The pack was more active than ever during the next couple of weeks. While we continued with our regular activities as normal, we had also upped our security measures - increasing our patrol members, adding in more mandatory training nights, and keeping the pack updated through daily announcements.

And like every Sunday afternoon, I found myself back at the pool, surrounded by a group of screaming children splashing around me. Frankie watched all the way from the sidelines, eyeing us from a distance.

"Are you sure you don't want to come swimming?" I had asked him beforehand.

"I'm sure."

"Really? Is it because you don't know how?" I smirked. "Don't worry, I can teach you. I'm a certified instructor."

He merely shook his head. "I don't swim."

And that was that. I didn't try to push him, because knowing him, he wasn't one to budge.

"Who is that?" Curtis eyed Frankie suspiciously. "Is that a zombie? One of those attacking rogues? Your ex-boyfriend?"

"That's his mate!" Zoe hissed. "Which you would've known if you watched the mandatory pack announcement a couple of days ago!"

"Huh? Oh, I was sleeping during the Alpha talk." He glanced at me sheepishly. "Sorry."

"That's alright, Curtis."

"If he's your mate, and you are newly mated, why isn't he by your side?" Karina frowned.

I glanced over at Frankie, noticing he wasn't paying attention to us. His eyes were glazed over, and he was staring blankly into space, as if deep in thought about something. For some reason, I was rather unsettled by the look in his eyes.

"He's a bit shy," I explained to her. "And I don't think he's a fan of the water."

Tyler sniggered. "He's like a cat! A little scaredy cat!"

"That's enough, Tyler," I told him sternly, and he nodded frantically, dipping his gaze downward. While I rarely used my Alpha voice with the children, insulting my mate was a crossed line, and I couldn't help but insert some of my authority into my words.

"You know, you should invite him over here, I want to meet him," Zoe said eagerly, jumping into my back. "What was his name again? Francis? Frank?"

"Frankie," Karina corrected her.

"Frankie!" The kids hollered. "Come on down here!"

"Yeah, come over! We wanna meet our swim teacher's mate!"

Frankie snapped out of his trance and looked at me nervously.

It's okay, I mouthed to him. Standing up slowly, he headed towards the pool, stopping a few metres away from the water's edge.

"Well, I can formally introduce him to you, as we haven't had an official pack greeting yet. Anyway, class, this is my mate Frankie," I gestured towards him proudly. He gave the class a small smile, although fidgeted slightly as he stared at the pool.

"Hi, Frankie! My name's Zoe. Nice to meet you!"

Samantha waved. "I'm Samantha, but you can call me Sam. Or Sammy. Or even my full name if you want."

"MY NAME IS CURTIS!" Curtis bellowed. "PLEASED TO MEET YOU, MATE OF BENNETT!"

The kids began shouting excitedly, and poor Frankie looked as if he were going to pass out from all the noise.

"So Frankie, where are you from?"

"Oh, um..." he tried, but the children were practically bulldozing him, question after question.

"When did you guys meet?"

"When's the ceremony?"

"Did you meet Nic, our future Alpha?"

"What are you going to name your pups?"

I nearly choked on air upon hearing that statement, and I knew that Frankie felt equally as uncomfortable.

"Class, please settle down, we don't need to scream in the pool," I announced to them, before turning to Frankie quietly. "I'm really sorry, Frankie. Are you okay with them? You're not too overwhelmed, are you?"

"I'm fine," he plastered a smile onto his face, but his obvious discomfort tugged at my heartstrings, and I immediately felt guilty.

"Alright, everyone," I clapped my hands. "Break time's over! Time to get back to our laps!"

I was met with some groans from the students, but within a few moments, the kids returned to their organized activities.

I glanced over to Frankie, giving him a reassuring look. He seemed relieved to finally have the attention off him for once. His eyes met mine.

Thank you, his eyes seemed to say, and I gave him a curt nod.

But there was something else that was flickering across his expression, and it bothered me.

-

"I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that in front of the class," I told him after practice once all the kids had been picked up. The two of us were in the changing room, waiting for me to get cleaned up.

"It's fine," he mustered a small smile. "They're your students, after all. I should get to know them, especially since they're a part of your life."

"And I'm sorry if they scared you. I think they really wanted to meet you." I ran my fingers through my recently-showered hair.

"They didn't really scare me. I guess I wasn't expecting such a big welcome. I'm not really used to those."

"Trust me, they're not bad kids, they're just very...energetic at times."

He gave me a genuine smile. "I can tell. You're a good leader, Bennett. They really do look up to you."

"Thanks, Hedgehog. Hey, can you pass me my towel?" I stepped out of the showers.

Frankie glanced over at me, squeaked in surprise, and immediately averted his gaze. Before he turned away, I was able to catch the faint blush on his cheeks.

"There's no need to be shy, Frankie, you're my mate, after all," I said light-heartedly. Frankie reddened even further, resembling a tomato, and I couldn't help but chuckle at his adorable reaction - although I had to admit, maybe I was coming across too strongly.

Covering his eyes, he inched towards my direction and timidly handed me the towel.

"Thanks. Okay, I'm decent. You can stop covering your eyes."

He peeked through his hands, and sighed in relief when he realized I was covered.

"Are you ready for your welcome banquet tonight?" I asked him, tugging on my t-shirt.

"Yeah, I guess so," he said.

"Good. I can't wait to finally introduce you to the rest of my pack."

"I'm looking forward to meeting them, too."

"I think you're going to get along great here. I mean, Mark already loves you, and Chantelle's been following our love life all week. I can't wait until you become an official member of the family!"

At the word 'family', Frankie's face darkened, although he quickly regained his composure. As we headed out of the recreational centre, I grabbed a hold of his hand.

"You don't mind the PDA, do you?"

He twitched. "I suppose not."

"Good, because if you haven't noticed, I'm a cuddly and affectionate person. I know you're not the best with showing affection, or really any emotion at all, but if I'm being too pushy, just let me know."

He took a look at our conjoint hands, then took a look at me.

"This...this is okay," he told me softly.

"Yeah?" My eyes lit up excitedly, and I squeezed his hand. "You're actually okay with me holding your hand?"

"Yes. I am."