Page 18 of Into the Grasslands

“I am much the same as my father before me,” he argued politely.

“As was the boy who became Alpha of my previous pack. He turned out to be nothing like his father after all.”

“He was the one who sent you here?”

“He was.”

“Then he was a fool. I received a message that my mate would be found on this island. You are the only Luna I sense, but I’m not sure how that is possible if you were fated for another, unless you have been here more than a year already.”

I took in a deep, shuddering breath, because this must be the other man Selene told me about. He and Aiden were my potential mates and while I had seen a vision of him before, I hadn’t really paid close attention to him. He had all but been forgotten because Aiden was the known factor. At least, I thought he would be the best choice in the beginning. It left me at a slight disadvantage because this man felt familiar, but that could just be because I had seen Johann before.

“I have not been here a year yet. I was told by Selene, Goddess of the Moon, that I would have a choice between two mates. One would present me with the option to be a great Luna. The other would doom me to be something lesser to my people.”

Everyone who was able to hear my admission gasped audibly.

“It is true then?” Thorin asked, almost reverently.

I held out my hand to him. “There is but one way to know for certain. Would you agree to the test?”

“I would.”

Thorin nodded his head and stepped forward. I didn’t wait for him to come all the way to me. Instead, for each step he took closer, I did as well. Once we were within touching distance, the man hesitated.

“Are you absolutely sure?” He asked once more.

“If the bond snaps into place, I will have conditions you must meet before we can depart this island together. If you agree to them, then I will willingly follow you to your pack’s lands. If you do not, then you will leave without me and suffer the wrath ofthe bond. Choose wisely, Alpha. Whatever you decide cannot be undone.”

He seemed thoughtful for only a moment before his hand took hold of mine and I felt the snapping zing of our bond shivering into place along my spine. We were not the only ones to notice the effect either. The men who had accompanied Thorin immediately bowed before us, an acknowledgment that their future Luna had been found. That was how it should have gone in my old pack as well. The women at my back likewise took a kneeling position of respect that would be given to a new, officially instated Luna.

It wasn’t necessary for them to have done so, since I was already their official/unofficial Alpha. We still weren’t sure if we were a real pack. I didn’t seem to gain any power level-ups the way Alphas of packs did when they took over. Our only special ability was that we could communicate with one another through mind link. Still, it was sweet of my fellow island dwellers to show the respect that would be due a newly found Luna.

Chapter 10

Traveling

NIKA

“My Luna!”Thorin called out with reverence as his eyes traveled back to meet with my own. “You have demands of me. Speak your demands now, so we can take you to meet your new pack.”

“Mypack,” I began, to which several of the men chuckled. My glare pierced through their laughter and shut them all up quickly. “We live here together on this island, we grow our own food, cook it together, eat, drink, sleep, and keep a watchful eye on the waters around us. We wait and watch for the vultures to approach who want to take what they have no permission to. We protect one another when we can. What would you call us?”

I threw my arms out wide to indicate all the women of the island. “We are the rejected, the abandoned, and unwanted. We are a pack unto ourselves out here on this island surrounded by haunted waters we dare not cross.”

The men glanced around, seeming unsettled by that proclamation. Thorin simply nodded his head.

“Indeed, you have made your own pack. That was my mistake. Our bond didn’t create a Luna, you have been one all along.” He glanced around and then tipped his head down toward me in almost a bow of respect before he spoke again.

“You have my name, and I feel at a slight disadvantage since I do not know yours.” His eyes held a warmth in them that made me want to snuggle up and feel his protective arms wrapped around me. It was then that I felt the weariness of all these months for what it was. A solid weight upon my shoulders and a heaviness on my heart that I feared would always be present.

I tipped my head in silent agreement and respect for the man who was wise enough to understand. “I am Nika Mayweather. This pack,my pack, has a choice to make. Each of us must decide if we will stay or go with you. Whether your men choose them or not, if they decide to go with your pack, you must make room for all who choose it, or none of us will follow.”

“How many are there on this island?” Thorin asked. While I understood why he asked, as he needed to know his pack could handle the influx of bodies, that was an answer I would not give. My silence was all the answer he received.

Thorin glanced around, surveying the width and breadth of the island, no doubt imagining just how many females it could house without overburdening our carefully constructed habitat.

“I will agree to your conditions,” he finally stated before bearing all his straight white teeth at me in what was meant to be a reassuring grin. “It may save our other men a trip out here.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, nervous all of a sudden.

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