Page 147 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

His chuckle echoed in my head, and I sighed. “You should try to sleep, Nolan.”

“So should you,” he retorted. “Get on the bed with her. Hold her. You won’t hurt her. She’s not made of glass.”

I swallowed but nodded. Nolan once again coming in to save the day with his wisdom.

I set my phone on the nightstand by the bed, then climbed onto it, sliding under the blanket and scooting closer to Haven. I stayed on my left side, my body curled around her, and my head propped up on my arm. My right hand laced with the fingers of her right hand, lifting it to hold it against my chest so her skin touched mine and the mate bond could do its job.

Then I closed my eyes, focusing on her body next to mine, on the feel of her skin and her scent filling my lungs as my body succumbed to some much needed sleep.

Theloudandincessantringing of my phone on the nightstand jolted me out of my deep sleep.

“Goddess fucking damn it,” I grumbled as quietly as possible as I rolled over and grabbed it to answer it before it could wake Haven. She needed to heal, and she needed to sleep more than I did.

Two hours. It had only been two hours of sleep. But the call was from Benjamin, and I knew I needed to talk to him.

“Hello?” I murmured into the phone, keeping my voice low.

“Hey,” he said. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“It’s fine,” I replied, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed to stand up. “What’s going on? Is your dad in custody?” I asked as I walked to the window of the hospital room.

Benjamin sighed, and I knew from that one reaction that whatever he was about to tell me would not be what I wanted to hear.

“He got away during the chaos. Your dad got distracted from the mindlink you all received, and his hold on me loosened. I lunged for my dad, but he was ready for me to attack, and he took off pretty much right after you left the room. I pursued him and came very close to catching him. I tried to challenge him for the pack, got almost all the words out. But he had a transport stone and vanished before I could finish speaking.”

“Fuck!” I exclaimed under my breath.

Nolan’s wolf lifted his head, his ears twitching forward, trying to pick up Ben’s words through the phone.

“I know,” Ben said. “Your dad told me the council member arrived while you were all in the hospital. There was a big pileup on one of the main highways, and he was stuck in traffic for much longer than what he would have typically been stuck in.”

“How is it that your dad has transport stones from a witch, but the royal council doesn’t?”

Ben laughed. “Your dad asked the council member the same question. He said they only have so many in their possession, and the king only allows their use on specific types of missions.”

“Hmph,” I grunted, putting my hand on my hip. “So, what do we do now?”

“Just wait and see what he tries, I guess,” Ben replied. “He went to the pack first, then disappeared from there again. It was a little chaotic when I got there, but not as bad as it could have been. He took some warriors and his beta with him, and we have some missing prisoners, but honestly, I think the pack members that are left are happy he is gone.”

“What does that mean for you?”

“Well, based on our laws, he’s abandoned his pack, which means the pack falls to his heir or to a council-appointed wolf if there is no heir. The council member passed the title to me about an hour ago, with your dad and my sister’s mate as witnesses. We’ll have my ceremony in a few weeks once things have settled down a bit here.”

I smiled. At least something good had come from the disaster the day had turned into. We still had Timothy to worry about, but with Ben as the alpha of Amber Forest now, we had a solid ally to count on when he decided to show his face again.

“Congratulations,” I told him.

“Congratulations to you as well,” he said. “I heard you found your mate. Or, well, that your mate was the girl you were already in love with.”

“Yes,” I replied, my smile getting broader. “She’s mine. If she wants me still,” I added.

“I have faith in the bond,” he said. “I’ll let you go so you can get back to her. I hope she heals quickly.”

“Thanks,” I said, then I hung up the phone.

I set it on the windowsill, then leaned my palms against the cold glass, my forehand pressing into it as my eyes squeezed shut. Two wolves. Two lycans were out there, somewhere, both of them a threat to my mate and my pack.

“Pierce?” Nolan asked.

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