Gifts of the Moon Goddess

Ch. 8

Alistair POV

As soon as my Beta, Gamma, and niece had left my office, I turned my attention to the doctor who was still on my floor.

Layre had faithfully served this pack for many, many years. She was one of the best doctors we had. She actually came highly recommended from another pack and was sent to us to help man the hospital. There was no doubt she was an excellent doctor and all of the pack felt comfortable with her. Not to mention my Gamma ended up being her gifted mate. I naturally accepted her into our pack with open arms.

"Layre, who is the man you've been sleeping with?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

She hung her head in defeat. I'm sure by now she realized there was no point trying to lie or trying to refuse to answer me. If she tried anything, I'd only use my Alpha command on her again. It's a power that I really don't enjoy using but I will if I must.

"Jared." Her voice was strained and quiet. "Jared Crane."

I knew Jared well. He was my next choice for Lead Warrior when the time came to promote someone to that position. My current lead warrior was planning on retiring soon, though he'd been planning it for quite some time. Jared Crane was a bulky man with dark brown hair and eyes that were almost black, and darker skin that I have heard many a lady swoon over.

'Jared.' I mind-linked.

'Yes, Alpha?' Came his gruff response.

'Come to my office.' I ordered before cutting the link off.

"Alpha." Layre called out to me weakly. "Alpha, I'm sorry about your niece -"

"Do not ever talk about my niece again, Layre." I growled.

Layre whimpered and bared her neck to me, still trembling in pain on the floor.

We should banish her. I could feel Jax, my wolf, stir angrily in my head. She doesn't deserve a place in this pack.

I agreed, but I wasn't ready to banish or kill either Bryce nor Layre just yet. They may still both hold valuable information regarding the attack on Kyssemi's parents fifteen years ago and Bryce's kidnapping of her. I wasn't convinced that Bryce was the master-mind behind it all, even if he thinks he is. I've already got loads of proof, as well, that a witch was involved to some degree.

Layre stopped talking after that, just lying on the floor crying and whimpering in pain until a knock came to the door. I could already tell from the scent it was indeed Jared, and called for him to enter.

"What is this about, Alpha?" Jared asked once he got inside, looking over to Layre sobbing on the floor.

Upon hearing his voice, Layre angled herself towards him from her spot and looked up at him with desperation.

"Jared -" She called out to him, her trembling hand coming out to clutch his pant leg.

"Layre is pregnant with your pup." I told him plainly, interrupting Layre. "Her mate has just rejected her and we called you here to see if you wanted to take responsibility for her."

The half-scoff and half-laugh that he gave was enough of an indication and I could see Layre's face fall. She abruptly let go of Jared's pant leg, her face paling.

"The pup isn't mine. I always thought it was her mate's." He shrugged. "Even if it were mine, I'd be there for the pup if it made it, but I'd never take her as my mate." His voice held venom in it.

It was clear he didn't care about Layre, she was only a good f**k for him. Worse yet, though, there was someone else she'd been sleeping with.

"Who the f**k else did you cheat on him with?" My voice came out harshly.

"I-I don't know." She stammered and sobbed more. "Sometimes I would go out to clubs in the neutral zone and get really drunk and I -"

"Enough." I ordered, and she immediately snapped her mouth shut.

I mind-linked a few warriors to come and escort Layre to the dungeons in the meantime and I let Jared return to his duties.

It wasn't unnatural for shifters to sleep around or take lovers before they finally take a mate. We wolves were physical creatures by nature, after all. Couldn't really blame Jared for getting it where it was being freely offered. Though, most wolves would stay away from touching anyone marked. We were territorial. Sharing wasn't really in our blood. As Bryce and Wright proved, even the pull of a gifted mate can't always get a wolf to share.

Still, more than this drama with Christian, Layre, and Jared, the thing that's given me the most trouble is everything going on with Kyssemi. For someone who had just endured lots of trauma, she was oddly calm at times. I mean, sure, sometimes she'd panic or get anxious and close herself off, but it didn't happen as often as I was expecting. Where I thought we'd have a girl trembling and afraid and broken and socially dysfunctional, she seemed fairly alright considering everything that happened to her. I still have no clue what I'm doing, though. I don't know enough about royals to help guide her through this and I don't know how to help her with her wolves.

The warriors told me that when Kyssemi was being controlled this morning in the hospital her eyes and even her sclera were black as a void and the aura she gave off was thick and practically sucked all of the life and happiness from the room. On the other hand, she looked pretty badass earlier when the other wolf had surfaced. Her eyes shone a vibrant gold with little yellow flakes and her hair was shimmering. There was almost an otherworldly glow to her, like the Moon Goddess had come to the Earth herself to help Christian.

How do you teach someone to control their wolves when those very wolves are magical superbeings the entire shifter community is afraid of? I figured we'd start her with basic combat training, but who the f**k is going to want to come near her when she murdered a nurse just by touching her?

A knock came on the door, drawing me out of my thoughts. I could already smell who it was before calling them in. Stephanie poked her worried face in before fully entering. Right away I couldn't help but notice how her shirt plunged dangerously low. I could see the lace of the black bra I loved so much sticking out, trying to tempt me.

"Alistair." She cooed as she went round my desk.

"Stop." I ordered, making her freeze beside my desk.

The look on her face was a bit hurt, but what could I do? Even though I still definitely wanted her and had feelings for her, Jax and I agreed to accept Alex. At this point, Stephanie was just a bad temptation. She apparently knew it, too, considering what she walked in here wearing.

"I heard about our pack doctor being thrown in the dungeon and just figured you'd had a hard day. I wanted to come and comfort you." She pouted, sticking her lower lip out a bit.

I looked away and pretended to sort through some papers on my desk to avoid the thoughts of the things I would love to do to those lips. Ever since Alex showed up I haven't had s*x at all and I swear, between my wolf constantly being a horn-dog and needing to mark and ravage his mate and me just generally needing a really good release, I have been being driven f*****g nuts.

"Stephanie, I have chosen Alex." I tried to sound stern, but it's hard to sound so serious when you're too busy imagining dirty things in your head. "I can't be with you. When you find your own gifted mate you'll understand."

She tried to move closer to me anyway, but Jax surfaced and gave her a warning growl that made her freeze again. Jax actually really liked her wolf, Lily, so this was just as hard for him as it was for me. We planned our whole futures with Steph. But, Goddess, Alex changed everything. She was my gift, my mate, my world. I just wish I could convince her of that.

"Fine." Steph said, clearly upset, and covered her chest with her arms. "Can I at least offer you some help, then? You look like hell. Go get a shower, train, or run some or something. I'll stay here and do some of your work."

Honestly, that sounded perfect to me. I've been dealing with Bryce, Kyssemi, Layre, and so much other s**t today that I haven't gotten around to doing any work here. Thankfully, I had Stephanie learn both the Luna and the Alpha duties, just in case.

"Please?" I asked her. "That would be a massive help."

She nodded and shooed me out of my chair. I pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek before striding out of the room, not wanting to put my self restraint to the test at the moment. Goddess, why are you testing me like this?

I retreated to my room where I showered and tried to relieve myself of this hardon. Even after getting myself off, I still could feel the desire in me stirring. Wolves are physical creatures, after all. I wished Alex would just accept me already so we could take her to bed. Jax purred in my head at the thoughts of Alex being nude beneath us while we ravaged her body.

Shit, already hard again. Damn mate bond.

I begrudgingly rub one more out; and even I am capable of noticing how much different it not only feels when I get off to thinking of Steph versus when I get off to thinking of Alex, but also how different my moans sound.

When I finally get out of the shower and head back to my room to get dressed, I get smacked in the nose by Stephanie's arousal. She was pacing near my bedroom door. Did she really follow me here? Damn being a man. The strong scent of her arousal was torture and I'm sure she knows it too. I couldn't stop the little growl of desire that left my throat.

"I may have heard you moaning in the shower." She says, looking up at me through her lashes, and I can tell her wolf is near the surface, too.

"What are you doing in my room?" I asked, clenching my jaw.

"This was once our room, Al." She responds, approaching me and running a hand over my chest. "It's been a while but my scent is still faintly here, lingering. Does it remind you of me when you're lying in bed alone at night?" But she quickly moves on from the question before I can respond. "I don't smell Alex here at all. Are you afraid to bring her to the den of love you and I once shared?"

Actually, I hadn't thought of that. Would Alex be offended if I made her share this room with me when I had filled this room with memories of Steph and me? Was that something women worried about? Maybe I should set up a whole new room for her and I.

We can let her decorate it, too. Jax added excitedly.

Steph's hand starting to slide lower on my body brought me straight back to reality, but any desire I had just felt for her was replaced completely by my desire for Alex. I snatched her hand off me, careful not to hurt her. I was breaking my own f*****g heart, Jax's too. Our love for Stephanie and Lily was oh so real. But it could never be, not now that I met Alex.

"Sorry, I forgot myself." Stephanie recovered really quickly and pulled away from me, turning her back to me so I couldn't see her face. "You'll never take me back, will you?" She almost sounded defeated.

"I'm sorry, Stephanie." My voice came out unintentionally as a whisper.

"There's someone on the phone for you in your office. A councilman." She said over her shoulder and then retreated from my room.

A member of the council? That didn't bode well. I took only a moment to throw on clothes before returning to my office and taking the call off hold.

"Alpha Alistair." I answered.

"Alpha." A young man's voice responded, sounding pleased. "It's lovely to speak to you. I am a representative for the council and I'm calling to inform you that you, your luna, and your niece the royal shifter are all expected in front of the council at noon the day after tomorrow. Rooms will be prepared for you and your party to remain tomorrow night, in consideration of the long drive."

How in the hell did they already find out about Kyssemi? I specifically avoided sending any notice because I wanted her to settle in and figure things out with herself and her wolves before subjecting her to the council of assholes. Not that I can object to their summons.

"You may not have heard, but I don't have an official Luna, yet." I told him.

"Then bring the acting Luna."

"I found my gifted mate. May I bring her, as well?"

The line went quiet for a moment before the guy finally spoke again. "Yes, yes. That's fine, Alpha. We'll see you soon." Then he hung up without letting me get in another word.

Fuck. I really wanted to avoid dragging Kyssemi there so soon. But we have no choice. I don't know who snitched on them, but somehow I knew this would be very, very bad. They were ruthless and they saw the royals as a threat.

Goddess, please tell me they don't know about her killing that woman.

After hanging up the phone, I left the office and went straight to my mate's room. I wanted to see Alex, even if just for a moment. When I drew near, I could sense my sister's presence in the room. At that point, I wasn't shocked. Alice had basically adopted Alex. They were always together. Sometimes it felt like I'd need to fight my own sister just to spend some time with my mate without her.

"I just don't know, Alice." I heard my mate's sweet melodic voice and froze at the tone of worry.

I already knew right off the bat they were in the middle of a serious conversation.

"You've been here for months already, Alex." Alice stressed. "You know Alistair loves you, so what's stopping you from just being with him?"

"Me!" My mate practically yelled.

Apparently, Alice wasn't going to rat out that I was nearby even though she must sense me, so I leaned against the wall and just listened.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with you."

"I'm a human. If this pack gets attacked while Alistair isn't here, I cannot lead them. I need to be protected. I couldn't do anything for any of them."

"Not all Lunas are warriors or even participate in battle, Alex. That's nothing new at all. That's why we have Betas and Gammas and a lead warrior and so on."

Alice was right, of course. Not all lunas led their packs during battles and not all were even decent fighters. Some weren't trained to fight at all, and could only rely on their wolves to protect themselves. We've been giving Alex some self-defense training, but I've talked to her time and time again about these what-if scenarios of her being helpless if the pack gets attacked. I suppose she's still anxious about it, which means we'll need to find a new solution to help Alex feel better about this.

"It doesn't matter, Alice! Any time I fail to or don't protect the pack, any time a pup is ripped to pieces by a rogue, everyone's going to look at me and say 'Ah, it's because she's only a human. That's why she can't protect them.'" Alex argued.

"This isn't really just about being able to fight wolves, though, is it?"

"No. This is about me being vastly different. From a completely different world, basically. My parents, my family, can't ever even learn of this supernatural stuff and that means I'm going to be separated from them. They can't just swing by whenever they want, I can't just drop everything to go see them whenever I want."

"But, Alistair said he'd make time for you two to -"

"I know. I know. But how often? And how many lies do I need to tell them when we do see them? It's not like I can tell them where I live. It's not like I can tell them what he does for a living!" She says and I can hear the heartbreak in her voice.

It's breaking my own heart. She's already told me these concerns but no amount of compromising I've tried so far has been enough. No amount of compromise may ever be enough. She's very close to her family, which makes this very difficult for her.

"He's trying so hard to accommodate my needs, but I don't know if it's enough, Alice." Alex continued. I could smell the salt from her tears and practically hear them in her voice. "I love him but I don't know if I can accept things like this. I always pictured finding a man and moving back to my hometown with him to be near my family. Getting married in the flower fields behind my mom's house. Mom would come and go from our place as she pleased to see us and our kids." She sobbed. "I can't do most of the things I want if I stay here with Alistair. I know he'll never leave the pack. This all feels so difficult and overwhelming."

I couldn't take this anymore. She needed my comfort just as much as I needed hers. I knocked lightly on the door, greeted by a panicked 'one minute' as Alice assured her it was me. A moment later, the door opened to my mate's reddened, tear-stained face. I could tell she tried to clean her face of the tears in a rush.

Alex closed the door behind me and I immediately pulled her into a tight hug, burying my face in her hair. Her scent calmed me instantly, like all my stress just melted away. I could feel the tension in her own body fade as well in a similar way. Anywhere our skin brushed there were explosions of pleasant sparks. This is why I needed her. She calmed me, she gave me strength. I was better with her. But, if she truly did not want this life, I would let her go. Not without a fight, of course. I'd do everything in my power to give her everything she could need or want. But, I love her. Both Jax and I just want her to be happy. Even if it ends up not with us.

After many moments of us just hugging, Alice pried Alex from me.

"Okay, okay. Third wheel here, hello." She pouted, gaining a laugh from Alex.

"Sorry, I just really needed to see my mate." I stressed the 'my'.

"Did something happen?" Alex asked me.

"I could ask you the same question." I gently brushed a finger under her red and puffy eyes.

"I'll talk to you about it tomorrow." She promised sheepishly.

"Well, the council called." I sighed, though I noticed Alice visibly tensed.

"What the hell do they want?" Alice glared.

"They asked us to go meet them. They know Kyssemi is here."

That warranted a growl from my sister. I felt the same way honestly.

"Alice, can I trust you to get Alex and Kyssemi ready tomorrow? We'll be driving out tomorrow and the meeting will happen at noon the next day."

"Wait, me too?" Alex gaped.

"Yes, they asked both me and my acting Luna to bring Kyssemi. But, I don't want to go anywhere with Stephanie without you." I explained.

Alex seemed nervous about meeting the council but I could tell she was also relieved that I wouldn't be alone with Stephanie. I would feel the same in her shoes.

"Okay." Alex said quietly.

I gave her my best encouraging smile. My mate had already started to learn some of the luna duties, but she opted to leave my ex as acting luna for now until she was more comfortable with the role, if ever.

Alex and I shared one more hug and I kissed the top of her head, her hair tickling my nose. I'd do anything for this woman. Anything.

We only got to hug for a little bit longer before Alice chased me from the room, saying she was stealing my mate for the night for 'much needed' girl time. So I went for a run with Jax and spent the remainder of the day jumping from patrol to patrol , making sure everything was okay on our borders.

Even after my mate calmed me down, my nerves were on edge again already. What did the council want us for they couldn't just send a letter or say it over the phone; and who the f**k in my pack is spying on us for them?