The Luna's Revenge

Six

Lexi’s POV

My stomach was twisted up in knots from the moment I felt those familiar sensations. I always knew a second-chance mate was possible. Hell, it was even probable for me, given the shitty circumstances I’d been through with Tyler. The Moon Goddess gave mates to all of her children, but second-chance mates were reserved for those who lost their first mates through unfortunate circumstances: rejection, death, or irreparable separation.

Consequently, I’d had plenty of time to think it over carefully for months and had already decided a long time ago to accept it if I was given a bond with a second-chance mate. I craved that unexplainably deep connection, that unshakable love and admiration - a feeling I had known for such a short time. As Connor had mentioned just days ago, Tyler would want me to be happy. He had been fiercely loyal, but never stiflingly possessive. It was one of many things I loved about him. He would want me to claim my mate, and to be claimed. To embrace those feelings of loving and being loved.

But right now, I pushed Tyler out of my thoughts to focus on the gorgeous man in front of me. He had big, beautiful brown eyes that kept flickering to black as he tried to reign in his wolf, meaning he was no doubt feeling the mate bond, too. I would bet he stood at least 6’8, towering a full foot over my already-tall frame. His toffee-brown hair was wavy, straight bangs hanging down in his eyes, wayward tendrils curling just below his ears. I had to squeeze my hands into fists to keep from reaching out and ruffling it with my fingertips.

And don’t even get me started on the muscles I could see rippling under his olive tee shirt, tensing as stared at me nervously. This beautiful, godlike man took two steps across the room to close the gap between us. He pulled my hands into his, and pressed his forehead against mine. I was speechless, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves.

Before I could open my mouth to greet him, I felt consciousness being thrown to the back of mind, as Sasha surged her way forward and let out a breathy giggle.

“Hi, mate,” she introduced herself. “I’m Sasha, Lexi’s better half.”

The man’s eyes turned black as night, and he growled. At least I wasn’t the only one whose wolf had a big mouth.

“Hello there, my bold little she-wolf. I’m Hunter. Jake would like to introduce himself to our little mate, but I look forward to seeing you later, lovely,” he smirked.

She simpered at him and batted her wolfie eyelashes while I contemplated ways to murder her.

Oh good Goddess, Sasha, you couldn’t keep it together for five minutes! I don’t even know his name! I told her angrily.

You do now! It’s Jake! Now hurry up, so I can meet my big bad Alpha wolf, she giggled, flouncing back into her usual corner of my mind and letting me have control again.

Alpha wolf-?

“Sorry about Hunter, he took control for a minute,” Jake’s voice was noticeably less deep than his wolf’s, but still soothing and sexy. His eyes were back to their original chocolate brown color. I couldn’t help staring at them, which made him grin.

“Lexi, nice to meet you, mate. I’m Jake.”

I blinked at him, nodding stupidly. “Hiiii, I’m Lexi,” I waved. What the f**k am I doing, did I just wave?

Don’t make me come back out there, girl, get it together! Sasha snarled playfully.

Jake ignored my idiocy and carried on. “First, let me just apologize for your experience here. We’re having a little conflict with Red Ridge, and we’re on high alert for intruders right now, so unfortunately we aren’t able to be as hospitable to unknown guests as we would normally be.”

“Alpha, with all due respect, she doesn’t need to know those details,” Cameron spoke up. Oh. Right. I had completely forgotten about Blondie being in the room.

“Beta Cameron,” my gorgeous mate said carefully. I stifled a laugh. Tyler had always been in deep s**t whenever Connor addressed him formally like that. “The Black Moon Alpha called back and let me know there was a misunderstanding, but Lexi is in fact from his pack. I can handle this little she-wolf myself from here.”

Jake winked at me as I blushed 27 shades of crimson. “Please let Murphy and the twins know there wasn’t a security breach after all, and they can relax a bit. And you and I can catch up later. Thanks for your help today.”

Blondie gave him a curt nod, his expression grim. I saw him shoot me a glare right before he left the room, but I shrugged it off. Ranked wolves hated being wrong. It was just in their nature to assume they were above reproach. Except Tyler, and now, hopefully, Jake would prove me wrong as well. His ability to apologize on behalf of his pack was a good start. Not all Alpha wolves were so reasonable.

“So you spoke with Alpha Zach?” I asked, eager to learn more about what had happened.

“Alpha Connor actually called back. He said he knew you by your-“ Jake’s face suddenly fell. He sank down onto his knees, like someone had punched him in the gut.

“Jake?” I questioned. I knelt beside him cautiously. “Jake, what’s wrong?”

Fear and confusion gripped me, and I knew it was Jake’s emotions, flowing through the mate bond even though we hadn’t yet mated or marked each other. He looked up, his swirling black eyes meeting mine. “I just remembered. Connor said you already have a mate.”

Jake’s POV

My entire body felt like it had come alive the moment I saw Lexi. I had heard my parents and plenty of other wolves talk about the power of the mate bond, but never imagined the intensity of it would be this strong.

No wonder Hunter had been acting insane since yesterday. No wonder he hadn’t let me bring home a she-wolf. Oh god, I was going to have to tell Lexi about all the she-wolves I had brought home in the past.

Idiot, Hunter muttered. How did a human like you end up with a goddess like her? I can’t wait to meet her wolf! He howled excitedly.

Lexi was at least a foot shorter than me, with gorgeous chestnut-colored hair and big blue eyes the color of the summer sky, contrasting with her delicately pale skin. I was dying to touch her, kiss her, breathe in her scent. Even in the oversized shirt and gym shorts my patrollers had given her to cover herself, her warrior physique was obvious. She was lean and muscular, with just the right amount of soft curves.

I practically lunged across the room to close the gap between us. In one swift motion, I took her hands in my own and intertwined our fingers as I leaned down to rest my forehead on hers. The sparks were overwhelming. I watched in shock and amusement as her eyes flickered between black and blue, meaning she was fighting for control with her wolf.

They settled on black, and a rumbly voice greeted me.

“Hi, mate. I’m Sasha, Lexi’s better half.”

Hunter howled so loudly that I wondered if I could go deaf within my own mind. He shoved his way to the forefront of our shared consciousness.

“Hello there, my bold little she-wolf. I’m Hunter. Jake would like to introduce himself to our little mate, but I look forward to seeing you later, lovely.” He gave her a big wolfy grin, before handing control back to me.

Sasha is amazing! The mother of our future pups! Jake, mark her now! He demanded.

I’m not marking her now, i***t. I haven’t even said hi because certain wolves couldn’t control themselves.

We have the perfect sassy little mate, Hunter growled. If you mess this up, I will hunt you down.

You literally live in my head, buddy. I rolled my eyes at him.

ARE YOU REALLY TALKING TO ME RIGHT NOW WHEN OUR ANGEL IS WAITING? Hunter bellowed in my head. He had a point.

I zoned back into the present and grinned when I realized my beautiful mate was staring at me.

“Sorry about Hunter, he took control for a minute. Lexi, nice to meet you, mate. I’m Jake.”

Lexi waved at me. “Hiiii, I’m Lexi!” She blushed furiously and I held back a laugh. I wasn’t the only one who was nervous.

“First, let me just apologize for your experience here. We’re having a little conflict with Red Ridge, and we’re on high alert for intruders right now, so unfortunately we aren’t able to be as hospitable to unknown guests as we would normally be.”

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. Also, your pack seems to be run by a bunch of incompetent d***s, I wanted to add.

Cam cleared his throat, reminding me that he was in the room. Oops. “Alpha, with all due respect, she doesn’t need to know those details.”

I flinched. Cam and Murphy and I had created a code in high school. It wouldn’t have been acceptable for the future pack leaders to go around throwing punches or arguing all the time, so when one of them wanted to have a serious fight with me and we were out in public, we used a code.

The moment Cam said, “With all due respect,” I knew I was in deep s**t with him later about something. I wanted to mindlink him and ask what was wrong, but the point of the code was to fight later, not now.

“Beta Cameron,” I replied, acknowledging that we’d talk later. He gave me a slight nod and started to head for the door. I tried to share what I knew, hoping he’d cool off before our talk.

“The Black Moon Alpha called back and let me know there was a misunderstanding, but Lexi is in fact from his pack. I can handle this little she-wolf myself from here. Please let Murphy and the twins know there wasn’t a security breach after all, and they can relax a bit.”

Cam gave me a look that clearly showed he did not agree with leaving his Alpha alone at this present time, but he was following orders. He slammed the door on his way out.

Asshole, muttered Hunter in my head. He and Cooper could work it out later - I had better things to do.

I turned back to my gorgeous princess.

“So you spoke with Alpha Zach?” she asked me, her blue eyes filled with curiosity.

I nodded. “Yup. Alpha Connor actually called back. He said he knew you by your-“

Halfway through the sentence I remembered what Connor had said. I was so distracted by the mate bond that I forgot. Lexi had a mate. What was happening? Why did I feel so connected to her?

Hunter’s gleeful exuberance had instantly turned into whimpering. I felt…afraid? I wasn’t used to being afraid. I was an Alpha, for goddess’s sake. But I had only just met my mate, and she belonged to someone else.

The thought of sharing her with someone hit me hard, like I had been stabbed with a silver knife. I clutched my stomach and fell to my knees. I could vaguely hear Lexi calling my name, asking what was wrong. Hunter was fighting me for control again, wanting to take over and work this out with Sasha. I pushed him back. If I wanted answers, I needed to ask her.

Finally, I looked up, gazing helplessly at her beautiful blue eyes. I was already in love with this woman. Ugh. Stupid mate bond.

Reluctantly, I muttered, “Connor said I’m not your only mate.”

Instantly, Lexi pushed herself away from me and walked backwards until her legs hit the bed. She slowly sank down onto the mattress. Her eyes got even bigger, which I didn’t think was possible, and she blinked them frantically, as if trying to hold back tears. Mindlessly, she twisted a strand of her silky smooth hair around her fingers, wrapping and unwrapping as she took deep, calming breaths.

I stayed where I was on the floor, unsure of what to do.

“Is… is that a dealbreaker for you, Jake?” Lexi’s voice trembled as she spoke. “Are you going to reject me?”

Reject her? No! I couldn’t! But how could I share her with another man? And especially one in another pack? Wolves don’t share mates, and Alphas especially don’t share. Ugh. How could this happen?

“It’s just unexpected. I always thought my mate would be… mine alone.” I said.

My answer seemed to flip a switch in Lexi. “You know what? Ugh. That’s so archaic! I’m sure you’ve had lots of partners.” She glared at me.

That wasn’t really the point here, but okay. I wasn’t the one asking her to be one of my two mates and live happily ever after in some kind of weird triad.

“Yes, I have had PLENTY of partners, but it’s not the same, Lexi.” I rolled my eyes. So much for gently broaching the subject of all those one-night-stands with random she-wolves.

Hunter was fuming in my head at my response, which apparently was not to his liking. Meanwhile,

Lexi’s outrage had now reach catastrophic levels. If this were a children’s cartoon, steam would be literally coming out of her ears.

“Oh really? Well, since I am apparently not pure enough for you, how about this? I, Alexis Knight, warrior of the Black Moon Pack, reject y-“ with werewolf speed, I jumped up and tackled her onto the bed, covering her mouth with my hand.

“No! Lexi. Please. Let’s talk. I’m begging you.” I gave her my most puppy-dog-eyed expression and flipped us over so that she was laying on top of me. I could hear her heart racing, although whether that was from anger or excitement was unclear.

Slowly, I brought my hand up to tuck a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. Her heartbeat sped up, which I interpreted as a good sign. I cupped her face and gently kissed her perfect, soft lips. Shutting out all thoughts of the mysterious other mate I’d have to meet, I focused only on my Lexi. My mate. Hunter howled in approval of this change in the direction our encounter was headed.

Her lips parted slightly as she deepened our kiss, nipping at my lower lip and exploring my mouth with her tongue. One of her hands was tangled in my hair, and she tugged hard on it as my own hands squeezed her hips. I moaned at the pain-pleasure of it, and felt her grind herself against me in response.

“f**k, Lexi, oh my goddess,” I was incoherently muttering as I trailed kisses across her collar bones and shoulders, biting gently on her neck.

With great effort, I tore myself away from my beautiful she-wolf and propped myself up on the bed, scooping her up and wrapping my arms around her. We were both panting slightly. I took her hands in mine, and brought them to my mouth, gently kissing each fingertip.

“Lexi, I’m sorry we started on the wrong foot. I need to say something. I, Alpha Jacob Westwood of Blue River Pack, accept you, Alexis Knight, warrior of the Black Moon Pack, as my mate and Luna.”

Her eyes filled with tears again. I didn’t know what this meant for me exactly, but I knew I wasn’t about to turn down my goddess-given mate no matter what the circumstances.

“Tell me about your other mate, Lexi,” I asked her. I stroked her hair gently, marveling at how silky-smooth it was.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Absolutely, my love. I need to know, and I want to know everything about you.” I surely did not want to know about this guy, but I NEEDED to know.

She gave me a cautious smile, but her eyes fell as she started to nervously pick at the hem of her clothes.

“He was supposed to be our pack’s Beta when Connor took over. I would describe him as sweet, and caring, and level-headed. When we were 12, he started reading all the wolf law books he could get his hands on. He probably could’ve gone to law school, but he wanted to stick around and take care of our pack. My sister Ellie, who is a total tomboy and a warrior, thought he was basically god. He always made time for her and did extra training with us and his little brother. If he were in your pack, your Beta would be fighting for his job.”

I frowned. “Why isn’t he going to be the Beta of Black Moon now?” I better not have to share my mate with some rogue.

She frowned back at me. “What did Connor say to you, exactly?”

“He said he thought you went by your mate’s name, Lexi Rossell, and didn’t recognize the name Alexis Knight because he was distracted with other pack business.”

Lexi’s eyes widened and she stared at me for a moment. Then, she giggled and buried her face in my shoulder. Her laughs were my new favorite sound. I just wanted to make her happy all the time.

“Jake.” Her voice snapped me back to reality. “Did you accept me knowing that you have to share me with another man, in another pack?”

I growled. Hunter wasn’t pleased about it, but we would do anything for our mate. “Lexi, mates are a gift from the goddess and while I would love to lock you in my room forever, I want you to be happy and I recognize that the Goddess has chosen to give you this unusua-“

My rambling was cut off when she pressed her lips to mine once more, gently, this time. She pulled away, smiling genuinely at me and nuzzling my marking spot. I breathed in the scent of her hair, calming myself and trying to stay focused.

“Jake,” she looked remorseful, even behind her smile. “My other mate’s name was Tyler Rossell. He was killed in a car accident two years ago. There won’t be any sharing. I’m all yours. You’re my second chance mate.”

Oh f**k. What an i***t I am.