The Rare Mate

Chapter Two

Zac’s pov

I woke up to the soft morning light creeping through my window. The clock on my bedside table told me that in forty-eight hours or so we would be arriving at the Blackmoon Pack. I was not looking forward to this trip at all. Margarete went with us when we went to the other four packs. This time it’s not safe for her to go, plus we don’t know how Alpha Black would react to us bringing a human with us. 

I know what is going to happen, I am going to go there, interrogate a bunch of people, then determine what is going on. We are investigating them for a couple different reasons. First reason is the fact that they never showed up six weeks ago when we were battling the dragons after they swore to be there. The second reason is because one of Margaret's friends lives there with her mate and she said there was some unfair treatment going on.

She told Margarete that her mate has been demoted in the rankings because he has a human mate. He used to be in the top five warriors, now they have him working on the types of things most omega’s work on. He has been doing yard work mostly and they even refused to let him train one day. She wanted to see if they could transfer to a different pack but Margarete convinced them to stay there until our visit. 

It’s normal to treat some pack members differently, for many reasons, but I guess there is a girl that is regularly being mistreated. If anyone talks to her that isn’t giving an order or a work update gets in trouble. She said that she said hi to her one day and the alpha pulled her and her mate into the office. She was told that if she ever talks to her again she will get the same punishment as everyone else which is lashings. 

We didn’t even know about this girl until halfway through our last trip. Margarete had called to talk to her friend who had just moved into Blackmoon. She was bawling, she said this girl is extremely skinny and not allowed to leave the packhouse for anything but work. My first concern is the investigation, however with pack members being treated like this there is a high chance I will be appointing a new alpha. I know he has a son who has a twin sister, however I do not know if they share the same values as their father. 

“If we find that they will be good to all their pack members and take their oath seriously then appointing him will be simple enough.” Matt, my wolf, said to me.

“I know, but if they are just like their father then that will not be the case and we will have to get the elders together to decide who would be the best suitor for the job.” I told him.

I sat up in my bed pulling the three ring binder full of information on the Blackmoon Pack out of the drawer to my end table. I sighed as I looked at it. “Brother, you look stressed this morning.” I looked up to see Luca standing in my doorway. He leaned against the door frame and was watching me intently. I was surprised to see him already awake, lately he has been staying in bed until almost noon. 

I shook my head, “how long have you been standing there?” I chuckled.

“Hmm, about thirty seconds. Now get up, we have to prepare for our drive there.” I looked at him shocked.

“I thought we were flying.” I said in a huff. I hated driving long distances with a bunch of people.

“No way, no planes, no dragons, no flying of any kind!” He yelled out as he pointed his finger at me. I laughed internally, Luca’s last experience with flying did not go as planned and he was seconds away from death when Endre managed to save him, that was on our first trip to the different packs. 

I held my hands up in surrender, “Okay, no flying. How long of a drive are we talking then?” He looked up at me and bit his lip.

“It will be about a forty hour drive, give or take for bathroom breaks. There will be four SUV’s going.” Well that was a change, we only had enough people to fill one and partially a second.

“Okay, who is all going?” I looked at him surprised that so many people were going with.

“Well there will be you, James, myself, Dad, Grandpa Ryken, and Grandma Sara. The other SUV’s will be filled with warriors.” I nodded my head.

“Why is dad coming?” He stopped leaning against my door frame and walked into my room. “Does he not think I can handle this?” I asked skeptically.

He quickly shook his head, “that’s not it, dad decided he should come just in case he has to get the council involved.” I nodded my head, that makes sense. I haven’t had to fully deal with the council on my own yet.

“Okay, good to know. What do you think they’re hiding?” I asked him curiously.

He shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know, what I do know is that they are indeed hiding things. They told mom that they would be there then didn’t even leave their pack house. Then you add in what Grete’s friend said about that one she-wolf.”  I nodded my head in agreement.

“Do you think he is losing his mind after the loss of his mate?” I asked him.

“In all honesty we won’t know until we get there and actually see what’s going on. It could be a miscommunication, she could be a prisoner who is working for her own freedom. We don’t know how he runs his pack. However if she is or ever was part of his pack and he is treating her that way then he is breaking the law.” I nodded my head when there was another knock on my door.

James walked in and looked between Luca and I, “dude, get up! We need to get our asses in gear loading up the SUV’s. Oh and Luca, you should probably go check on Margarete again, she is kind of freaking out about you leaving.” He nodded his head and left the room leaving James and myself alone. 

“Are you ready for this James?” He shrugged his shoulders, he knew he would become co-alpha. Jace and Emerald did a good job preparing him for the job. Once he is trained he will stay at the pack house and oversee what happens there and I will oversee here. Just like our fathers do now. 

Our fathers have been running without Beta's; they relied on each other to run the pack and only had a few wolves they trusted to help. However James and I both decided we want to have a beta and gamma. The beta will stay here and the gamma will stay at the pack house. 

“I don’t know, I am a little worried about if they know why we are coming. We took a break to come back home before going there. I am sure word has spread about that. What will we say when we get there, plus we are coming with more people.” His tone was worried.

I knew he was right, “we will tell them the truth, we left a few days early because one of our warriors found his mate and wanted a mating ceremony before the next one. Me being future alpha decided that it would be best for myself to perform the ceremony under my fathers supervision.” He nodded his head.

“Well that is true, that did happen but that wasn’t why we left early. We left early so that we could bring Margarete back and prepare better for this pack investigation.” 

I nodded my head and chuckled, “yes but we do not need to tell them that. How is the new couple doing?” 

“They are doing well, she is adjusting really well too. They filed paperwork last night with my father to move into a house outside of the grounds.” He smiled.

“That’s wonderful, they will need their own house soon enough. Did they pick a location?” He shook his head, “that’s okay, they will soon enough. Now let’s get packed up to go. The trip is going to be long and grueling. Especially with Ryken and Sara, they can never keep their hands off of each other for long periods of time.” He laughed and walked out of the room.

I quickly dressed in jeans and a plain dark blue t-shirt, I looked outside and it was sunny even though there was a fresh layer of powder on the ground. I put my dark brown steel toe boots on and pulled my jeans down over their tops. I stood up and looked at my black hair, it was long enough that it would stick up at odd ends. I walked into my bathroom and brushed my teeth, then I grabbed some hair gel and ran my fingers through my hair. I grabbed all my toiletries and tossed them into a bag. I walked out of my bathroom to find one of the omegas making the bed. 

She was the one who always cleaned our rooms for us, she was older and one of the few omegas my mother trusted inside our bedrooms. “I am sorry your highness, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She bowed her head.

“That’s okay Helen, I will grab my bag and be heading out. Could you do me a favor while we are gone though?” I asked her as I walked over to the bed.

“What is it, sir?” She asked with her eyes still on the ground. I gently touched her shoulder and she looked up at me.

“Could you please make sure Margarete and my mother are well taken care of.” I grabbed my bag and picked up the big heavy binder off the end table.

“Absolutely, is there something we should be watching out for?” I could see the worry on her face. 

“Not really, this is going to be a long trip for Margarete and the first time being gone for a while from Luca. Then you know how mother gets, she forgets to eat and things like that. She pours everything she has into the pack and the kingdom but forgets to take care of herself.” I smiled at her.

She let out a soft chuckle, “it would be my pleasure your highness. Please have a safe journey.” She bowed to me as I walked out of the room, I headed over to Luca’s room and could hear Margarete crying. 

I knew she was a badass and crying isn’t really her thing but I could tell she was really upset about Luca leaving. I was going to knock but decided I would talk to him downstairs. In all honesty I would be okay with him staying here if he wanted. 

I turned around just as Dad walked out of his room with Mom on his heels. “Hey son, are you ready to go?” He asked me.

“Yeah, just about. I have a few more things to grab from your office then I think I should be good.”  I said as I shifted the binder in my arms.

“What else do you need?” He asked me with confusion.

“Not much, I just want to grab the binder with the pictures of the Blackmoon Pack.” I stated.

“Wait, the pictures of the pack members or just the pack lands?” He asked me curiously as he raised his eyebrow. 

“Both, the only one Jace included in the binder was the one of the pack house itself. None of the pack members or the lands.” We tried to keep extensive records of every pack, my parents even had set up a transfer system for members so we could keep track of everyone. Each pack was supposed to send at least a list of names to us so that we knew where people were if something happened. 

The reason my parents did that was because when I was a child there was a band of rogues that got together and started kidnapping kids and brainwashing them into thinking they were mates. After they would have a few pups they would kill the mother and raise the kids to be the same way. Because of the lack of information it took four years to finally catch them. When they were caught we learned that they had been at it for over twenty years. 

“That is the only picture Alpha Black was willing to share with us. He refused to give us anything else, he said it was an invasion of his pack members' privacy.” My mother stated in an annoyed tone. 

“What else does he skip out on?” I asked with annoyance.

“Well basically everything, he doesn’t inform us of matings, new pups, threats, any issues like that.” I looked at her confused.

“So he is basically a rogue alpha?” My mother nodded her head, “why are we even investigating then? We should start looking for replacements right away.” I stated as I made my way towards the grand hall. 

“You know it’s more than just replacing the alpha. There are a lot of things to consider, especially since he comes from a long line of alpha’s.” My father said matter of factly as we walked to the hall.

When I walked in the first thing I smelled was the bacon, my mouth started to water. I set my bag and the binder down and made my way towards the buffet table. I grabbed a plate and didn’t hesitate to start loading it up. A high pitched voice echoed through the hall, “wow Zac, you must be so hungry.” I groaned as Felicia walked up to me and gently brushed her hand on my shoulder.

I stiffened and stood up to my fullest height. “I did not give you permission to touch me.” I said in an icy tone. 

She just giggled but didn’t remove her hand, “so when do you guys leave for Blackmoon?” She licked her lips and moved her hand up my shoulder. My stomach turned into a large knot making me feel like puking.

It was common knowledge that we were leaving and going to the Blackmoon pack. Only the higher ups know the real reason. “Soon.” Was all I said before I grabbed my plate and walked back towards the table where my parents were sitting.

I could still feel her eyes on my back and it made my skin crawl. “What was that all about?” My father asked me.

“The normal as of lately,” I took a bite of my hashbrowns and looked back at my dad. “Why did you accept the transfer? She is a horrible person, Matt wants to just rip her to shreds.” I growled.

He let out a sigh, “it was a favor for Lincoln, she is his cousin and she started causing problems with the other higher ups. He was hoping she would find her mate here and then he could take her back.” I dropped my head shaking it.

“I know that, but why this pack?” I asked, then shoved a big piece of bacon into my mouth.

“I know son, unfortunately this is part of being an alpha. You know this, if you would like I could give her an alpha command to leave the high ranking wolves alone.” Luca walked into the room and his eyes caught sight of Felicia and he glared at her.

She has only been here about three weeks and we have been home for four days. In those four days she has made multiple wolves angry. She first went after Luca, Margarete put a stop to that pretty quickly with the threat of killing her slowly with a silver blade and wolfsbane. 

She also tried to go after Endre, until he damn near spit fire at her. She has been flirting with Jace, my Dad, Jeremy, James, basically anyone who is above most other wolves. She is currently trying to get to me, she learned yesterday I don’t have a mate yet and has been throwing herself at me. 

“Luca, how long until we leave?” Ryken asked him as he walked up. 

“One hour, they’re working on loading up the vehicles right now.” He said as he started walking towards the buffet table. 

Ryken turned to my father, “Sara is thinking about staying behind as well. With how upset Margarete is about this new she-wolf she thinks she should stick here and keep an eye on her. She doesn’t trust this new one, and she doesn’t trust Margarete to not carry out her threat.” He said loud enough for just us to hear. 

“That might not be a bad idea, I know Margarete has MItchell to protect her but I  wouldn’t put it past him to help her carry out any of her threats. I also think someone should watch her. I don’t like the idea of leaving the pack here with just one Alpha on site.” I said.

“Sean said they could step in and oversee the pack house and help where needed while we are gone.” Ryken said just as Sean walked in the room. He quickly looked around and then caught sight of my dad. 

“Hey, we have a slight problem.” He said in a hushed whisper. He motioned for us to follow him, I grabbed my bag and plate as dad grabbed the binder. We followed him out to the garden. We walked through the maze to the center. Once we rounded to the other side of the fountain I saw Endre and Asyra. 

“How is this a problem?” I was surprised to see my sister. She smiled and walked over to hug my dad. I giggled when I saw her go on her tiptoes and noticed she was barefoot. 

“Us being here isn’t the problem, the news we have is the problem.” My fathers face turned grimm. 

“What news?” Ryken asked as he also bent down to hug Asyra.

“We located Galvin.” Asyra said sadly. 

“Well that’s good isn’t it?” Luca’s voice rang out through the maze. Asyra’s eyes gleamed and she ran over to him. Their bond has only been getting stronger these last couple weeks.

“It’s good that we now know where he is, but where he is explains a lot and could cause you all further issues.” I could feel the knot forming in my stomach again, “he is at Blackmoon.” 

“f**k!” My father swore loudly.