Fated: The Alpha's Unwanted Luna

Chapter 362: Matt and the Doctor

Zoe bobbed her head and waved at him. "See you around then. Before I settle down, I want to go find my sister-in-law and brother first."

As Zoe bounced happily away from Gilbert’s car and headed toward the pack house entrance, she almost walked straight into Matt, who was standing at the entrance with a bewildered look in his hazel eyes, his phone suspended in his hand as though he had been about to make a call but had forgotten all about it.

"Hi, Beta Matt." She greeted him, but he didn’t reply, and she frowned. "Do you know where I can find Vee?" she asked, waving her hand in front of his face. When he still didn’t respond and just kept staring past her toward Gilbert, who was pulling their suitcases out of the trunk, she poked him in the chest.

He grabbed her wrist and held on, finally turning to look at her face. "How come you were kissing the doc?"

Matt could not believe what he had just seen with his own eyes. Sebastian had told him that Zoe was on her way there, and Matt had come outside to check, perhaps to see what was taking her so long. The normal thing he had expected was for Gilbert to show up there with Laila, only to walk outside and find his lips locked with the little brat instead. What was she doing kissing her doctor, who had already found his mate? Did she have any idea how crazy Laila Serrano was?

Zoe’s smile fell and she yanked her hand from his grip. "Duh, since when did it become a crime for a girl to kiss her boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend?" Matt asked, completely taken aback. How was he her boyfriend? Since when? "How come he is your boyfriend?"

Zoe narrowed her eyes at her brother’s beta. "Do I have to repeat every word I say now, Beta Matt? Gilbert and I are dating, and I believe I am allowed to kiss him whenever I want."

"But you can’t date him!" Matt said in a loud whisper before he caught himself and gave himself a mental knock on the head. Why on earth was he overreacting? She was an adult. But then it didn’t matter because that man had found a fated mate, and from what Matt knew, once someone found their mate, they could never again find another woman attractive or want to be in a relationship with anyone else. It would never happen unless he had rejected Laila, which was very unlikely because the mate bond was still recent. None of this was making any sense to Matt.

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Sometimes you act more protective than my actual brother. Hermano wouldn’t have a problem with me dating him, so I don’t see why you should. Excuse me." She flashed him a tight smile despite her irritation at the look of open disapproval on his face. Just because he had helped raise her alongside her brother didn’t mean he got to pick who she dated. Hmph.

Matt stood there for a moment, watching her until she disappeared into the halls of the mansion. He was still standing in the same spot when Gilbert came by with the bags, and Matt recovered quickly and stepped into his path with a look of clear irritation.

"Hey, Beta Matt. You came too, I wasn’t expecting to see you here—"

Matt slammed the doctor into the wall before he could finish his sentence, pinning him there with a forearm pressed firmly to his chest. "What are you playing at, doc? Why are you here with Zoe when I heard you’ve got Laila?"

Gilbert’s eyes went wide. "How did you know about Laila?"

"It doesn’t matter how I know. Why are you with Zoe? What exactly are your intentions with her?" Matt demanded, not caring in the slightest that he sounded exactly as protective as he had when they were kids and boys used to approach her and he would scare them off with a single look.

Gilbert held his gaze steadily. He had heard enough about how present Matt and the Alpha had been in Zoe’s upbringing that none of the Beta’s behavior surprised him.

"My intention is to date her and make her my wife if she will take me for a chosen mate. And as for Laila, there is nothing there beyond a fated bond I intend to close. I don’t want her and I never will. Now if you would kindly let me off this wall." Gilbert requested calmly, having no desire whatsoever to get into a fight with the beta over something like this.

There was nothing to discuss about Laila when he would remove her from his life soon.

Matt didn’t release him immediately. "Why do I feel like you are using her to get rid of Laila?"

"Don’t overcross it, Matt. I am dating Zoe with good intentions and I have plans for our future. She likes me and I feel the same." I am learning to like her. Gilbert corrected quietly in his own mind, knowing that if he said that part out loud, Matt would find a way to pull them apart, and Gilbert didn’t want that because he had already decided to commit.

Matt slowly released him and stepped back.

"It better be exactly what you just said, doc. Because if you end up hurting her... I will forget that you and I are friends and I will make your life miserable. Zoe Kade is not to be hurt. Not even a little. Are we on the same page right now, man?"

Gilbert felt a knot of unease settle in his stomach at the beta’s words, even though there was no visible anger in Matt’s eyes, only that solid, immovable wall of protectiveness that made it very clear that going against him on this would not end well for anyone.

He had nothing to worry about, Gilbert told himself, because he genuinely had no intentions of hurting her. "I will not hurt her. You have my word on that."

"Good," Matt said. "Because I will keep my eyes on you from here on. And if you must know, your fated mate is among the guest list. I don’t want to find Zoe in tears because of you or find Laila’s claws on her." He watched Gilbert closely for any visible giveaway that he was excited about Laila being among the guests, but only saw his Adam’s apple bob as he nodded.

Though Matt wanted to doubt the doctor, then it wasn’t the first time it had happened that a fated mate had been rejected for a chosen mate, and because of that, he decided to put a little trust in him. However, it didn’t mean his eyes wouldn’t remain on Gilbert and his mate until he made his final choice and picked his chosen mate.

"Let me carry her things. The Supreme Alpha will like to see you."

Gilbert handed Zoe’s pink suitcase over to the Beta without hesitation and then went to look for the Alpha, who was already mind-linking him.