The Luna is a Royal Guardsman

Alone time with Alpha Cole

All the men stood up and gathered near the door. They shook hands and congratulated each other for coming to a great agreement. I looked over to Becca and Tia and rolled my eyes hard. They gave back an understanding wry grin and shook their heads. Men. I reached up and held my locket. I rubbed the moonstone, and the reality of what I agreed to set in. I wonder how he would’ve felt about this. I resisted the urge to open up my locket and look at the picture inside.

“Min,” a deep voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see Alpha Meyers offering his hand to me. I stood up on my own, and I saw a flash of hurt in his eyes. At least, what I thought was hurt. I might have imagined it.

“Yes, Alpha Meyers. What can I do for you?” I asked cautiously.

“Can you spare a little time to show me around your pack lands?” he asked gently. “I would like to get to know you better. And please call me Cole.”

I looked at Chris and my Dad. They both nodded encouragingly. I gave a silent plea for help with my eyes, which they promptly pretended not to see.

“I suppose,” I sighed deeply. "Follow me.”

“I’m going to stay here for a bit. Head back without me," he commands his entourage. He turns back to me with a wide smile. "Okay, let’s go.”

I nodded and led him out of the conference room and through the packhouse. We exited through the back door in awkward silence. I really didn't know what to talk about with this man. It was then I realized I agreed to mate a man I didn’t know anything about other than basic information. The background check showed that he was an Alpha for a modestly large pack of 748 pack members. But compared to Crystal Falls' 3,563 members, it was tiny. Our territories were comparable in their physical vastness, but Crystal Falls has sent a request to the High Counsel of Wolves to expand to accommodate our growing population. In the background check, there was no mention of any rebellion in the last 50 years, no recent deadly rogue attacks that resulted in more than 2 deaths of pack members, or complaints from any of the Lycan Nobles. It seemed on paper that Bloodstone pack was a relatively peaceful pack with no real impact on the Werewolf or Lycan society.

As for the man himself, other than basic information, not much is on record about him. He became the Alpha of the Bloodstone pack when his father fell while helping a territory dispute between an allied pack and another. The war was won by the Bloodstone side but at the cost of their Alpha and a few members. His mother died a few months later due to the mate bond breaking. It was curious that Alpha Cole Meyer received his title at 26 years of age, instead of the traditional 18 when the older Alpha would step down. I wonder if it was due to him not finding his fated mate. But then again, my pack was far from traditional, and Chris got his title at 22. Mostly because Dad had encouraged him to go to University for his bachelor's in business management and minor in sociology.

“You cut your hair,” commented Alpha Cole, suddenly cutting through the awkwardness. He reached out to brush a leaf out of the bangs hanging over the left side of my forehead. I jerked my head back to avoid contact with his hand. I brushed the leaf out of my own. Again, I thought I saw a glint of hurt. It must be my imagination.

“Umm...yes. Yes, I did. I got tired of getting caught on things. Besides, short hair is more tactical and convenient,” I explained. I actually got my hair cut 2 days after I arrived back in Crystal Falls. Every time my hair felt like it was being pulled by something, I would see flashes of the Crown Prince’s Feral Lycan Beast on that day. It was better to chop off my hair than be constantly triggered by my hair catching on things. I opted for the undercut pixie that left my hair shaved at the neckline and long bangs on the left side of my face. I’ve never had my hair this short ever in my life, but I couldn’t afford to have constant panic attacks.

“It’s a shame. I thought the way your loose curls hung down looked like chocolate silk ribbons,” he said wistfully. Hmm… seems like this Alpha has a soft side to him. “My mother used to sew and embellish things with ribbons. It kind of reminded me of how they would hang curled from the rack.”

“It’s hair. It’ll grow back.” I shrugged nonchalantly. It’s been what I’ve been saying every time I run my fingers through my now short hair.

We continued out of the backyard and into the driveway. I was at a loss for where to start. The territory had a lot of buildings and businesses for our pack members. We even allowed our pack members to own human franchises on our lands. Not every werewolf or Lycan understands our modernization efforts, so I felt I should avoid the downtown area of our pack. Suddenly, I had an idea that would either blow up in my face or maybe work to my advantage.

“Hop in,” I said to Alpha Cole, opening the door to my 1968 Shelby GT500KR Mustang. I clamped my lips together to keep from laughing while Alpha Cole was trying to figure out how to fit his 6’6 frame into my muscle car. I pulled open the top of my convertible to allow him more room to maneuver.

“So do you like guns?” I ask when we settle in and take off down the road.

“I can’t say I do, but I have never used one before,” he said sheepishly.

“Then I’m assuming your pack doesn’t have a gun range.” I said, thinking ahead of our arrangement.

“That would be correct. There really isn’t a need for us to use guns,” he said. “Still, I’m open to trying new things.”

We arrive at an unassuming one-story gray building on the outskirts of the town. I grin big at the middle-aged wolf behind the counter inside. I take in one of my favorite smells of CPL oil. There was a cold tang of metals in the air too.

“This is our armorer, James Jackson. He’s the brother of our Beta Tia Jackson.” I introduced him. “James, this is my soon-to-be mate, Alpha Cole Meyers.”

“Good for you, girl. I was wondering when some wolf would sweep you off your feet,” said James as he sized up Alpha Cole. “Looks like you got a strong one here. I hope he can keep up with you.”

I could see the mild irritation on Alpha Cole’s face. I smirked at James, who was acting like he didn’t notice. Zeus, I’m going to miss his sass. As one of the few Black werewolves, he had sass to spare.

“We’ll see. It was a match made by the Oracle. We have just finalized the agreement,” I replied simply because it was just that simple.

“Match or not. If he doesn’t keep you happy, you know all of this pack and all of the Royal Guard will gladly invade his territory just to neuter him,” James said without a care. James gave Alpha a one-eyed look up and down. He was the complete opposite of his sister Tia. Tia was reserved but fierce when needed to be. James, on the other hand, spoke his mind and had a mouth that got him into trouble.

Alpha Cole opened his mouth to say something but stopped. I could see the rage building behind his eyes and the veins on his forehead popping out. I, on the other hand, wondered if testicles would grow back on a werewolf if they were removed. I gave James a silent warning to behave after a second. James just shrugged his shoulders.

“I want to keep things light today. How about Ol’ Faithful and the Sig P938?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from my soon-to-be mate's scrotum. James gave me a knowing smile. I knew he was failing at trying to keep his face straight. I swear the man had no poker face.

“Sure thing, Addie,” he replied with a hint of mirth. “Just make sure you go over the safety procedures with him before he starts shooting. Can’t have an Alpha from another pack shoot his own foot. I hate for the agreement to break over an accident.”

Without seeing Alpha Cole's reaction, James saunters to the back of the armory. He comes back with my M16 and my Sig. I open the cases and inspect each weapon. I give a satisfied nod to James. He then fills a small bucket with 9mm rounds for the Sig and 5.56mm for the M16. I hand the bucket of bullets to Alpha Cole and pick up the 2 cases from the counter.

We walked out of the armory and to the outdoor range next door. Thankfully, no one was here yet. I set the cases on the table and started loading the magazines. While I did that, I went over the safety rules of the range. After I was done, I handed him a pair of ear muffs that he looked at quizzically.

“Guns are loud. And though our healing abilities will keep us from becoming deaf when we blow out our eardrums, it’s pretty unpleasant given our sensitive hearing,” I explained as I donned on mine. I went over the safety checks and clipped the magazine into my rifle. I took off my jacket, and he did as well. He started rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt, but I stopped him with a shake of my head. I explained aiming and lining up the sights as I zeroed in the M16. The entire time, he did not say a word and almost seemed like he was seething for some reason or another.

I handed him the M16 after I showed him how to shoulder it. I positioned his feet and told him to shoot. He squeezed off a few rounds cautiously and then began rapidly firing the entire magazine. We brought up the target, and I started circling his grouping.

“Not bad for a first timer. If you adjusted for the wind, you would’ve hit dead center,“ I explained as I would with any trainee. “You got nicely tight groupings here. With a little more practice you’ll be shooting like an expert soon.”

He just grunted in agreement as he handed me back the rifle. I was really starting to get annoyed by this weird silent treatment. I shook my head and loaded the magazine for the Sig. I explained the hold and the stance for a pistol. I zeroed in the Sig as well, since it’s been a while since I shot it. I prefer heftier guns, but it’s a good training pistol. I reloaded and handed over the Sig to Alpha Cole.

I had to stifle a giggle as I realized how comically tiny this pistol looked in his giant hands. He seemed lost on how to hold it. Hmm… maybe I should switch it for something heavier. He managed to position his hands on the pistol and fired a few rounds. Then he emptied his magazine again. This time the groupings were all over the place. He looked at the target with frustration.

“Do you enjoy making a fool of me?” He asks, handing me back the Sig. I could see him barely reigning in his temper.

“I assure you I didn’t do that on purpose. The P938 is what I normally train my guards with since they will be carrying pistols of a similar size. It’s easy to conceal. I did not take into account the size of your hands,” I replied earnestly. “I’ll go back and have James exchange this for something with more heft.”

“I’m sure you’d love to talk to James again,” he grumbled.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked with a scowl. I did not like where this conversation was heading.

“You seem to enjoy flirting with lower-ranked wolves. Or do you enjoy hearing jabs at me?” he accused.

“Odin’s eye,” I cursed softly. I took a deep breath in, trying hard not to rip him a new one as I did with my men when they mess up. “I was not flirting with James. He is an old family friend and has been like a second older brother. You could say he’s been more of an older brother to me than Chris because of his maturity level, although barely. He’s also an alumnus of the Elite squad. We were in the squad together and also fought in the Great Demon War together. He’s overprotective because he was there when I lost my first mate and when my second chance rejected me. “

“So you do have a history with him. Did you go crying into his arms every time you needed comfort?" he mocked.

“History… James is gay. Not only that, but he’s marked and mated,” I declared, frustrated with this Alpha possessiveness.

“That may be, but you were giving my Gamma eyes and a flirty smile too.” He accused again. For the love of Aphrodite, he couldn't be serious.

“Are you shitting me? What kind of slut do you think I am? Do you seriously think I was brazenly ogling another male during negotiations for my mating? Ugh, Beelzebub’s butthole!” I cursed loudly this time. “I only smiled at your gamma because his demeanor reminded me of someone I once knew. Plus, he was the only one not voicing his opinion about the capabilities of my uterus or about what is expected of me as a Luna.”

I stared at him, daring him to say another word. Yup, we’re really off to a great start. I heard a cough off to the side, and I turned to see who it was. Chris and Dad casually walked up to us with silly grins on their faces. They are going to tease me so much about this. I shook my head at the timing of their arrival.

“You’re really brave to accuse a woman of being loose while she’s holding a gun, Alpha Meyers,” jokes Chris. I looked at him with exasperation. He always knows what to say to fan the flames. Alpha Cole sighed and gave me another hard look. Stubborn like most Alphas, I didn’t expect an apology from him. I just huffed and started packing up the firearms.

“I need to talk to my daughter. Maybe we should call it a day. My son can drive you back to the packhouse,” said Dad diplomatically. Alpha Cole nodded in agreement and followed Chris to his SUV. I snorted a little, thinking that at least he wouldn't have to squeeze into that car. Dad gives me a questioning look, but I just shake my head. We take my firearms back into the armory and hand them to James. He gave me a smart look when I walked in with my dad. Jerk.