Belonging To The Luna

Return To Deep Fang

As I had expected, my contact was able to push through the council’s approval of Sloan as the new Alpha of Deep Fang. The character statements Shanna had gathered were overwhelmingly in favor of my mate. Sloan chalked it up to the usual bureaucratic crap the council got up to, but something about how easy it had been to push through didn’t sit right with me. My contacts in the council couldn’t tell me who or what was behind the delays before my involvement, but they did tell me that Gregory Lamont hadn’t been seen or heard from since his father abdicated his position as Alpha. I wasn’t sure if it was paranoia or something else, but after my reading at Sookie’s, the news unsettled me.

I worked quickly to make arrangements for my clients to be handled by others in my firm. If I decided to make the move to Deep Fang permanent, I would need to name partners to keep the firm running in my absence. I wasn’t totally sure what was required of a Luna, but I couldn’t imagine the workload being light enough to allow me to spend most of my time in New York. My clients and employees were all thrilled for me. My clients because I had found my mate and wouldn’t be a rogue much longer; my employees over the chance to prove themselves to the boss.

“Ready to go?” Sloan asked as I made my way from my bedroom with the last of my suitcases.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I sighed.

“Your firm is capable of handling things in your absence, and I promise you things will be better at Deep Fang in the pack.”

I forced a tight smile on my face and followed him to his car. It was a rental, but he didn’t think it would be wise to try and cram my entire apartment into my jag. He had consented to chartering a jet, though that had taken some convincing. I had done well enough in the last three years to afford it, and I was desperate to make the return as comfortable as possible for myself. I didn’t need to risk strangers gawking if my nerves got the better of me.

The three-hour flight felt like an eternity in purgatory. Sloan tried his best to calm my nerves, telling me about his reception as new Alpha to the pack. As much as he tried to understand, he just didn’t/ Both of his parents were wolves, and he was exactly what an Alpha should look like—tall, tightly coiled muscles along every part of his exposed body, and devastatingly handsome. I was none of those things. None of his assurances changed the fact that the pack’s reaction to my return as Luna would set the tone for my future with them.

I was relieved when we finally pulled into pack territory. Our arrival in Deep Fang meant that I could finally face things head-on rather than continue the wild imagining that had started during our flight. The small town was quiet as we made our way to the packhouse. It seemed that life had gone on as usual after I left. Part of me was saddened to see it and know that I hadn’t left an impact with my leaving.

Just when I thought my feelings about returning couldn’t get any worse, we were met by Marissa in the packhouse lobby. She was dressed in a mesh top layered over a hot pink bra, a skin-tight miniskirt, and f**k me pumps. A shade of hooker red was painted on her smiling lips, and her hair was teased to high heaven. She looked like something straight out of an eighties flashback, and her eyes were glued to my mate.

“Sloan. I’m so glad you’re home.” She giggled, sliding her hand up his arm. “It’s been so lonely without you.”

“Marissa.” Sloan growled, peeling her hands off of him. “This is my mate, Jaz.”

“Oh goodness me.” She gasped, pressing her hands to her chest in faux surprise. “I didn’t realize you had found your mate. Let alone our own miss Jazzy.”

She pranced over to me, embracing me as I stood stiffly. I wondered if she realized how transparent her fake niceties were or if she had managed to fool Sloan. For his part, my mate looked beyond irritated with her presence.

“We absolutely must get coffee and catch up sometime.” She smiled, pulling away from me. “It’s so nice to have you home. I’ll get out of your hair and let you two love birds get settled in. I’m just so embarrassed. I could die.”

We watched as she pranced out of the packhouse, feigning happiness for us and embarrassment for hitting on a mated wolf.

“I am so glad I didn’t return mate-less.” Sloan breathed. “That woman is a piece of work.”

“You mean, you didn’t fall for her southern charms before you met me?” I laughed as his face scrunched into one of disgust.

“If by charms you mean power chasing, absolutely not. She’s not nearly as subtle or enticing as she thinks.”

I followed Sloan through the packhouse as he pulled my luggage along behind him. He had explained to me en route that he was currently living in the old Alpha’s quarters. He intended to find a suitable piece of land on the border of his original pack and Deep Fang to build his new house on. He needed to stay in Deep Fang territory to settle the pack and deal with an issue that had been plaguing the border for decades.

“I’m sorry the place is such a mess.” He said as we made our way into the Alpha quarters. “Maxwell used to have one of the omega’s clean for him, but being the new Alpha, I’ve been too busy to find someone I’m comfortable having in my space.”

“Are you always so suspicious of omegas, or does this have something to do with the issues on the border?” I asked, taking in the disarray of the living area.

“Mostly the border. I plan to pursue a treaty with Alpha Henry. Maxwell never said what the problem was between them, but it led to the severely dwindling numbers here. The attacks from Henry’s pack have slowed since I took over, but for such a long-standing feud to exist, there’s most likely someone here that has been helping fuel the fire.”

“I see. Well, the good news is your mate is an excellent cook and knows how to keep house.” I chuckled. “I’m also a lawyer. A good deal of my job involves finding the truth. I would be more than happy to vet all of the omegas in the pack and see if we can’t get things running like they should.”

“You know.” Sloan murmured. “I know you were nervous about coming back here, but you’re a natural at this Luna business.”

“We’ll have to see about that.” I laughed. “Now show me to my room, Alpha.”