Chapter 2
Farren
He woke me up, from outside my room, his scent sneaking in through the cracks around the door.
My nose flares as I breathe in deeply, and his scent wakes and soothes me instantly.
I climb out of bed, feeling much better than when I lay down.
The eight-hour trip here had been exhausting.
I’d been feeling so many emotions. Leaving the pack I grew up in was very hard, even though—since it was a small pack with few young people—I’d known it was time to move on.
Especially with the mating coming up in a couple of months.
I stand at the door, smiling, knowing he is standing right outside. I hear him breathing deeply, and I know he is doing the same thing. We shifters crave the scent of our mates.
I find myself thinking about the yearly gathering coming up in several months.
A lot of stuff happens during that time.
Many men and some women are together, in one place, trying to find their true mates.
Sometimes complicated situations arise. For example, upon occasion, a wolf mates with a bear.
Talk about hell. Many alphas do not allow different breeds to be together.
So the couple is banished to the woods. It’s a sad situation.
It happened once in my old pack. Randall, a male bear, and Olive, a female wolf, mated and were banished to the back of the property, but they are very happy.
Randall works in town as a firefighter; he had to find a way to support his family.
Maybe I should ask them if they want to transfer to this pack.
I take out my phone and text Olive. She is around thirty years old now, with a three-year-old son and daughter.
Me: Have you ever thought about transferring to a new pack?
I hit send and set the phone on the bathroom counter as I step into the shower. Letting the warm water massage my back, I hurry to wash my hair and body; then I step out.
The screen on my phone lights up, indicating a text. I wipe my wet hands on the towel and pick it up.
Olive: All the time, it’s hard to find a place where we are wanted.
I am hit with so much sadness that this has been her life for so long, being secluded from everyone.
Me: I just got to the pack where my brother is beta, this is different from the other pack. Everyone is accepted, and the alpha is my true mate.
After I dump all of that information on her, I blow-dry my long hair. I look at myself in the mirror, and my eyes glow as I think of my mate, who is showering in the next room. I smile and continue blow-drying my hair, and the screen lights up again.
Olive: Ask him, tell him the situation please.
I can feel the anxiety in her text, and I tighten my grip on my phone, pissed off that people can’t just be happy with their mates and accepted by their packs. After all, you can’t choose your true mate. I close my eyes, controlling my anger.
“Why are you upset, Moon?” Damon asks through the bedroom door.
I slip on some sweats. “Come in.”
He moves quickly to my side. “What happened?”
“I have a friend who I left in my old pack… Do you accept bears and wolves as mates?”
“Yes, one hundred percent.”
I smile. I can see that he is being real with me. “Will you accept the transfer? She is a wolf, her mate is a bear, and they have two kids. They have lived outside the pack, in the woods, for years.”
His jaw tightens. “I hate fuckers like that. We have a house available for them, if they want to come. I can send someone to pick them up.”
I grip his hand, wanting to soothe his anger. “I will tell her. Thank you, Damon.” I am so glad that he is the way he is. I am not sure I could have accepted an alpha or a mate with a different mentality.
“Now, out with you. I have to get ready.” I wink, and he backs out of the room.
His hair and the back of his shirt are still wet.
He gently shuts the door, and I walk back into the bathroom to call her.
I would love to have a woman around here.
An alpha female can’t be a true alpha unless she has her own chain of command.
She picks up instantly. “Hello?” Her voice is shaking.
“Hey, Olive. I talked to him.” She sucks in a deep breath. I can hear her kids playing in the background and Randall asking her what is wrong.
“What did he say? Kids, go play outside.” A few moments later I hear the door shut. “You’re on speakerphone.”
I fill her in on Damon’s offer, and she starts crying. “Are you sure? We are welcome to be ourselves?”
Damon comes back into the room and holds out his hand.
“Here, speak with him.”
Damon presses his hand to the small of my back, and goose bumps trail down my spine.
“This is Damon, the alpha of The Knights Pack,” he says. Olive quits crying, and I can hear Randall breathing through the phone.
“Alpha,” Randall says.
“You are welcome, your kids are welcome. We already have bears in our pack, along with other breeds.”
“We will join,” Randall says and I smile.
“I will send a car for you, when do you want to come? We have a house for you, furnished, and everything you will need.”
He is just perfect. I can tell that he is mean and badass when he needs to be, but he will not lead with an iron hand. He gives respect and compassion. This makes him the most deadly of alphas. He will be loved, and that makes him dangerous—because his pack will follow him to the end.
“As soon as possible,” Randall says.
“I will have a car for you in the morning.”
“Thank you,” Olive says and I smile, hearing her sweet voice.
“You’re most welcome, we need some pups and cubs around here,” Damon says. I sense that this makes her feel better; she was worried about her children. Alphas can sense someone’s emotions. I’ve always had this ability—so, deep down, I’ve always known I would become an alpha female.
Damon says goodbye and hands me back my phone. “Rough life for them, wasn’t it?”
“I can’t imagine being secluded like that, not having a proper bond with the pack and being forced away from everyone.”
He nods and touches my cheek. “You have a good heart, Moon.”
I smile, blushing slightly at his praise. “So do you, Alpha.”
He bows his head, letting me see his throat exposed. That is a sure sign of trust.
I tilt my head to the side, giving him my trust.
Many people would think we are moving too fast, but when you meet your true mate, it’s like you have known them your whole life.
It’s like you finally get a part of yourself back.
This is what is meant to be, and we have prepared for this moment our whole lives.
Our ways are much different from humans’, but this is natural in our eyes.
He leaves and I hurry to finish getting ready. I dress in jeans, a green plaid shirt over a white T-shirt, and boots. I don’t care to dress up too much; I’d rather be warm and cozy.
I walk down into the living room and see that he is dressed in the same way.
I smile, admiring the way his jeans hug his thighs, hips, and butt.
His plaid shirt is black, the top four buttons undone, exposing his chest a bit.
His hair is down; his eyes are dark and boring deeply into mine. Oh jeez. He is beautiful.
“Ready, Moon?”
“Sure am, Pha.”
He sucks in a deep breath. Just as Moon is a sign of high respect in the shifter world, Pha is an endearment that only an alpha female can call her mate.
I open the front door, and he takes my hand and leads me down the stairs.
A truck is sitting in the middle of his driveway.
I watch as he walks out the truck, his muscles bulging, his massive body looking badass and mean.
He opens my door for me, being a complete gentleman, and I thank him as I climb inside.
When he gets inside with me, his smell envelops me.
I know he can hear me breathing in deeply, but it can’t be helped.
He smiles, takes my hand, and smells the skin on the back of my hand.
We don’t say anything because it’s not needed—we just know.
The gate opens as we approach, and then we are out on the main highway.
“All of this is our land.” He motions toward a huge strip of woods, miles from civilization. Our land. I close my eyes.
Twenty minutes later we finally reach the town.
It’s a small town, which will provide just the basics we need.
I prefer the classic small-town feel and it’s safe.
It’s too hard to be in a pack close to a big town.
It eventually expands, encroaching on our territory, and people tend to wonder about us.
Damon pulls up outside a steak house and bar. I slide across the seat and get out on his side. He holds my hand as I slip out of the truck, and he never lets go as we walk into the restaurant.
The hostess tilts her head, staring at Damon. I growl deep in my throat, possessiveness swarming me. Her eyes widen and she turns around. “Follow me.” I walk in front of Damon so she can’t turn around and stare at him.
She sets the menus on the table, and I slide across the seat, keeping my eyes on her the whole time. Damon sits down beside me. “Your waiter will here in a few minutes.” As we look at our menus, Damon laughs.
“What, Pha?” I ask him, and his smile widens.
“I love that you’re possessive.” He runs his hand down my forearm.
“She was staring at you. You’re my true mate, and she needed to know that.
” She can get her own man, and it will not be Damon.
She is human. It’s very rare for a human to mate with a shifter.
It has happened, but only because the human had dormant shifter blood in their line.
And old-timers will not accept it. It’s fucked up that they are the way they are.
“Yours,” he confirms and my stomach twists. Mine.
We both order a rib eye, cooked rare, but mine is much smaller than his. We eat in silence, too entranced with our food. Throughout the meal he can’t stop touching me. His fingers brush the back of my hand, and he strokes my hair and caresses my cheek. It’s like he is making sure I am still there.