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, accept Alpha's son Glary or drive her father to death. She fears being completely at the mercy of the Alpha family.
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‘Alpha, quickly, you really have to check this one out,’ my Beta screams in the mind link.
I startle from my concentration and start to get irritated by this interruption. My desk is overflowing with work, I have a lot to catch up on. There is such a significant backlog, I'm still working myself to death here.
‘What's up, Jace? I'm trying to get through some documents here,’ I explain to him. ‘Is it something you can't handle yourself?’ I urge him.
‘Nah. You never believe this. This is something that no pack has ever come across’, he replies, shocked.
For the first time, I hear shock, no, panic in Jace's voice. As pups, we literally said our first word, took our first steps at the same time and later went through the same combat training. And I've never once seen him scared of anything. Jace is the kind of wolf who has the solution to all problems and never hesitates to take action. His appearance is his greatest advantage, he radiates a strong authority no one dares to fuck with. No one has the courage to challenge or ignore him, his word can only be surpassed by mine. And that’s something never happened before. Given our deep friendship, he knows me well enough to know how to act in critical situations. So, we are totally in sync.
The fact that he now asks for my presence in the field means that World War III is probably near. In any case, he managed to get my full attention.
'Tell me about it. And it must be really worth it now that you've distracted me from my work," I growl.
‘You won't believe this till you see it, man. This is the strangest thing I've seen since living in a pack. And that's all my life,’ he continues, still overwhelmed by whatever is happening at his side.
Still staring at the pile of papers on my table, all I think about is killing this Beta if he’s wasting my time for nonsense. I slam my fist hard on the desk. ‘Just keep me in the dark for one more minute and I swear to you, today is the last day your head is on top. I don't have time for rubbish, I yell furiously into the mind link.
‘Zane, a teenager has crossed our pack border. She says her name is Mercedes and she's from the Silver Moon pack,’ he finally explains, freezing me to horror. Damn, Silver Moon is more than fifty miles from here, how in the world could one of their pups end up at my border? That's impossible, someone must have brought her here. Did her parents banish her, I wonder? This is a very strange matter, I must investigate this personally. After that, I'll have to notify Alpha Ahri of this case. I doubt he'll be happy with my news.
‘Keep her there, I'm on my way,’ I tell Jace. In all haste, I leave my office. This issue is of high priority, I have to resolve it the soonest. When I'm outside the packhouse, I strip and shift into my giant black wolf Jax. I take my clothes with me in my snout. It's a five-mile trip to the east border, with my speed I'll be there in five minutes.
At high speed I pass tall trees, jump over bushes and stumps until I am suddenly forced to a halt. I catch a strange scent. It's not from any of my pack members. I follow the scent until I come to a clearing in the woods. A car track shows that people have been here. I sniff the air several times. Definitely intruders from Silver Moon, the girl's pack. And in recent months, I haven’t given anyone authorization to enter my pack. So, this is proof that someone purposefully brought the pup to my pack, she was not lost.
The case keeps getting weirder. In recent years, I have not read any messages in the Alpha WhatsApp group chat about human traffickers or kidnappings. There is also almost no question of switching pack members and trespassers. In this region, the packs are also no longer affected by rogues, thanks to our joint forces.
A quick inventory reveals that members of Silver Moon entered my territory without permission and left a child here. I decide to continue on my way. Judging by my Beta's words, the child is in good spirits and talkative. She may be able to tell us more about those who left her here so that I can inform Alpha Ahri in more detail.
As I approach the clearing where my Beta, Head Warrior, and two fighters await me, a shiver runs down my spine. Immediately afterward, the delicious smell of Lemon mix strawberry infiltrates my nostrils, seducing me to search for it. I increase my speed, following the scent that leads me to the men.
When I stand with them in wolf form Jax eyes start to glow. "MATE!" he exclaims.
I shift and observe any of the men one by one. No, none of them is my mate and I'm hell sure I'm not gay. No, certainly not me. Then my eyes drop down and I see her standing next to Jace. She tries to hide behind his long feet, but curious as she is, she bends her head to watch the scene. Our eyes clash and that is when I recognize her, my mate.
I stare into the most beautiful silver eyes I've ever seen in my twenty years of existence. The girl's eyes are like marbles, looking bright and clear into the world. There is a contagious smile on her face. Her pitch-black hair is tied in a ponytail at her back.
"MATE!" Jax yells again.
Moon Goddess, really? What is this?..