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42
ASTRID
Planning a Luna ceremony in the span of a few weeks is no easy feat. Well, I take that back- the ceremony itself is relatively simple; it’s just the pack gathering, me taking my vows, and performing the blood rites that bind me to the pack and their land. It’s an intimate event for pack members only. The celebration afterwards, however, takes a lot of planning and coordination, because it’s like a giant wedding reception complete with cocktails and dinner and dancing and a million little details. Invitations to the post-ceremony celebration are extended to other packs in the area, and my family and friends from Denver are traveling here to celebrate with us. Pulling together an event of this magnitude under a time crunch has been a challenge, to say the least.
It’s not like our lives haven’t been crazy enough lately. Preparations for the war with the shadow pack have been nonstop at the squad complex, and it’s all hands
C.J. PrimerI split today's chapter up- keep scrolling to read part two!
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Alpha Brock 43
BROCK “Don’t be nervous,” my dad mumbles under his breath, setting a hand on my shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “Who says I’m nervous?” I grumble back to him. My old man’s right, though- I can’t stop fidgeting as I stand in front of him and my mother beneath the arbor behind the packhouse. It’s set atop the little hill by the treeline, and it’s dripping with greenery and florals, a perfect backdrop for Astrid to take her vows and seal herself to the pack. Being here right now feels a little fucking surreal, considering the messy path it took for me and Astrid to find each other and be together. Still, I wouldn’t trade a single day with her for anything. If these past weeks together have proven anything, it’s that fate doesn’t make mistakes- she’s truly my soulmate. Tonight, she becomes my pack’s official Luna, and I couldn’t be prouder. The whole pack is here for the ceremony, gathered on the lawn behind the
Alpha Brock 44
ASTRIDI have no business being this happy when there’s a war on its way, yet here I am, flitting around the ballroom of the lodge on Brock’s arm with a permanent smile etched on my face. I’m overwhelmed by the number of people that came out to celebrate with us tonight- not only from all six packs in the territory, but from Denver, too. Even my parents showed up, shockingly tearing themselves away from their vacation home in Arizona to make the trip here to meet Brock.Hundreds of people are here in the ballroom tonight, and once dinner is over, Brock and I are constantly being tugged in different directions to chat with our guests. Brock gets pulled away by the guys for a while and I get distracted with the girls, sipping on too many glasses of champagne. The bubbles tickle my throat and go to my head, and I’m even more giggly than usual, lost in laughter as Quinn tells the story of when she and Jax were
Alpha Brock 1
BROCK “Hey man, you good?” Jared asks me, furrowing his brow. “Yeah.” I scrub a hand over my face. “Just fucking exhausted.” Jared holds up a hand. “I’ll drive.” I give him a nod, tossing the keys to the Escalade toward his waiting palm before I head around to the passenger side of the vehicle, throwing the door open to climb in. I let my head fall back against the headrest as Jared gets into the drivers seat, firing up the engine. Wordlessly, he shifts the gear into drive, pulling away from the curb and down the street. I glance out the window as we make our way out of Norbury, the town quiet and the houses dark at this hour. It’s home to Alpha Vaughn’s pack and I’ve only ventured out this way a handful of times. It’s the last place I expected to be tonight. Norbury is a good twenty-minute drive from Riverton, where my own pack resides, and just a few hours ago, I was running with my pack under
Alpha Brock 2
ASTRID I squint against the sunlight spilling in through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the hallway as I step out of my bedroom, stretching my limbs. It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day in Denver, but I can’t fully appreciate it until I get my morning coffee. And speaking of, I can already smell it brewing. I breathe deeply as I pad barefoot down the long hallway, following my nose to the packhouse kitchen. “Good morning!” I chirp as step through the doorway, finding my brother Cole and his beta Sam, perched in their usual seats at the table closest to the coffee pot. I reach up to sweep my unruly curls into a messy bun as I approach them, securing my hair atop my head with an elastic. Upon my entry, Sam shoots up from his chair, tossing a smile my way as he heads for the coffee pot on the counter and starts pouring me a cup. By the time I reach the table, he’s back, holding the mug out in my direction.
Alpha Brock 3
BROCK“Is she gonna be here soon?” I ask, agitated, as I glance down at my watch.Jax looks my way, arching a brow. “Why, you in a hurry or somethin’?”I blow out a breath, kicking at the ground on the practice field where I’m waiting with Jax, Reid, Gray, and Fallon for the Denver Alpha’s sister to arrive. “I’ve gotta get back to Riverton. I’ve got shit to do.”“I’m sure it’ll still be waiting for you when you get there,” Reid chuckles, stepping up beside me and clapping me on the shoulder. “Besides, what could be more important than meeting…” he trails off, squinting, looking to Gray over his shoulder. “What’s her name again?”“Astrid,” Brooke supplies, approaching us with Quinn in tow. Quinn immediately makes a beeline for Jax, slipping under his arm and winding her own
Alpha Brock 4
ASTRID When my brother said he was sending me up here, he conveniently forgot to mention how fucking hot the guys who run the security team are. I’m talking breath stealing, heart stopping, reality defying hotness- when I got dropped off here, I had no idea I was practically stepping into a Chippendale’s calendar. Sure, I might’ve been a little resistant about leaving Denver and missing out on battle preparations there, but now that I know I’m going to be shacking up with a Jason Momoa lookalike for the next few weeks? I’m suddenly okay with it. I just met Brock, but I can already tell that he’s the strong silent type. I try to make conversation on the ride over to Riverton, but all he gives me in return are grunts and one-word answers. It doesn’t bother me, though- we don’t really know each other yet, and I’m sure he’ll warm up eventually. I’ll just kill him with kindness until he does. We arrive at the packhouse in R
Alpha Brock 5
BROCKI slept like shit last night. Something about that girl being here under my roof has both me and my wolf on edge, and I woke up with the sunrise to let him out for a run this morning. I feel marginally better when I return, pulling on a pair of grey sweatpants that I left hanging off of a tree branch behind the packhouse and tugging them on.When I walk into the packhouse through the door off the back patio, I immediately hear Astrid’s airy little giggle and I’m right back where I started. Annoyed. I take a couple of tentative steps forward so I can see into the kitchen, spotting her perched on a barstool at the kitchen island wearing a tiny pair of shorts, one bare leg crossed over the other. A baggy sweatshirt hides the rest of her slim physique, and her curly hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She’s clutching a steaming cup of coffee in both hands, still giggling softly.Br
Alpha Brock 6
ASTRID “So this is the hub,” Quinn says as she leads me into a large room full of desks and computers. “I’ve heard that ours is puny compared to Denver’s, but what we lack in size we make up for in heart.” She spins around, a goofy smile on her face. “That was really fucking corny, wasn’t it?” “Nah,” I laugh, waving her off. “I liked it.” “Astrid!” Brooke calls, beckoning me from the back of the room. Her glasses slide down the bridge of her nose and she pushes them up with a finger. “C’mon.” Quinn spins back around, leading me toward Brooke. I was grateful when she found me on the practice field this morning- as much as I’m enjoying this little push and pull with my broody roommate, it’s nice to talk to someone who will actually talk back. Training with the squad was a lot of fun, and I even learned a couple of new moves from Fallon. I’m no stranger to combat training; we start young in Denver, so I’ve
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