Banished by the Alpha

Ricky

Lucas POV

            As soon as we arrive back at the pack house, I head to my office to find Ricky Slate already standing there waiting for me. I’m grateful for his promptness, he’s a good pack member but he also was one of Corinthia’s best friends before I forced her to leave the pack with her family. He will be the perfect mediator until I can get her back on pack grounds to speak to her myself.

            “I have an important job for you Ricky and I think you will really enjoy it.”

            “Oh, what do you need me to do Alpha?”

            “I want you to go visit your old friend Cory and her family. My mom has kept tabs on them the last few years and I need you to convince them to come home, to the pack.”

            “Why would I do that? Are you going to do something to them? I…I mean I’m loyal to you Alpha but Cory was one of my closest friends.”

            “No, no, nothing like that. I need a mediator. It seems they are all very afraid of me directly and I discovered today that Corinthia is my long-awaited mate.”

            “Cory is your mate?! Yes, Alpha, I will leave immediately.”

            Everyone used to think that Ricky and Cory would be mates when they turned 18, but Ricky had found his mate, Annette, shortly after his birthday last month. She was a quiet, pretty girl who complimented his slightly obnoxious, over-the-top personality perfectly. I knew that his birthday was a difficult thing for him anymore since he always celebrated with Corinthia and finding Annette at least gave him a happy distraction this year.

            After finalizing the plan and getting the address programmed into the SUV Ricky was going to take, we discussed what he was going to say and that he had to keep in contact with me the entire time he was gone. He shrugged and said he would be to far away to mind link and being on his cell phone the whole time would be extremely rude. I agreed and we settled on him updating me every hour, I couldn’t wait anymore than that. Granite was already mad at me for the approach I was taking since he wanted us to go ourselves. He didn’t care if it scared the living tar out of them if we showed up and tried to claim Corinthia for ourselves.

            I convinced him that this needed a little more finesse than what he wanted since her human form needed to agree to come as well and while he dismally agreed, he certainly didn’t like my proposal. We agreed that if it took more than two days to get her by our side, we would drive out there ourselves.

Cory POV

            I sat in the corner of the living room trying to look invisible while Ricky filled my family in on why Alpha Lucas had sent him. It started easily enough with Lucas feeling guilty for our banishment and that he had rushed into it. But when Ricky turned and looked at me, I knew what was coming.

            “Cory, I think you should tell them the other reason why Alpha Lucas wants you all to come back to the pack.” He looks hopeful as he gives me the opportunity to tell my family the news so he doesn’t have to.

            I decide it would be better coming from me after all and recant the happenings of my day at the mall with Emily. She acts as if I hadn’t already told her all of it. I tell them I knew before I saw his face that I had found my mate but ran scared when I realized who he was. My mom kind of chuckles at my panic since she understood what it’s like to be mated to an Alpha with a foreboding reputation. At least mom seemed to be in good humor about things. I hoped my dad and brothers would follow. If I’m his mate he wouldn’t hurt my family, would he? If he did, I would have to reject him and it was painful to run from him, I couldn’t imagine how much pain I would cause myself if I had to reject him.

            Don’t even consider such nonsense. Opal sneers in my head.

            He was so handsome and his body, I wanted to do things to it and let him do things to mine. He was my mate and he was built like a Greek god with scruff. I wanted his scruff rubbing on my skin and his kisses to trail across my body. I wanted to make him pant like I did just thinking about him.

            Dad clears his throat, bringing me back from my inappropriate daydream, “We would need to set up a meeting with the Alpha to agree on some ground rules. Otherwise I think Connor may try to challenge him the second we cross into pack territory.”

            Ricky agreed and his phone started to chime. He apologized and explained he was supposed to check in with the Alpha every hour and had missed his mark while talking with us. He tuned to answer his phone and was promptly yelled at. He let himself be chewed out for a moment before he explained that all was going smoothly and a meeting was being discussed for Alpha Lucas and my father and oldest brother. That he had let me tell them about us being mates and they had seemed to take it all in stride so far. Alpha Lucas seemed please enough and let Ricky get back to his job of being a mediator for him.  Now to figure out when we were to go back to the pack house and rejoin the pack.