Page 178 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

“Of course,” he said. “It can be a lot to take in. But Selene knows what she is doing when she selects a mate for us, and I have no doubt you will be a wonderful luna for this pack.”

I smiled again, then turned and sat on the couch. Nolan took a seat at the other end, sitting straight instead of leaning back into the cushions. Reid leaned one shoulder against the wall next to the window, his arms crossed.

“As I mentioned, I am a member of the royal council. The council comprises former alphas who help the king with his duties. He is only one man, of course, so we are given some authority to execute his decisions and our laws,” he told me as he sat back down and Harrison moved to his desk. “I understand your future delta is out searching for Lennox. However, the king has asked me to ask you some questions about him and his family so we can investigate them and figure out how they were unregistered.”

“Unregistered?” I asked.

“Ah, yes. You see, each supernatural species has a registry of every member and where they live. Now, of course, this can be somewhat inaccurate. If a wolf goes rogue—gets kicked out of their pack—and then mates with another rogue wolf, well, that can make it difficult for us to keep track of those wolves. Which is why we’re working to eliminate rogues by imprisoning those wolves instead of just kicking them out of their packs. But that’s not important to this discussion,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Can you tell me Lennox’s last name?”

“Shelton,” I replied.

“And his parents? What were their names?”

“John and Mary.”

His pen scratched across the pad of paper on his lap as he made notes of my answers. “How long did you know them?”

“About eleven years. I met them shortly after the Wainwrights adopted me. Our parents spent a lot of time together, so we were around each other a lot. They would always make comments about how we would make such a cute couple,” I explained, making a face.

Reid and Nolan made matching expressions of annoyance and disgust, and Reid muttered, “Don’t let Wesley hear that.”

Harrison’s lips twitched, and the council member’s eyes twinkled.

“We did end up dating,” I continued. “For about two years, when I turned eighteen. I—” I hesitated, glancing around at all the men in the room. “I honestly only agreed to be with him because he wouldn’t leave me alone about it,” I murmured, looking down at my fingers. “I thought if I agreed, he’d leave me alone once he realized we weren’t compatible. But he was controlling and possessive. He wanted me to quit ballet and marry him and have his kids. That was when I finally dumped him and then I moved here.”

My eyes closed, and my cheeks heated as I finished explaining our relationship. I hated that I had ever let him get what he wanted with me. I hated that I’d given in to him after so many years of holding him off by dating other boys from school. It was so embarrassing that I’d let him control me in that way.

“Melissa and Matthew still tried to push me to get back together with him when we broke up,” I continued. “But I’d never told them what he was like with me.”

“Did he ever hit you? Hurt you?” Frederick asked.

“No. Nothing physical. Not until the other night when he attacked me,” I said. “He just always wanted to know where I was, what I was doing, and who I was with. Wanted to control what I wore and what I did.”

“When he attacked you, did he say anything?”

“He said, ‘You were always meant to be mine, and you will always be mine.’”

“And did you ever notice him doing anything… wolf-like? Growling? Sniffing?” Frederick asked. “Or his parents?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Not that I can remember, at least,” I clarified.

“And your parents—your adoptive parents—are Melissa and Matthew Wainwright?” he asked, and I nodded. “And did you ever notice any wolfish behaviors from them?”

I shook my head.

“Does no one else find it odd that Lennox was so set on claiming her?” Reid asked, looking around the room.

“It is odd, but it could just be his lycan had formed an attachment to her. It happens from time to time. And when she turned twenty-one, and she wasn’t his mate, well, that probably upset his lycan. But these are questions we’ll have to ask him. When we find him,” Frederick answered. “We will look into these names, but none sound familiar. I’m not aware of any alpha lines with the surname Shelton, but that doesn’t mean anything.” He put his notes into a leather satchel on the floor, then looked at me. “Is there anything else we can do for you?”

A terrible thought occurred to me, a thought I was ashamed to admit I hadn’t had until that moment.

“My parents,” I said. “Jack and Shirley, I mean. They live near here. I’m worried Lennox may try to hurt them to get to me. Is there a way—can you—?”

“Shit,” Harrison muttered, grabbing his phone and standing up. “I’ll get Delta Sullivan and his mate to bring them here as soon as possible,” he told me as he walked out of the office.

“Thank you,” I breathed out in relief.

“We won’t let anything happen to your parents. Your family is now our family,” Frederick said as he stood up. “And wolves protect their family.”

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