Page 10 of Bonded Beyond Trickery

He huffs and I swear if a wolf can smile, mine is grinning from ear to fucking ear right now.“We will find our Luna tonight,”there’s a promise in his tone.

I sit up straighter in my seat, the movement earning a side eye from the warrior driving me. He doesn’t press, doesn’t ask if I’m okay, but focuses back on the road. With the knowledge that we will be meeting our mate tonight, I’m tempted to tell him to step on the fucking gas.

It’s a struggle, but I stop myself from the command while trying to rest. When I close my eyes, a sense of peace and calm settles over me. My wolf would not steer me wrong, especially when it comes to our mate. The chuff he lets out only punctuates what I know to be true.

While heading toward our destiny, I create lists in my head all of them centered around whether or not the Silver Howler Pack is ready to receive its Luna, finally. It’s something I’ve always hoped to happen, but nervousness has me wondering if everything is in place and worthy of being home, of being a safe place, for my mate.

“She’ll be fine,”my wolf insists, his large head resting over his paws like he doesn’t have a care in the fucking world.“We’ve done well, and we’ll be even stronger when we have our Luna,”I swear my wolf says the last word on a dreamy sigh.

I almost snort out a laugh. Where did my vicious and half feral Alpha other half go? I would have expected him to be evenmore restless and on edge with the knowledge that we will find our mate tonight. Fucking finally.

The fact that my wolf is placid makes me even more confused about the entire situation.

“I don’t need to be restless,”he huffs,“you’re doing a fine job all on your own without my input.”

With my eyes squeezed shut, I search my own soul for the peace my wolf has seemingly found. It’s not easy to come by at all.

What do you do when you’re about to get everything that you’ve wanted for such a long time? My wolf’s promise feels surreal and part of me doesn’t want to believe him. When he snarls in my mind without picking up his head, his reminder to stay positive and put my faith in him is clear.

By the time we enter the Blood Moon Pack and pull up to the packhouse, I’m a bundle of nerves which is not something I’m used to because of my position and how many times I’ve been where I am right now. Tonight shouldn’t be any different than all the other mating balls and all the other meetings where I could have come in contact with my mate.

“But it is different,”my wolf yawns and stretches before standing up in my mind when we pull to a stop. He’s not pacing; he’s settled. I try to find some strength in his behavior, but it’s starting to freak me the fuck out honestly.“Because,”he chuffs as I reach for the door handle,“she’s here.”

As the door swings open, I’m assaulted. That’s the only way to describe what happens when I’m hit in the face with the scent of my mate. It’s the only thing I can smell even though I know the scent should be mixed with the scents of hundreds of other and the overarching scent of the Blood Moon Pack.

But the only scent that matters, the one that carries on the air and wraps around me, is the scent of chocolate, orange, and something unique to my female.

“Mate,”my wolf growls, the sound, the simple confirmation of what he’s been saying, vibrates throughout my entire body.

A growl escapes my lips from deep in my throat. Even as I try to swallow it down, it’s impossible. My pack mates, the ones who have travelled with me to find their own mates, freeze, and turn toward me slowly at the sound. But I don’t pay them any attention.

I can’t.

There is only one thing that I’m focused on, helped along by my wolf, and that’s finding my mate.

She’s here. Really here.

My feet move without thought or direction from me. I wouldn’t be surprised to be told I’m running, even though I know I’m not. It certainly feels like a possibility considering how fast my heart is racing.

I round the back corner of the packhouse and come to the edge of the area that’s been set up to feel like it’s both outdoors and indoors, the perfect place for children of the Earth to find their forevers with the grace of the moon shining down, not giving a single fuck if anyone is following me or not. How could I when the only thing that matters is finding my mate.

My mate.

She’s here.

Fuck.

Scanning the crowd isn’t necessary. I see her instantly. Her back is to me, bare and showing off her back. It’s an expanse of creamy skin that I want to skim with my mouth. The red dress she’s wearing caresses her in a way that has me teetering on the edge of far too jealous for my own fucking good.

When the hell did I become jealous of a fucking dress?

The woman freezes and then slowly, far too slowly considering she knows that I’m here and her mate, turns toward me. I take all of her in, the information like the flash of a camera. Her golden hair with loose curls toward the bottom and styled in a way that makes her look like a starlet. The simple, but elegant and daring making up she has on, including red lipstick. The blue of her eyes which sparkle like the stars hanging above our heads even though they are too far away to touch or commune with. The curves of her body that my hands itch to map and trace.

All of her. My mate. I see it all.

And then the haze of the initial pull falls away and I see so much more. The way her eyebrows pull together, concern written all over her face. The way fear shines in her eyes. The way it feels like she’s holding herself back even as her heart races and her body wants her to erase the distance between us.

I know her. She is Alpha Crew’s younger sister, Tilly.

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