Page 5 of Bonded Beyond Trickery

Before I can growl out my frustration at him being in my office, even though it used to be his, I feel my Beta, Alex come up behind me. It takes considerable effort to breathe through the feelings coursing through me. My wolf only enhances those emotions, and I find myself not only struggling to calm myself down, but him as well.

When I feel like I have a firmer, but not ironclad by any stretch of the imagination, grip on my control, I stride aroundthe desk and sit in the chair behind it. Thankfully, Dad didn’t try and sit in my chair. I think that would have just pushed me over when I was already teetering along the edge.

I look between Alex and Dad, wondering who is going to piss me off less. With a pinch to the bridge of my nose, I realize that it doesn’t matter because my gut is screaming at me that they’re both here to test my fucking control. The way my wolf is pacing in my mind only makes me more restless.

And to think I just came back from a run.

“Dad,” I force my voice to remain calm and neutral even though I’m feeling anything but, “what can I do for you?”

Dad leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees as his eyes study me. Having been the Alpha of this pack for years, I know he’s seeing much more than I want him to. He’s always been keen, not only when it comes to me but the pack at large. Retirement hasn’t done a damn thing to lessen those instincts.

“I wanted to check on you,” Dad’s voice ricochets around the room, but I can hear the underlying meaning in his words.

“If you’re here to, again,” I level him with a knowing—and pissed off about it—glare, “try and talk me into considering a chosen mate then you’re shit out of luck. I won’t have anyone at my side who isn’t the rightful, Goddess given, Luna of this pack.”

I swear that pride blooms on my father’s face before he shutters it and gives a chin lift in acknowledgement. “Then,” he shrugs one shoulder as if I’m not moments away from launching myself over my desk for any infraction, small or large, “I guess it’s a good thing that I’m not here to have that conversation. Again,” the single word holds weight and the echo of what he isn’t saying.

Not yet.

I chuff out a breath, spurred on by my unhappy, annoyed, and beyond frustrated wolf. There are times when we feel wholly disconnected, as if it is a miracle that we can exist within the same body. There are also times when it feels like we’ve melded into one.

When it comes to matters of our mate, we’re in perfect agreement.

We wait.

We try to harness some semblance of patience.

We treat her like a goddess, like our Luna, when the time comes, and we have been granted the ultimate gift by the Moon Goddess.

With a humming sound, I turn toward Alex and eye him with a sudden wariness. Growing up, I always knew Alex would be my Beta. He’s the first, and only son, born of the Beta family. Thankfully, none of his younger sisters saw me as a prize.

Considering the next born in their family is only a year younger than us, that could have made things tense and awkward around the packhouse. It turned out better than I hoped since we all grew up together and forged a bond like siblings and none of Alex’s sisters ever saw me as anything more than that. They also, like Alex and I do, respect the mate bond, and have either found their mates or are waiting until the day they are blessed with theirs.

Part of me is jealous of Alex. He is my best friend. We are brothers forged not in blood, but respect and responsibility. But he found his mate the day of his 18thbirthday and Ella is his perfect match in every way.

She’s also a fine Beta female.

“If only we could have been so lucky,”my wolf grumbles, his disquiet making me feel uneasy and on the verge of frenetic.

“I’m definitely not here to talk about a chosen mate,” Alex assures me with a smirk. He produces a golden envelop from out of nowhere, seemingly. He always was one to have a slight flair for the dramatic; it’s kept me grounded and reminds me to not take myself too seriously. “I’m here with the invitation to the mating ball.”

I blow out a slow breath as my wolf starts to pace inside of my mind. As much as I want to go, I find myself staring at the envelope like it’s going to grow teeth and attack me.

It’s a reaction that can’t be helped after seven years of mating balls without a mate and Luna to show for it.

I clear my throat, trying to push away the fear that a fucking envelope brings out in me. “Who is hosting this time?”

Alex’s grin widens. “Blood Rising Pack is the host this time.”

I relax a little bit in my chair. At least it’s being hosted by a pack with a solid Alpha and Luna pair at the helm. Before Tristan Hart found his Luna, it was not a pack I enjoyed going to. Tristan was grumpy and volatile. I didn’t understand it then, but after the word spread about what happened with his mate and Luna, Serenity, and how long he had to wait for her, I could sympathize.

I’m on the edge of losing my skin to the fur with just the notion of waiting for someone nameless and faceless. But for him? To meet his mate when he was just 18 and she was too young to know the bond that would shape their future?

It must have been pure fucking torture.

I shake my head, not wanting to think about that kind of pain, that kind of purgatorial waiting. My own is bad enough.

“As much as I don’t want to go,” I sigh and slump back in my chair. Dad and Alex straighten up and open their mouths like they’re going to argue all the reasons why I have to go, but I cut them off, “I guess one more mating ball won’t hurt me.”

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