Luna’s Mate Bond

Chapter 5

~Michael’s POV~

Lost in my thoughts I stare out the passenger side window of the car, absent-mindedly watching the rolling hills of the Pennyroyal Plateau fly past. Austin is babbling on about all the “babes” that will be at the ball tomorrow ”Dude, how many she-wolves do you reckon will end the night unmated and want to go to bed with me?” I roll my eyes, replying with a good natured jib “None that will want your sorry carcass!”

Austin drops his bottom lip, hand on his heart acting shocked and offended before responding “Mate I’m a beta! And what unmated she-wolf wouldn’t want to spend a night with a spunk like me anyway?” My wolf, Cody, snorts in my mind, amused.

“Mate, you really have to work on your Aussie accent if you’re going to keep trying to use their lingo!”

Our Australian friend, Warwick, or Wazza as he insists on being called, visited us at Hidden Eclipse territory this week. Austin couldn’t help himself, picking up some of Wazza’s Aussie slang and running with it. Which just sounds totally wrong with Austin’s Kentuckian drawl, I don’t even know how Australians like Warwick pull it off. If Austin tries using “Aussie slang” on the ladies at the ball it will definitely be good for comedic value though! Especially seeing as it’s a MATE ball, meaning soulmate, and if that i***t goes around calling everyone “mate” like Aussie’s refer to their friends, there is going to be a LOT of confusion! Cody and I can’t help but chuckle to ourselves as we imagine the c*****e that might bring.

Austin continues with his excited monologue, and I try tune him out, going back to my contemplative thoughts. Austin is a ladies man, a real player, and sometimes he gets a little too excited about the prospect of meeting new women and will not shut up about it. Goddess help him when he finally finds his mate!

I on the other hand…

I’m sincerely hoping that I meet my mate tomorrow, I’m running out of time to find her! If an alpha doesn’t find their soulmate by the time they’re 21 we start to feel the effects of the “Alpha Curse” and if we aren’t marked and mated to our goddess given soulmate by the time we turn 25 it’s all over! We lose everything, our power, position, and even our humanity! We are forced to leave our pack and become a rogue wolf, eventually giving in to our animalistic side and basically living as a normal wolf, unable to shift back. That’s why Cody has been so different these last few years…

I’m already 23 years old and really starting to worry that I won’t find my mate in time. I’m a strong minded person so I’ve been doing better than most so far but the curse has already taken a hold of me and the effects have been getting stronger, harder to fight. I can feel my alpha aura weakening, Cody has been more difficult to control at times and I’ve been feeling depressed, easily aggravated and my temper has shortened considerably.

The shift in my emotions that I experienced after our meeting last week didn’t last very long, but I’m feeling weird again now. The closer we get to Skyridge territory the stranger I feel. An odd mix of good feelings and worry. Maybe my mate will be at the ball?! I suddenly feel hopeful and get lost in my thoughts imagining what my mate will be like, Cody chiming in from time to time.

“Oi Mick!” Austin waves his hand in my face laughing. Ugh I hate that nickname! Warwick started calling me that, another Aussie thing, and now Austin thinks it’s hilarious!

“You better not call me that in public!” I grumble while Cody sniggers in my head, he thinks it’s funny too.

“We’re getting close, this is the start of Skyridge territory.”

I look around, taking note of the changes in the countryside. We’ve gone from our rolling Kentucky hills with open grasslands between the tree belts and rocky outcrops, to true wilderness, dense forests and steep hills. I can see the barren tips of the Smoky Mountains above, shrouded in the blue-grey mist that gives them their name. As we climb towards them on the steep, windy road I look down, catching glimpses of the human town of Newport far below. The Smoky Mountains are some of the highest of the Appalachian chain, it really is a secluded and somewhat inaccessible area, perfect for a pack of werewolves to keep themselves hidden from most humans.

We descend into an isolated hollow where Skyridge’s pack house is located at the centre of a deceptively large grassy clearing. Surprisingly it’s a huge building and it appears that most of the pack must live inside as there are very few other houses and buildings. It’s a relatively small pack so I guess they don’t need multiple living quarters like we do at Hidden Eclipse. We’d have to build a ginormous sky scraper if we wanted to house most of our 7,231 members in the one building! Tactically that would be a huge problem! Not only would the building be visible from miles away piquing the interest of the humans, but also an easy target for any enemies and a nightmare to evacuate in an emergency.

As we get closer to Skyridge’s pack house we drive past their training grounds. The car veers towards the edge of the road and a tree as Austin gets distracted by an attractive brunette she-wolf in workout gear jogging past us on her way to training. “Austin! Watch where you’re driving!” I yell at him, grabbing for the steering wheel. He grins sheepishly at me, righting the car. I notice the she wolf laughing at us, how embarrassing! I hope this no one else seen that!

I check my watch as we pull up on the circular driveway near the front doors of the pack house, 1.15pm, perfect. Just early enough to potentially throw Alpha Blake off a bit, but not too early to be suspicious, exactly as we planned hoping to catch him a little unprepared. As I open the car door I catch an intriguing scent… Honey and roses. I stop half way out of the car, feeling strange tingles running across my skin. Cody comes to life, running circles in my head and jumping up and down like a puppy, howling excitedly.

“Mate! Our mate is here!” He exclaims! Our mate?! Oh my! We finally found her!

Cody tries to take over my body and I snap out of my shocked, trance-like state. “Let me out! We have to find her, now!”

“Calm down buddy, we will! We can’t go bursting into someone else’s pack house though. Let me handle this.” I fight his bid to take control, trying somewhat successfully to calm him down so we don’t cause a scene.

“Michael? You ok buddy? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something?” Austin queries me, looking concerned.

“My mate is here” I say quietly as we approach the front door. Her scent getting stronger the closer we get, making me believe she must be inside.

“Holy crap!” He exclaims. “I wonder how that will go down? She must be a part of Skyridge, I don’t see any signs of other guests yet? Uhoh, you know that Alpha Blake doesn’t allow anyone to leave his pack?!”

Cody threatens to take over again. “Like hell will he keep our mate from us!” We say in our dual tone.

I knock on the door and wait, my enhanced werewolf hearing picking up what sounds like someone being threatened. Austin must’ve heard too because him and I share a glance, one eyebrow raised. My mate’s scent is captivating and my stomach flutters with anticipation. I can feel a goofy grin wanting to form on my face and I carefully school my features to appear neutral.

The door finally opens revealing the portly Alpha Blake. He’s a bit shorter than Austin and I, around 5’10”, broad shouldered but quite rotund and out of shape, which is unusual for werewolves but especially an Alpha. As Alpha Blake booms his welcome, he seems to realise that he has to look up to meet our eyes and puffs his chest up a bit, I would assume trying to make himself appear taller or more imposing.

“Ridiculous! What a pitiful excuse for an Alpha!” Cody chimes in, releasing his aura a little before I manage to shut it down. I can feel Austin discreetly look at me from the corner of his eye, a little concerned.

“Cody! Chill out dude! We’re guests here!”

Blake stills momentarily like my aura affected him a little and then his eyes darken slightly as his wolf takes offence to our little aura slip. “Sorry about that Alpha Blake, my wolf seems to be a little on edge today, I think he’s excited about the prospect of meeting our mate at the ball” I lamely offer with a laugh.

Obviously feeling a little threatened and annoyed, Blake forces a laugh in return and brushes off the incident. It appears he realises that we don’t have a reason to pose an immediate threat, and he clearly doesn’t want to make a scene. He is also likely smart enough to know that my pack would decimate his if he ever started a war with us. No matter how good his warriors might be they would be no match for our sheer numbers, we’re the biggest and strongest pack in the south west and the second largest in the whole of the USA. Blake starts prattling on about the grandeur and history of his pack as he finally invites us in but I’m distracted, my mate’s scent is getting stronger but I can’t see much past Blake.

As we step into a classically elegant foyer, my eyes are immediately drawn upwards to the beautiful but slightly ostentatious chandelier far above our heads. Who doesn’t love a nice chandelier though right?! My eyes follow the gently curving staircase back down to our level and a tiny, slender young woman appears, walking towards us. Her face is hidden behind a curtain of straight, deep red hair and I wish for her to look up and meet my eyes. I’m drawn towards her and I know instinctively that this is my mate!

The woman finally lifts her head and looks directly into my eyes. Oh my! They’re the most beautiful hazel eyes I’ve ever seen and the gasp that leaves her lips is the most erotic sound I think I’ve ever heard!

Clang! Splash!

Oh no she’s slipped, falling toward the hard marble floor. An image of her precious head hitting the ground with a sickening crack flashes into my mind, startling me into action. Using my werewolf speed, I duck past Blake and manage to catch her before her delicate body hits the ground. As my skin touches hers I feel a jolt of electricity, almost as if I’ve touched a live wire except this is beyond pleasurable! Wow, this is beyond my wildest imagination! I get lost staring into the depths of her gorgeous eyes… seconds feel like blissful hours!