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"I'm your mate, Jeremiah. Get her out of here now!" My best friend, Alpha Jeremiah, has found his mate, which should be a cause for celebration. Yet she hates me — because I'm a human girl, and because Jeremiah and I are tight. Ever since I was adopted by Jeremiah's parents into the werewolf world, I've never felt so unwelcome. Maybe it's time to stop being their problem and return to the human world for good... I grab my clothes and stuff them all into my bag before another wave of tears hits. Once everything is packed, I walk my two bags downstairs and set them by the front door and grit my teeth. I need to say something to Aunt Beth or she will tear this whole pack apart looking for me. I follow sounds to the common room. It doesn’t cross my mind to make myself known before I walk in. A moan and grunt and then “WHAT THE HELL?!” A female screech pierces my ears. “Oh sh*t! Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.” I shield my eyes. “I was just looking for Aunt Beth before I head out.” I start to back out of the room as quickly as possible. “Ken, wait! Come back.” I hear a ton of cloth rustling and I move faster. “Nope! Not a chance. Continue, I will find her on my own, sorry for the interruption.” I continue down the hallway heading for the door fighting tears. It took less than an hour for him to be distracted enough to forget I’m even here. ‘Important’ is no longer a word anyone gets to use when it comes to how Jer feels about me. “Ken, stop.” He’s so fucking fast and right in front of me now, blocking my way to the front door. I slam my eyes closed. I’m not going to have his mate try to beat me up for looking at him naked. “Where are you going? Why do you have a bag packed? And why are you looking for Mom?” Now he’s worried? I mentally roll my eyes. “I was going to tell her I was heading out. Are you dressed? I like my eyes where they are in my face. I don't need them ripped out.” I squeezed my eyes tighter and ignored his other questions. “Yes.” He laughs. “Now look at me and tell me where you are going. What’s going on?” “I told you, I haven’t been sleeping well. I’m going to go stay at Ben’s so I’m not a problem.” “What are you talking about? I left you my shirt, that usually works when I’m gone. And since when have you ever been a problem?” “Really? Are you that dense? The shirt isn’t working anymore.” I lied. “And It became a problem when you found your mate, who you very obviously forgot to say anything to, cause she didn’t expect me based on the welcome I got when you brought her home. She doesn't want me here and you aren't going to choose.” “I’m right here, you know. Don’t talk about me like I’m not in the room.” Her voice comes up close behind me. I close my eyes and take a deep breath in, then out. Don’t get an attitude, don’t get an attitude, don’t get an attitude. I have to keep repeating to myself. This is not her fault, she’s just as much a victim here as I am and she has just as much if not more right to be angry than I do. “I still don't understand the problem?” Jeremiah looks from her to me and back again. It’s my turn to glare and growl and I don’t even have a wolf. Jer’s eyes go wide and he takes a step back from me. Hands up in a surrendering gesture. At least he’s smart enough to know we are both pissed, even if he doesn’t understand the problem. “Why are boys so stupid?!” I don’t yell, but my temper is getting harder and harder to control. I let out another sigh and decided to get this over with. I turn around. “Rayna, I’m Kennedy, Jeremiah’s best friend, his female best friend. I live here in the packhouse.” I gesture around me. “I’ve been here for the last three years. My mom was his mom’s best friend and I’m here because my parents died three years ago. I still have nightmares from that day and Jeremiah usually sleeps in my room with me…” I get nothing else out when she launches herself at me snarling and grabbing for my hair. She’s strong but I don’t know if she trains much, her movement is clumsy. We both fall back and I take the brunt of both our weights before flipping us both over trying to gain the advantage. I don’t want to hurt her, but I also don’t want to get hurt by her. She’s clawing at everything she can and her legs are kicking wildly underneath me. She’s snarling and growling but having a hard time getting words out. “You b*ch! You can’t have him!” She yells as she swipes at my face with her nails and distracts me enough to shift our positions and move on top of me. I can feel the blood trickle down my face. She thinks I’m just a rando girl trying to claim her man. With all the time he has spent with her even since she found out about me, he still never explained who I was. Jackass. Now I understand her frustration, I would find that shady too, and I’m fighting to get words out to reassure her while not letting her hurt me. I can only get a few choppy syllables uttered here and there while trying to hold her off. “I don’t f*cking want him you crazy ass. He’s like my brother.” I grunt as she gets a good punch to my stomach. “But you would know that if you two spent just as much time talking as you do f*cking! Now stop trying to claw my eyes out!” That made her pause long enough for me to thrust my hips and flip her on her back. I have her wrists in my hands and finally get them pinned above her head. She’s still flailing as I’m straddling her torso leaning in almost nose to nose. We are both panting, but she’s slowly stopped fighting me. Maybe she realized I’m not trying to hurt her back or my words are sinking in. Whatever, it’s working. “Stop trying to kill me. He’s like my brother.” I say again, breathing hard, now that I seem to have some of her attention. “He should have told you about me and to be honest a heads up about you would have been nice. But sometimes these boys aren’t the brightest.” I rolled my eyes and finally looked up at him just staring at us and noticed we have a whole audience. “Oh Goddess! That is so f*cking hot! How did you get so lucky?” Tommy slaps Jeremiah on the back and bites down on his lower lip. Such a perv. “So all four of you assholes just stood there and let us fight? You weren’t concerned for your best friend or your future Luna hurting each other? We should beat the sh*t out of all of you instead.” Ben and Jason roll their eyes, then Ben walks over. “You two get it out of your system?” He reaches his hand out to me. “Maybe.” I raise an eyebrow looking back at her, slowly releasing her arms and sitting back, straddling her waist, waiting for her to take a cheap shot. Nothing comes so I take his offered hand. Jason helps Rayna up. I fix my clothes and run my fingers through my hair, not looking at anyone. “I’m ready Ben, let’s go.” They need to talk and decide if this is something she can deal with. I don’t want to walk away, but an Alpha needs his Luna. In this case she is more important. My friendship with Jeremiah is solely in her hands. If she says no, then that's it, for now at least. I start walking toward the front door. I set my jaw, I will not cry again. I have said my peace and I can only hope she believes my words. This is for Jeremiah to explain and fix if he wants to keep me in his life. He has to make her see what he and I are, and she has to believe it’s not romantic. “Wait, don’t go.” Her voice is sweet but confident and I don’t know if I can do this. I shake my head and keep moving. “Please, we should talk.” I keep looking at the door. “I really do need to try and sleep, that wasn’t a line. Don’t make this any harder for me. Please. I need to go.” My plea came out barely audible to my own ears, but I know they can hear me. It is getting harder to breathe. “But you live here…” She’s right behind me whispering. I know the guys can hear us though. I keep my eyes locked in the door. Each breath is controlled in and then out. “Yep… for now… and soon you will too. I need to learn how to work through the nightmares and bullsh*t on my own anyway, but this was kind of a shock.” I bend over and grab my bags, my hands still sore from my impromptu workout earlier. She stops me, her hand on mine. The first tear falls. I shake my head side to side, my heart is breaking. “Let’s go put these away and we can get to know each other. It seems like we will be spending a lot of time together.” She pulls on my hand holding the strap to my duffel bag. It wasn’t anything harsh or controlling, but something in me just snapped, and I don’t have the energy to fight her anymore. There go my tears again, stupid emotions. She takes my bag and slides her gentle hand on my upper arm turning me around. I sling my backpack on my shoulder, eyes down just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. We both walk up the stairs to head back to my room, Rayna right behind me without a backwards glance at the guys. “Ken…” Jeremiah breathes. I just shake my head and keep walking. “I think your girls just left you hanging, I hope you finished whatever you started in here brother otherwise you’re going to sleep with some blue balls.” Tommy is always the charmer. But the rest of the guys laugh as well. We get to my room and I drop my bag by my desk and take a deep breath before I turn around. I move to take my duffle from her and drop it next to my school bag. “Were you really just going to leave? No fight at all?” She seems appalled. “He’s my brother, not my boyfriend.” I’m kind of getting tired of saying that. “There’s never been anything like that between us. I understand how mates work, how integral they are. He’s an Alpha and an Alpha needs his Luna. There is nothing more important than that for the future of the pack. So yes, I was going to leave, because you don’t want me near him. You don't want me here.” I rub my face and go to sit on my bed and pat the place next to me. “I have never once run at my brother like that. I’m usually more inclined to throw something at him.” This has the effect of breaking the tension as I let out a strangled laugh. “But how close are you and your brother? In age, I mean?” “Six years difference. He’s 26, I’m 20” I nod. “ Jer and I are the same age, literally. We were born on the same day in the same hospital. That’s how close our mom’s were. My mom was visiting and they both went into labor at the same time. We are more like twins, basically raised that way.” She nods. “That explains a few things then. Not why he sleeps in your room, but we’ll get to that. What about the other guys?” “What about them?” I am trying to get my breathing under control now that she isn’t growling at me. I have a headache from all the crying too. “Oh, come on. There’s no way you left all of them alone! That much hotness and no mate yet. And they are all so protective over you. You are close with all of them, anyone can see it.” “What are you talking about ‘no mate yet?’ I’m human, do you know the odds of me being mated to someone? I can’t even be inducted into the pack, because the elders think it will kill me. I’m sure being marked would be just as bad.” I chose to skip her other statement. I don’t know her that well. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before. We don’t have any humans in our pack right now though, so I’m not sure how that works.” “No idea, but Aunt Beth won’t even entertain the idea. So I’m a human in a werewolf pack with no actual connection to the pack, living with the Alpha’s family, but not blood related.” I say darkly. “So…I believe you’ve never had any romantic interest in Jeremiah. It’s written all over your face.” She giggles, like an actual little girl. “But, you avoided my other question, that means you have given the other guys a test drive.” She winks and I look at the door, sure someone is probably listening. “Test drive is a strong phrase.” I try to dodge. "Besides, what we've done are not nearly as hot as what I walked into downstairs a little bit ago. Did he forget other people live here or is that like a mate bond thing where you get horny all of a sudden and have to f*ck right where you are?” I was kind of joking, but I admitted I wanted to see her blush. “Maybe a little of both. I mean I didn’t know you lived here and his parents are still at the meeting. They'll be back in the morning so I didn’t see anything wrong with it. And it is kind of hard to keep my hands to myself when he’s around, you’ve seen him. ” She’s blushing, but there’s a little tone of disbelief in her voice. “Knock, knock! Is it safe? I would like to be able to have kids someday, Ken.” My door cracks open and my best friend stands in the frame, but waits for me to give him the okay. “We’re fine Jer. We just had to fill in some gaps you missed because you are a moron and let your d*ck take over thinking for you.” He huffed a laugh and walked in with two mugs, set them down on the side table and climbed on my bed behind Rayna. “I brought tea, thought it might help. We have an early start tomorrow, we all need to sleep.” He can’t keep his hands to himself either and it’s really cute watching him wrap her up in his arms. Her dark hair frames her heart shaped face contrasting with his light blonde hair. She leans back into his embrace. “What’s tomorrow?” I ask, confused, grabbing for the cup of tea. It’s a blend that the healer made when I told her I was still having nightmares and nothing else is working. “We are traveling to my pack so Jeremiah can meet my brother. He’s the Alpha, but was dealing with another urgent matter so my dad and I went to the meeting in his place.” “I'm glad you did.” He nuzzles her neck and I can hear his wolf purr. “Okay please don’t have s*x in my room. You have your own for those extra curricular activities. Jer,” I slap his leg. “Thank you for the tea, I should be good. Did the guys leave already? I didn’t even think to say goodbye.” I’m trying to rush them out. As cute as it is, I have heard that new mates escalate from light touching to f*cking quickly. And that isn’t something I want to see, no matter how hot my best friend and his new mate are. “Nah, they're all in the Media room. We figured it would be easier for everyone if we all just left from here in the morning.” “Why do you all have to go?” I’m still learning all the nuances of pack politics, but the thought of all of them being gone makes my heart sink. “We are all going, you included. When an Alpha travels for more than just a couple days, usually his team goes as well as long as someone is here to run the pack and Beta Daniel is still here and my parents will be back tomorrow too.” “What does any of that have to do with me?” “I’m sure that Rayna would like to have another female along. Traveling with all males all the time, can’t be fun. Besides, you’re one of my warriors and my best friend, I would like you there when I have to meet Rayna’s brother.” “Is that code for you’re afraid of my brother?!” Rayna laughs at him. “Umm, yes Luna!” He growls in her ear. “No sass from you. She’s always the buffer when there’s too much testosterone in the room. Kennedy has actually been to several meets with me. She’s really good with all the small talk and she remembers everything. It’s very handy. It doesn't hurt that she's beautiful and typically earns attention quickly. And your brother has the biggest pack territory and is one of the most notoriously dangerous Alphas, not to mention I’m about to take his sister away. I need all the help I can get.” I ignore the backhanded distraction comment and ask, “Wait, what pack are you from?” “Dark Moon.” My eyebrows shoot up. Even I have heard of them. I can’t remember the Alpha’s name, but he is ruthless from what I have heard. He takes over weak packs and eliminates Alphas like I go to school and turn in assignments. “Relax, He’s not that scary.” “Maybe for you, he loves you, for the rest of the world he’s intimidating. If the situation was reversed and someone came and told me they were Kennedy's mate and she’s packing her stuff and leaving today. I would probably try to beat the sh*t out of them. Mate bond or not.” I laugh with Rayna and then stop and stare at him. A thought just occurred to me, “Is that why no one here tries to date me? Cause you told them you’d beat the sh*t out of them?” “Uh…no…not exactly.” “But pretty close to being accurate?” “We may have insinuated that you could handle yourself and we would take care of whatever was left over.” “Good to know there’s a ‘we’ to yell at.” I look at Rayna. “How far is the drive to your pack? I need to make sure I have enough topics to yell at them for over the whole drive.” She giggles again and Jeremiah blanches, knowing I’m not lying. He only calms when she turns her head and gives him a kiss on the cheek. “Okay go, you two are making me nauseous. I will see you in the morning.” They both get up to leave and make it to the door when Jer turns, “Do you need a shirt? I can grab one.” “I still have the one you gave me a couple days ago, I should be good. I have to start weaning sometime.” And just like that, we’re back to being weird. Even with a little history I don’t know how Rayna will feel about him giving clothes that smell like him to me. “Let me know if you need me, alright?” I just nod my head. There’s no way I’m yelling for him with his mate here. I fall asleep more quickly than I have in the last 3 nights. But, I’m not sure if that’s from him being back in the packhouse or being so tired from the days' drama I had no choice. Ryker I finally get in as the dawn is starting to break. The warrior leaves me at the packhouse front door before heading to his own home. My wolf shifts back to human. We are exhausted, covered in dirt and blood. But it is worth it to have only had a few fights and less than a dozen casualties and most of the pack is none the wiser. I head up towards the largest guest suite next to Alpha Edward’s. I won’t kick him out of his space because I have now taken possession of his pack. I have my own home and my own space. He can live out his days in his rightful place in the main rooms of his packhouse. I shower all the grime off and let the water sluice over my body. The hot water feels amazing against my muscles after so much time in the car and the late night run. When I was starting to really relax, my mind began making the mental list of things that I need to do. I met with Edward this morning for breakfast and he looks a little worse for wear. I really think he has been holding out to make sure his pack was taken care of completely. We met with the elders to complete the transfer. It’s similar to inducting a new pack member. They cut my arms allowing for a small amount of blood to be collected in a cup, an oath a fealty is said before Edward drinks the blood, sealing the bond of our packs together. I can feel all of the new members' connections develop. I’m glad we have found a more civilized way to do this. New members used to have to bite the Alpha to gain the blood. With the way I take on packs, I don’t know if I could deal with that. I let my Beta know that I am going to stick around for the rest of the weekend to see if Edwards' condition improves at all. I also request a few more soldiers here. I know I took out several of the main players last night, but that doesn’t mean that everyone got the message, I have to make sure everyone is safe here before I go anywhere. I noticed my sister has tried to call me twice already this morning as I am walking back up to my room to change for a workout. What could have her calling me at this hour? I open up the voicemail on my phone and have to pull the receiver away at the sound of her screeching. I listen to the first message the best that I can and then move on to the second, which is much calmer. She found her mate and is traveling to meet his family. He’s a future Alpha in our alliance at least, so I know his family, although she didn’t actually say his name. She wants to know when I will be back because she is bringing him home to meet me. I sit down on my bed slowly. I don’t even know what to think. My baby sister found her mate. I am both excited that there is someone out there to protect and love her better than I ever could, and I am pissed at the idea of any man putting his hands on her in that way. If I’m being honest with myself, I am a little jealous too, she’s only been looking for two years. I have been waiting for eight. No, not waiting. I have been able to sense one for eight years. I don’t want a mate. They cause too many problems. I know, eventually, I will need my mate to give me heirs, but I’m in no rush. I can lie to everyone else and say that I’m fine and the Moon Goddess will send her to me when I’m ready, but the dark thought crossed my mind, what if there isn’t someone for me? What if she was taken from me before I even knew her? My heart pulses at the thought and my wolf whines. What if the Moon Goddess decided I’m not worthy of a mate because I think it would be too much work to keep one safe? I shake my head of the negative thoughts, even thinking about a mate is more work than it should be. This is why I don’t want one. I fire off a quick message and tell her that I have some unexpected business to handle, then I should be back in the next day or so and she can head home with her new mate and any other pack members that she feels are important to be with her. I want to celebrate her one more time before she leaves me and heads off to help run a pack of her own by her mate’s side. I also want to meet every wolf that will be in charge of her safe keeping. They had better be up to my standard or they will be getting some additions to their warriors. Kennedy I wake up fully as the SUV slows and notice a different scent surrounding me. “Ben?” I ask gruffly as I sit up slowly and look around rubbing my face. “Where did you come from?” I could have sworn that Jason was my pillow when we left. “I think you finally got the sleep you needed Ken. We’ve been driving for almost 4 hours. We’ve each taken a turn being your pillow and you didn’t move an inch.” He gives me a rare smile. “Even Rayna sat with you.” That's kind of weird. I have never had another female settle me enough to sleep though, not even Aunt Beth. Maybe it’s because she’s a part of Jer, an extension of our connection is in her too because of the mate bond. Who knows. When I think I understand werewolf nature something always throws a wrench that makes me question the things that really should make sense, like mates. I look at the seat diagonal from me and she smiles. “How did I not notice all your giant asses coming and going from the seat? I can see Rayna getting back here unnoticed, but the rest of you, there’s no way. Did you drug me or something?” The third row bench seat doesn’t have doors, so it must have been difficult for them to squeeze through. “No, but clearly you needed it. Do you feel better?” He looks concerned again. I wish he wouldn’t look at me like that. I know he cares, but sometimes, like now, it feels like more. He has a mate out there somewhere and I will not get involved in that mess, again. I turn to look out the window. “Yeah, thanks. Where are we now?” I have to get the subject off of me and my sleeping habits. “We are getting ready to cross into my brother’s territory.” Rayna looks back and smiles. She clearly loves her brother, no matter his reputation. Like she conjured them, several wolves ran out of the surrounding forest from all directions, as we rolled to a stop. This must be some kind of checkpoint. We are heading up a hill so there isn’t much else to see of the pack lands through the forest surrounding us. Jeremiah rolls down his window and introduces himself to the one warrior who shifted. As much nakedness as I have seen since finding out about werewolves and shifting, I still can’t look past a gorgeous guy who seems to live in the gym and is hung like a horse. Damn! Maybe I will have a little fun while I am here since the guys in my pack have been warned off of me. Although I will have to tread carefully if these guys are anything like the rumors say. Rayna rolls down her window, I missed a whole conversation while I was drooling over the warrior. “He’s expecting us, Danny. This is Jeremiah, my mate and his Beta Ben, Gamma Jason, Delta Tommy and Lead Warrior Kennedy.” Danny nods to all of us as she says our names and we acknowledge. He gives me a flirtatious smirk. “Danny is my brother’s Delta, and should be with him while he is in negotiations.” Her tone sounds scolding and yet unsurprised to find him here. And that introduction was generous. I am no such thing, but I’m not going to correct her right now. Somehow in a matter of a day she has gone from hating my guts to exaggerating my qualities. “Oh, I’m here, on orders, specifically for your arrival, Rayna.” I can’t tell if his look is more playful or menacing. The smirk he has could be either good or bad. Delta Danny steps out of the way and we pull forward. I try to be sly while staring at all his gorgeousness as we drive away, I don’t think I am successful based on a huff from my right. The sound gets me to look forward and my jaw drops. “Holy Sh*t Rayna. Your pack is beautiful!” I exclaim. The hill we were going up didn’t dip back into a valley like I thought. It leveled out and the trees were full and lush, some of them even starting to change colors with the season. The path we were driving on was well maintained and the larger trees made a sort of canopy over us. Once we got past the long entry drive the path opened up to a large town that looked so classic and from a different era. It was something people would put on Christmas cards with red brick buildings and large shop windows. Everything is cozy and inviting. It looks like there are blocks of buildings that stretch into neighborhoods of homes. I knew this pack was big, but I didn't realize it was this big. We drive past a center square where a roundabout circles a central gazebo that is decorated for some special occasion. Off to one end there is a large park. I can see the top of a jungle gym in the distance. I’m going to have fun exploring here. As we drive further into the pack territory I can see the first industrial looking building and just beyond it looks like stadium seating. I wonder if that is part of their school. “Hey, Rayna. What is that over there?” I point to the building and seating. “Oh, that’s our training ground. My brother has built our pack so big that we have groups of warriors that come from all over to train, so the building is a dorm for them to stay in while they are here.” “When do they train? I would love to go watch.” “Evening training starts in a couple hours. Why don’t we all go to the packhouse and drop off our stuff, change and grab a bite to eat and then we can join. I’m sure the guys would love to move around after being your pillow the whole trip.” She laughs at me. “Food sounds amazing!” Tommy chirps from next to her and the rest of us laugh. She guides Jeremiah through the town pointing things out as we go and I can’t keep my jaw off the floor. This is nothing like the rumors say. Everything is classically timeless and gorgeous. We get to the pack house which is very grand and has a touch of the old world look to it too, but I don’t have time to admire for long, my boys are hungry and in a hurry. One of the Omegas helps us all to our rooms. I’m surprised to learn that we are on the Alpha’s floor as guests, but when I mention it to Rayna her explanation both helps me understand and confuses me. I don’t always get pack hierarchy culture and didn’t really think about different packs doing things in different ways. I always thought the Alpha and the Alpha’s immediate family liked to have a floor to themselves. It was a way to escape the pack a bit, like celebrities having a gate surrounding their mansions to keep out paparazzi. A place where no one but their designated Omegas went. I was only allowed on the Alpha floor when Aunt Beth took me in. Even Jeremiah moved down to my floor when I moved in so we could be closer, and then it helped with the nightmare problem. I guess because Rayna’s room is on this floor and Jeremiah is an Alpha and expected to stay with her, obviously, his team is housed near him. It’s to make us all feel more comfortable, being close together, rather than feeling wary of being separated. We get special treatment since we are a packaged deal with Rayna. When we get to the floor I stop in my tracks as I smell the most amazing thing I have ever smelled in my whole life. It’s Rosemary and mint and something just inherently male. Whoever is wearing this cologne might get attacked by me later, it makes my whole body tingle in ways it never has before. I notice it’s all over this floor as we walk towards our rooms. I wonder if it is a warrior who patrols here. Damn. All my lady bits are on high alert now. “You alright?” Ben asks, a funny look in his eyes. “Yep!” My voice came out squeaky for some reason. I clear my throat. “Yeah. It’s just overwhelming. This place is gigantic.” I shrug and keep walking. He huffs again. Ryker We are more than halfway into our trip and I get a mindlink from Danny. “Alpha, you are not going to believe who just graced our pack with her presence.” “I hate guessing games Danny. What’s going on?” I rub my temples. “Your new brother-in-law’s lead warrior is a female.” “So what, we have a ton of very talented female warriors. I’m pretty sure Greta beat your ass with one hand tied behind her back last week.” I laugh at him the same way I did last week when it happened. “She’s a female… human. And gorgeous!” Danny emphasizes the word ‘human.’ “Wait. What do you mean ‘human?’” “Exactly what I said. She’s a human. Rayna said they are going to join us for training after they settle in. You should stop at the training grounds as soon as you get here.” “I don’t know why it’s such a big deal. They will be here a couple days max and then they will all go back to their territory. Let her fight, don’t let her get hurt, I don’t need a war on my hands because they let her play at fighting back home and she doesn’t understand the depth of what we do here. He was probably forced to bring her out of some kind of rotation obligation.” “Well, she’s hot as f*ck. So if she isn’t attached to any of the guys that came with them. I call dibs.” I just laugh. “You can‘t call dibs over me, nice try though.” I tease him, knowing I won’t interfere. We don’t usually have the same tastes. “Bro code man, come on. I saw her first. At least give me a chance to talk to her before you look at her, smile and melt her panties off with your alpha ways.” He groans. “I do nothing of the sort. And besides I have too much sh*t going on right now, I don’t want to deal with any of that. Even some of Edward’s females gave off the clingy vibe. I just need a break from the females.” “That is a lie and you know it. You can’t stay away from the p*ssy any more than the rest of us. Ask Bennet how he feels about the chick from River Falls Pack. He had that girl wet and ready for him and all you had to do was walk by flash a grin and she asked if the two of you wanted to be a packaged deal. When he said ‘no’ she followed you around the rest of the night leaving him with blue balls.” He laughed. “That wasn’t my fault and I left her hanging too. I don’t do clingers and neither should any of you.” I laugh with him. “Yeah, well, blue balls ranks up there on the ‘I don’t do’ list. I’ll fill you in on the hot human. What’s your ETA?” “Maybe thirty minutes, but I have a few things that need to get done. I need to go back to my room first and get some files. Edward’s pack needs extra protection and a few of the other small packs made requests too. I just didn’t have time to deal with that before I left the meeting. I will come down to training as soon as I can.” We pull in and I get out meeting Robin at the door to the packhouse. She begins immediately rattling off everything that she has accomplished and what I need to do. “I have a meeting set up with Matt in two days for you to go over the project information from Oak Lake Pack. He will be here for the dinner and party tonight, but he has been forbidden to bring up business in any way.” She gives me a stern look letting me know the rule applies to me as well. “If you give me the files I will forward those on to his secretary and he can review them before the meeting and you can move forward more quickly.” She puts her hands out, knowing if she doesn’t take them from me I will just hide in my office and work, which was my plan. “Robin, there are still a few I need to look at.” She ignores me and continues walking. If it were anyone else I would lose my temper and honestly throw them into a wall, but she has some kind of force about her and I just can’t be mean, let alone violent with her. She’d actually probably skin me alive if I tried. She’s almost as scary as my mom. “That is why I set the meeting for two days from now. Your sister is about to leave the pack for good, you will spend time with her. Got it?” “Yes, ma’am. Is everyone still at training?” “I believe so.” “Did you get to meet with them?” “No, not yet. I had a few errands to run for your mother and father and I was not here to receive them. They had already left for the training grounds when I got back. So far they all sound very respectful and pleasant from the reports of the Omegas they have interacted with. I think she’s in good hands.” I just nod. I don’t think the Moon Goddess would put Rayna with anyone less than what she deserves. No one could. My sister is the sweetest, most pure hearted person there ever was. She was probably the first and only person to ever steal my heart. She is the kind and gentle to my rough and aggressive. She has always been able to calm me down and help me see reason when no one else could. I don’t know what I will do without her here to balance me, but I also know I can’t keep her forever. She deserves to be with a strong and loving mate. Speaking of which, I should probably get a feel for this guy. I know it won’t matter what I think of him, but I want to know how he is with my sister when I’m not around. I have come across sh*tty alphas who abuse their Goddess given mates, cheat on them to cause pain and are even worse to their pack members. I head up to my room via the back stairs that lead to the end of the hallway closest to my door. I am the only one who uses it to escape quickly to my room without leaving a scent on the main stairs. I am stopped dead in my tracks as I get to my floor and open the door. A rich honey and spice scent assaults my nose and I almost drop to my knees. What the f*ck?! It’s like I just woke up from a deep sleep. Every nerve is on fire, my brain is fully alert, my blood is pounding in my veins along with my heart trying to beat out of my chest. “MATE!” My wolf shouts in my head. I have to hold onto the door frame to keep from toppling over. Oh sh*t. I shake my head and blink. No! There is no way. No f*cking way. The only people on this floor are Rayna, her mate and his team. The only other female is... that human.