Chapter 15 - Sebastian
I used never to understand why the guys would get so lost in thought while at the office and be constantly hung up on their mates, but I was beginning to understand just how easy it was to slip into those daydreams.
Having Lydia with me at home while we carefully navigated our bond and did our best to find our footing together made it second nature to bring those thoughts to work. Even with important dates and releases coming up, she was always the main thing on my mind.
I was feeling good about everything as a whole, and I was relieved to hear that she and Zoe were able to make amends.
Even if we still had some strides to make as a mated pair, I got the sense that she was opening up to me more as time passed. She was getting comfortable with the pack, and thanks to Zoe’s help, she seemed to be settling in just fine.
The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the space as we sat around the table, waiting for Levi as usual. Beau and Ezra were across from me, with the latter mindlessly scrolling through his phone. The former took a sip of his coffee before meeting my gaze.
“You’ve been suspiciously quiet over there, Rivera. What’s going on inside your head?”
Letting go of a reluctant breath, aware that I’d never hear the end of it if I didn’t just come out with it, I absently played with the coffee cup in my hand. “Remember the other night at the bar when I left early?”
Beau offered a curt nod, and Ezra’s phone slowly lowered as he tuned in to the conversation.
“Well, I didn’t leave right away. I ended up finding someone I knew from before who had passed out behind the building. Some losers were harassing her, so I brought her back to my cabin.”
Beau snickered. “Straight forward, huh?”
I waved him off. “It’s more than that. I let her recover there, and it turns out that she’s…my mate.”
They both looked at me with deadpanned expressions, brows raised as they digested the sudden news.
Ezra snickered. “That’s certainly a new development.”
“Levi will be pissed to know he missed this,” Beau chided, vaguely scandalized by the prospect. “And you’ve kept this to yourself?”
Given how new it all was, I nodded, doing my best to navigate the somewhat uncomfortable topic. “The situation’s an interesting one, so I’ve been keeping it under wraps for the time being.”
“And who’s this mate then?” Beau asked, more intrigued than he had been before. “How did she manage to catch your eye?”
“Her name’s Lydia. It’s a long story, but she was friends with Zoe growing up,” I answered, weighing how much I wanted to share with them. “She ran away from her pack and creep alpha, and that was when I found her. Her parents convinced her that I was some kind of monster, but I managed to show her the truth. She’s been staying on my territory while we handle the situation.”
Ezra’s grin pulled tighter as he nodded absently to himself. He exchanged a knowing glance with Beau. “I’ll be damned. Rivera managed to find himself a worthy Luna after all.”
Beau chuckled. “The pretty boy has finally been claimed. How will the waitresses possibly cope with this news?”
Before I could say anything else, my phone rang from in my pocket, and I was quick to fish it out. Finding Roman’s ID on the screen, I had no doubt it was important. “Excuse me for a minute,” I murmured, standing up while Beau and Ezra joked among themselves.
Answering the call, I brought my cell to my ear. “Roman, what’s going on?”
The serious tone of his voice validated my assumption. “I was just in the middle of doing my perimeter rounds when I detected some kind of disturbance. It has to be other wolves in the area, but their scents aren’t familiar. It seems someone has been poking around recently.”
My brows furrowed as I stood off to the side, fully immersed in the call. “How recently?”
“I’d say within the last few hours. The scent trails away from where they circled back, but I have no doubt they were on the property at some point.”
“All right,” I murmured, deciding on the spot that it couldn’t wait. I had the sinking feeling it was Jack and his betas, as I had been dreading yet expecting ever since I found Lydia. “Hold tight. I’ll be there soon.”
***
After explaining briefly to the guys, I left the office and returned to the pack grounds, breaking out onto a trail that led to where Roman was waiting for me in the woods.
While I was lucky it didn’t take long to find him, I also knew that wasn’t a good thing. That meant those wolves managed to get far too close for comfort.
Roman perked up when he noticed me and gestured for me to follow. “Good, you’re here. I picked up the scents just up ahead.”
With a nod, I felt myself naturally falling into a serious state as I walked alongside him and stopped once he did as he bent down and pointed out several paw prints in the dirt.
Pulling in a deep breath, those new scents immediately became clear to me. They didn’t match any of my wolves, and without a doubt, I knew they were foreign to our property. They were outsiders, and while I could not know exactly who they were yet, it didn’t take much to assume that Jack had something to do with it.
My brows furrowed as I concentrated on one scent in particular—it was stronger and emanated power only possessed by an alpha. Not only were betas present, but their leader had been too.
Immediately enraged by the discovery, my blood boiled beneath my skin, and I clenched my jaw as I met Roman’s gaze. “This had to be Jack and his followers. Potentially even her parents.”
“You think he’s brave enough to storm in and face you head-on?”
Scrubbing a hand down my face, I sighed. “I can’t say he isn’t. He’s a quack and a creep, but other than that, I don’t know enough about him. If he came this far, I imagine he doesn’t intend on letting this go.”
Roman nodded, looking through the trees around us. “He could be prepared to start monitoring us and waiting for the right moment to strike.”
“It’s possible. Regardless of his next move, he’ll be after Lydia,” I murmured, clenching a fist to temper that anger. “Once an alpha is set on his potential mate, it’s nearly impossible to break that fixation. He might already know that Lydia has been claimed, or he’s still yet to discover that fact. Either way, he knows where we are.”
“What’s our next move then?”
Taking a breath to keep myself level, I allowed those protective instincts to take over. “Keep a close eye on the situation, and make sure we have more wolves patrolling the perimeter. Alert me if you scent them again. The sooner we can get a grip on the situation, the better.”
Understanding what was expected of him, Roman immediately began for the main grounds. “I’ll let the others know.”
I gave him an acknowledging nod and watched momentarily as he broke into a jog, leaving me alone in the woods.
Breathing in that scent again, I made sure to memorize it as best as I could, should I ever need to identify Jack quickly. So long as I knew that scent, I couldn’t be blindsided by him. If I were to catch as much as the faintest whiff of it, I’d be on his path at a moment’s notice.
Before, Jack seemed like nothing more than an antagonistic entity from Lydia’s stories that she recounted for me. Almost like he never truly existed since I didn’t know him myself. But after becoming aware of his presence so close to my territory, he was more real than ever.
At that moment, he felt like an actual threat, not just a driving force in Lydia leaving her old pack behind. He was someone I needed to be on guard for—to make sure that he never had the chance to get close to her.
The thought was enough to stir a sense of disgust and dread in my chest.
Even if we were still understanding things, Lydia was my mate, and if anyone tried to get in the way of it, I knew I would have no issue defending what was mine. Given the situation, someone like Jack deserved to be put in his place and reminded of how strong the force of a mate bond could be.
Taking in my surroundings with a discerning eye, arms crossed, I immediately knew I couldn’t tell Lydia yet. As much as I wanted to be completely honest with her about all things, I didn’t want to worry her.
She had been working on adjusting, and I didn’t want to jeopardize that.
In the meantime, as long as I took care of the situation, there was no point in dragging her into it.
It was between me and Jack, and so long as he tried anything, nothing could stop me from guarding my mate and our bond.