Jace clears his throat and takes me out of my musings.
“Zane, I've reached Beta. He says his daughter has been missing since yesterday. She was indeed in the woods playing with some other pups when they couldn't find her anymore,” he tells me. “He is on his way here with his mate to pick her up himself. They'll be here in two hours."
"Shouldn't you let Alpha Ahri know about this?" he asks.
Yes, I forgot about all that. The bliss of finally having my mate here has completely consumed my attention. I grab my phone and search my contact list for the number I need. “Alpha Ahri, Alpha Zane from Midnight Moon here. You must have heard that we found your Beta's daughter near our border," I let him know.
The man on the other end of the line growled. “Alpha Zane. Yes, my Beta informed me. This matter should be thoroughly investigated. A pup cannot run miles in a day. There is more going on here.” He doesn't sound exactly indulgent as I expected.
"That's for sure. I discovered the scent of your pack on my territory. That means that some members of you have entered my country improperly," I tell him. “That is punishable. I look forward to including this in your research.” He puffs something but doesn't respond to my words. I decide not to push things through, my position is highly sensitive now that I am at the mercy of his decision in my personal affairs. “There's something else I want to discuss with you as well. It's unusual, but nobody knows the deliberations of the Moon Goddess”, I try to introduce him carefully to the matter. “Mercedes is my mate”, I drop the bomb.
"What!!" he shouts into the speaker. “Dare you to put a finger on the pup and I'll make dogmeat of you! You pedophile. I'm coming for her with my warriors. And make sure she's safe and sound at the border. I'll kill you!" he rages on. His breathing rasps through the phone, I can sense that his anger has reached the top.
“Alpha Ahri, I can assure you that I am by no means a pedophile. And Mercedes' parents are on their way and will get their daughter back safe and sound”, I say calmly. “I don't intend to claim her yet, I know the Were laws too. I want to discuss this issue rationally and come to an agreement with you all.”
"Agreement? About what?" Ahri sounds aggressive. I sigh deeply. “Listen, Mercedes is my fated mate. The Moon Goddess has decided this and I accept that. All I want is to be able to visit her in your pack and have her here with me, so she gets used to my presence and the pack. After all, she is the future Luna of the Midnight Moon pack”.
I hear him swallow hard a few times, the news is clearly not easy for him to digest. But then there are two, I too have to get used to this unusual situation. “Alpha, you know the Were-laws too. It is forbidden to keep mates apart,” I remind him. "I can assure you that she is safe here, my Beta makes sure that she lacks nothing here".
On the other end of the line, I eventually hear him take a deep breath, frantically trying to calm himself. Ahri is known as a hothead, it takes a lot to rationalize him. In the past Alpha meetings, he has made himself known as lightheaded, and few want to get involved with him. But I have no choice since my mate is from his pack.
“Her parents are on their way. Talk to them and if they agree, I'll expect you in my pack within two weeks to discuss this matter further," he finally concedes. “But I think this is an extraordinary case. First the girl is missing, then suddenly she is miles away in your pack and now she is your mate”. He pauses to enforce his words. “Are you sure you have nothing to do with the kidnapping of the pup?” he asks suspiciously.
Goodness!!
Can this man think logically? Even Mercedes does a better job here than her Alpha. And patience isn't exactly my forte. I suppress my annoyance, I have more time to lose on this jackass. “Then explain to me what my motive would be? The girl is my mate. If I knew that beforehand, I would have just gone to her parents and then to you, as I do now," I explain to him as if I were talking to a toddler. “Why should I take the trouble to kidnap her first and then appear suspicious?” The Alpha notices my irritation and decides not to take it.
"What do you mean to tell me?" he sounds tight. “Why wouldn't that be possible? Nowadays people do everything to get what they want. Who tells me you are an exception?”
No, no, no, I'm not going to waste my time on nonsense. “Listen Alpha. As agreed, I will discuss the matter with her parents and be with you in a week. I'll let you know in advance when I arrive. I also hope to hear the results of your research.” Before he can say any more, I end the call.
Jace and Cleo stare at me pityingly. “Yes, this reaction was expected. The man is not known for his high IQ.” sighs Jace. "I can tell he was ready to declare war even before he had enough information about the situation."
“That would be a wrong decision on his part,” Cleo adds sarcastically. “Underestimating Midnight Moon and acting against the Were laws will be his end one day.”
I walk to the liquor cabinet and take out my most expensive wine. There are now plenty of reasons to throw a three-man party. Midnight Moon has found its Luna and I have a mate.
Maybe not quite the way I would like, but that doesn't affect my happiness.
I give my friends a glass and toast each. “To a new beginning for Midnight Moon. With a Luna, we are much stronger, invincible”, I say in a fiery Alpha tone. Jace and Cleo nod. The bubbles from our glass rise while we look at each other confidently....
"Zane, Mercedes' parents have arrived." Jace entered my office, where I wanted to get some work done while my mate was asleep. I nod and get up from my chair. Together we enter the elevator to the Alpha floor. When we step into my bedroom, we see Mercedes sleeping like an angel on my bed. Seeing her like this fills my heart with so much love for her. I immediately swear to myself that I will always protect her and make her happiness my number one priority. Elise has fallen asleep next to her but is up as soon as we arrive. “She was drained. While bathing her, she was already falling asleep," my sister whispers, not to wake Mercedes right away. She's slept for about two hours, probably not nearly enough to rest fully. But her parents are waiting, I have to convince them that their daughter is unharmed. I am well aware that I am under strict surveillance, everyone will want to know how I maintain the relationship with my mate. Carefully I sit down next to my mate. “Little one, you
Mercedes Three Years Later…“Clarita, I'm not feeling well. My head hurts terribly and I have cramps in my stomach”, I tell my friend who is sitting next to me in the classroom. “This has been going on since last night. This morning I took some medication and thought it would be over by now.” I clutch my stomach again as a stab of pain pulls through. I can barely contain a cry.Clarita looks at my miserable self.“Go home quickly. I'll tell the teacher that you’re feeling sick”, she exclaims, already standing to help me out of my seat. Bending slightly forward, I walk out of the classroom. When we are outside the school building, Clarita looks around. “Is Zane coming to get you today? I don't see his car anywhere," she asks with interest.I look at her from the corners of my eyes.For a long time, I have suspected that she has a crush on my mate. Every time she mentions his name, I hear a longing undertone. At first, I thought I imagined it, but when I noticed she inquired about him a
Zane jumps out of his car and sprints to me.“Love, let me take you to the doctor quickly. Since this morning, I already felt that your body is changing," he explains, picking me up bridal style. I put my face on his neck and inhale his scent deeply. Just as I expected, the cramps immediately subsided and were not as painful anymore.Zane told me a long time ago that he can sense certain emotions in me. But once we are mated, that will increase. Because of the mate bond, I will also experience everything he feels, joy and anger, pain and sadness. But now he’s only able to perceive my pain and utter joy.He places me in the passenger seat and kisses me on the forehead. “Hold on, we'll be there in a minute”, he encourages me. Quickly he is back behind the wheel, turns the car nimbly and then we are on the road at high speed. Within a few minutes, we are at the pack’s hospital. He puts me on a bed and walks to the reception. “Can a doctor examine my mate? She has severe stomach cramps,"
The great hall of Silver Moon is bursting at the seams.The heavy base of the Afrobeat reverberates from the speakers, shaking everything on the pack land to its foundations. It's my sixteenth birthday, Zane has thrown out a big party for me. We have live bands performing on the massive stage and later in the evening, a DJ will mix the best songs all together to a powerful beat.The mood is top, never before has Silver Moon experienced so much bustle. Just for this day, Alpha Ahri permitted members of Midnight Moon entry to celebrate this day with me in my pack. This makes my birthday doubly special.And I’m telling you, everyone is present, young and old enjoy to the fullest. The drinks flow freely and the huge catering offers so many choices of dishes. The hall is also beautifully decorated, Zane has appointed a team responsible for the decoration and I must admit they did quite a successful job. This is the most lavish birthday party in my pack's history.I stand on
The party is lit. I dance in my mate's arms all night long, we grind, touch and kiss on the big dancefloor. Sometimes we are interrupted by new guests who still want to congratulate me, but we stay close to each other. In our relationship there is no room for third parties, we have enough of each other and remain true to our golden rule that the opposite sex does not come too close. Then we come close to Alpha Ahri, the old fox swings with a young werewolf, like he's in the old eighties. “Ahem, Alpha, are you having a good time?” I can't help teasing. Behind me, I hear a muffled laugh from Zane. Alpha Ahri looks up and when he sees me watching him, he turns beet red with embarrassment. Guilt is written all over his face. “Yes, yes”, he stammers while making frantic efforts to keep the voluptuous woman away. “Congrats Alpha, this party is amazing. Thank you for taking such good care of my pack member,” he turns to Zane, guiltily avoiding eye contact with me. Alpha Ahri clearly had no
Alpha Zane's POVThe expression on the rejected Alpha's face is priceless.I can barely suppress a grin. The boy clearly didn't come with the intention of having an innocent dance with my mate. He has been following her with lusty eyes all evening. He has his sights set on Mercedes.If that’s really the case, he has underestimated me. I was well prepared for evil hawks like him.For years I've done research on girls' development through puberty. Look, I'm a man, I only have experience of how boys transform into men. So, I did some research, talked to the elderly, kept my sister busy and spent evenings on the internet obtaining information. That is inherent in having a young, up growing fated mate.I learned that girls experience hormonal changes early on and in their innocence, seek the attention of boys who are eagerly waiting for their first sex. Their attention to beauty and make-up, their insecurities, I immersed myself in all these factors and sought advice. I want a confident Lu
With eyes full of disbelief, my woman stares at the car.I hold the keys in the air, but she won't take them. Mercedes takes my hand and pulls me with her to this exquisite model, I was also very impressed when I first saw it. At the vehicle, she runs her finger over the body while making a round. I follow her like a puppy, observing her closely. She is clearly happy, I think I passed here too.“Do you like it, love?” I inform to be sure. She raises her eyes to me and then I see the tears. "Did you really get this for me, Zane?" she whispers in awe. "I've just learned to drive, aren't you afraid I'll wreck it?" I smile. “It's yours, my heart. You can do whatever you want with it. But I know that you take good care of the things you love.” A broad smile comes over her face, with a jump, she is in my arms.“Thank you, Zane. I love you too. You made this day so special for me,” she screams aloud. She lets go of me again and walks to the passenger's side. Even before she gets in, she shou
Carefully I place her on the bed full of roses. I take off my jacket and unbutton my shirt halfway. My mate watches all my movements, I can hear her breathing a little faster. I spread her legs with a knee and slowly lay over her, propped up on my elbows. I give her all the time to get used to the new situation, I know that after tonight our relationship will be completely different. “Zane,” she whispers expectantly. My hand runs over her thighs and pushes her dress up. She helps me pull it over her head and throw it in the corner of the room. And then she lays before my eyes in sexy lingerie. Aahh, my mate had her own plans for tonight too. Just as I thought before, if I didn't intervene in time, she would drive me mad, to the point where I wouldn't be able to control myself anymore. Mercedes knows she's my weakness, seducing me would be a piece of cake for her. I was able to resist her previous attempts with so much difficulty. When she came naked into my room at her parents' ho
Five years later in Midnight MoonAlpha Zane and Luna Mercedes comfortably sit on a bench in their private garden, watching their children. After Zane built a private villa, a stone's throw from the packhouse, he moved with his family to have more privacy.Four kids in total.The girls are the perfect image of their mother. Their long black hair, gray-blue eyes, tanned skin and confident behavior leave little room to guess who their parents are. Their infectious laugh and smooth babble surprise many in the pack, it's not much different from the ten-year-old Mercedes that Zane had brought to the pack years ago.And there are the two blonde guys remotely controlling their drone at a short distance but still keeping an eye on their sisters. Their father taught them very early that they are the protectors of their sisters until their mate shows up and takes that responsibility from them. And they take their job very seriously, making sure nothing happens to them. They treat their sisters
“You really need to push, Luna. Harder!”Goodness! These people have easy talking. What do they think I've been doing for half an hour? I'm exhausted, this is heavier than I thought.Zane sits next to my bed and looks concerned. “You have to do your best, baby. We should have our first pup in five minutes. I know it's a lot of work, but you must be strong now," he whispers as he wipes the sweat from my forehead.We've been in the hospital all night. The pups don't seem to be in any hurry to come out. But the last quarter is the worst. The fall of the first one is slow, the doctor considers helping him. But Zane wants to keep trying to let him into the world on his own. He leans towards me. “Remember how we will hold him in our arms in a few minutes, Mercedes. We were so looking forward to this.”I give him a watery smile. But when I look into his eyes, it seems like his energy flows to my body. Zane leans closer and begins to kiss my face. This feels so good, I sigh with h
It's going grand, as I expected.Alphas have come a long way, despite the invitation's short timeframe. It is noticeable in everything that Elise has put a lot of effort and time into making this day unforgettable for me. Hundreds attended my Luna ceremony today. I think many have thought that Zane and I would not make it to this day. I was too young at first, then Zane had to face my Alpha and then he got a rival in the form of Shadow Moon's Alpha. But we have overcome all obstacles, our happiness is now unmatchable.After visiting his parents, I did not go back to our residence.Bad luck, Elise claimed, Zane was only allowed to see me on stage again. I was assigned a private room where I could relax and take a nap. And believe me, a rest and some dry food is all I needed back then. Until I heard a soft knock against the window. At first, I thought some birds were playing on the window frame, but when the noise continued, I was forced to get up and see what was happeni
After we leave the hospital with the ultrasound photos in an envelope, we drive back to the packhouse in silence. Once again, we are sunk in our own bliss now that we have seen our pups. It's official, we're going to be parents. This feeling is more intense than I thought.We decided to announce the news during the ceremony officially. About my pregnancy and the number of little ones on the way. I can already imagine how exuberant the pack will react to this news. It is now also not a secret anymore, of course, that Zane and I have not kept our agreement to mate after I was eighteen. But hey, why should we wait? It all took too long. And we're fated, the proof was there long before my birthday.When we get to the packhouse, we head to my in-laws first. Former Luna Jonel and her mate James, Zane's parents, have always been fond of me, spoiled me a lot over the years. I have a special bond with his mother and his sister Elise has always been my mainstay. As we step into t
Mercedes' POVI can't believe what Zane just told me.And why do I get the feeling like he's known this for a long time? But the way he told me, he seemed unsure of my reaction to all this. Yes, it’s true, we planned to have pups later. We wanted to do the things that couples our age do first. Because once we had pups, we would dedicate our entire lives to them, raising them to be responsible and honest leaders. That was our plan.But Zane is right. It is the Moon Goddess who approved our plans. But she has put a different twist on our plans. Because Zane indicated that we wouldn't get only one but several pups at once. That is totally not what we imagined but to me, they are so welcome. I want to make them all look like Zane, physically as well as mentally. My sons will be just as perfect as my mate.I have him in a firm embrace now. Slowly I hear his heart calm down. “Zane, why should it be your fault alone? I remember being there and very active too,” I tease him. We smile at each
If I thought I'd get support from my family to keep it a secret tonight that Mercedes is expecting our first pup, I got disappointed. Now that I'm standing outside my parents' apartment again, I think back to what happened to me a few minutes ago. First, they received me full of happiness and then I was resolutely kicked out to go tell my mate the excellent news, under threat too.As soon as I opened the topic and released the news, cheers erupted, my mother cried with happiness. My father quickly wiped away a tear too, while Elise kept her mouth wide open in awe. They embraced with joy, opened an expensive wine and we clinked glasses.But the moment I indicated that Mercedes did not know her condition, there was immediate silence. "How so, she doesn't know?" my mother asked in stupefaction. “And how come you know?” Elise also looked at me, incredulous. "And now that you know, why do you want to keep it a secret?" she asked me as if she had just heard I have a mental di
When I wake up late the next afternoon, Mercedes is still asleep in my arms.I look at her black locks scattered all over my arm and shoulders and her relaxed face. She lies so peacefully, snoring from her slightly open lips. Her legs are entwined with mine, an old trick of her to wake up as soon as I move. In the past, when I visited her in her pack, she always had a problem with me sneaking away while she was still asleep.But not today. I know she's dead tired.After the failed shift in Shadow Moon and the celebration of our mating with the warriors, we drove straight through the night to Midnight Moon. Of course, there was an interruption in Human Town at the Drive Thru. And when we finally got here in the early morning hours, there was another late meal with the Elders, followed by our intense lovemaking. My Luna is now exhausted, I want to let her sleep through. Knowing my parents, her ceremony tonight will be pretty hectic. I'll have to ask them to spare her a li
When we arrive at Midnight Moon we are surprised to see the pack members waiting. A horde of wolves lets out a loud roar of joy when the car comes to a standstill.When Mercedes gets out, a loud cheer goes through the group, flowers are thrown at her. “Welcome, Luna Mercedes. Now stay forever. You can't go back, you belong to Midnight Moon now”, they scream at once. The five Elders of the pack step forward and bow their heads. They are clearly delighted to see my mate.“Luna Mercedes. The Alpha informed us you're still tired, so we're moving your ceremony to tomorrow night. We will adjust the part where you are supposed to shift. Don't worry about that," the Head of Elders declares. I look at him gratefully, this is more than I expected. Mercedes is the absolute princess of my pack and heart. “Thank you, Elder”, I hear her say softly with equal joy. “I'm looking forward to that. I officially want to be Zane's mate so that the past period doesn't repeat itself. It should be clear to ev
Happily, I stare at my mate.How did this possibility not cross my mind? This must have happened that day in the cabin in the woods. When we made love there, I already had a different feeling, felt more connected to Mercedes. Before I met her, I had some flings with she-wolves outside my pack, but I've never knotted them. Mercedes is clearly my mate, determined by the Moon Goddess. She alone could get my body to react like that.I keep staring at her in love, unable to explain my behavior to her. It is impossible for me to tell her in front of everyone that in a few months, we will have not one but several pups. Several, not just one. Moon Goddess! One must be a girl who looks exactly like her mother, that is my dearest wish.I keep staring at her dreamily."MATE! Is this the first time you see me? I already know that I am breathtakingly beautiful.” I blink a few times and now see Mercedes looking me sternly in the face with her hands on her hips, bending over. I smile