Luna Clara's Revenge

A Mate's Lure- Damien

Damien

Four a.m. Seriously? Why can’t I sleep these days? Is it too much to ask just to make it to 6 a.m.?

Rolling out of bed, I pull on some joggers and socks. Grabbing my shoes from my closet, I walked down the hall to my gym. I’m glad I converted one of these rooms to a gym. Being 25 without a Luna, I am obviously not going to need all these rooms for pups.

As I walk in, my Beta, Max, is already running.

“You do know it’s 4 a.m.” I said.

He takes out his earbud and laughs. “Yeah, but the twins jumped into our bed at 3 and it’s not like I was getting to sleep anyway.

Max and his mate Angie had met right after he and I took over the pack 3 years ago. They are awesome together and I am so thankful that Angie doesn’t mind helping out with the responsibilities which usually lie on a Luna’s shoulders. She and my mom have kept those things going.

I jump on the treadmill next to Max and start running.

“You ready for this meeting this afternoon?” asks Max.

I rolled my eyes. “No. I hate that pack. What on earth could that Alpha want anyway?”

I should never have accepted the meeting. If it weren’t for the fact that we were neighboring packs and both currently dealing with abnormally large numbers of rogues, I wouldn’t have.

“What time will they be here?” I asked.

“Not until 3. They asked for lodging for the night, but I said no.”

“Good.” I respond.

We ran, lifted and spared some until 6.

“I’m going to go check on warrior training.” Said Max.

“You do that. I’m going to go shower and work on the contracts for the new training facility.”

We both walked out of the gym and I headed down the hall to my room while he turned down the stairs.

After showering, I headed downstairs. The Omegas are busy in the kitchen getting breakfast ready for the pack. I walk in and grab a muffin, then head across the hall to my office. I sit down at my desk and open the drawer, removing the contracts we have been working on for weeks. Our current training facility is large, but our pack is growing. We have doubled our warrior numbers in the last two years alone and we need space for them to train. I take a bite of muffin and look out the large wall of windows behind my desk. The snow is lying heavily on the trees and the mountains look picturesque. It’s easy for me to get caught up in the beauty of our territory. It leaves an empty space in my heart as I think about not having a mate to run our grounds with. That feeling intensifies as I turn and see a pile of paperwork on the coffee table in front of the couch in my sitting area. Paperwork for the school, grocery purchasing, pack programs, and pack welfare; all things a Luna would typically deal with sit waiting for me to either take care of or delegate. It’s become obvious my mate will not come from our pack, but with the speed at which our pack grows and the constant demand for my time here, how could I go anywhere to find her?

The day seems to slip away from me as I bury myself in work. At one point, an Omega delivers a lunch tray which I see and eat only after it goes cold. By 2 o’clock, Max sat down across from my desk.

“Where do you want to meet with the Crescent Alpha?”

“We can meet here,” I said and started putting paperwork away. “I don’t trust Alpha Felix and wouldn’t want him knowing our numbers or resources. I like keeping my cards close to my chest.” I smiled and laughed.

Max helps me sweep the office for any papers we need to put away and I can’t help this antsy feeling in my stomach.

“You okay, man” Max asks.

“Yeah, I ate my lunch cold and it’s just not settling.”

By 2:50, the feeling wasn’t only affecting me, but my wolf. Hunter is pacing in my head. “Calm down man, I’ll let you run tonight. We just have to get through this meeting.” I said in my mind. “No! She’s here! She’s coming!” He says back to me. “Who is coming, Hunter?” “MATE.”

The word echoes through me. It can’t be possible. The Crescent Pack never brings females. I used to be convinced they didn’t have any as a pup until I became an adult and my father explained the archaic atrocities still carried out by the pack where their females are concerned.

“What is it, Damien?” I heard Max ask and I shook myself out of deep thought.

“It’s Hunter. He says they are bringing my mate.”

Max’s face erupts in a smile and he slaps me on the back. “Congratulations, man! It’s about time. Maybe this meeting isn’t going to be so bad after all. I may have to lead it when you throw her over your shoulder and disappear, but I’ll try not to give away all our land.” He laughs.

I roll my eyes at him and brace myself to finally meet the mate I’ve been destined for since birth. Finally, our pack will have a Luna, and I will have my mate.

My office door opens and Angie leads the representatives from the Crescent Pack into the room. I stood watching as each entered. Alpha Felix comes over and shakes my hand. “Thank you for having us, Damien,” he says.

“Of course, please have a seat.” I said, pointing to the couch in my sitting area. It’s a large tufted leather couch sitting in front of the bookcases which line one wall of my office. Across from it are two matching leather chairs. I take a seat in one while Max sits in the other.

“Is this everyone?” I asked, looking around the room.

“Yes, except the drivers who stayed in the cars.” Says Alpha Felix, looking at me strangely.

“Are either of your drivers female?” I asked.

Alpha Felix now had a suspicious look on his face. I shouldn’t be asking these questions, but I have to know where she is.

“Hunter, do you sense her?” I asked my wolf.

“No, she got further away. They are keeping a secret though. I sense something off.”

“Did you have females with you as you approached our territory?” I asked. Now I’ve done it. A grimy smile has breached Felix’s face. What does he know?

“No, we did not.” He answers. “Still haven’t found your Luna, I see. Getting desperate, Damien?”

“No, but thanks for the concern.” I replied probably a little too harshly. “Now why did you request this meeting?”

“I want to talk to you about the possibility of using your training facility now that your building a new one.” He says.

How on Earth does he know that we plan to build a new facility?

“New facility?” I questioned him, acting as if I didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Yeah. Your current facility borders our land and we have noticed a decrease in activity over the last several months. I can only assume a new facility is being built,” he replied.

I stared at him with my brows furrowed. We won’t be using the facility anymore and renting it to his pack would be a nice passive income. Then again, it would mean doing business with an Alpha I despise and have frequent run-ins with.

“We have been talking about building a new facility and have changed our training lately. What did you have in mind as far as payment?” I asked.

“Well, I have written up some terms and an offer for you to look over. I planned on enticing you further, but unfortunately the goods were spoiled.”

The way he said that made my stomach churn. That lunch really isn’t settling with me.

“Well Felix, why don’t you leave your offer here and my Beta and I will look over it. We will let you know within a month,” I said.

“Sounds like a plan.” He says as he stands from the couch. “I look forward to hearing from you.”

Max and I walk them out to their cars and shake their hands. They climb into black SUVs and drive down the road leading away from our pack house.

“Well, where do you think she was?” asks Max.

“I don’t know. Hunter says she got farther away, but I smelled something wonderful on Alpha Felix, and we know it wasn’t him.” I said as I turned to head back to my office.

“You don’t think…. He was… with her?” Max says.

Something comes over me at that moment and Hunter nearly takes over. I lift Max off the ground by the neck and pin him against the wall. He smacks the side of my head and I snap out of it, dropping him to the ground.

“s**t. Sorry, man. I don’t know what came over me.” I said.

Max stands up coughing a bit and I realize everyone in the foyer of the house has stopped and is staring at us with their mouths hanging open in shock and fear. This isn’t like me. I’m not that kind of Alpha. What the hell was that?

“It’s okay, man. If anyone had suggested that about Angie, I probably would have gutted them.” He flashed me a weak smile and we both walked to my office.

Once inside, I picked up the offer that Felix left on the coffee table. It’s not impressive. Actually, it’s insulting. There’s zero chance I would even consider this, and he had to have known that. Why the hell would he waste my time like that? What type of enticement was he going to include that would make this appealing?