Claws

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Zale almost stopped breathing and froze where he sat. "Wh..What are you talking about? That's impossible. Imprinting is just a myth."

Imprinting was another term for finding your "soul mate" and only happened when both parties reached adulthood. It could happen on sight or when both sides of the pair develop an emotional connection towards each other. In Erewhon, it was seen as an old folks tale, but hearing his own brother say it out loud in such an irritated and serious tone almost made Zale believe it. 

"This is what I meant when I said we need to have a talk," Stan sighed, shooting Robin a stern look. Robin winced and looked down, obviously knowing he'd said something he wasn't supposed to. "Zale. I'm guessing you've been having problems with smelling other female's pheromones? I've been told that you've tried to be with several females in the past week, but you've been unsuccessful. Am I correct?"

Zale looked up at the chief with a pale face, and his eyes grew wide. "Y..yes, sir." It felt embarrassing to admit he'd been excessively messing around with women in front of his boss and family. He knew they were aware of what he had been doing, but being called out on it like that was specifically humiliating. "At first, I thought it was just the low compatibility I had with the girls I'd been with, but today..."

"You got sick," Abigail finished his sentence. "Didn't you?"

"I did," Zale nodded, looking down. "Is it true? Am I really imprinted to Mae?"

"Yes, although it doesn't occur amongst the pack members. However, in the chief bloodline, it does occur once in a blue moon when there's an undeniably perfect mate for the leader of the pack. This is the first time in four centuries that an imprint has taken place. You two are undeniably a fated pair," Stan nodded, sitting on the sofa next to the fireplace. "That's why your pheromones not only calm her down but ease her pain as well. Right now you're not only helping her with her heat, but you are also improving her mental and physical state three times faster than she could on her own. You are a strong cornerstone for her."

"But that's impossible! She has to have feelings towards me for us to imprint! She not only doesn't like me, but she hates me," Zale laughed in disbelief, looking to the side as his cheeks grew hot again. 

"She doesn't hate you, you idiot," Robin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Everyone looked at him in shock, expecting him to be the last one to tell the truth. "Don't get me wrong, all she does is talk crap about you, but every time your name comes up, she starts blabbing on about your ordeal with all of the girls you've been with and how annoying it is. Whether she might realize it or not, I think she's jealous of them. If you just fix that crappy personality of yours and stop being a dooshbag, you might get somewhere. I thought I'd be the last one to say this, but it makes sense that you two are imprinted, considering the teamwork compatibility I've seen you guys have in the past," Robin scoffed, crossing his arms. "Just so you know, I don't give you my blessing nor approve of any of this. You're going to have to work your butt off to deserve her. You may not ever deserve her, actually."

"It seems she does like you quite a bit underneath all of her anger, Zale," Linda agreed. "It's hard for a fated pair to see their partner involved with other people. Their emotions grow even more unstable, and they begin to resent their partner. You're going to have to not only earn her trust but give her the stability she needs as a future mate and let her know you at least care for her, if not love yet."

"Love her?" Zale's eyes grew wide as his cheeks flushed. "I don't...I swear, I don't feel that way about her!"

"Yes, you do, you idiot," Robin gave his brother a rude look after rolling his eyes. "Why else would you intervene when Mae was about to kiss Beck? You should have seen the jealousy on your face. It was pathetic."

"That's because he's a beta! He...It wouldn't work out between them. If she gets too attached to that kid, it would be a problem, and I wasn't jealous!" Zale scoffed, glaring back at his brother.

"Zale, you wouldn't have imprinted with her if you didn't take an interest. You just said so yourself," Stan laughed, covering his mouth. "You don't have to say it out loud, but don't degrade the idea. That's my daughter you're talking about. You're lucky to be imprinted with her."

Zale clenched his jaw and looked down, feeling a wave of overwhelming embarrassment. "Yes, sir," he mumbled, glancing at Mae, who was peacefully snuggled up against him. 

"Listen, I know my husband and I had several conversations about the problems you've caused in the pack and have been very lenient towards you, but now that you're going to be my daughter's mate, I'm not just suggesting you shape up, and build a better reputation for yourself. I'm ordering you to. As for becoming the next chief of the pack, it's a blessing you're prepared for the job. I'm glad Stan and I took you in as our apprentice when you came back from the academy. You are very intelligent and talented. It would be such a waste to let your skills go to ruins," Abigail intervened. "Your pheromone addiction won't be a problem now, considering the circumstances, so all you need to do is get yourself back on track. I will not tolerate you acting unfavorable or disrespectful towards my daughter either. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am. Of course." Zale felt even more humiliated. Mae's mom kind of scared him sometimes. Did she think he would pounce on her like a wild animal or something? If that was true, he'd definitely lost a lot of trust in the past few years.

"Good. Now Stan and I have a meeting to attend, so take care of her for now and keep her calm with your pheromones," Abigail turned to Linda after Zale nodded in agreement. "Is it okay if I leave her here for a little while?"

"Yes, of course. Go," Linda nodded, "We'll make some dinner. Come back after your meeting and eat with us. You both haven't been eating a lot lately."

"Thank you, Linda. We won't be long." Stan smiled, wrapping his arm around his wife's shoulders. He glanced at Zale. "One more request. You can't tell Mae about the imprint. Not yet." 

It was obvious that the chief wasn't requesting anything because the two of them left before Zale could say anything. 

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Zale felt his chest tighten as he looked down at Mae's angelic sleeping face. His mom had wiped her down before going to make dinner, so she wasn't as sweaty, but her fever barely went down. Her soft skin felt hot against his own as he brushed his finger across her cheek. Fated pair, huh?  The thought of it was kind of weird but, at the same time, kind of nice. He'd been messing around for such a long time he'd almost forgotten what it was like to think of someone this way. A permanent partner. A future lover. Apparently, he loved her, although his feelings hadn't caught up to him yet. He definitely cared for her, but he didn't think it was love. It was more like he wanted to have her all to himself. Was that love? He always had been protective over her, even if he teased her all this time, but that was just because she had the most amusing reactions. That was up until she started comparing him to that stupid beta.

It brought him back to some memories when she was eleven. He overheard a group of her male classmates planning to pick a fight with her in the back of the schoolyard and immediately cornered them with nothing but anger and violence on his mind. Was it something about inferiority? He couldn't remember. All he could remember was that even though they were four years younger than him, he decided to throw away his dignity as the older person and threaten the dumb kids. He didn't care how young they were. At that time, his logic was that "no one could mess with her except for him," but now he realized he just wanted to protect her. 

He sighed as she tried to move up on his lap and gently put his hands on her shoulders. When she frowned and tugged on his shirt, he rolled his eyes and tried not to smile. "Alright, alright. I get it. I'm coming." Zale tried his best to carefully lay down next to her, protecting her neck with his arm, gently placing his other hand on her waist to avoid putting pressure on her ribs. She sighed in relaxation as she wrapped her right arm around his torso and snuggled deep into his chest. "You little punk. Do you have any idea what you're putting me through?" He sighed and set his chin on top of her head. "You're going to get so mad when you come back to your senses. Just you wait."

Zale closed his eyes as they grew heavier and fell asleep to the soothing scent of Mae's pheromones.