I know it takes us longer to find our Mate with the old ways no longer working. Commander has to feel the connection to a female, and then we have to spend time together to form the Mate-bond. Forming a Mate-bond can take between four to eight days, and the actual amount of time depends on the male and female. If either one of them is doubtful about the other, it will take longer. If there are no doubts on either side, it can be as short as four days – and of course, how many hours of those days are spent together matters.
Take my situation with Maleah. Normally, we wouldn’t get to spend many hours together if both of us are working, and that would mean it could take up to eight days for the Mate-bond to form. Worst-case scenario: the Mate-bond doesn’t form because we are apart so often.
There is a BUT to that situation, though. If we manage to spend a few days together after that, the Mate-bond will form quicker. If either one of us finds another suitable partner, it will vanish completely – and Commander and I both hate thinking about that.
There is something about Maleah that neither one of us can explain, and I can’t wait to get to know her even better. I just hope that her career doesn’t keep her away from home too often, but I will never ask her to give it up.
Dominic and Dillon have pointed out there is a meeting planned with Maleah, and Dad managed to get all of us depressed – except for the females, of course. He made a remark about our outfits for the Spring Ball, which is planned for two weeks from Saturday. None of us is looking forward to attending, but maybe if there is a Mate-bond between me and Maleah, I can take her with me.
Dax placed the meeting in our schedules, but he neglected to put down what the meeting is about. The one thing that did stand out is the rest of the people attending the meeting. Meetings are usually for our leadership, but in this case, he has also included the former leadership and Diego.
I can’t remember any occasion in which we had a meeting with everyone present – not since Max stepped down – and I don’t remember something like that happening during Max’s reign.
Dillon and I are still trying to figure out why they need to attend when Dax finally walks in, and Dominic demands an answer from him. But all he does is smile.
“Dax, why did you ask me to come to your office?” Luna Elyse asks, and I think he needs her help to get us to back off. Max, Diego, the former Beta, and the former Gamma walk into the office right behind her, and they sit down near my Father. He tells the rest of us to sit down as he grabs a bottle of water.
“I was in Albarr for something completely different, but Mack called me to inform me that Alpha Bradley and his Luna were there to see Maleah. I picked her up at her new boutique, and we went to her room before going to Alpha Bradley’s suite. She told me she didn’t want to risk using their bathroom.”
“I can’t prove it, but something tells me that it wasn’t just the two of them in that suite. I am glad Maleah refused to give in to Alpha Bradley’s explanation when he refused to let me join them for lunch,” Dax says, and everyone is growling.
Dad has a hold on my shoulder as I try to control Commander. He doesn’t like what Dax is insinuating, and I keep telling him that Maleah is smart enough to see through any trick someone would try to pull on her.
Once I have calmed Commander down enough, I turn back toward Dax, and I can tell it isn’t all he had to tell us. I just hope it won’t anger Commander again. Kay and Levi are pacing the floor, both of them look agitated, and their Lycans are near the surface.
“After we had lunch, I told Maleah why we hate Alpha Bradley,” he says as he holds Luna Elyse’s hand in his own. “Because I confided in her, Maleah told me something about herself, but she warned me it would leave me with more questions – and that I wanted others present for the answers.”
“I can guarantee you that what she told me left me with a lot of questions, and I want each of you there when I ask her those questions. She is willing to answer them all,” Dax says, and the look on his face shows that he is very serious.
I believe my head is spinning. Commander keeps telling me to demand answers, and even though I want to, I know Dax will not tell us anything more than he already has. We will just have to wait until Maleah gets home to find out what she told Dax – and mostly, to find out why she told him.
Great. Now I will have more trouble getting through the next few days, and I was already dreading the days before she will be home again.
Maleah’s p.o.v.
I have given orders to my team. I need as much information about Alpha Bradley and his Son as possible, and it has to be as detailed as they can gather. They know I won’t go after them until after the Spring Ball. I want to concentrate on designing the dresses Luna Elyse asked me for, and I will talk to Stan before I leave Albarr about the outfits for the males.
Pauline will make sure that she gathers all the information, and maybe I will be able to find out why Alpha Bradley is so hell-bent on getting me within his borders. The information from my current file doesn’t give me that answer, and I have gone over every sentence written in that damn file – but I am still where I started.
What kind of deal did my Mother make with Alpha Bradley? Why did he make her his Luna?
“Are you okay, Maleah?” Pauline asks as she walks back into the office, and I shake my head as she sits down.
“No, I am not. I was almost transferred to a Pack I had no say in. I have a Mother that doesn’t give a crap about me, and she is mated to a male who doesn’t deserve to breathe. Fortune has been too quiet for my taste, and the only thing she shows me, when I ask her about it, is an image of our Head Assassin, Mack,” I answer her.
Pauline asks me what Fortune has been like since I first met Mack, and as I tell her about Fortune’s behavior, I see her slowly nodding her head.
“Fortune, did you feel a connection to Mack?” Pauline asks, and I nearly tumble to the floor. Is she really suggesting that Mack could be my Mate? I doubt Fortune will answer her, but I think she needs to at least tell me if that is the reason for her behavior – and my jaw drops when she tells me that she felt the connection with Mack.
I never thought Fortune would be able to feel it because she always hides in the depths of my mind, and she always makes me use my gift to hide her presence.
“Pauline, you know every gift I have. Is it possible for Commander and Fortune to feel the connection when I am hiding her presence?” I ask. If anyone can answer that question, it is Pauline. She has been studying Wolves and Lycans with gifts since she was a toddler.
“The connection Fortune feels is not just to Commander but also to Mack, and Commander doesn’t just feel a connection to Fortune but also to you. My Aunt always said that even a dormant Wolf or Lycan can feel the connection – and vice versa – so I doubt hiding her presence could prevent Fortune from feeling the connection,” Pauline answers me, and I am grateful for the friendship we have. She can answer most of my questions.
We met during one of my trips through the country. I had asked Dad for permission to look for a new boutique, and he reluctantly agreed. It was my second trip, and Pauline was working in the boutique I wanted to purchase. She knew immediately who my Father was. He had trained her two years prior to our meeting, and she told me I had the same look in my eyes as he did when he talked about his job.
Pauline has been helping me ever since, and she helped me form the team I work with today. The rest of my team was provided by Dad and Colter. They think they are my protection detail, but in fact, they are all a part of my team – and they are all damn good at their job. We work the same way the Assassins work in my Pack, and I take the biggest and most difficult assignments, while my team gets handed the other assignments.
Each of them has their own way of working a case, but they are also capable of working as a team when the assignment calls for it. And I know I can breathe easier when they are handling an assignment.
I finish up my conversation with Pauline and make sure she knows I don’t want to be disturbed during my two weeks at home. I want to focus on the task Luna Elyse gave me. Ariel has already made sure our friends are able to make the dresses I designed.
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