Page 24 of The Alpha's Reclaimed Mate

“You’re thirty minutes late!” Jonathan scolded from behind the library desk as I walked in.

I pulled my cardigan tighter around me to hide the bruises on my arms and neck from the fight, but there was no way I could hide the bandage on the bridge of my nose. “I’m sorry. I got caught up in something.”

Jonathan narrowed his eyes at the bandage. “What happened?”

“Just a pimple,” I said, hurrying past him to the stairs down into the archives.

The librarian scoffed and folded his arms. “You’re staying thirty minutes later then.”

“Okay,” I called back up the stairs.

Once at the desk, I finally paused to breathe. That morning, I had to race all the way from the forest back to the villa, shower, and get dressed. Mustering my courage, I went to Oswald’s office first, but he wasn’t there.

Part of me was relieved. But the danger of the Rogues bore down on me and my pack.

I had no choice but to head to the library, keeping last night’s fight to myself while I took requests for files and records, sifting through the archives for the documents my packmates asked for. At least I wasn’t hungry.

By mid-afternoon, the requests slowed down, and I was collecting documents for distribution. Somebody had asked for the paperwork of the peace treaty between the wolf shifters of Silent Shadows and Witches six years ago. I found myself glossing over an article about it in a newsletter shared between our packs, curious.

‘Alpha Richard Black and Yuna Bergen, Matriarch of Starlight Witch Coven, currently in talks to strike peace deal amid territorial disputes,’read the title of the article.‘With the recent arrival of two new wolf shifter packs in Alsa Stone, tensions run high over resource management between the wolf shifters and the neighboring territory of Starlight Coven. In order to accommodate the two new subsidiary packs, Alpha Richard Black requests additional territory from Starlight Coven in exchange for growth stocks in Shadow Manufacturing Industries. This counter-offer is a response to an earlier request by Starlight Coven for an arranged marriage which was overruled by the Council of Seven….’

I found it interesting that they had tried to arrange some kind of marriage between a witch and a wolf shifter. Usually, mate bonds didn’t exist between wolf shifters and a different race of Other—Witches, Vampires, and Dark Elves. Especially not humans. It must have been an attempt to inherit power within Shadow Manufacturing Industries.

Attached to the article was a photo of Alpha Richard Black seated at a table with the three shifter representatives from the Council of Seven. As far as I knew, Richard was the father of Silent Shadows’ Alpha, Lucas Black, and had since become one of the shifters on the Council of Seven, which had opened up the Alpha position for Lucas. I trailed my fingertips over the photo, finding his black hair with its grey streaks somehow familiar until my eyes were drawn to the necklaces worn by the Council members. Each one had a large, golden medallion hanging by a golden chain around their neck, the medallion engraved with imagery of wolves, ravens, bats, and foxes, representing the Wolf shifters, Witches, Vampires, and Dark Elves. It was supposed to represent unity among the races of Others.

“Aria!” Jonathan snapped from upstairs, “Where are those documents?”

Startled, I set the newsletter aside and gathered up all the copies I had made. “Coming!”

When I was finally finished with my day’s tasks, I found no reprieve stepping out of the library. The knowledge that I’d have to confront Oswald loomed over me. I breathed in, gathering my courage for the second time, and left the Lodge for Oswald’s office. After missing him the first time, I realized I didn’t actually want to talk to him. Maybe I’d be lucky, and he wouldn’t be there again. Maybe I could just pass the message on to somebody else. I’d never been reluctant to actually speak to Oswald before, but after everything that happened my nerves were on fire.

I paused in front of the office building, reconsidering going inside when I heard someone coming up behind me.

“Good evening, Alpha Gunn.”

Ice shot up my spine. I whirled around to gaze up at a familiar face, peering down at me with his composed amber eyes and a small friendly smile on his lips. Cuts on the side of his neck and arms reminded me vividly of the fight we’d both taken part in last night.

“Hi, Luke,” was all I managed to say.

In his arms, Luke held a bouquet wrapped in brown paper and looked clean-cut in his black slacks and white dress shirt. “Are you going to speak with Oswald?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I was hoping we could discuss the Rogue attack from last night,” he said, stepping toward the doors.

My blood froze. He probably expected that I had already informed Oswald of it. I was supposed to tell Luke the truth about me, but I didn’t think that in the time between us entering the office building and arriving at Oswald’s office, I’d be able to explain everything. My heart pounded as I stepped after him, sputtering the only thing I could think to say. “What’s that for?”

Luke glanced at the bouquet in his hands, then smiled at me. “You’ll see.”

I didn’t like the implications of his answer.

“So, how are your wounds?” he asked as we walked.

“They’re fine.” I hadn’t even looked at them since my shower. I should have gone to the medical center, but I’d been too busy, and I was too ashamed to show my face anywhere other than the library. “Yours?”

“Oh, I’ll survive,” Luke said with a good-natured rumble. “I take it you got my gift this morning?”

My cheeks reddened, remembering how he’d watched over me last night. “Yes.”

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