet mirror. Lately I’ve been looking older and more haggard than I feel but now as I see myself, I look not exactly young. I wouldn’t quite feel right if I looked very young. But I look good and I look strong. I look like an alpha leading a war.

  “Gorgeous,” Olivia says, appearing by my side and turning my head to kiss me.

  “You talking to yourself?” I murmur against her mouth before giving her another peck. She giggles into my neck and I can’t imagine that I’ll ever stop feeling my heart swell at the sound.

  We allow ourselves just one minute of canoodling and then I pu
ll away and take Olivia’s hand in mind as we head to the front door.

  “You ready for this?” I say, glancing back at her.

  “Not in the slightest,” she says, laughing. “Glad you are though.”

  “Yeah,” I say, leading her out the door and shutting it behind me. “I’m ready.”

  “Me?” Mason says, his eyes uncharacteristically wide. I don’t often see Mason looking surprised but now he sure does.

  We’re all gathered in the study again. Tremblay family only, this time. That means me, my parents, my brothers, their mates, and Olivia. I could kill for a little more of that whiskey to take the edge off of things but I’m resisting. I’d be better to stay stone cold sober and keep my wits about me.

  “You...you want me to be CEO?” Mason says. “Am I hearing you right?”

  I talked to my dad first when we arrived at the estate. I don’t technically need his approval, but I was relieved to get it. I was surprised by how much he supported the idea. Apparently my mother’s been yelling at him because she thinks he’s responsible for putting too much weight on my shoulders. Yet as much as I read him the riot act not long ago, I don’t blame my father for what I do as an adult. I’ve made my choices. And my dad seems to have taught me well enough that I don’t regret many of them. Though admitting I couldn’t do it all myself seems to have been the hardest lesson to learn.

  “I think it’s the right choice,” my father says now from his seat on the chaise next to my mother. “For what it’s worth.”

  “I didn’t expect this,” Mason mutters. He doesn’t look bothered at least, just a little winded. I know he didn’t expect to be running the company at all. But it’s not necessarily forever either. I see him exchanging a look with Alice beside him that I can’t read. That’s been another thing to get used to. My brothers and their mates all seem to have these secret little communications between them. I suppose I’ll have that with Olivia soon enough.