“When are you going to announce me?” Carina interrupted his thoughts. “You should do that right away, so the pack knows who I am.” She told him.
“After Belladonna has left the pack. I’ve explained this to you, my mating alliance with Belladonna, and the rules around her and I rejecting each other.”
“I don’t care about those rules, and you’ve rejected her now. I’m your priority. Or should be.” She was glaring at him expectantly.
Parker
Parker sat there at that table staring right at his Goddess-Gifted. He knew he should be all over her, or wanting to be. He could smell her, and he knew touching her would give off those mate bond sparks as well, which would help to create a wanton need in him.
But he was actually unhappy with her attitude right that minute, the very words she had just stated, ‘I don’t care about those rules.’ That bothered him greatly. He was one to follow all the rules, doing so, kept the peace. Kept him and his packs out of trouble, and doing so could even prevent wars from happening.
This she-wolf who was his Goddess-Gifted Mate, he now knew, didn’t seem to have the same values that he did; that could be a very big problem. He could see that they were going to fight over it at some point. Hell, they were practically fighting right this very minute, here in the pack dining room in front of his pack members who were there having lunch, likely listening to everything that was said.
He could see them all looking at him and now her, because she was being very vocal about who she was to him, and was completely uncaring of the rules, of his exit clauses to his mating alliance with his former Luna. She was uncaring of how he might be feeling even though she knew he had just suffered through a rejection.
She, right this very minute, was showing him that only her feelings seemed to matter. Where was the compassion for one’s Mate, she didn’t look to have any at all, and he understood it must be difficult for her to know he had a Luna. But she was also wolfen and should understand that Alphas do taken Chosen Mates at times, to prevent wars; which is what he’d told her. His and Belladonna’s mate bond was a pack deal to prevent a war between him and another pack.
Parker thought she was ticked off because when she had scented him out, he already had a Mate, and she hadn’t understood how that was possible, because she was his Goddess-Gifted, so in her mind he should still be unattached. It hadn’t gone down so well in that pack of hers.
Not with her or her father for that matter, they had both demanded to know what the hell was going on. He’d stated simply “I have a Mate by a mating alliance,” it had been the truth of the matter. When he’d asked for that basic, I’ll get to know her agreement, not a mating alliance with Carina that, had not gone down so well either.
Though he’d been honest as to why, stated point blankly that from what he’d seen of Carina at that mating ball. She didn’t appear to have the Luna qualities that he was looking for. Her father had snarled at him and Carina had looked at him incredulously, and yelled right at him “You don’t know me.”
To which he’d just nodded and then stated, “Hence the getting to know you, agreement.” It was a basic deal where she would live within the pack for one month, to see if they could get along, to see if she was going to make a good Luna, he’d worded it though “If she’ll treat all my pack members with respect, including the omegas.”
He had to be cautious. He was an Alpha to a wolf pack conglomerate, not just one pack, but many under his rule spread out over the state, and most knew of him and how wealthy he was. So, patience and watching were key for him.
Those very words which he’d chosen with full purpose had made Carina glare at him. He was highly doubtful but was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt at the same time, seeing as she was his Goddess-Gifted, and an Alpha shouldn’t reject one without due cause.
Her father and stated after seeing her out of the office “Alpha Parker, I admit that I spoiled my little girl rotten, probably way too much. She’s my only daughter. She is a good girl, just raised by me. Her mother died when she was very little.
“Please do give her a chance. She’s strong and beautiful, and will make you a good Luna, I’m certain of it. Just…” the man had sighed a little and had shrugged, “Needs to be made to submit to you, I’d say, is very dominant and, due to my spoiling her, she is very used to getting everything she wants. That is on me.”
He’d seen just about everything in life when it came to unruly spoiled ranked members, male and female, he’d even seen that a Goddess-Gifted could turn their whole lives around. So, it was possible that Carina could very well change, once she was Marked and Mated by him.
It was likely that some of this attitude he was getting now, and had been getting since they’d scented each other out, was due to the fact that he was already claimed by another, and she was simply very unhappy about it. She was also probably going to have this attitude up until Belladonna was out of the pack altogether.
Only then would she be able to truly relax. It’s very likely she’d taken one look at Belladonna and seen her as a threat to her status as his Mate; and she was right to. He’d not once said anything bad or demeaning about Belladonna, the entire time they’d been coming home. Carina had snapped at him twice on the way here “Do you love her?” and been very angry when asking him that question.
He’d looked at her and said nothing at all; by way of answering the question, he had stated calmly “I don’t like your attitude. I won’t take being yelled at either Carina. I’ve explained the situation to you.” and he had. She just refused to accept it, or didn’t want to believe him, he supposed. He wondered if she thought he had lied about it.
“Show me around.” Carina stated and stood up.
“How about you ask me nicely, I am the Alpha Carina. You don’t get to make demands of me.”
“I’m your mate and equal. I can tell you…” she was grating out at him.
Parker cut her off by standing up abruptly himself, his chair tipping over and clattering to the floor. “You are not my equal unless I claim you, and so far, I’m not seeing anything in you that wants to make me claim you. You’re no different to how you were at the mating ball.
“I’ll not claim and mark you, make you my Luna to this pack if I don’t think you’ll be nice to my pack members.” He stated. “You might want to check your attitude.” And then he had left her there, walked away from her, he couldn’t deal with her right this minute.
All he really wanted was to be alone, and he knew it, she was not in any way helping to ease his pain, as a mate’s presence should be able to do. She was only showing him that he should have rejected his Goddess-Gifted and never told Belladonna about finding her. If he’d done that, Belladonna would still be his Mate and Luna right this minute. Hell, they’d be up there in her suite completely naked, and he would be blissfully happy, making love to the woman he actually loved.
He had to shake it off, there would be no more of that, Belladonna was no longer his to have. She was free to be with whoever she wanted to be with from now on, she was going to be leaving this pack in 24 hours, and he couldn’t even ask her where she was going. Didn’t even know if she knew where she was going.
Did she have a plan or was she just going to leave and return to her home pack? He thought about that. Their alliance stated he was to never return to that pack, and that they wouldn’t ever come here. That Belladonna would find another pack to go to after the rejection was issued. Not to return home to her father. That was odd, he’d not thought about it back then. Only did it now because he wanted to know that she would be safe.
Belladonna
It was a long afternoon for both Bella and Kane, as she was systematically removed from the pack’s protocols as the Luna. Bit by bit, she was stripped of everything that had been hers for the past eight years. She sat at her Luna’s desk and reset all the passwords to the different systems and files she had access to.
Including the Luna’s Library. She’d liked being there. It was quiet and there were many interesting things to read. She changed all the passwords to NewLuna@1. Something easy to remember, she wrote it down on a sticky note and handed it to Kane. Even though he documented himself on the clipboard he was carrying around with them.
It didn’t really shock her that it was the pack’s Beta exiting her life from the pack. She and Parker didn’t spend time together unless it was to do with Luna Duties. The Alpha would be spending time with his new Mate. She’d told him to go and Mark and Mate her. She supposed that he would do so, could well be walking her all over the pack showing her around for all Bella knew. She wasn’t keeping track of him; never had.
She printed out the list of all the pups that had been born while Parker had been out of the pack, meeting his Goddess-Gifted at that mating ball. It was something she would have done anyway, just waited until tomorrow after he’d initiated all the new wolves into his pack. She would have strolled into his office and place it in his in tray for him to get to when he was ready.
She then printed out the list of upcoming due dates for pregnant she-wolves, highlighting those that were, she suspected, going to be difficult labours, due to their past history, of losing pups prior to her arrival within this pack, and had continued to have difficult labours under her care.
Though Bella was certain that Annette would also know this information, she still did it herself, so that Parker would be aware of when the Gamma was needed to stay within the pack. If they were expected to be off pack territory, Shannon could be left behind to help ease distress with the pregnant she-wolves of his pack; he, along with Annette, should be able to do what she did and make sure no lives were lost, pup or she-wolf.
Before she had been brought here to the Lustrous Moon, there was a record of one death in every seven or eight deliveries, whether it be the pup or the she-wolf. She thought that was quite a high rate, she’d not seen many in her home back and none she’d assisted with even as a first year.
Though Annette had come from another pack, one that Parker had gone in and taken over, absorbed into this pack, apparently for the better. Annette had told her where she had come from, the death rate had been practically non-existent when she was growing up and then their Luna had vanished from the pack and the death rate had gone from nothing, to one in every ten deliveries saw the death of a pup or a she-wolf, and it never got any better.
Bella had her hand print removed from the packhouse’s lockdown mode after all her access to the pack’s files was removed. And she and Kane walked to the hospital and had her fingerprint removed from the hospital system’s medication rooms access. He even helped her to box up her things in her Dr’s office.
He stood looking at all the boxes of her books and study materials, medical journals, “You read a lot.” He commented. “I’ll go and bring the Luna’s car around, put it all in there so we don’t have to lug all those boxes up to the packhouse. You go do a round with your patients. I know you want to.” He’d smiled at her. “I’ll meet you back at the Packhouse for the last few things, Parker will likely want to do that himself.”
Bella frowned right at him, “Kane, I don’t have a car.” She stated, and she didn’t to her knowledge.
“You do actually, you’ve always had one. You just never used it. It was also upgraded and replaced when we all got new cars two years ago as well,” he told her.
Her frown deepened “I never knew that.” She stated more than a little confused.
“Mm, Parker was waiting for you to ask him about getting you one, so he could give it to you himself. I don’t believe you ever did ask. So, it sits there unused but maintained.”
Bella shook it off as Kane left her office. She’d never once asked for anything from Parker, he’d given her a pack card to use, and she’d bought only things that were needed with it. Study aids, medical books, the hospital staff’s new scrubs and hospital equipment, when something needed updating or the hospital didn’t have something, but then they needed it.
All the invoices for things she had purchased for the pack had been given to Parker, so he could see she wasn’t spending pack money on things for herself, only for the pack. She had advised him only once; about the other hospitals probably needed these upgrades as well. He’d looked at her, nodded and told her he’d see to it. She’d received emails of thanks for the equipment for the other hospitals in his conglomerate. Apparently, Parker had bought them and sent them care of the Luna.
Although she liked it here in this pack, she knew she didn’t actually belong here, so she didn’t or hadn’t gone about spending Parker’s money. It was not hers to be used on herself, as far as she was concerned. Only bought bare essentials for herself with his money.
She’d asked Shannon once, not long after she’d gotten here, if she could purchase new shoes and a pair of jeans. He’d just stared at her for a moment and shaken his head and walked off, and she’d taken that as a no, she was not allowed to, hadn’t realised at that time it was disbelief at her question.
She had taken herself down to the laundry and found the donation bin to hunt clothes others didn’t want and would fit her, no different to what her and her grandmother had done in the old pack. Clothes that weren’t so tattered as the ones she’d come with.
Kane had seen her coming from the laundry with the clothes she’d found and frowned deeply at her, asked her what she was doing. Then he had huffed at her response and stated “Bella, you are the Luna, buy what you need, that is what the pack card is for, it has unlimited funds on it. Don’t wear second-hand clothing. Parker will not like it. Fill your wardrobe with new clothes.”
She’d not done that, but had brought what she needed and a few days later a personal shopper for the pack had turned up at her suite and measured her up, then clothes had arrived for her to wear, she’d been told ‘the Alpha would prefer you to wear these from now on.’ and so she had worn what he’d had sent to her.
Bella headed up to the packhouse after checking in on all the pups and the she-wovles that were still in the hospital. Only five of the 17, all the rest were healed up by their wolves and had been discharged by Annette. It was standard protocol around here.
Bella saw a white Mercedes-Benz SUV parked outside the front of the hospital. She’d never seen that before, walked along the side of it and looked at it out of curiosity, it was very nice, had tinted windows and a little silver plaque that read Edition 1, just behind the front wheel near the front doors. Had seen it out there and not recognised it, had stepped out to look at it, it looked brand new,
from what she could tell. Looking in the front window, it had a leather interior and was kitted out with what she supposed was the best technology of its time. She’d never asked for a car, just walked everywhere, or ran at full wolfen speed if there was an emergency.
She returned to her office to find a set of keys on her desk. The logo was Mercedes-Benz. She supposed that car out there was her Luna’s car. Though why she needed one she didn’t know.
She had not left the pack’s borders in the entire time she’d been here because she didn’t actually know if she was allowed to or not. Being that she had been sold to Parker, so to speak. Parker had also never once taken her outside of the pack, so she just presumed she wasn’t allowed to leave it, so had not.
Belladonna
Bella stepped into the packhouse and saw Parker standing next to Kane. The last time she’d seen him he’d been in his office initiating wolves from that mating ball into his pack. She’d seen it when they’d just been passing by, while she’d walked about with Kane.
Walking about all over the pack to remove her permissions from different sections of the pack as per the protocols, he’d not looked at her, she’d happen to glance into his office. The door had been open, and she’d seen a dozen wolves in there, and could hear what was going on.
He was back to working, like he always was. Get up, train, work until late at night, retire to his room or have s*x with her and then retire to his room. That was pretty much all she thought he did. She’d never really seen him sit and just laze about or muck around with his unit or pack members, he was very busy all the time like she was.
Unlike some others she’d seen when growing up, she’d been a bit more than jealous of her siblings and hated her father sometimes when she saw them all so happy and having fun. It had really hurt when she saw him play with the pack’s children. He’d never done that with her, to her knowledge, claimed her as his kin, but hated her at the same time.
She’d learned to turn a blind eye to most everything, otherwise she’d always be in pain and suffering watching her father love and play with his other children, the other pack children all the time. Kind of just made herself not care, become immune to things that would cause her emotional pain. Thought of it as being switched off; it was how she’d lived her whole life.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Parker’s eyes met hers now, he was looking right at her, and she saw his jaw tighten, and then he just strode away from Kane in long strides, he looked angry to her. That wasn’t going to be good for the pack. She wondered if she should tell them to stay out of his way. Give them a heads-up, so to speak.
Bella’s eyes followed him, though only briefly, as she thought about the pack needing to get out of his way. He likely just wanted her gone from his pack, so he could claim Carina. She’d seen he hadn’t yet. There was no filigree on his neck at this time to denote that. She also knew it would be more than an hour or two of s*x, go all night; she recalled being marked and mated by him.
He was, it seemed, going to be a stickler for the rules of their Mating alliance, which stated he couldn’t Mark and Mate his Goddess-Gifted until she had set foot outside the pack itself. He should just go and do it. She’d given permission for him to, again, something she could do.
She let it go, he was who he was, she walked over to Kane, “I am sorting this out as quickly as possible Kane, you, yourself know this, please tell him that, and that I’m not holding anything up. I will leave as quickly as I can.”
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