“You really need to push, Luna. Harder!”Goodness! These people have easy talking. What do they think I've been doing for half an hour? I'm exhausted, this is heavier than I thought.Zane sits next to my bed and looks concerned. “You have to do your best, baby. We should have our first pup in five minutes. I know it's a lot of work, but you must be strong now," he whispers as he wipes the sweat from my forehead.We've been in the hospital all night. The pups don't seem to be in any hurry to come out. But the last quarter is the worst. The fall of the first one is slow, the doctor considers helping him. But Zane wants to keep trying to let him into the world on his own. He leans towards me. “Remember how we will hold him in our arms in a few minutes, Mercedes. We were so looking forward to this.”I give him a watery smile. But when I look into his eyes, it seems like his energy flows to my body. Zane leans closer and begins to kiss my face. This feels so good, I sigh with h
Five years later in Midnight MoonAlpha Zane and Luna Mercedes comfortably sit on a bench in their private garden, watching their children. After Zane built a private villa, a stone's throw from the packhouse, he moved with his family to have more privacy.Four kids in total.The girls are the perfect image of their mother. Their long black hair, gray-blue eyes, tanned skin and confident behavior leave little room to guess who their parents are. Their infectious laugh and smooth babble surprise many in the pack, it's not much different from the ten-year-old Mercedes that Zane had brought to the pack years ago.And there are the two blonde guys remotely controlling their drone at a short distance but still keeping an eye on their sisters. Their father taught them very early that they are the protectors of their sisters until their mate shows up and takes that responsibility from them. And they take their job very seriously, making sure nothing happens to them. They treat their sisters
Alpha Zane discovers that the girl his Beta found on pack terrain is his fated mate. But Mercedes is underage, coming from a nearby pack where the Alpha is known to be a very dubious figure. Zane realizes he'll have to wait until she's eighteen to claim her. Alpha Ahri grants permission for them to meet and bond until Mercedes also recognizes him as her fated mate. In the meantime, he ensures that she is trained for her position as Luna in his pack. Zane visits his mate more often in her pack and she spends as much time with him as possible. But then Alpha Ahri's son becomes jealous of the close bond between the two and tries to drive them apart. His father cooperates and forbids Zane further access to his pack and Mercedes is also no longer allowed to leave her home. To force her to accept his son as her mate, the Alpha accuses her father and Beta of the pack, of fraud and betrayal of the pack. These suspicions of high-ranking wolves carry the death penalty. Mercedes faces a choice,
"What the hell, Jace?" I yell at my Beta, staring at the little goddess behind him.In the short time, she has been in his company, the girl has put all her trust in Jace. She counts on his protection as she takes all the time to examine me. Jealousy bubbles up in me.“Hi Alpha, my name is Mercedes”, she suddenly speaks up, her innocent marbles still pointed at me. Her voice is hoarse and soft, I could listen to that all day long.I get down on my knees to get a better look at her. “Mercedes. What a beautiful name you have. You can call me Zane, okay?”, I whisper to her. She gives me a beaming smile and steps out of her hiding place. “Would you like to come with me to the packhouse, Mercedes? I want to ask you some questions about how you got here," I say still softly. "And you must be hungry."She nods furiously, looks down for a moment and then back into my eyes. “But I don't have a wolf. Can I ride yours then?” she asks, clearly delighted at the prospect. "What's you
And then I remember my mate is hungry, she definitely didn't eat after she went missing. I take her hand and we all walk out of my office to the huge dining room. Fortunately, Jace had already mind linked the cook that we have a pup with us that needs to be fed. When we step inside, the smell of warm pancakes and syrups hits us. Mercedes lets go of my hand and runs to the table, clearly starving. I take her to the seat that has been vacant since I became the Alpha of this pack. I pick her up and place her in the Luna seat. Jace and the chief warrior watch with interest, holding their breath sharply but I don't pay attention to them at all. When I sit in my chair at the head of the table, I grab a plate and place a pancake on it. “Tell me, Mercedes, what syrup do you choose for your pancake? There is strawberry, caramel and pure honeybee”, I ask her. Delightful she eyes the pancake on the plate, I think my mate is a real foodie. “Honey, Zane. My mother always puts a l
Jace clears his throat and takes me out of my musings. “Zane, I've reached Beta. He says his daughter has been missing since yesterday. She was indeed in the woods playing with some other pups when they couldn't find her anymore,” he tells me. “He is on his way here with his mate to pick her up himself. They'll be here in two hours." "Shouldn't you let Alpha Ahri know about this?" he asks. Yes, I forgot about all that. The bliss of finally having my mate here has completely consumed my attention. I grab my phone and search my contact list for the number I need. “Alpha Ahri, Alpha Zane from Midnight Moon here. You must have heard that we found your Beta's daughter near our border," I let him know. The man on the other end of the line growled. “Alpha Zane. Yes, my Beta informed me. This matter should be thoroughly investigated. A pup cannot run miles in a day. There is more going on here.” He doesn't sound exactly indulgent as I expected. "That's for sure. I discovered the scent of
"Zane, Mercedes' parents have arrived." Jace entered my office, where I wanted to get some work done while my mate was asleep. I nod and get up from my chair. Together we enter the elevator to the Alpha floor. When we step into my bedroom, we see Mercedes sleeping like an angel on my bed. Seeing her like this fills my heart with so much love for her. I immediately swear to myself that I will always protect her and make her happiness my number one priority. Elise has fallen asleep next to her but is up as soon as we arrive. “She was drained. While bathing her, she was already falling asleep," my sister whispers, not to wake Mercedes right away. She's slept for about two hours, probably not nearly enough to rest fully. But her parents are waiting, I have to convince them that their daughter is unharmed. I am well aware that I am under strict surveillance, everyone will want to know how I maintain the relationship with my mate. Carefully I sit down next to my mate. “Little one, you
Mercedes Three Years Later…“Clarita, I'm not feeling well. My head hurts terribly and I have cramps in my stomach”, I tell my friend who is sitting next to me in the classroom. “This has been going on since last night. This morning I took some medication and thought it would be over by now.” I clutch my stomach again as a stab of pain pulls through. I can barely contain a cry.Clarita looks at my miserable self.“Go home quickly. I'll tell the teacher that you’re feeling sick”, she exclaims, already standing to help me out of my seat. Bending slightly forward, I walk out of the classroom. When we are outside the school building, Clarita looks around. “Is Zane coming to get you today? I don't see his car anywhere," she asks with interest.I look at her from the corners of my eyes.For a long time, I have suspected that she has a crush on my mate. Every time she mentions his name, I hear a longing undertone. At first, I thought I imagined it, but when I noticed she inquired about him a