Chapter 21: Unexpected Faces
Silas
Our day seemed to dizzy by me. The only thing I could focus on was my Lumiere ceremony. Tonight, I would be accepted into the White Ridge Pack, and in four days, I would officially become the Lumiere, the only mate to the Alpha. I just met Sydney yesterday, and now my whole world revolves around her and this pack.
"It's not much different than before. Our life revolved around the pack." Bram wasn't wrong.
"This feels different." I couldn't put my finger on it.
"Before it was someone else's duties, we were the substitute just helping out. Now the pack looks to us as one of its leaders an example to follow." I guess Bram is an Alpha wolf for a reason.
"You are probably right. A part of all this feels bittersweet. Changing my pack mark tonight puts everything into perspective." I rub my shoulder where my pack mark is.
"This is where we belong now. Give it
Chapter 22: The First Mark Silas Sydney raises her hand to quiet the pack again. "Now to our other announcement. As most of you have heard, I found my mate when I traveled to the Amaris Pack. Silas Youngblood is the third son of the Beta Youngblood family. The goddess has blessed our pack and me with a strong and capable Lumiere." The pack erupts in cheering. An Alpha couple insured stability for the pack, and heaven knows they wanted it. I take a step forward. "Thank you all for the warm welcome. I promise to get to know each one of you as time progresses. We have a lot of rebuilding to do. I hope we can count on each of you." Sydney pats my shoulder. "Thank you. We will now accept Silas into White Ridge." I turn to face Sydney and start to unbutton my shirt. I have to have my left shoulder visible to the pack. Once my shirt is off. I see Sydney look me up and down. A slight blush to her cheeks. I cann
Chapter 23: More Sydney As soon as the door to our room closes, Si pulls me to him. I see Bram's ice blue eyes flash in Si's then he crashes his lips to mine. I feel Thora push forward, reaching out for her mate. I don't want to keep them apart, but I don't know if I'm ready for this. He's not being gentle like he was yesterday. There is a fierceness and determination behind his kiss. All the tension and frustration exploded in our bruising of lips and tangling of tongues. I find it challenging to stay focused, and my resolve to resist dissipates. Si takes a second to breathe. "I want to mark you. Will you let me?" His breath is hot on my ear, and the heat reaches my core. I have to make a sound decision, think clearly, Syd. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "We should wait until the day before the ceremony. I don't want to be in heat during your ceremony." My back is pinned to the door, and Sila
Chapter 24: Marks Silas A ray of light hits my eyes, forcing me awake. It is the second night in a row without nightmares. We were up late into the night, but I feel so well-rested. It’s like the whole world is new again. Waking up today is better than yesterday or any day before. Syd is sleeping on my chest again, but this morning she is naked. Her smooth, toned body pressed against mine, her wild ginger curls covering my chest. This is ecstasy. The slightly sweet and tart notes of red current mixed with the spicy hints of cinnamon fill my senses. My need to have her is growing by the second. “Let’s peek at her mark?” Bram is just as enthralled with our mate as I am. I try to gently move her hair from her shoulder and neck to take a quick look. The shifting of her hair gives me a surprised reaction. Syd nuzzles into my chest and wiggles her body closer. Her leg comes up and over my body rubbing her inn
Chapter 25: Call with the Alphas Sydney: "Beta Lucas, do you know what this is about?" Everyone is already gathered in my office. "Good morning, Alpha Syd and Lumiere Si. No, I don't." Lucas settles into one of the sofas. Ambrose and Kyler quickly stand and bow. "Good morning, Alpha and Lumiere." They both chime out. "Ambrose, you took the call this morning, correct? Did Alpha John say what it was about?" I take my seat behind my desk, Si standing next to me. "Ummm… actually, Alpha, I took the call." Gamma Kyler steps forward, head hung low. I'm not sure if it's out of fear or respect. "Thank you, Gamma Kyler, for taking the call. Did Alpha John say anything?" His head pops up, and his eyes are wide with surprise. I guess it was fear, not respect. "No, Alpha, he just said to contact him as soon as you were available." He smiles cautiously. "Well, not much I can do." I loo
Chapter 26: Brewing Silas “This is no longer a ranked tryout. Last night we found our pack Gamma. It will, however, determine who our lead warriors are.” A mummer is rising at Sydney’s words. “As many of you know, we are already facing an outside threat from a group of rogues. We don’t know when they will strike, but we know they will.” Sydney glares down at the pack members assembled. “Are you ready to defend your home!” She yells and pushes out her Alpha aura, and it would be extremely sexy if I weren’t so pissed. “Yes, Alpha!” They yell back. Sydney looks at me out of the corner of her eye and gives me a nod. I step forward, “White Ridge, starting today, we will be evaluating your skill level and your combat readiness.” As I look out, I’m sizing them all up. Who will I make an example of? Who can I let off some steam on? “It doesn’t matter if you are the strongest or the fastest. If you can’t handle yourself
Chapter 27: A Fight or Make-up Sydney "How dare he embarrass me like that in front of all the warriors and the pack at dinner." I put my fist through the wall. He didn't come back for dinner, so I sat alone the day after being marked. The whole pack saw it. I looked like an idiot just sitting there waiting for him. What the hell. "Our mate was upset." Thora was defending him, which made my already bad mood worse. "I don't care. He should have sucked it up and swallowed it down, and dealt with it later. We have a pack to run and don't have time for feelings." Why did he leave me? He's supposed to be my mate, and he just walked away like it was nothing. I hear footsteps coming down the hall, and I can smell him. I ready myself and my weapon. Silas walks in the bedroom door. I launch the pillow from my hand as hard as I can at his head—the impact pushing him back for a second. "Oh, you fina
Chapter 28: A Dark Night Coming to Light Silas I stand in my usual spot next to Syd at her desk. It may seem odd, but I feel like if I don't stand next to her, she might just disappear. The office is filled this morning. We have Beta Lucas, Beta Ambrose, Gamma Kyler, and the Elders, along with Syd and myself. Six in total now that Joseph has been stripped of his elder title. We needed to move past the Joseph issue for now and focus our time on other pack matters. "Thank you all for coming today," With Joseph no longer a part of the elders, Sydney was more relaxed. Just looking at the six Elders gathered today, I would say they look more comfortable as well. "Of course, Alpha, what is it you wish to discuss?" Elder Mimi sipped on her tea and smiled wide. Mimi felt like a wise grandma, loving and full of wisdom that she would covertly give you while snacking on milk and homemade cookies. There was a warm history
Chapter 29: One and the Same Sydney "Mmmm… what? Oh, did the elders leave? I should call Alpha Gideon." Silas snapped me back to reality. "OK, are you calling him now?" Silas' had a note of worry for some reason in his voice. "Yeah, I want to see if he found anything out about Drystan after he left… was kicked out of the pack." I pull my phone out and call Gideon. There were so many missing pieces. Gideon picks up on the third ring. "Hello, Alpha Sydney." "Hello Gideon, I have you on speaker. I am with my ranked members and Beta Lucas." I set my phone down on the desk; everyone came and huddled up around it. "Congratulations on finding your ranked members. I was expecting your call." We heard him sigh into the phone. "Have you read through the file I sent over this morning?" Gideon sounded cheerful in his congratulations but talking about the file turned his mood. "No, I haven't checked my email yet. What did you find?"