His Luna or His Mate

Chapter Two

Chapter two

Paige Point of View

I knew I only had a few minutes to myself before Jasmine would return. I tried to keep my emotions in check whenever there were members of the pack around. Over the years, Jasmine had caught a few fleeting moments of sadness radiating from me, but she had never seen me cry, and hopefully she never would.

I made myself a coffee, fresh from the percolator and sat down at the kitchen table. It was big enough to seat twelve guests. Which was a joke when you considered that there was rarely an evening when the two of us had sat down together. When we first started our married life together, I had dreamed of filling this table with food, inviting our friends over for dinner, talking pack business for a while and then, once all the shop talk was done, drinking and socializing until the early hours.

But every time I suggested it, Jacob brushed it off. “Why would we socialize with the people we work with all day?” The ironic thing was, he often went out with his Beta and his Gamma and their partners — he just never gave me a second thought. I was essentially a work wife. He hadn’t shown much interest in spending time with me on a personal level at the start of our marriage. And that had only gotten worse over time.

So I decided to focus on a new dream. A kitchen full of children and baking and—

“Here is your new phone Luna,”

I jumped an inch from my chair, with my hand clamped firmly over my heart. I had been so far down ‘wishful thinking’ lane that I hadn’t heard Jasmine approach.

“My apologies Ma’am, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

She placed the brand-new phone down on the table and went to put the herbs on the countertop.

My phone was identical to the previous one. All of my contacts and apps and passwords had been switched effortlessly from one to the other.

Jasmine had been to see her mate in the tech department. She spent every possible second she could with him. I was envious of their relationship.

Sighing inwardly, I unlocked the phone with my pass key, our wedding anniversary date, and looked at the picture on the home screen. It was of Jacob and I on our wedding day. I had my arm wrapped around his like Ivy and I was beaming up at him proudly. Jacob, by comparison was staring into the lens cool and aloof. He was so handsome it was enough to make me want to cry, and I looked blissfully happy. That’s why I like the photo so much. I was naive enough to think that I could change him into a loving husband. But he was, and still is, my business partner. A husband in name only.

Fuck him and f**k the dinner, I thought to myself. Time to do something that makes me happy. I scrolled through my contact list until I found my best friend's number.

‘Hey you. Are you free? Like right now?’ There was no need for the usual pleasantries. Olivia and I had been a massive part of each other's lives for over a decade.

I watched as two ticks on the bottom of the message turned blue in color and three dots blinked at me to let me know she was replying.

‘Sure. What you thinking?’ Thank the Moon Goddess!

‘Fried food and beer?’ Junk food, alcohol and my best friend were exactly what the doctor ordered.

‘I’ll buy the first round.’

I sent a thumbs up emoji before grabbing my jacket and breezing out through the front door.

***

“I’ve had enough, Liv” I seethed as I swigged from my second bottle of beer.

We were in our regular spot at the back of the local diner. We kept ourselves hidden in a booth so that I was not constantly disturbed by my pack members. I’d also disguised my scent as usual so that I could go undetected.

“Uh-huh.” Olivia replied non-comitally.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’ve heard this all before, Paige. You love Jacob too much to ever leave him.”

“Well, maybe I’ve had enough of being at the bottom of his priority list.” I sulked.

“So?..”

“So I’m thinking about bailing out of being Luna!”

Oliva almost spat out her beet.

“Bull s**t!” She coughed, wiping her mouth with a napkin “There’s no way you’d leave the pack.”

“I don’t see why not.” I countered, acting like I no longer cared. “With a good divorce lawyer I’ll get at least half of his assets.”

“And where will you get the money to fight him? You think your Dad is gonna support a divorce. He’ll go ballistic P you know he will.”

The waitress came over with two fresh beers.

“Keep ‘em coming.” Olivia told her. “We’re day drinking.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Olivia held no senior role within the pack, but she was the Luna’s best friend and therefore was treated like royalty.

“I’ll start selling designs again,” I said half-heartedly, once the waitress was out of ear. “I was an excellent designer before I gave up to concentrate on my duties. There are still Luna’s from other packs who wear my stuff now-”

Suddenly, the door to the Diner swung open and half a dozen warrior wolves shoved their way into the room.

“That was one hell of a fight. But we rinsed them right, boys?” Drazic, our lead warrior, had been patrolling the borders with Jacob and some of our other fighters.

I instantly felt anxious. I couldn’t smell my husband, I prayed to the Moon Goddess he hadn’t been hurt.

“And that Omega.” someone answered in reply. “She made the whole fight worthwhile.” He let out an appreciative whistle before continuing. “She’s the hottest she wolf I’ve ever seen.”

“You better not let the boss hear you calling her that.” Drazic cautioned.

I felt sick to my stomach. I knew what was coming before the words were spoken.

“Yeah, Jack Ass.” This from a third fighter. “The Alpha called her mate. So do yourself a favor and keep your fantasies to yourself.”

I felt my already fractured heart break open completely.