Some days later and I have somehow managed to brush aside the issue of my mate Alpha Logan. I am seated at home watching TV with mum, but she isn't really watching. She takes the empty plate that sits in front of me and carries it to the sink. She has been cleaning all morning, and she is not about to stop now. I have a feeling she would have taken my plate whether I was done or not.
You'd think she is expecting the president over for dinner with the way she is acting. There is not a part of this house that has been untouched by her. Well apart from my room of course. That is my responsibility.
She is just washing up the rest of the dishes when dad finally makes his appearance.
He has been going nonstop all day running errands for the Alpha and his father. I am starting to get worried about him, when does he ever rest?
He looks so worn out. He seems to have aged five years since I last saw him. He desperately needs to rest.
"There you are." Mom smiles walking over to greet him. "Grace and I were just about to send out a search party for you." She places a small kiss on his cheek, so I look away to give them some privacy. Well that, and to shield my eyes. They are my parents after all. I don't want to see them become all lovey-dovey in front of my eyes, and this reminds me that I should have my own place.
"I would have been home sooner if I could, but Alpha Logan was relentless. He's still going crazy over that trespasser we had the other day."
I nearly spit my drink all over the place at his statement. Could he mean who I think he means? For my sake I hope not. I should have reported him.
"We had a trespasser?" I ask, looking at my father.
He simply nods. "Yes and Alpha Logan won't rest until he is found."
I nearly gasp but I hold it back. I don't want to give anything away.
"You mean he's still here?"
What have I done?
"I'm afraid so sweetheart. You'll have to stay inside until we get this resolved. It's Alpha's orders." He replies before taking the seat in front of me.
No. No. No. This is so bad. I'm surely going to be punished for this. If anyone finds out....oh goodness what they might do.
"But what about work?" I ask.
If I don't show up, John will have my head. Even though Annette is back from vacation, she can't handle the dinner rush alone. What am I going to do?
"Call in sick I suppose. There is nothing you can do about it." He sighs.
"Is Alpha still coming over for dinner?" Mom asks going back to her dishes.
If I hadn't been sitting down I am sure I would have fallen over at that. How long had this been planned? Why wasn't I told?
I feel alarms and panic rising up in me while mom and dad continue to discuss the arrangements for this evening. I have no idea what I am going to do about this but I need to figure it out quickly.
I could not be here when he arrives.
Mate.
We get to see our mate. My wolf howls joyously from within. She is just about ready to jump out of my skin at the mere mention of him.
She can't have been happier about this.
I, however, feel very differently about it.
"Grace, you should go upstairs and get cleaned up. You need to be presentable for company." Mom's voice breaks me out of my reverie. She is staring at me with concern in her eyes.
"Are you alright?" She asks.
If she only knew.
"Perfectly." I lie.
I can't very well tell her what is going on, now can I? The less she knows the better. This is my doing and my doing alone. I won't drag her or my dad into this.
"If you say so." She replies, not quite convinced. "You better move along so you are ready when they arrive."
I nod without saying another word and follow the stairs up to my room. As soon as I am inside, I lock the door behind me before resting my back against it and sliding to the floor.
I let out a loud groan and rest my head in the palms of my head while thinking over the possibilities of getting out tonight. Even though they don't look good, I refuse to give up.
I stand in the mirror examining my well dressed figure while going over the plan in my mind. I have spent the evening reading in an effort to throw mom off that anything is wrong, but the last thing I plan to do is to stay here during the dinner.
I turn away from the mirror and rush over to the window at the sound of a vehicle approaching. It must be him because to my knowledge we weren't expecting anyone else, just the Alpha, his father, and the beta.
Yet another reason for me to be on edge tonight. Who wouldn't be? I'm guilty and my mate is in love with someone else. Who would have foreseen these turn of events?
Just as the vehicle enters the drive my heart beats wildly in my chest. I am only mere seconds from seeing my mate again since when I found out about him.
Only this time I am prepared.
"Grace, come down. They have arrived." Mom yells from below.
I stay in place until the golden glow of Logan's hair appears before me as he steps out of the black Cadillac. He is dressed in a pair of khakis with a red dress shirt to top it off. His stance indicates professionalism and business, something I know to expect. After all this is pack business. After the remaining people step from the car, they fall in step behind him while he leads them up to the door.
Chapter 6LOGAN"Welcome Alpha. It's an honor to have you here." Jane, William's mate, greets us, welcoming us inside."Thank you." We nod, stepping in.The aroma of food hits me as soon as I enter. Although it smells delightful, that is not the reason we are here. We have business to discuss and a lot of it. The pack is at risk, and until we find the intruder on our territory, we will not rest.My beta, Andrew, my father and I are gathered around the small living room across from William waiting for his mate to take the seat next to him.It is always customary for the Alpha to stand while doing business because it shows leadership and boldness, something every Alpha needs to have."I believe someone is missing," my father states eyeing the Brooks.That's right. Didn't they have a daughter? I believe her name was Grace, if I'm not mistaken. I used to attend high school with her a few years ago. I haven't seen her much since graduation, apart from the few mandatory pack meetings we had
Things are moving very fast and I need the think quickly. It is like my mind is in a whirlwind. I am finally here in front of my mate and he knows who I am. My heart beats fast and my stomach is full of butterflies at the word mate. It feels nice to hear him admit it. Does this mean he has accepted it?His hand gently touches my face while his eyes search mine. A warm sensation fills my body and tingles are left behind by his touch. Before I know what I am doing I am leaning into it. I crave for more.The world has now stopped and we are the only ones in it. Nothing matters besides me and him. I want him. No I need him and I can only hope he feels the same about me.His silence is deafening, offering no insight to his true feeling for me. He is revealing nothing, although I know that he is so deep in thought. His smile is enough to assure me, but when it becomes suddenly serious I feel doubtful again."You ran from me." He mumbles, sounding a bit hurt and dropping his hand by his sid
Days pass and I am in complete pain. Logan has been true to his word and our Beta, Andrew or another one of our wolves has been watching over me since that night. I haven't been going out other than to work and I have been slowly going crazy. I feel like it has been much longer than a week.At this rate I am sure to lose it if he doesn't let me breath.He still hasn't given me his answer about Josephine yet which only makes me angrier at him. Every day that he puts it off the more resentful I become.Even though he has come over to visit me often, it still doesn't make up for his behavior. I only speak to him when I have to. Most of the time he just sits and stares at me, not even bothering to make a conversation. It is awkward but it gives me time to think.I often wonder if Josephine knows about me. Has he told her anything? Surely she should have suspected something different in him by now. He leaves her every morning and evening to come see me and that should have aroused suspicion
“Be my mate," Samuel suggests. His words get me off guard. I am not sure the kind of reaction my wolf shows, but I'm pretty sure it is one of sheer surprise.Me mate with Samuel? This is just insane. We don't even like each other. Well...I guess he probably likes me due to his excessive flirting at the diner last week but I have never really thought of him that way. I just lost a mate.My mood gets foul. Oh yeah, because of remembering my mate, my former mate.I have temporarily forgotten about him. The hollow feeling inside my chest has started to make its appearance again.Samuel watches me very closely, cautiously. When my eyes begin to water again, he tenses. He slowly takes a few steps toward me and places his hands on my shoulders and gently, soothingly, rubs them.Had my wolf been present she would have protested to him touching us wholeheartedly. She still wants Logan, but the sad truth is she isn't here. She's gone. She left me, when Logan did. I am utterly alone inside. "Se
“Grace, you can't just leave everything you know behind," Dad says with the bang of his fist against the table.Mom does nothing but sits quietly by him with her hands placed in her lap and head hung low. I can see that she has different ideas than my dad, but she wouldn't dare speak against her mate. She is too old fashioned."Can't you understand why I'm doing this?" My voice is a low whisper. I don't like having arguments with my father. However, sometimes it can't be prevented; like now.Since I have told him about my plans to leave the pack and mate another wolf he has been less than thrilled. He sends Samuel a few glares throughout our discussion, but Samuel isn't at all affected like I am. Here I am, supposed to be Luna of a pack and I'm sitting, scared of what my Dad thinks.It's not like he can actually stop me since I am of age to make my own decisions, but that doesn't mean he won't try. "I understand that you are hurt Grace, believe me I do. But leaving your pack and every
I suppose my Mom's words have made him see things her way. Relief washes over me. It means more than I can convey that he supports me in this decision to leave. It is the complete opposite of what he felt only half an hour ago.The peaceful silence we fall into grows. Mom and Dad smile at each other then at us. I know what this means for us and it is going to be harder than I imagined it would. I feel a strange sense of comfort when Samuel reaches under the table and places his hand on top on mine. Our hands rest in my lap."I guess I should start packing then," I say, breaking the silence."Would you like some help?" Mom offers."I would like that."It is going to be the last time she will get to spend any time together with me for a while. I need this because I am going to be parted from her for who knows how long.Samuel gives me an encouraging nod. "I'll just run into town and fill up the tank for our journey back. It's going to take us at least two hours to get there providing tr
I press myself even further into the wall when he takes a step towards me. A whimper unintentionally escapes my throat. I can only imagine how weak I appear to him. However, he doesn't look much better. Behind his eyes, he is broken. Perhaps not as much as I am, but he doesn't get out of this completely unscathed.He stops mid stride and holds his hands up in front of him, allowing me to see he won't come any further. If he does, I am sure to break all over again."I'm just here to talk," he says. "I won't come any further if you will prefer it."I don't speak. I am afraid to. My voice can't hold up speaking to him. If I do, everything I have buried deep inside of me will come spilling out with my words. Instead of answering, I just nod and he understands. He drops his hands and sits on the edge of my bed facing me.My wolf is all ears."I had to see you before you left. I need to explain myself before you decide on hating me forever."His words seem sincere. My wolf believes him."I w
Samuel places the last of the bags in the back of his truck. My parents stand by the door, with my father bracing mum as she watches us with tear filled eyes. It is a mix of both happy and sad tears. Although she is happy that I am getting a fresh start, she is also sad to see me go. It is the same for me.I have spent the last half hour, while Samuel was loading up, telling them goodbye. I have hugged and kissed them at least a dozen times. I was not sure they were going to let me go."Are you ready?" he asks, closing the tailgate and proceeding to my side of the vehicle. His hand rests on the door handle while he awaits my reply. He watches the brief exchange of emotions between me, my Mom, and Dad.I smile at them and they return it just as happily despite the tears. They are truly happy ones. I lift my hand and give them a last wave goodbye with a slight movement of my hand while trying to convince myself that this is the right thing to do. I know that it is, but now, here in the