#1 The Rise of the Crescent Moon

Chapter 26: August

I led Josie through the packhouse to the main hall where I knew a crowd was already forming. Ethan and Hayden had mindlinked me, letting me know that word was spreading about the future Luna, and the pack was coming together in the front hall. I told them to inform the pack that I was going to be introducing my mate but they needed to stay composed and not overwhelm her or there would be hell to pay.

I could feel Josie’s nerves rolling off her in waves. Her hand was sweaty and shaking, and her heart was about ready to beat out of her chest. I tried to calm her down, sending her the feelings of confidence and pride that I had in her.

We could hear the pack before we could see them. Their voices rumbled through the packhouse. I squeezed Josie’s hand and she smiled up at me. I watched her take a deep breath as we walked through the double doors that gave way to the main hall. Silence fell over the pack who were all squeezed into the packhouse. All eyes were on us as we moved to stand in the front of the room.

“Obviously you have all heard the rumor and I’m here to tell you that it’s true. I have found my mate and your future Luna! I am beyond happy and proud to introduce to you someone who is very familiar with our pack, Josephine Taylor.” The entire room erupted into applause. Josephine smiled as she looked around the room. I held my hand up, silencing the room once more.

“Josephine is an emergency medicine doctor at our hospital and she returns to us from New York City. Most of you will remember Alpha Johnathan Valentine….” I paused, watching the older members of our pack nod in recognition,

“Josie is Alpha Johnathan’s daughter.” Gasps and expressions of shock could be heard all throughout the room. Even those who don’t remember Alpha Jonathan because of their age or those who were new to the pack knew the story of the Valentines.

“Josephine and her brother Jared survived the attack on the Valentine family and have been living amongst the humans since then. Jared abdicated his right to Alpha prior to Alpha Johnathan’s death and Josephine was born a human. Fear for their own safety kept them away.” I wanted to ensure that the pack knew there was a reason that Josephine and Jared stayed away, and that they weren’t turning their backs on the pack or being selfish. I watched as the pack members mumbled amongst themselves and gave them time to digest the information.

“Josephine is human, yes, but she was trained as an Alpha’s daughter. She understands our culture and way of life, and she has the ability to lead and protect us. She will not be underestimated and she will be respected….” My Alpha voice began to come out as I threatened the pack against disrespecting my mate. Josie stepped forward and interrupted me,

“Wait, hold on,” She grabbed my arm and forced me into silence. The entire packhouse was shocked,

“Did you just threaten them to like me?” She raised her eyebrows at me, pressing her lips together, and I knew I was in trouble.

“No….” I lied. I heard a chuckle move through the crowd. Josie shook her head and spoke to the pack.

“I don’t expect you to trust me right away; I have to earn it and that’s okay. All I ask is that you give me a chance to earn it. My family left the pack, the reasoning doesn’t really matter, the point is we left and I know that hurts. I think the best man for the job is your Alpha, and I couldn’t be more proud to be his mate and the future Luna.” Josie’s voice bled with confidence, her own Luna voice sneaking through. I was beaming with pride at my mate and I could feel the love and acceptance pouring from the pack. She had already won them over.

The pack cheered and then I dismissed them. In a mindlink, I threatened them with extra training if they even thought about crowding around my mate. I leaned down and whispered into Josie’s ear,

“You did amazing. They are all obsessed with you.” I kissed the soft spot under her ear and felt her shiver against me. She bit her lip, hiding a smile. I snatched up her hand and led her through the packhouse.

“You didn’t live here, did you?” I asked her. She shook her head,

“I spent time here, but no we didn’t live here. We stayed in the cabin. My father didn’t want me around all the wolves.” She rolled her eyes. I smirked at her attitude as we approached the steps.

“Well, I do live here but we don’t have to, if you would rather stay in the cabin.” I said as we climbed the staircase.

“You would do that?” She looked at me sideways and I smiled,

“I would do anything to make you happy.” I shrugged.

“We don’t have to make any decisions now, but I wanted to show you where we would stay, if you wanted to.” I said. Josie nodded.

After a few moments we arrived on the third floor where the Alpha and Luna quarters were. At the top of the steps there was the option to go left or right, a single door on either end of a short hallway. On the other side of the door to the right was a common room filled with comfy furniture and an entertainment system. There were four doors off the common room that led to standard bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, for the future children of the Alpha and Luna. The door to the left accessed our quarters.

I pushed up the door and led Josie into our room. I had been living here since my father stepped down from being Alpha but had made little attempt at personalizing the room, a tradition of the most recent Alphas. My father never changed the room, knowing he wasn’t going to be Alpha for very long and having no desire to change the room. Alpha Johnathan kept the room a masculine environment considering his family never stayed here.

The walls were a deep maroon and the furniture was all made of a deep walnut; the floor and trims were stained to match. The bed and sofa were finished with navy blue accents. Inside the room there was a large bed, a sitting area that contained a small sofa and chair along with a coffee table and bookshelf, and three doors. One door led to a bathroom and the other two were his and hers walk in closets.

I looked at Josie who was standing in the middle of the room taking it all in. I was nervous about her reaction. I wanted her to feel at home here. I was hoping she would want to stay here and use her cabin as a getaway, but I was willing to do whatever she needed. If I had to commute to the packhouse everyday, I would.

“You haven’t changed a thing.” She whispered. I walked up beside her,

“What?” I wasn’t sure I heard her correctly. She looked up at me,

“You haven’t changed anything about the room.” She said, I was surprised.

“I didn’t realize that you’ve been in here before.” I replied. She nodded slowly,

“Just once.” She said, looking off into the distance.

“My father never changed anything because he knew he wouldn’t be here long and I wanted to wait to change anything.” Josie returned to the moment and made eye contact with me,

“Wait for what?” She asked. I smirked at her,

“You, of course.” She blinked in shock.

“Me?” She said, her voice going up in pitch like it always did when she was embarrassed or unsure.

“I wanted my mate to decorate it however she wanted to. I wanted it to be a clean slate for her,” I pinched her chin,

“For you.” She smiled softly at me and looked down towards the ground, too embarrassed to meet my gaze. I shook my head at her and gave her a quick kiss before walking away.

“You know,” Josie started talking, walking across the room and towards the bed,

“At the cabin, I haven’t slept in a bed since I got here.” She ran her hand across the blue blanket. She lifted her gaze from the bed and met mine,

“I haven’t been able to. I can’t bring myself to sleep in my old bed and there’s no way I can sleep in my parents’. I’ve been living in the living room.” She admitted. I had noticed her suitcase was in the living room and I always found her on the couch, but I hadn’t wanted to say anything and upset her.

“I want the cabin to be home but I can’t stand being there.” She said quietly. I closed the distance between us, grabbing her hands in mine,

“There’s no rush to do anything, you have to heal at your own pace, Jo.” I assured her, squeezing her hands.

“I don’t have a home, August.” Josie frowned.

“Of course you do,” I smiled at her, dropping one of her hands to cup her face,

“Your home is with me just as my home is wherever you are. I don’t care where we live, Josie, as long as I’m with you. But, I would love for you to stay here with me whenever you want.” I ran my thumb across her cheek, outlining her dimples as she smiled.

“I love you.” she whispered against my lips as I pulled her body closer to mine.

“I love you, too, Jo.” I melted at her confession and lost myself in her, pushing her back and onto the bed.