CHAPTER 16: RESTLESS MIND & HEART

Her eyes widened in shock and surprise. She looked him in the eyes. "D-do you want to mark me as your woman, your mate? But why? We both know you are going to marry Deborah, and I have a boyfriend back home waiting for me. You can’t claim me as your woman because I’m already taken. I won’t allow you to mark me," she said with finality in her voice, easing away from him, facing the wall, giving him her back.

"Sweetie, please listen to me. I’m doing it for you, for us and for our future baby. Once I mark you, we can be a family. I no longer want to marry Deborah. I would rather marry you because we are compatible with each other. In you, I have found my second chance mate," Alpha Maxwell said with sincerity in his tone.

"Oh my, are you really serious?" She shook her head in utter shock and disbelief.

"Yes I am, please believe me, sweetie," he replied, his tone gentle and affectionate. "Stop worrying about other people. Just let me mark you and everything will fall into place," he assured her.

Naomi took a deep breath. "I don’t know, I can’t decide yet. Marking me as your woman would enrage my father. I can’t betray him. I hope you understand my situation. I agree to have sex with you so we can have a baby together and get our freedom back. Becoming your mate is not part of our plan. Why are you doing this? I don’t understand..." she asked, confused.

"Sweetie, please don’t ask me why. I do this because it feels right. I want to mark you because I want you to become my mate, the woman I want to marry. That’s all you need to know," he said, holding her hand affectionately, trying to convince her he was sincere.

"Our family won’t accept us. I can’t defy my father, I just can’t," she said dejectedly, shaking her head, already imagining the scolding and hate she would get from her father for allowing their enemy to mark her.

Alpha Maxwell saw the deep struggle and confusion happening in her eyes. He opened his arms to her. "Let me hold you in my arms, sweetie. I understand that I shocked you with my request. I will give you some time to think it over. I won’t rush you. Don’t let it bother you, okay?" he said, trying to undo the damage he carelessly created.

Despite worries bombarding her heart, she melted into his comforting arms. "I have already agreed to have sex with you and have a baby with you, but why are you asking me to be your mate? Why are you making things complicated between us? You are asking too much," she said, tears filling her eyes.

"I’m sorry, sweetie. I didn’t mean to add another burden to your heart. Please forgive me," he solemnly apologized, kissing her head affectionately.

She sought his eyes, wanting to draw a line between them that he must not cross. "Let’s not talk about this issue again. You can’t mark me without my permission. Do you understand?"

"OK, I understand," he responded despondently. His heart aches with her refusal to be marked by him.

"Good. Let’s just focus on having a baby because that is the most important thing for us right now. Besides, we had already agreed that you would take care of the baby so I can go back to my old life without any problems, right?" she asked, wanting assurance that he wouldn’t back out of their agreement.

"Of course, I will raise our baby alone. You don’t have to worry about that matter," he assured her.

She looked at him, doubting his sincerity. "But how can I make sure that you are not going to mark me during my sleep?" she asked suspiciously.

Alpha Maxwell sighed deeply after seeing distrust flash in her eyes. It seems like they are back to the beginning when trust didn’t exist between them. "Sweetie, you don’t have to worry. I will not mark you without your consent. I don’t want you to get mad at me," he said reassuringly.

Naomi took a deep breath. "Okay, I trust you. Please don’t destroy my trust in you."

"Sweetie, I promise you, I will never mark you without your permission," he said, pledging sincerity over and over again.

"OK, I believe you now," Naomi said with a smile. She saw the sincerity in his eyes and that’s why she chose to believe him. She will try her best not to fall in love with him, because if she does, their separation will be painful. They have no future together unless they are willing to defy their families, and she knows in her heart that she won’t be able to do that. She can’t betray her father.

Naomi was no longer in the mood for lovemaking. She will ignore him the whole day because he deserves it for destroying her peace of mind. She watched videos on TV. Although she was not mad at Alpha Maxwell, she stopped talking to him and kept to herself.

They ate their meals in silence, exchanged a few words and tried to be civil with each other.

Alpha Maxwell gave Naomi a space to breathe, respecting her silence because he understood very well the reason why she became like this. She was bothered by his intention to mark her as his second chance mate. It destroyed her peace of mind. It was all his fault.

He was blaming himself now that he was rushing her. The feeling was not mutual between them. He has started developing affection for her from the first time they got intimate, and he wants her to know that, but she’s not ready yet to upgrade their relationship to another level.

If she continues to act this way, distancing herself from him, his goal of getting her pregnant at the soonest possible time is in jeopardy.

Damn, he shouldn’t have told her about his intention of marking her as her mate. It changed everything. Just when she was already warming up to him, he destroyed the momentum. Fuck. How can he mess up everything?

His hands were aching to hold her close to his heart. How can he do that now?

Since he didn’t want to disturb her, he watched the shows she was watching on TV in silence, coughing once in a while to break the suffocating silence between them.

Hours passed by.

Lunchtime came and they had lunch together in silence.

The lazy boring afternoon has come.

Naomi finally handed over the remote control to him. "It’s your turn. I’m going to take a nap," she said. After handing the remote control over to him, she lay on the bed, staring at the wall, pretending to sleep.

Alpha Maxwell watched action movies at low volume, careful not to disturb her. He knew she was still bothered by his request to mark her. It must be messing up her mind right now. He patted her arms gently. "Sweetie, don’t think too much about my request to mark you. Don’t let it affect your mood, okay?"

She glanced at him and nodded her head. "OK," she replied, and resumed staring at the wall again.

Hours passed quickly. Dinner came, and the couple ate in silence.

Bedtime came, Alpha Maxwell whispered, "Sweetie, let’s make love."

Naomi shakes her head. "Not tonight. I’m not in a mood," she replied soberly.

"OK, I understand. Sleep well, sweetie," he said softly and turned off the TV so they could sleep together in peace.

That night, Naomi had a hard time sleeping. It was only at 11:00 p.m. that she started yawning and finally drifted into a deep slumber.