“That he didn’t deserve you. And you shouldn’t think about him anymore.”
“Because I have you?”
“That’s right, angel. You have me.” He kissed her, nibbling her ear and working down her neck.
“I love you, Jason,” Phoebe sighed.
“I love you, Phoebe. Shall I so you how much?”
“Yes. Show me.”
* * *
Graham growled stirring from his drunken state in the middle of the abandoned cottage. At the moment he lay in what had been Phoebe’s bedroom. Her scent had been strongest here but now was stale and fading.
Alpha Jason had not been joking when he instructed his pack to take everything. Every scrap of furniture, every shelf, even the fridge had been removed. There wasn’t a trace that a wolf ever lived in the cottage. Except him and the beer cans that littered the floor.
Every room was littered with cans evidence of his obsession since her departure. That day replayed in his mind endlessly as another alpha claimed what was his. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Phoebe seemed to reciprocate calling out to Jason for comfort. Then before Graham knew whether she was all right Jason swept her away and took every last part of her with him. His parting words still burned in Graham’s ears.
“She’ll call my name as I fill her up.”
Graham growled throwing a can through the window he broke the night before in a drunken fit. How dare that alpha touch what was his. Graham would make him pay and then he’d take back what belonged to him.
Suddenly his chest felt tight and he struggled to catch his breath. A burning sensation crawled out of the pit of his stomach bringing an acrid taste to his mouth. He convulsed emptying the scant contents of his stomach onto the floor.
He managed to catch his breath only for a burning sensation to erupt through him like he was injected with pure wolfsbane. Graham clawed at his skin as the feeling trailed through his veins. Writhing on the ground he howled in pain.
What’s happening!
Mate is with him, his wolf whimpered vaguely.
Graham almost didn’t recognize the voice. It had been years since Grim spoke to him, not since he marked Kristie So surprised by his wolf’s response he didn’t immediately register what was said. Suddenly he howled in rage.
‘She’s with him!’
His wolf whimpered.
Graham crumpled as the realization hit him. This was the pain of betrayal as she mated with someone else. Though he rejected her and marked another, his wolf still maintained a tenuous connection he had not known. Over the years she never took another male so he never felt anything through the bond though his betrayal cut her deep. Now he felt the pain she endured when he was with Kristie. It seemed like hours before the pain eased and he passed out again.
Michael found him still on the floor. Sneering at the dozens of cans littered around the alpha’s prone form he hoisted up the unconscious body and hauled him to the packhouse. Reaching it Michael ordered a pair of omegas to follow him up to the alpha floor where he dumped the body into the tub instructing them to clean him up. They complied without a word.
“What’s going on?” Kristie asked looking in and wrinkling her nose.
“Nothing to worry about, Luna,” Michael answered
“He’s drunk again.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“Was he there again?”
“I said I’ll handle it.”
Scoffing she spun on her heels and disappeared. Michael sighed. Between his drunk Alpha and w***e Luna the pack was descending into chaos. Their patrols had stopped completely. In fact the warriors didn’t even train anymore.
Instead they lounged about ordering omegas around like barmaids. He’d had to lock up a few to sober them up after they tried to force themselves on the young she-wolves.
Paperwork wasn’t getting done and proposals were lying in waste. As much as he and the gamma tried there was only so much they could get done without an alpha’s authority.
The deterioration had been going on for years but increased quite recently and now he knew why.
When Graham returned to the pack announcing Kristie was his mate and Luna none of them questioned it. It wasn’t until later Michael began to suspect Kristie was not his fated mate. By then she was already mated and marked.
Kristie had no interest in pack affairs and was unconcerned with the education and development of the pups. She ignored requests from the she wolves, especially the low and unranked. Kristie brought no sense of unity or cooperation. Instead she let resentments fester and the pack structure slowly broke down.
Only one wolf held it together. She worked quietly behind the scenes. Others sought her out for advice and comfort.
Taking the pups’ care onto herself she provided a place for them to belong and learn new skills. She even took in two orphans as if they were her own.
How could he have been so blind?
Kristie was not Luna material… Phoebe was.
Michael sighed. Despite her rejection, and it had to be a rejection, she carried on her duties even without a Luna’s authority quietly knitting the pack’s deteriorating bonds. But that was over as soon as Alpha Jason set foot on their territory.
No doubt he scented his mate immediately. The BBQ had to have been the moment he finally saw her. Michael recalled how Phoebe briefly appeared before disappearing with the pups. Alpha Jason did a remarkable job keeping a low profile considering how long he had been looking from his mate. While he remained at the party Beta Luke had disappeared.
Michael hadn’t thought anything of it at the time but now he realized the visiting Beta had been sent to keep an eye on his packs Luna until Jason could claim her himself. He had been too distracted trying to keep Graham sober during Jason’s visit to pay attention to the warning signs.
How was he supposed to keep the pack together now? His alpha was soused and their luna was an airhead. Neither one of them had any desire nor the ability to lead the pack.
Graham woke with a start shoving away the omegas trying to drag him to bed after cleaning him up. Growling dangerously he scared the pair away. They disappeared leaving Michael to handle the disorientated alpha.
“There is no more beer,’ Michael said as Graham stumbled toward the fridge. “You drank it all.”
“Buy more.”
“With what funds? The pack is broke.”
“Get more.”
“All of our businesses are in foreclosure because you’ve been too drunk to maintain them.”
More Kickass Werewolf Reads
Dive into our collection of free werewolf romance novels—where fierce Alphas, daring heroines, and heart-stopping twists await. Every story burns with forbidden desire, loyalty, and destiny. Don’t wait—here’s a world where love bites hard and nothing is stronger than the call of the mate.
Leave a Reply