The Youngest Luna

Chapter 3

"What, which one" Jess replied in shock

"Dante" I replied.

Her mouth dropped open. "Are you serious?"

"Yeeep", I replied elongating the word and popping the P.

That was all it took for her to get lost in a flurry of excited babble.

"Layla, he's f*****g gorgeous, and a warrior. Your parents will be happy about that, how are you not more excited about this" she carried on and on.

"Still processing it I think" I said quietly.

She must of realised my uncertainty because she stopped talking.

"You don't like him?" she asked.

"Yeh, I mean, he seems nice enough, and your right he looks like a fricken God, but I don't know him. I want to get to know him. It just wasn't how I imagined meeting my mate would go, you know." I said with a shrug

"That's why you were doing your makeup and acting all weird tonight", she said as she started to put things together.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything straight away, but please don't tell anyone" I said

"I thought the mate bond was meant to be so strong you can't resist each other, and want to stake your claim so everyone knows they are yours" she said clearly confused about my desire to keep it secret

"Me too" I said with a sigh.

She gave me an even more confused look.

"Don't get me wrong, I felt it. The urge to jump his bones and mark him was crazy strong, but I don't think I made a very good first impression, cause he didn't seem like he was fighting any urges what so ever"

"Babe", Jess started, "maybe he was just as nervous as you. You'll get a second chance at a better impression tomorrow and I'm sure it will feel way better"

"I hope so" I said as my voice trailed off

We both lay there in silence for a while before Jess being Jess had to break it.

"Soo .....what are you going to where tomorow"

"I don't know" I moaned, burying my face in the pillow.

We chatted about outfits back and forth for a while before we were both too tired to keep our eye open and drifted off to sleep.

Dante POV

"Soo, your mate huh" Carl said, slapping me on the back as we walked back to our hotel for the night. "Congratulations"

"Yeh", I laughed awkwardly, "thanks"

"I'm a bit confused though I thought the mate bond was meant to have you ripping each other's clothes off pretty fast it was so strong" asked Alex

I had to laugh.

"Trust me if I thought she was down for that I would of had her back at our hotel Soo fast. But I got the impression she was a bit unsure about it all. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable" I replied.

"Well you've got a week in her pack so I'm sure you'll find plenty of time to get to know each other" he said with a wiggle of his brows

"f**k I hope so man, she's gorgeous and if her personality is anything like her body I'm Soo screwed" I laughed nervously. "I'm just not sure why she was so hesitant".

"Why didn't you want them to know your rank though", Carl asked,

"Seemed like a good idea at the time, wanted to see what they were like, what she was like, without knowing who I was. You've seen how it is man, some she wolves are position hungry and would be all over an unmated ranked male, and others would run a mile, not wanting that kind of pressure and responsibility. So I wanted a chance to at least talk to her first"

I started to change the subject, "Hey, dont you think her friend Jess..."

"Is a perfect match for James", Carl interrupted me

"Yes"! I exclaimed

We all laughed,

"I was thinking the same thing. We might have to instigate a meeting in the near future. But let's not tell James that, he's got enough on his cards looking after the pack while we are away."

Carl and Alex were my top warriors, and good mates. We grew up together in our pack, and James was our pack Beta. His father was Beta before him and stepped down when my father died and I became Alpha. Saying it was important I had someone close to me to take that role. James had stayed behind to look after the pack while I was at the conference.

We got back to our hotel and went to our seperate rooms. But I couldn't sleep. I just kept running the night through my head. Seeing my mates beautiful face. I was definitely looking forward to getting to know her over the next week, but hoped she wouldn't be pissed I didn't tell her who I was.

Layla POV

The next morning both Jess and I were dragging our feet until we got some coffee into us at breakfast.

"Starting to regret that night out girls" my brother Brandon teased as he sat down to breakfast.

"how are you this chipper" asked Jess.

"It's the Alpha blood" Brandon said with a confident sigh.

I burst out laughing,

"your Soo full of it. If it's Alpha blood why am I so tired."

Brandon shrugged,

"well your probably about 3 coffees behind me".

"Noted" I said as I stood to go grab some more coffee from the kitchen.

After breakfast Jess and I went back to our rooms to get ready for the day. I was nervous about seeing Dante again, but was trying to distract myself by focusing on the days tasks.

I had checked in with the Omegas to make sure all the guests rooms where ready, confirmed the lunch and dinner arrangements with the kitchen, and reported back to my mother who was frantically trying to finalise who knows what. She was the most organised person I knew so I had no idea why she was stressing.

It was just after 10 when I got the mind link that the first of the guest were starting to arrive, so I quickly shot up to my room to get changed before making my way out to the front of the pack house.

"Looking good girl", Jess linked me as we met out front.

As part of the Alpha family I would be front and centre greeting the arriving packs, while Jess was helping host, showing Alphas to their assigned rooms and the likes.

"Layla", both my mum and Sister said with an air of confusion

"Yes" I replied

"You look lovely dear...thank you for changing out of your workout gear. It's important the Alpha family makes a good impression" my mother started.

She was always on about conducting ourselves in a way that represented an Alpha family.

My sister smiled at me as I rolled my eyes behind our mums back.

"Really isn't like you to dress up though sis" Claire said.

I had opted for a boho style summer dress. The hem sat just above the knee and it was floaty and flowy with a few lace details. The neckline showed off my collarbone and overall it was a dress I felt confident in and that's something I needed when seeing my mate again.

"Saves me a lecture" I whispered back to Claire.

"I heard that" my mother mind-linked us both.

"How is our baby this morning" I said as I reached out to rub Claire's growing belly.

"Playing kickball with my bladder" she complained.

I laughed and screwed up my face

"Yeh, have fun with that" I said.

"It'll be you one day" she replied.

Just then a car pulled up and an Alpha and Luna got out, followed by two warriors.

Claire, her mate Tim, Brandon and I stood next to our parents to greet them.

With Claire being so heavily pregnant she wouldn't be doing much for the conference. But she had insisted on being there to help welcoming the guest.

As each packs Alpha, and Luna (if they were mated) arrived, accompanied by 2 of their warriors, my parents would greet them, introduce our family and then they would be escorted up to their rooms by what mum had called our hosts. Made up of some Omegas, Jess and some of our female warriors.

My mum had designated Jess and myself as being in charge of making sure all our hosts did a great job and all our guests needs were taken care of.

By some of the looks our females were giving the various warriors I picked that instruction might be taken a little too figuratively.