Alpha Ace and his Undercover Mate

Chapter 18

"What do you mean we have to go home?"

I stared at my brother expectantly after he just dropped a bomb on me. It was the end of the second month and I knew he was just supposed to submit a report. But go home?

There was nothing in our agreement that said we had to go home.

Going home would actually be great if I wasn't marked and smelled like the Alpha of the enemy pack. There's no way dad wouldn't notice.

And then what? He certainly won't scrap the plan for me, he would just lock me up at home and tell me that I will find a new mate.

But is the mission that important to him, even for me? I really didn't want to test the theory.

"Woah why are you so surprised? I thought lover boy would've told you by now"

"Wait Ace knows? " I asked flabbergasted.

"Yea he's the one who told me. Dad called him and asked him to excuse us for two days. "

"Two days?! Aiden I wouldn't survive two minutes" He rolled his eyes at how extra I was being, but it wasn't a lie.

"We'll figure something out. We can try and mask your scent as much as possible, and once you greet dad you can give an excuse to leave. You know he wont keep you around for the boring conversations"

"He's an Alpha Aiden. He'll wonder why I don't smell like him anymore. And if you mask my scent, he'll wonder why"

He sighed before answering. "Look Rox, it's our best shot. You don't want him to know about Ace, and that's the only way it will work. We can say you were going somewhere and you didn't want to be noticed, so you masked your scent. Strong masks normally last for like three days so you wouldn't draw suspicion"

I pondered on his words for a while. That would work, and I could always hide my mark. It can't be too bad. After all, I really missed home.

"Okay, we'll do that. When are we leaving? "

"Tomorrow"

"Tomorrow!? " I repeated.

"He wanted to see us ASAP, and Ace didn't have a problem with us leaving"

Something struck my attention, and it had me panicking all over again. "Wait so if dad talked to Ace, and Ace doesn't know that dad doesn't know about us being mates, do you think he said something? "

Aiden's expression matched mine as he thought of the possibility.

"One way to find out" I nodded in agreement and left him in my room to go find Ace. He was in his office looking over some papers. I didn't want to bother him, but if we were leaving tomorrow I had to know.

"Um Ace? Got a minute? " He looked up from the papers and smiled when he saw me.

"Of course. You don't have to ask"

I returned his smile and walked closer to him, fiddling with my hands. "I heard you talk to my dad"

"Yea he called me to ask me to let you guys go for a few days. Is something wrong? "

I bit my lower lip and contemplated coming out with it on one go. "It's just-why didn't you tell me? He called yesterday. "

He went around his desk and sat on the edge of if, then he pulled me between his legs with concern etched on his face.

"Are you upset that I told Aiden before you? I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner but I assumed he would've mind linked you right away"

"No it's fine. I just -" I took a deep breath as I decided to just ask him straight up. "Did you bring up the fact that we are mated? "

A small smile played on his lips before he answered. "I didn't. He was solely professional and showed no signs of knowing, so I assumed you didn't tell him "

"Ace I'm sorry -"

"Hey hey" He cut me off by holding my cheek gently. "Don't be. I'm not upset that you haven't told him yet. I know you must have your reasons"

'Reasons such as backstabbing you', I thought. But instead I said, "Yea it's complicated. I'll tell him soon though "

"Whenever you're ready love" He dropped a kiss on my head before going back to his chair. At first I felt bad that he was going back to work, but then he gestured for me to sit on his lap.

His hand snaked around my waist as he stared at me as if I was the best thing in the world.

"I'm gonna miss you" he whispered sweetly.

"I'm gonna miss you too. But it's only two days"

"Two days without you" he mumbled as he nuzzled his head in the crook of my neck. I noticed that he really liked to do that, since he made it a habit. Not that I minded.

We stayed like that for a while, nobody saying anything, just enjoying each others' presence. He then brought his head up and regarded me weirdly.

"You smell kinda different." He told me.

"A good different or bad different?" He buried his head in my neck once again and took a deep breath.

"Definitely a good different. But I can't seem to put my finger on it"

I shrugged at it and decided to forget it. Maybe it wasn't a big deal, so I just enjoyed the rest of the day with him. I tried not to distract him from his work, but I was leaving soon so I had to cherish my

moments with him.

Lilly helped me pack, and I was all set and ready to leave the next day. Ace saw us off, that is, after he kissed the life out of me and made me promise to stay safe.

Ryan was driving us home and Aiden showed me the substance he made that will mask my scent.

~"Will this be enough?"~ I asked through our link.

~"I think so. I couldn't make it too strong since I wasn't sure how harmful it might be to you"~

~"Harmful? What's in it? "~ All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

~"Water, shellac, karaya and... "~ he trailed off and gave me an unsure look.

~"And? "~ I urged. He sighed

~"And wolfsbane"~

My eyes shot out of my head as I tried really hard not to yell at him.

~"Wolfsbane! Aiden you really don't expect me to drink that right?"~

Ryan looked at us through the rare view mirror with a look on his face. He obviously saw that we were arguing. But Ryan being Ryan just minded his business. I liked that guy.

~"Don't be ridiculous Roxy I wouldn't try and poison my little sister"~

~"I'm not your little sister. And how exactly do you expect me to use it then?"~

~"You're just supposed to spray it all over you like a perfume. Just close your eyes, mouth and cover your nose. It will stink for a few seconds but then it works like a charm"~

I narrowed my eyes at him and slowly took the small bottle from him.

From what I've learnt, wolfsbane was dangerous to us once it enters our system. Silver on the other hand was harmful inside and out. But he was my brother, of course he wouldn't try to harm me.

~"How do you know so much? Where did you even get it from? "~

~"I have a guy"~ He said flatly, and I decided not to question him. We listened to the radio quietly as we drove home, and luckily Ace's pack was close to ours.

Once I left the car, I tested Aiden's experiment, and I had to say it was good.

After the ten barfing seconds, Aiden assured me that it completely masked my scent all together, and I only used a little. I'm sure it would wear off soon, but for now I just needed to get past greeting dad and Phillip.

As planned, our greetings with dad went smoothly. Once we passed the 'I'm masking my scent so you don't find out that my mate is the enemy but I won't tell you that because you will trap me here forever ' stage, we had a good bonding moment.

I later left Aiden to his boring politics talk and ventured to find Jane.

A squeal from behind me caught my attention, and I turned around quickly at the sound to see that Jane was running down the hall towards me. I braced for impact, and she jumped on me with all her might.

"You're here! I missed you, I missed you, I missed you so much! "

"I missed you too" I mumbled in her neck as I hugged her back tightly. It was then that I realized how much Jane and Lilly were alike. They would've been good friends if only things were different.

"Lemme see it lemme see it! " She shouted, pulling the scarf away from my neck.

"Could you be any more obvious! " I slapped away her hand and pulled her into my old room.

When I pulled the scarf away, she gazed at it with so much awe and...longing.

"I can't believe you're marked" she said mostly to herself as she ran a finger over it. "But why can't I smell you? " I chuckled at how weird that sounded and explained the situation to her.

I then proceeded to tell her about Ace and how much I've come to adore him. I was grateful that she didn't ask me how I was gonna fix things with the mission and having my mate. I just needed to forget about the whole mess and just talk about my happiness with my best friend.

We spent hours together, and I said hello to Jace and Jane's mom before going back to my room to change for dinner. The whole family was seated like old times, and it was a nice feeling.

Nothing about the mission was brought up, and so it just felt like family dinner instead of a business dinner. It was lovely.

So far, I could say my trip home had been great, even though I missed Ace.

After dinner, I showered and made my way to Jane's room. Since she insisted on meeting Ace and I still hadn't called him, I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I had told Ace about Jane, so luckily it wouldn't be awkward.

"So you're the one who stole my wife away" Jane stated when I introduced them over the video call. Ace chuckled lightly then flashed his charming smile.

"That would be me, yes" He told her, at which she laughed. They talked for a few more minutes, then it was my turn.

Jane was laying beside me and watching something on her laptop as I chatted away with Ace and ate onion rings. It was like we were completely cut off from the world.

Then out of nowhere, Jane stiffened and flashed her head in my direction. It got me alert, but before I could ask she spoke what was on her mind.

"Your scent is coming back" She whispered so that Ace wouldn't hear. "And you smell different "My panic immediately died down as I smiled at her.

"Ace, I'm gonna have to call you back," I said. He mumbled an okay before I ended the call and gave Jane my full attention.

"Jane, sweetheart " I turned fully to her and held her hands like a parent explaining something to their child. "I didn't trust the wolfsbane, so I used very little hence why my scent came back so fast. And you know when a wolf is marked, their scent changes right? "

She looked at me dumbfounded and slapped me. Hard.

"Oooowww! " I cried and stared at her in hurt.

"I'm not dumb Roxy! I know that" She was whisper shouting for some reason. "But this change isn't just a mark change it's-"

I couldn't wait to hear what she said, I just ran to the bathroom to empty my stomach contents. I knew I shouldn't have eaten those damn onion rings.

Jane was right on my tail as she crouched beside me and rubbed my back soothingly, which surprisingly helped.

"Rox," she started, her voice was low and careful. "Remember when we used to volunteer at the daycare? But you left because you started training? "

I nodded slowly and looked at her from the corner of my eyes. Where was she going with this?

"And then I started those tracking classes because I didn't want to be at the daycare all alone?"

"Yes... "

"But I still visited once or twice, since I loved it so much. My smelling senses were already very much stronger, and I could sniff out the expectant moms when they came in for their early registrations"

"Jane what are you saying? " I shifted my position so I was now sitting in front of her, and her expression was a mixture of excitement, unsurety and concern.

"Roxy, you're pregnant. "