***Logan’s POV***
“LOGAN!”
I groaned and rolled over in bed.
“I swear to god Logan. If you think you are getting out of leaving, you got another thing coming.”
“Since when have you been excited for these stupid Gathering events.” I covered my head with my pillow. Bryan was too damn loud this morning.
“It’s not the Gathering, Alpha. It’s the supernatural bar thats in the city over! They have a damn fine singer coming in and I have been wanting to go since I was like eighteen!” Bryan whined against the door.
I threw my pillow at the door. This was the first day in years my workload had been cleared and I had every intention of sleeping in. I had taken over the pack at the young age of fourteen. My parents had died that year and we had lost nearly half our pack members. Now, we were the second largest pack, under the Alpha King himself. I prided myself in the strength of my pack and I demanded respect. It took a bit, but we got there. Now twenty-three, I had a handle on everything regarding my pack. Minus being able to get out of the Gathering activities.
There was still an Elder Council that unfortunately weighed in a lot of old ideas and ideals. One being that the pack needed a Luna. Frankly, I didn’t need anyone. I had taken on the pack in full, including the duties of the Luna. Bryan, my Beta, was twenty-one and also had not found his mate but you didn’t see them hounding him to find his mate.
I had been to every single one of these stupid events since I was thirteen. Not a single time did my mate show up. And now I was worried that I would end up being ten years older than my mate. Bryan would tease me constantly about it. But apparently there were a few who had recently gotten their wolves and it was supposed to be an exciting Gathering this time.
“Please Alpha. Please.”
“Good goddess, Bryan. A man needs his sleep. For once in your life let me sleep in.”
Silence came from the other side and I sighed in relief. Finally. I could…
“Alpha, we need to speak before you go.”
“DAMN IT MICHAEL.” I yelled, throwing the pillow to the floor and stomping over to the door. I was only wearing sweatpants and I nearly pulled the door off the hinges as I opened it.
Michael, one of the elders on the council, didn’t look phased at all by my outburst. “There is something we need to discuss if you are able to find your Luna this evening.”
I groaned. “Is it not enough that I need to go to this thing, but now there is more if I DO find her? Where was this talk three years ago?”
He cleared his throat. “We just want to remind you that rejection will not be tolerated….”
“REJECTION?!” I yelled at him and he did actually step back. “You dare speak to me about rejection when it’s not only my decision. I will have you know, YOU do not get to decide who my mate is and WHAT I DO with my mate when I find her. So do NOT tell me what will or won’t be tolerated.” I growled and it came from both me and Cato, my wolf.
His head was bowed slightly, his neck bared to me, showing his submission for me as Alpha. He slowly backed away before leaving the house. I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“Well, now that your awake, want some breakfast?” Bryan looked down the hall, clad in his cartoon bear apron, holding a frying pan with a pancake still cooking in it.
I tsked. “Yeah, fine. I’m gonna grab a shirt.”
Bryan laughed as I turned and got ready for the day.
-
It was about 3pm when Bryan and I stood outside the packhouse. We were looking at the options of cars with our hands crossed.
“What if only one of us finds out mate? Then I don’t want to be the third wheel and neither do you.”
“But do we really want to bring two cars?”
“I mean, is gonna take us, what, four hours to get there. You can be without me for four hours Alpha.” Bryan chuckled and I suppressed the urge to hit him.
“If we both find our mate, or if we both don’t, it will be idiotic.”
“Can we show off just a little? I mean between you and me, we are the most eligible werewolf bachelors in the whole damn US, and may even include Canada. We both own multiple businesses which have made millions and we literally have eight cars we are looking at right now.”
I chuckled. He was right, of course. He may be energetic and seem like a party animal but he was smart. Smart, meticulous, and strategic. When he wanted to be. The other times he was an immature frat boy who came home with a yellow Lamborghini because it called to him from the window. “Fine. You take your Lambo and I’ll take the Bugatti. If neither of us find our mates, we will go to the supernatural club you want to go to.”
“Yes!” Bryan did a skip and grabbed the keys from our wall and started the Lamborghini.
Sighing, I grabbed the keys and got in the Bugatti. Bryan was already off and I pulled out, following his trail. It would be four hours to the Midnight Moon pack. I turned on the radio and leaned back, settling into the ride. My thoughts ran to what I would do if I did find my mate tonight.
'You would take her home immediately and mark her.' Cato said matter of factly.
'Unless she rejects us.'
Cato scoffed. 'Why would any mate reject us? Look at us.'
'Maybe because our reputation.'
Cato grumbled. 'Your reputation.'
'Ours Cato. Our reputation. And I’m not excited to scare a little thirteen year old who had the misfortune of being my mate by immediately taking her home and marking her.'
Cato chuckled. 'What Bryan teases with really got to you.'
I huffed and reposition myself. 'I haven’t found her yet Cato. That means she’s probably new. thirteen to fifteen maybe seventeen if I’m lucky. Thats a big jump from twenty-three.'
'Maybe she couldn’t make the other ones.' I felt him shrug and I shook my head.
'All of them? Since I was thirteen? Please.' I watched as Bryan swerved between traffic in front of me.
Truthfully, I was worried. What the elder came and said mixed with my own concerns set me on edge this time. Maybe it was time to give up the fated and just have a chosen mate. Cato growled.
'You will not give up yet on our mate Logan. She is out there, I know it.' Cato said matter-of-factly.
'Sometimes I hate your optimism. And being able to read my thoughts. It might come to that though Cato. Just be prepared.'
I heard a small grumble of 'never' but Cato retreated to the back of my mind and I was left alone for the rest of the drive. We knew the Gathering Activity started at 6pm and we had left a little later than anticipated but we arrived at 6:30pm and there were still a lot of people going into the building. We turned heads as we pulled up, Bryan right behind me in our fancy cars. We watched as girls stared and then started to hold their heads up higher. Bryan lived for the attention. I however, had no love of attention.
Just as I stepped out of the car Cato growled. 'She’s here Logan. I smell her. Our mate is here.'
Stunned, I looked at Bryan and he looked at my wide eyes and understood. He gave me a thumbs up.
'Are you sure Cato?'
'I’m sure. She’s here. Our mate is here. We need to find her.'
***Auri’s POV*** Maddie had woken me up around 10am pounding on my door. Our parents had already left and wouldn’t be back for the rest of the day. We would meet them at the ball since they were the hosts. Ty would have to take us in his car later in the evening. She was bounding around the house as I got a brunch ready for us and she ferried me, with brunch, up to her room. “Auri, do you want me to do your make-up? I won’t do a lot, but at least a little eye shadow?” I chuckled. “To what Maddie? Bring out the grey in my eyes?” She scoffed. “I mean, I could match it with Kai’s eyes. Are you going in blind to the ball?” I nodded and looked out the window, Kai giving me her vision. I first was assaulted by Maddie’s choice of pink and white stripped wallpaper and ridiculous amount of red heart pillows, but I settled my vision on the forest outside. The lush green soothing my eyes. Usually, I went blind just about anywhere unless I
Maddie left our side immediately as soon as we reached the ballroom, talking to who I could only assume as classmates. Ty had stayed back with me for a moment and he graciously walked me over to a corner. The smells were a bit overwhelming mixed with the loudness of the music and chattering. I was thankful for Ty’s help. “Go, I know you got some friends here.” I felt him shake his head. I tilted my head toward him, now aware that he was stiff as a board. “You smell her don’t you, your mate?” He squeezed my hand. “I do.” “Well, what are you waiting for! Go get her! Jesus Ty! Don’t stand next to the person you know for SURE isn’t your mate.” I chuckled and pushed him further in the room. 'I don’t smell anything special.' Kai came forward for the first time in a while. Maybe they aren’t here yet, it is still pretty early. I looked around, there were a lot of people, but there were still people filling into the ballroom. It was only 6:15pm after all. Father and Melissa had seen us
***Logan’s POV*** I walked into the building with a mission. Get in, grab my mate, get out. We weren’t staying here. I finally had found her, my mate, my Luna and I was not going to stick around for the party. Bryan basically had to run to keep up with my strides. I scanned the ballroom but realized my eyes would do nothing for me here. It would be my nose and Cato that would be the one to find her. I walked around the room, people parting for me, knowing exactly who I was. My face probably didn’t show a single ounce of happiness either. The Alpha of the hosting pack tried to speak to me, but I threw Bryan at him and continued my sniffing search throughout the room. There was a corner of the room, where it smelled like her the most. Seems like she spent a good amount of time standing here. Cato confirmed my suspicious but she wasn’t here anymore. I looked around and tried to pinpoint the next location. Down the hall
***Auri’s POV*** I couldn’t function. Here I was, sitting in Alpha Logan’s fancy car, driving towards my house to pick up my things. My mind still reeling from what just happened. 'I told you our mate wouldn’t reject us.' Kai was smug and she had been ecstatic to hear that our mate was an Alpha. I was not. I was not even entertaining the idea of being a mate, let alone a Luna I had heard the confusion and anger in his voice when he asked why he would reject me. I thought it was obvious and especially coming from a man who was notorious for throwing out the weak. 'We aren’t weak though.' 'Right, but he doesn’t know that. He only can judge me by how I look. And we look like we’ve been through hell and back again.' 'And like he said, we are strong for it, strong for surviving it.'Kai was chastising me as we drove down the road.
“What’s your favorite breakfast food?” I smiled. “French toast. What’s your favorite hat?” Logan laughed. “Fez.” Laughing as well, I asked “A fez, really?” He nodded. “I look damn good in a fez. Don’t knock it till you see it.” We had been paying ’20 questions’ for an hour now. We were well past 20 questions and had moved on from the regular favorite color or candy. “What was your mom like?” Logan was quiet for a bit before he asked. I took a deep breath and leaned back in the seat. “From what I remember? She was like sunlight; you just wanted to be with her and soak up the warmth. But at the same time, she was the forest. Proud, mysterious, and magical. We used to take walks in the forest, just us. Sometimes she would take her wolf form, sometimes not, but we would alway go and walk.” It took me a minute to think of another question. “I know the stories of how you took o
***Logan’s POV*** We had spent the last hour and a half of the drive asking way more than 20 questions. It made me realize that she was not as shy or meek as she seemed at first. Auri was strong, independent and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. At least not with me. I loved it. I knew her wolf Kai and Cato were talking in the background but I was enjoying her, basking in the moonlight that was coming off of Auri. We had finished a few harder questions when I heard her curse for the first time. It surprised me and sent me in panic mode. But when she asked to borrow my phone, I thought about warning her not to call any of her family. I was going to deal with them in the morning when we got back, through Alpha Leo. But I trusted her and didn’t say anything. Goddess, forgive me. I couldn’t contain my laugh when she had no idea what to do with my phone. I wondered if she was expecting a flip phone from the early 2000’s and thought it would be approp
***Auri’s POV*** I had been upset that I woke up to an empty bed. The sheets, the pillows, the whole room smelled like Logan and I was in overdrive. I could barely breathe with how much I wanted him. But the bed next to me was empty and cold. The shock of the night must have pushed the mate bond out of my mind. The shock and happiness of being free, of not being rejected, seemed to push the pure desire for my mate back. But now, alone, in his room, I felt like a train had hit me. Kai said to tease him a little, make him pay and regret changing us and not staying. Apparently it didn’t take much as he quickly picked me up and threw me onto the bed. Logan gave one last option to stop but the throbbing between my thighs and the fire that had spread through my limbs wouldn’t allow me to stop. I couldn’t think anymore except about this man in front of me. I wanted him and when he kissed me it was like someone fanning my flames. My body heated up and I ran my
I woke up to the sun streaming into the windows. Blinking and covering my eyes against the sun, I looked around the room. Trying to orient myself, the memories of all yesterday and last night came over me and I blushed hard. I had passed out mid-sex. I pulled my knees up and buried my red face in them. 'To be fair, you passed out during round five. Not bad.' Kai winked and I pushed her to the back of my mind. The last thing I needed was her giving me sass about what happened last night. Controlling my heart, I knew Logan wasn’t in the room when I woke up. His side of the bed was still warm, so it hadn’t been long since he had gotten up. Gingerly, I got off the bed and put weight on my legs. The soreness wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. Pushing Kai back meant that I would just have to feel around for the door. Walking slowly, I felt the door next to his dresser, remembering that it was the bathroom door. I was still naked and so I just turned on the