Chapter 300
Chapter 300
Henry
“Tell me again why we’re stopping at the Academy, Henry?” Justine asks from the seat beside me.
I’ve spent the last several months courting her, getting to know her, and deciding if she would be a good fit for my pack as my chosen Luna. I had hoped to find my fated mate, but as the years have gone by, I’m running out of time. And not just me, if my mate is close to my age, her childbirth years are limited. The Alpha in me is feeling a powerful need to create an Alpha heir and to create one soon.
I met Justine when I went back to visit my mother’s pack several months ago. She’s in her late twenties and hasn’t yet met her mate. We hit it off right away and before I left, I made plans to visit again the following month.
I did, and once again, we had a great time together. The following month, I came back and stayed for a week, taking Justine away from the pack for a few days so we could spend some alone time together. While we don’t have the fireworks that my brother and the Hills all seem to have with their mates, Justine and I both agreed that we are compatible in all aspects of our lives. She is anxious to settle down and start a family and she loves pack life. She already has the skills to be a great Luna and so, after multiple visits, I’ve decided to bring her back to my pack for a visit. If all goes well, I’ll mark her and make her my Luna officially.
“I am very delayed in signing an alliance agreement with Yorick and Cyra Teymoori–Hill. I’ve been a bit busy,” I say, grinning at her. She blushes a sweet pink and I stroke my knuckles over her cheek.
“Cyra just had their pup a couple weeks ago, so my plan to see them then was put on hold. I know they’re both back at the Academy, so I want to stop by now and get this done. It’s a formality, but an important one. Plus, it will give me a chance to introduce you to them and for me to meet their newest pup.”
I’ve already met Quirin’s triplets. I didn’t stay long during that visit. Q has been very vocal about his disagreement with me taking a chosen mate. But he and I aren’t the same. He never expected to find his mate. I’ve always wanted mine. I thought for sure it was Kennedy. It felt like we would have been perfectly compatible. I’m happy she and Quirin are together, she makes him happy and he’s a better man because of her, but I’ve always wanted a woman just like her; sweet, kind, generous of heart, and loving.
Justine checks all those boxes.
“I hope they like me. The Hills seem very important to you,” she says.
“They are. They are as much my family as Quirin is. I’ve talked to Connor. His pack is closest to mine. He’s invited us over for dinner in a few days. I know it might be a lot for you, meeting so many people, but I want you to know what it would be like for you if we were accept each other as chosen mates,” I
say.
We’ve talked about it several times. This trip, bringing her to meet the pack and my family, is the last box I need to check. If she fits in well with everyone, then it’s a done deal for me. Quirin will be the hardest to convince, but I’m counting on him loving me enough to accept my decision, even if he doesn’t agree with it. I get it, the love he has with Kennedy, hell, the love all fated mates share looks incredible. I did want that, but I have to think about the future of the pack. Justine is a perfect complement to me and we’re very compatible. We will have a lovely, peaceful life together.
“Alpha Yorick and Alpha Cyra are the ones who were recently in court, right?” she asks.
“Yes, it was a big issue with her father trying to force her into an alliance bond because he had embezzled money. He’s in jail now and the man who schemed to get him to sign the alliance bond is also in jail.”
was blessed
I do feel bad that I wasn’t there for those court appearances. I heard from Connor that the first one became a total shit show with Stelling rejected and his mate finding her second chance immediately afterward. Even now the thought has jealousy eating at my insides. That woma with two fated mates and she’s only in her twenties. I’m thirty–three and haven’t met mine.
For a while, I had intended to wait for Wendy, to see if she was for me. I’ve always been drawn to the Hills. When I didn’t find my mate at a young age, hoped that I’d find her in their family. But, after talking with Hijack, and seeing how excited Wendy is about going to the Academy, I realized that her path and mine are not the same, I don’t want to take her dreams away from her. If that’s her path, she should follow it and see where it goes. I need a Luna someone who can be happy standing at my side and running the pack with me. Over the last several months, I’ve realized that’s not Wendy. Even Yana, the next youngest in the family, is showing a penchant for technology and is already talking about wanting to follow in Yorick and Wendy’s footsteps by going to the Academy and becoming part of the tech team.
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Chapter 300
It was time for me to face reality, so I did.
I hadn’t expected to meet someone in my mother’s pack. I’d gone more as a fishing expedition to see what other she wolves were out there and if there were ones who were interested in being my mate more than being a Luna. Justine hadn’t flirted openly, she hadn’t tried to sneak into my bed or promised to make all my dirty dreams come true. She’d just been herself. She’d asked about me, my pack, my family and we’d talked about hers as well. It had been slow, we’d taken our time to get to know each other, and now it is time for the big test, the final test to show that she is meant to be my Luna.
When we pull into the Academy’s parking lot, I get out and sniff the air. There are a lot of scents here, I swear I catch hints of Cyra’s and Yorick’s scents, but there are so many scents in the air that it’s hard to narrow them down.
Tyrus, my wolf, sits up, sniffing the air.
Can you find them, buddy?‘ I ask him as I walk around the car to open the door for Justin
‘No… he says, distractedly.
When Justine stands, I lean in and press a kiss to her lips. “They’re going to love you,” I say.
knowing how important the Hills are to me. If for some reason I can feel how nervous she is. I’m sure it’s a combination of meeting new people and al they don’t like Justine, I’ll have to really consider my decision to take her as a chosen mate. But I know they’ll love her. She’s just like Hill women. She’ll fit in perfectly.
I grab the papers out of the back of the car, then take her hand. I follow the signs for the entrance to the Academy and step inside. The scent of food, lunch preparation, hits me first, burying the scent of everything else for a moment.
hall
There’s a large room that must be the dining hall on the left, but I see students walking up from the right. I turn, leading Justine with me as Tyrus lifts his nose in the air and sniffs for Cyra and Yorick.
I catch Yorick’s bamboo scent a moment before I hear him.
“Hey stranger!”
I smile, happy to see my friend. Tyrus, rather than sitting down in my head, continues to pace.
“What’s up, buddy?‘ I ask him, but I’m distracted by
Yorick pulling me into a hug.
All the Hills are huggers. It’s uncommon in the werewolf world, but with their family, it works.
“Yorick, this is Justine,” I say, introducing her, then looking at Cyra and the baby she’s holding in her arms.
“Hello, Alpha Yorick,” Justine says.
“Hey Cyra,” I say, walking up to her and looking at their little pup. My own need to start a family flares in my gut. I grit my teeth. I refuse to be jealous of my friends‘ happiness. “And this must be little Cyrus,” I say.
“Oh, he’s beautiful. Hello, Alpha Cyra, I’m Justine.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Justine,” Cyra says, smiling at Justine before looking back at her little bundle.
“I think he looks just like Yorick, don’t you?” she asks me.
“Well, you both have dark, wavy hair, so it could go either way,” I chuckle, Cyrus has a head full of dark hair.
“So, you’re finally here to sign that alliance agreement with us? I was beginning to think we were going to be the only family you didn’t sign with, Yorick says, joking.
At that moment, I catch the scent, the scent that Tyrus has obviously been searching for. He growls possessively, stepping forward as the warm scent of pumpkin pie fills our nose. It’s my favorite scent in fall. It reminds me of changing leaves, cooler nights, fireplaces, and heartier, richer foods. It’s everything I love about fall, my favorite season.
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Chapter 300
Yorick pushes Cyra behind him and turns, giving me my first look at the gorgeous red head in front of me. The woman who smells like home and le holding the hand of a man with dark hair.
He, intelligently, pulls his hand out of hers and steps back as I snarl at him. “Mine!”
“Don’t you dare!” the red–head growls at me, taking a step in front of him. “Don’t you fucking dare growl at him, while you have a woman clinging to your arm like she belongs there!”
I jolt, turning to look at Justine beside me. In that moment, I’d completely forgotten about her.
Topen my mouth to say… I don’t eve
know what I would say.
But ther
red–head, my mate, beats me to it.
“Let me guess. You’re Alpha Henry, right? The man who couldn’t wait to find his fated mate, so he’s been out searching for his chosen mate. The man who couldn’t wait to find me. That’s you, right? Well, I see you’ve found her. Congratulations,” she snarls.
“I can explain,” I begin.
“Don’t bother. 1, Alpha Piper Conley….”
“Piper no!” the dark–haired man behind her says, grabbing her arm.
“He’s made his choice, Zach, and it wasn’t me.” I can see the hurt in her eyes, hear it in her voice. Tyrus howls in my head, unwilling to let our fated mate
- go.
She turns back to look at me, anger and determination flashing in her eyes.
“I, Alpha Piper Conley …”
Before I can think about it, I rip my arm out of Justine’s grasp and slap my hand over Piper’s mouth, pulling her body against mine when she begins to fight me.
“No! I refuse to allow you to reject me,” I snarl at her.
I realize in that moment that there’s a reason I’m not mated to a Hill, not mated to someone like Justine. Just like Quirin needed a woman who is soft and gentle to ease his anger and hate, I need a woman who will light a fire in me, someone who will make me burn for them.
And this angry, hurt woman in front of me is exactly that kind of woman.
Shit, what the fuck have I done?
*This book will continue in The Pack’s Luna, Henry’s story.
