Chapter 12 - Luke
The few days of peace that go by seem too good to be true, and when the unofficial summons comes, I already know I’m right in that assumption.
Out in the woods with Isaac and a few younger wolves, we watch them run drills and coach them through them.
This isn’t usually how I dedicate my time, but having the Alpha oversee your training always helps with morale and to establish that trust early on.
I remember what that felt like when I was young.
Before long, Eve appears through the trees with her arms folded. She watches at first, then steps in behind us.
“Jonah wants to see us.”
We both face her, and Isaac lifts a brow. “All three of us?”
She nods. “Yes. Now.”
He curses under his breath, since usually when he’s summoned anywhere, it’s usually not for anything good.
After giving a quick explanation to the wolves training, I turn back and clap a hand against Isaac’s shoulder, steering him the way Eve came from. “Let’s go then.”
Despite putting on an unbothered facade, something in my gut twists at the thought of whatever Jonah wants to talk about. A spike of irritation follows it up at the fact that I’m being summoned at all, but for an elder, I’ll let it slide.
I check in with the bond quickly, feeling its steady beat while Sera is somewhere back at the house.
We’re close enough that I can feel the presence of her in the distance, and regardless of the space, I find myself wanting to cut it even more.
To be near her, and to feel whatever scrap of warmth she might be willing to give.
Forcing myself to breathe evenly, I continue through the trees with my siblings, making our way deeper into the pack territory.
Elder Jonah’s house sits just on the edge of town, close enough to everything without sacrificing the quiet he values. The structure is one of the oldest ones here, and the porch creaks faintly as we step onto it.
Jonah’s at the door before we can even knock, pushing the screen door open.
Despite his age, he still has a relatively straight spine, and he stands taller than most would expect.
His white hair is braided down his back with a few beads woven in the way he likes it, and his dark eyes look as sharp as ever.
When his gaze lands on me, I already know this impromptu meeting has more to do with me than my siblings.
“Come in,” he says, accepting as Eve takes his hand in a respectful gesture, walking with him.
The inside is a touch warmer than necessary, with the fire burning lightly despite the warm afternoon. He has his old kettle off to the side, apparently recently boiled.
Elder Jonah gestures for us to sit by the old wooden table by the window. Isaac drops into one of the chairs on the far side while Eve sits next to Jonah. I stand a moment longer before sitting across from him.
He studies me carefully for a beat longer than I appreciate, but I allow it.
“What did you want to speak with us about?” I ask, tone even and patient, regardless of the vague irritation pulsing in my gut.
After a breath, he nods to himself in thought. “I called you three here because I have a story to tell you.”
Christ.
When Isaac starts to make a sound of protest, Eve throws him a warning glance, and he straightens up.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Jonah begins, eyes gleaming with a flicker of amusement. “Just hear me out. I won’t keep you long.”
Ignoring the other two, I nod, confirming for him to continue.
While I definitely have better things to be doing, I’ve known Jonah my entire life.
He was the Alpha before my father, and before I was even born, he was guiding this pack through many hardships, back when the Alphas weren’t entirely cordial with one another.
He has seen far more than I can imagine, and when he speaks, I know it’s coming from a place of experience and sometimes caution.
“When I was a young man, I traveled north with a scouting party back before our current borders stood as they do now. Magic wasn’t yet outlawed, but it was feared, and most tried to hide their use anyway.
We came across a village while we were there.
It was small and quiet, and we stopped there to rest one night. ”
Eve shifts subtly in her seat, paying close attention. Even Isaac goes still.
“There was a child…a young girl. She had abilities, and her parents allowed her to use them in small ways. She would light the hearth and candles without touching them, she protected their livestock with warding spells, and she even mended cuts with herbs and the right words,” Jonah continues with slow, sweeping glances between the three of us.
“Everyone who knew claimed she was blessed. But one night, after we continued on our way, something went wrong when her brother fell ill. When the fever wouldn’t break, she pushed too hard and allowed her magic to take more than she could reasonably give.
She didn’t understand the cost before it was too late. ”
Isaac’s brows furrow. “What happened?”
Jonah pulls in a deep breath. “The house burned from the inside out, but not from flames. Her pure energy consumed everything, and while the girl survived, the rest did not. We saw the ruins when we moved back through the area, and the locals told us what happened.”
As silence stretches in the space, something old and familiar rises in me. Those thoughts ingrained in my head come back, just as intensely as they used to. That fear and resistance remind me that magic is dangerous, volatile, and it destroys. It undermines, and it can’t be trusted.
I hear my father’s voice in the back of my head, rigid with warnings and rules many of us obeyed since we were only little.
“I didn’t watch it happen myself, but I saw those ruins with my own eyes. I saw the damage untrained, unchecked magic can do.”
But even as those instincts flare up in me, I feel the bond react. It’s faint but immediate, and the reality of my situation cuts through those damning thoughts. I see Sera’s face, and I tense.
I know what he’s trying to do, but I won’t let it shake me again. I’m not that same kind anymore.
“You’re telling us this because of Sera,” I state, tone a little firmer now as I hold his gaze.
Elder Jonah hesitates, then he sighs. “Yes. You’ve bonded yourself to a witch, Luke.”
“I know I have.”
“And you’re the Alpha, which means your choices ripple outward. The pack will follow your lead even if they’re resistant, and I hope you understand what you’re inviting in.”
For a moment there, I was so close to falling back into doubt and the expectations that have been hanging over my head for some time now. I almost let those warnings and that old way of thinking get to me.
Despite being able to picture the village Jonah described in my mind, seeing the destruction, I imagine Sera being in the middle of it.
But just as easily, I remember the way she carefully mixed the herbs I got her back at the house, grinding them together with expert hands, how she looked so at ease writing down notes.
She’s not reckless or a child. She survived a place far harsher than this one, and since being with us, she hasn’t lashed out even once. She easily could’ve used her magic against me the day I decided to keep her here, but she didn’t.
Keeping those thoughts in the forefront of my mind, I take a slow breath.
“With respect,” I begin, speaking as carefully as I can. “Sera is not the same as that girl. She has had her whole life to understand her abilities.”
“Understanding does not eliminate risk.”
“Fear and a refusal to show compassion don’t either,” I return, allowing my words to hang in the air between us. As tempting as it is, I don’t raise my voice, but I mean it anyway.
Eve leans forward a bit, tone gentle. “I’ve spent time with Sera, and I don’t sense any malicious intent from her.”
Jonah watches her closely. “And you trust your instincts.”
She nods. “I do.”
He glances back at me, expression not unkind, but not fully convinced either. “And you do as well?”
“I do.”
My answer comes immediately, even surprising me, and after a moment, Jonah nods slowly.
“I’m not telling you this to challenge your authority, as I know times have changed, but I will caution you wherever I can. The pack is uneasy, and they hesitate to welcome her as you hope.”
Despite it not coming as a surprise, my jaw tightens anyway. “I expected that, and I’m not asking them to blindly celebrate her. I’m only asking them not to condemn her for something she didn’t choose.”
For the first time during this conversation, Jonah’s expression softens slightly. “You carry more than your own heart now, Luke. It is a sacred thing, but don’t let it blind you.”
“I won’t.”
While it’s a heavy promise, it’s one I intend to keep.
Even if the others might doubt me, I will make this work. I will be the Alpha they need me to be, and I’ll help them see that Sera isn’t the monster they’ve been made to assume she is. I’ll be the mate she deserves.
Eventually, Jonah dismisses us with a nod and a few parting words, and the walk back is more stifling than I expect.
Earning myself a few empathetic looks from my siblings, we part ways, and I head for the house again.
Despite the determination I feel to prove myself, the irritation stitched into my ribs only grows the farther I go, and the longer I think about it all.
Back there, I almost let the old conditioning win me over again. It almost sank its claws back in, and it unsettles me to the point of anger.
I’m tired of defending my choices. I’m tired of the sideways glances, the subtle warnings, and everyone waiting for this to implode on me.
As much as I know, I shouldn’t bring this turbulence inside with me, and I should be giving Sera space to sort through everything, but I can’t help it.
Pushing through the front door, the tether pulls with more desperation than I should allow, and all I can focus on is finding her.
She’s in the backyard when I exit through the patio door, barefoot in the grass and idly pacing while she reads. The sun is setting behind her, making her glow with a golden hue that makes me stop breathing for a long moment as I watch.
She looks so peaceful, and more perfect than she has any right to be.
The bond reacts the moment she senses me, and with a flicker of awareness, she pauses her steps to look at me.
My heart feels like it’s in my throat as I step forward, but the overwhelming need inside me keeps me moving until I’m right there.
“I trust you.”
Sera blinks back at me with confusion, hesitating before she murmurs, “What?”
“I trust you,” I repeat, pulling in a shaky breath that makes me feel unlike myself. “I trust your intentions and your abilities. I don’t think you’re a danger to anyone.”
She just stares for a beat, then she swallows. “You don’t know me well enough to trust me.”
“Maybe not,” I say, well aware that our relatively short time together isn’t enough to truly know someone, but with our connection, it feels like I’ve known her forever. “But it’s instinct, and I mean it.”
I catch the jump in her pulse, but her guard stays up as she takes a small step back. “You’re frustrated with them…the others.” When I nod, she continues, “Then why are you here?”
Realizing just how intensely I’m staring at her now, I force myself to pause and try to relax at least a little bit. But right now, the bond is so loud. It isn’t as angry or precarious as it had been, but now it’s so full of wanting and needing that I don’t know what else to do with myself.
I’ve been holding back and giving her space, and while that’s the bare minimum, it’s killing me.
I want to respect her need for distance, but after swallowing every impulse to touch her and swallowing every warning and doubt, I feel like a pressure cooker.
More than anything, I want her.
“Because,” I begin, struggling to hold myself back. “I want you to stop looking at me like I’m your enemy. I want you to stop pretending this doesn’t exist…that the bond isn’t in you, too.”
Her gaze darkens just enough for me to see, but the bond surges like it’s agreeing with me. She can try to hide it all she wants, but she isn’t immune to its pull either.
Still, I need her to want this.
“I hate that it’s there,” she says, just above a whisper, like the words are too acidic for her tongue.
“I know.”
She narrows her eyes, but can’t hide the way she takes me in. “And you’re still pushing. Why?”
Because I’m done pretending I don’t feel the heat between us, even when she’s angry with me. Because I’m done letting everyone assume they know how this will unfold.
I take a small step forward, clinging to the fact that she doesn’t pull back again.
“I can’t keep holding back,” I murmur, eyes scanning her features for any sign that she wants this too. “I won’t do anything you don’t want me to, but I need you to know I’m not resisting how I feel.”
When I step into her space fully, Sera doesn’t say anything. Her lips part as she looks up at me, and before she can school it again, her eyes soften. There’s little air between us now, and she looks so damn tempting.
My mate…the woman I haven’t been able to claim yet.
She has no idea what she’s doing to me.
When I can’t take it, fueled by the pull between us, I lean in and press my lips to hers.
The kiss isn’t as gentle as intended, and maybe I should be more careful with her, but my hands go to her cheeks as I savor every second of it.
Sera stiffens, surprised by the contact, but it eases away as she kisses me back.
While it doesn’t feel like surrender or forgiveness, the contact is more like an undeniable attraction finally meeting after being denied for too long, and it’s enough for me.
One hand slips to her waist as I guide her closer, lips melding with hers while the bond flares with such overwhelming force that I can’t bring myself to stop.
She tastes sweet, and the scent of her surrounds me so perfectly that my head spins. I deepen the kiss without thinking, and desire surges through me at the soft sound that leaves her as a result.
Even while my father’s doubt and Jonah’s cautious words try to break the moment, I don’t let it in.
I don’t regret this, and I sure as hell don’t regret her.