Blue Moon Alpha

The Naked Moose

Caroline

Sitting in her car two blocks away from the Naked Moose bar, Caroline was starting to question the advisability of her decision to consider the King’s offer. She had always been on her own and knew in her heart that it was for the best. She had arrived thirty minutes prior and circled the block to ensure she was not being followed. When she had not spotted anyone following, she pulled into this spot to wait for the meeting.

After their conversation last night, Marcia discovered that the supernaturals that had attacked her the previous night had set up outside her apartment to try and see who came and went. She was sure they were trying to intercept a real shifter of another hacker. Since no one was ever allowed to visit her home, they had yet to find someone, but she knew that soon they would get impatient, and then they would be knocking on her door again. And this time, she might not survive.

Looking at her watch, she noticed it was only a few minutes before eight. It was time. Stepping out of her car, she lifted the hood on her sweatshirt higher to disguise her face. She had a bag containing her laptop and backup drives on her shoulder. Knowing that her apartment was unsafe, she started carrying them around with her. If someone broke in, all they would find would be her ghost computer. Filled with pictures of trips, cat videos, social media, and other mundane things, it would only convince them that she was not who they were looking for.

Taking a deep breath, she started walking towards the entrance. The deck outside the bar was full of people laughing and enjoying the cool night air. The closer she got, the worse she felt about this meeting. It was not the right time, and she was not the right person for the job. The King needed someone that was not afraid of their own kind. How arrogant was it to believe that she was good enough to work with the shifter team at Luna when her own pack would not accept her? As her foot hit the first step, she suddenly turned, ready to run to her car and call the King. She was sure he was near and would be angry about her canceling last minute, but it was better than the pain that waited if she entered this bar.

She was stopped in her tracks when she ran into a man the size of a small wall. She instantly recognized him as a shifter and a powerful one by the looks of him. Towering over her five-and-a-half-foot frame, his blond hair was trimmed short and styled to stay out of his face. He was dressed much as she was, with jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt, but his sweatshirt depicted the image of a glowing full moon stitched with light blue threads.

Instinctively she attempted to step back from the man to give them both room when she heard the word that told her how much trouble she was really in. Rather than allow her to step back, his grip tightened, and he growled the word “mine” so possessively that Caroline wanted to run away. While she could not hear the word itself, she read his lips and felt the vibrations through her soul.

This could not happen to her again. She would not survive it. The chances of her having a mate at all were astronomical, but the only shifters here were those who worked for the King and those who were hunting her. Looking at the man's clothing, it was clear that he did not work for the King. Having spent time observing the royal lycans, she had noticed that they always stayed on the palace grounds with high-end clothes and cars. They would never be seen in such casual clothing. Knowing that to most shifters, she smelled human, she attempted to play the situation off, trying for a quick escape.

“I am sorry, but I do not know you. I am meeting some friends, so if you could please excuse me.” Again she tried to pull away, only to be stopped by the grip on her arm. When she pulled again, she met the bluest eyes she had ever seen and demanded to be let go. Although it was clear that he did not want to, he let her go, watching as she made her way through the crowded bar.

Jackson

In the back of his mind, Loki was going insane, trying to break out. Just when he had been giving up on the idea of ever finding his mate, he literally ran into her in a human bar that he was only at to meet with the hacker Marcus had been in contact with.

When they had gotten to the bar, he volunteered to enter first and get the lay of the land. He planned to find a quiet table where he, Marcus, and Marcia would wait for the mystery hacker to arrive. Now his plans had changed.

Linking Marcus, Jackson let him know what was going on. “Change of plans, man. When you get here, find a table and meet Midnight Phoenix, I have to handle something else.” Focused on the retreating form of the small woman, he did not want to go into detail. If he lost her now, Loki was likely to take control and destroy the bar in search of his mate.

Using his lycan sense of smell, he moved forward through the crowded room, seeking the sweet smell of watermelon that seemed to pour out of his mate. Her dark hair was cut in a short pixie style and shined under the lights. In contrast to her hair, her skin seemed so pale it looked like milk.

“Mate liked us, her heartbeat faster, and she could not keep from staring at our mouth. Do not lose her, or I will never give you another moment of peace as long as you live. Do you understand me, human? I want my mate, now.” The growled link from Loki did nothing to calm Jackson's heart as he searched the room for her.

Catching sight of her moving to the corner of the room, he slowed in his pursuit. Something was not right. She said that she was meeting friends, but she appeared to be searching the crowd as if looking for potential threats. Leaning against the bar's back wall, she positioned herself to keep a view of the front and back doors and all of the windows. It was clear that she was a person that knew how to protect herself and felt the need to do it.

From his vantage point, he watched as she typed a message into her phone, barely stopping her surveillance of the room in the process.

“I do not care what is happening, but you need to get to the back of the bar and find us a table. Midnight Pheonix has just messaged me. If we are not there within two minutes, they will leave, and take our best chance at breaking the encryption with them.” Jackson growled at the link from Marcus. Not only was he his best friend, but he was also the King, and Jackson had to follow his orders.

“It's my mate Marcus. I found her. She is a human, and I need to talk to her and find out who she is before I lose her forever.” Laying his cards on the table, Jackson prayed that his friend understood his position.

“s**t! Look around the bar. Do you see someone with their phone out sending messages? I need you to identify them at least before you pursue her.”

Thrilled that his friend understood the situation, Jackson looked around again. Countless humans were on their phones, but when he was a lone man sitting, staring intently at his phone. It was clear that he had found the right person. What was even better was that he was sitting at the table next to where his mate stood.

Trying to school his expression into one of neutral interest, he began to make his way toward the table, flicking his eyes between the hacker and his beautiful mate leaning against the wall. She had started to watch him as he approached, and looked like she was going to run.

When he sat at the table, he looked at the young man before him. Slim and short, he looked like the type of person that would have to run from the shifter world. Never losing focus on his mate, he holds out his hand. “Hello, Midnight. I am Alpha Jackson. Thank you for meeting me under these circumstances. The King will be here in just a moment.” As soon as he said the words, he wondered if he had been incorrect in his assessment.

The man looked confused and scared before pushing his chair back from the table. “I think you have made a mistake, My name is Jason, and I am meeting my wife here.” The man babbles his words before standing and making his way to the front entrance. As he left, Marcus and Marcia entered the room. Their auras were so strong that even the humans in the room were overwhelmed by the need to lower their voices and clear the way for the beautiful couple to reach the back of the bar.

As they sat, Jackson raised his hand to gesture for a waitperson. “It was not him. Look around and see who else it could be.” Together all three of them began to look about the room only.

When they did not find them, he returned his gaze to his mate, standing beautifully against the wall and watching the front door.

“Call them. Once we find them, please take them to my pack. I need to stay here with my mate. I cannot risk losing her now.” Marcus agreed, knowing that he could never have survived if Marcia had not returned home with him that first night. Grabbing his phone, he pressed the redial button and watched the room, waiting to see who received the call.

Before they saw anyone react, Jackson was shocked to see that his mate had walked up and sat directly across from the King, a look of determination on her soft features. “So I think that you are looking for me?”

Jackson’s jaw dropped as he realized what was happening. His mate was not just some human woman standing on the sidelines. His mate was the Midnight Phoenix.