Chapter 8

AARON

After the meeting ended, the elders, together with the former Beta and Gamma and their mates, left the meeting room, leaving me alone with Alpha Jake and Beta Gavin.

Beta Gavin and I just looked at each other, waiting for the Alpha to break the silence. We dared not voice our opinion when it was not requested since we both knew this was a sour topic for the Alpha.

After a long silence, the Alpha cleared his throat and lifted his gaze, shifting it back and forth between me and his Beta.

"I honestly have nothing to say." He scowled. "Can you fucking find your mates now so I don’t have to deal with this Luna game?"

My lips pursed into a thin line, trying to gauge the weight of his statement before the whole room erupted into a spring of laughter. Alpha Jake was shaking his head while laughing. After a while, Gavin joined in, and in seconds I found myself laughing with them. Relief coursed through me that the Alpha was taking this lightly compared to what I expected.

"You got me there, man! I thought you were giving us an Alpha command to produce a mate at this instant." Gavin pointed out before turning serious. "But seriously, any plans? You are not disregarding this, right?"

I looked at the Alpha, trying to read his face, but as usual, once the playfulness was gone, he would go back to his poker face. "I can’t do that to Marina and Katya. They’re right, I am asking too much from them already. I don’t know how to get a girl and tell her she’ll be the chosen Luna for my pack." He let out a sigh before standing up. "It’s not as easy as picking a random girl for an easy fuck."

The one thing I like about us three is that we can speak our minds without having to filter our words.

"But you should consider as well that the Luna you’ll be choosing is one of those you can actually stomach waking up next to every morning. I hope you get it right, man!" I told him when suddenly the thought of him and my sister hugging by the oval flashed in my memory. The sooner he gets a Luna, the sooner he can stay away from Clair.

"I’m done for the day. I will think it over tonight. You can both go and do what you need to do." He dismissed us before he headed to the window and looked at the view outside.

"Alpha, have you reconsidered your mate? Or is it still out of the question? We can go around the packs within this zone and just spot to see if we can find your mate there. It’s high season now, and most of the packs are throwing balls for that reason. And the Claiming is coming in a couple of months as well, just in case we don’t find her." I added before I stood from my seat.

"Think about it, Jake. Your mate should be the one ruling beside you." Gavin continued, still seated.

The Alpha turned around from looking at the window, his brows furrowing with his hands in his pocket. "I’ll consider the Claiming Ball." He kept his reply short and just ignored mine and Beta Gavin’s statements about his mate.

With a defeated sigh, I looked at Gavin and motioned for him to follow me out.

"We’re leaving Alpha," Gavin confirmed, and we bowed our heads towards him in respect. The Alpha just nodded his head and did not say anything more before we left.

As soon as we left the meeting room, I bid my farewell to Gavin and headed home. As much as I want to think more about the Luna problem, I have other things in mind.

Tomorrow is a full moon, and if all went well, Clair would be shifting. I haven’t discussed what she needs to do tomorrow just yet. That was why I was in a hurry to get home tonight. I needed a word with her.

As soon as I entered our house, I just waved at my father and went directly upstairs towards Clair’s room.

"Come in." My sister answered after a few knocks on her door.

I strode in and closed the door behind me. Clair was plopped down on the floor, painting her toenails red.

"Hey, Clairy! Preparing for tomorrow?" I asked playfully as I sat beside her on the floor.

She beamed at me before putting her attention back on her toenails. "Yes, I was just wondering if my wolf would have red nail polish too once I shifted." She let out a giggle, but it felt like it was forced. She sounded nervous. "Aaron, after I shifted, would I be able to smell my mate then?"

"Not yet. As I told you before, you can only smell your mate once you turn 18. Don’t think about the mate thing, you need to focus on shifting."

She just took a deep breath before nodding her head.

"Are you scared?" I asked as I tried to catch her eyes.

She nodded without looking at me. "Do you think I can make it? That I would have a normal shifting?"

"Of course. Don’t think about it too much. The full moon will be at its peak around 7:55 tomorrow night, but I’m guessing you’ll start to feel the symptoms around 6.  Shifting can happen from that time till the moon peaks. But before you know it, you’re running on your paws and it’s the greatest feeling!" I tried to pass on the excitement in my voice to her.

She looked up and beamed at me again. "You’ll be there right?"

I ruffled her hair and pulled her to my side for a hug. "I wouldn’t miss it, Clairy. I have a training to go to till six in the evening, but message me anytime when you start to feel pain. I will pick you up by then. I would rather you shift within the forest grounds. In a way, you’ll be one with the earth."

"Thanks, Aaron." She nodded and applied the nail polish to the last unpainted toenail.

"By the way, what’s with you and Jake?" I asked, trying to mask the irritation in my voice.

She snapped her head suddenly, her nose scrunching up. "What’s with me and Jake? Nothing. What were you thinking?"

I just shrugged my shoulders and stretched my legs, palms on the floor at my back. "I saw you hugging like you were lovers on the tracking oval. It just didn’t sit well with me."

"We didn’t do anything, it was just a welcome home hug." She huffed.

"If you say so. Just be careful Clair. Whatever childhood crush you had for him, just let it go. You’ll just get hurt, especially now."

"What do you mean especially now?" She asked with a raised brow.

I looked at her as she started to collect her pedicure materials from the floor and placed them in her kit. "We just finished off a meeting with the Elders. They wanted him to pick a Luna, knowing he had no intention of finding his mate. I just don’t want you to get all your hopes up and get hurt in the end."

She let out a sigh before tilting her head to look at me, her face smiling. "Awww, so sweet of you, Aaron. But don’t worry, I don’t see Jake that way. He’s just like a brother to me."

I nodded before I rose from my sitting position and pulled her up as well, enveloping her in a hug. "Glad we have that sorted out. Your mate is still out there. No need to rush."

She giggled as she rested her head on my chest. "I hope I find him before I turn out to be as old as you."

"You got me there!" I chuckled as I place a kiss on her forehead. "But enough of the teasing. You need to retire to bed now. You’ll be needing all your energy when you shift tomorrow."